9. Joab reported to the king how many fighting men he had counted. In Israel there were 800,000 men who were able to handle a sword. In Judah there were 500,000.
10. David felt sorry that he had counted the fighting men. So he said to the Lord, "I committed a great sin when I counted Judah and Israel's men. Lord, I beg you to take away my guilt. I've done a very foolish thing."
11. Before David got up the next morning, a message from the Lord came to the prophet Gad. He was David's seer. The message said,
12. "Go and tell David, 'The Lord says, "I could punish you in three different ways. Choose one of them for me to use against you." ' "