7 David's order to count the people made God angry, and he punished Israel.
8 David prayed, “I am your servant. But what I did was stupid and terribly wrong. Please forgive me.”
9 The Lord said to Gad, one of David's prophets,
10 “Tell David that I will punish him in one of three ways. But he will have to choose which one it will be.”
11 Gad went to David and told him:You must choose how the Lord will punish you:
12 Will there be three years when the land won't grow enough food for its people? Or will your enemies constantly defeat you for three months? Or will the Lord send a horrible disease to strike your land for three days? Think about it and decide, because I have to give your answer to God who sent me.
13 David was miserable and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the Lord is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”