6 Then they went east to Gilead, all the way to Tahtim Hodshi. Then they went north to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon.
7 They went to the fort of Tyre. They went to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites. Then they went south to Beersheba in the southern part of Judah.
8 It took them nine months and 20 days for them to go through the country. After nine months and 20 days they came back to Jerusalem.
9 Joab gave the list of the people to the king. There were 800,000 men in Israel who could use the sword. And there were 500,000 men in Judah.
10 David felt ashamed after he had counted the people and said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I did! Lord, I beg you, forgive me for my sin. I have been very foolish.”
11 When David got up in the morning, the Lord gave this message to Gad, David’s seer:
12 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: There are three ways you can be punished. Choose the one you want.’”