10 "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." ' "
11 So Gad went to David. He said to him, "The Lord says, 'Take your choice.
12 You can have three years when there will not be enough food in the land. You can have three months when your enemies will sweep you away. They will catch up with you. They will cut you down with their swords. Or you can have three days when my sword will punish you. That means there would be three days of plague in the land. My angel would strike people down in every part of Israel.' "So take your pick. Tell me how to answer the One who sent me."
13 David said to Gad, "I'm suffering terribly. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord. His mercy is very great. But don't let me fall into the hands of men."
14 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel. And 70,000 Israelites died.
15 God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing it, the Lord saw it. He was very sad because of the plague. So he spoke to the angel who was destroying the people. He said, "That is enough! Do not kill any more people!" The angel of the Lord was standing at Araunah's threshing floor. Araunah was from the city of Jebus.
16 David looked up. He saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth. The angel was holding out a sword over Jerusalem. David and the elders fell with their faces to the ground. They were wearing black clothes.