Reading 1 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17 King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him,“Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-shebaand register the people, that I may know their number.”Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered:in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service; in Judah, five hundred thousand.Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people,and said to the LORD:“I have sinned grievously in what I have done.But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant,for I have been very foolish.”When David rose in the morning,the LORD had spoken to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying:“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the LORD says:I offer you three alternatives;choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you.’”Gad then went to David to inform him.He asked: “Do you want a three years’ famine to come upon your land,or t