But David didn’t take the number of them from twenty years old and under, because Yahweh had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the sky.
Parallel Translations
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But David didn’t take the number of them from twenty years old and under, because Yahweh had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the sky.
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But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.
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But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under; because the LORD had said He would increase Israel like to the stars of heaven.
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to 1 Chronicles 27:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 15:5 Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”
- Numbers 1:18 They assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they declared their ancestry by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, one by one.
- 1 Chronicles 21:2-5 David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know how many there are.” Joab said, “May Yahweh make his people a hundred times as many as they are. But, my lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, then came to Jerusalem. Joab gave up the sum of the census of the people to David. All those of Israel were one million one hundred thousand men who drew a sword; and in Judah were four hundred seventy thousand men who drew a sword.
- Hebrews 11:12 Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore, were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ch 27:23 But David took not the number of…
1Ch 27:23 But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.
Ver. 23. He would increase Israel.] And therefore David knew it was impossible to number them; and, besides, by going about it he might seem to doubt of the truth of God’s promise. {a}
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{a} Religione distinebatur. -- Jun.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The meaning is, David, when he desired to number…
The meaning is, David, when he desired to number the people, he designed to number only those who were from twenty years old and upward, or (which is the same thing) those that drew sword, 1Ch 21:5, and not those who were from twenty years old and under.
He would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens; and therefore to number them all both above and under twenty years old, had been both an infinite trouble, and a tempting of God, or a questioning of the truth of his promises. And possibly this circumstance might in part deceive or quiet David’s conscience, that his desire of knowing the number of his people did not proceed from distrust of God’s promise or providence, but from a prudent care to know the true state and strength of his kingdom.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But David took not the number of them from…
But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under,.... Only those that were twenty years and upwards; but, according to Cornelius Bertram (k), he numbered them that were under twenty, though but sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen years of age, provided they were of robust bodies, and of a tall stature, and able to bear arms; which he takes to be the sin of David, in numbering the people, being contrary to the law of God; yet though he had ordered them to be numbered, and they were, yet he would not take them and put them into the account of his chronicles, as in the next verse, that his sin might not be known, see Sa2 24:9.
because the Lord had said, he would increase Israel like to the stars in the heavens; which are not to be numbered, and therefore David sinned in attempting to number the people.
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(k) Lucubrat. Franktall, c. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Because - And therefore to number them all both…
Because - And therefore to number them all both above and under twenty years old, had been both an infinite trouble and a tempting of God, or a questioning the truth of his promises.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ch 27:23. David took not the number from twenty…
1Ch 27:23. David took not the number from twenty years old and under — But only of those who were above the age of twenty years, or (which is the same thing) those that drew the sword, 1Ch 21:5. Because the Lord had said, &c. — And therefore to number them all, both above and under twenty years old, had been both an infinite trouble and a tempting of God, or a questioning the truth of his promises.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain David’s numbering of the people was therefore a military…
David’s numbering of the people was therefore a military arrangement in order to fix the amount of his standing army. To the general Oriental prejudice against numbering possessions, etc., there was added in the case of the Jews a special objection - a feeling that it would be irreverent to attempt to count what God had promised should be countless.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Heaven. It would have seemed, therefore, as if David…
Heaven. It would have seemed, therefore, as if David distrusted the divine promise, (Haydock) and attempted what was impossible (Grotius) or useless. (Calmet) --- He had before offended, and hence would now only number those who were wanted. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain But David took not the number of them from…
But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under--The census which David ordered did not extend to all the Israelites; for to contemplate such an enumeration would have been to attempt an impossibility (Gen 28:14), and besides would have been a daring offense to God. The limitation to a certain age was what had probably quieted David's conscience as to the lawfulness of the measure, while its expediency was strongly pressed upon his mind by the army arrangements he had in view.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 23, 24. These two verses seem to have been…
23, 24. These two verses seem to have been inserted in this connexion with a reference especially to the military divisions mentioned in 1Ch_27:1-15. “The numbering of the Israelites from twenty years and upwards,” says Bertheau, “was undertaken, as we may infer from the reference to it in this passage, in order that its results might be made available for dividing the army into twelve sections, and for the other arrangements described in this chapter.”
It appears from 1Ch_21:1 and 2Sa_24:1, that David sinned in attempting to number Israel at all. But while he refused to be counselled in that matter, and his “word prevailed against Joab,” he ventured not to number any Israelites under twenty years, lest he should seem to distrust God’s promise to Abraham. Gen_15:5; Gen_22:17.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 23. took not the number] (Cp. the note at…
23. took not the number] (Cp. the note at the head of this paragraph). The Chronicler notices that David conformed to the regulation given in Num_1:3, viz., that only those above twenty years old, and not those below twenty, were to be numbered.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (23) But David took (Num_3:40, nâsâ’mispar) not the number…
(23) But David took (Num_3:40, nâsâ’mispar) not the number of them.—This and the next verse contain concluding remarks on the two lists communicated in 1Ch_27:1-22. The heading of the chapter professes that the “sons of Israel, according to their number,” is the subject in hand. This appended note limits that statement to those who were above “twenty years old,” that is, to those who were of the military age. The reference is undoubtedly to the census, of which 1 Chronicles 21 gave the account; and it is evident that one of the main objects of that census was the military and political organisation here so scantily and obscurely described.
Because the Lord had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.—The reason why David restricted the census to those who were capable of bearing arms (see Gen_15:5; Gen_22:17). The idea implied seems to be that to attempt to number Israel would be to evince a distrust of Jehovah’s faithfulness; and, perhaps, that such an attempt could not possibly succeed.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The contents of this and the following verse may…
The contents of this and the following verse may be supposed to be suggested by the distinct reference to the matter of number in the first verse of the chapter, and in the latter halves of the following fourteen verses, contrasting with the utter absence of any allusion to the same matter, when the whole body of the tribes and their princes are the subject, in vers. 16-22. The deeper significance of the latter part of this verse probably comes to this; that God had already given his people the proudest name for their numbers, in saying that they should be numberless, like to the stars of the heavens, and perpetually on the increase.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Ver. 23.
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The increase of Israel.
A devout mind will ever acknowledge that not only individual, but also national, prosperity is from God. It was a conviction with all the pious Hebrews that their nation had been selected by a special decree and appointed to a special purpose. This conviction came to their minds to sober them in times of national prosperity, and to comfort and fortify them in periods of affliction, disaster, and captivity.
I WHEN THIS PROMISE WAS GIVEN. It was given at the very commencement of Israel"s life; it was given to Abraham, the father of the faithful. The Lord showed Abraham the stars of heaven, and assured him that so numerous should be his seed.
II HOW THIS PROMISE WAS REGARDED. It was not likely that an assurance so inspiriting, so glorious, should be forgotten; it was embodied in national tradition; it was enshrined in sacred literature; it was fitted to dignify their conception of their calling as a people; and it was a rebuke to their national pride. As on the occasion referred to in the text, it was designed to lead them to place their hopes, not so much in their own strength or fortune, as in the purpose and the promises of the God of Israel, the God of all the nations of the earth.
III IN WHAT WAY THIS PROMISE WAS, AND IS YET TO BE, FULFILLED. Under Solomon the nation of Israel reached its highest pitch of fame and power. But it is pleasant and encouraging to believe that the promise recorded in the text will be fulfilled in a deeper sense than that which appears on the surface. There is a true Israel, composed of all who, sharing Abraham"s faith, are Abraham"s spiritual children. These are destined to be numerous as the sands of the desert, as the leaves of the forest, as the dew-drops of the morning, as the stars of heaven. This is a kingdom whose subjects shall ever multiply, whose glory shall know no limit and no end. T.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 23.
God"s promises checking man"s wilfulness.
The impulse on David leading him to number Israel has never been adequately explained. Probably there were some peculiar national conditions which are not detailed. The connection of the reference to the "numbering," which is made in this verse, intimates that it was a part of some military arrangements which the king was advised to make. Possibly in order to fix the amount of his standing army, he desired to know the number of men in his kingdom who were above the age of twenty, the age from which military service was required. Eastern writers give curious illustrations of the Oriental prejudice against numbering possessions. "The apprehension of a Nemesis on any overweening display of prosperity, if not consistent with the highest revelations of the Divine nature in the Gospels, pervaded all ancient, especially all Oriental religions. David"s act implied a confidence and pride alien to the spirit inculcated on the kings of the chosen people." What does come prominently out in the narrative is that David was wilful in the matter, but that God kept his very wilfulness under some limitations and restraints. David was kept from taking a complete census, because he felt it irreverent to attempt to count what God was understood to have promised should be countless. David"s own heart, as well as Divine judgments, brought to him the conviction of his wilfulness and sin. Apply to modern phases of religious life and religious work. In both we are so keen to observe, and so anxious to reckon up and boast of, the results of our work. The individual Christian wants to count and value the steps of his personal spiritual growth; and the Christian worker, in his varied spheres, despairs if he cannot show the actual fruitage of his toil, thinking there will be no harvest from his seeding if his own hand does not bind the sheaves. Much may be said, and much may be said severely, of the almost mania that possesses some Churches for "numbering the people," and counting up the net gains of Christian work. In both spheres God"s promises should check this desire to count.
I APPLY TO PERSONAL RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. God has promised to "bring us off more than conquerors;" to "perfect that which concerns us;" to give us "more grace;" to ensure us "all sufficiency in all good things;" and to be "with us always;" so there is no need for constantly testing our own spiritual state, and trying to gain assurance by counting the steps upward which we may have made. Our best help is the
(1) faith that daily keeps "looking off" unto Jesus;
(2) the prayer that keeps us mindful of, and ever pleading, the promises; and
(3) the "work" for Christ which so thoroughly absorbs us that we have no time to think about our own feelings.
II APPLY TO CHRISTIAN LABOURS IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD. God has promised abundant fruitage as the result of faithful Christian toil: a wondrous harvest-home, and not one sheaf missing. It is enough. Why should we trouble about results, and count up converts? Let them be as many as ever God wills, and let us be satisfied with the joy of our working, and the smile of our Master which surely rests upon us in the doing.
Still, as in the older days of David, there is grave reason to fear that numbering results tends to nourish human pride and conceit, and sets men upon boasting of the "great Babylon which they have builded." The most essential quality of Christian work is the meekness of self-forgetfulness, that will be wholly amazed if, one wondrous day, God should point to sheaves safe in his garner, and say, "These were gathered in by thee." True and humble hearts learn to leave all the "numbering" work to God, and to the great revealing day. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Special officers of the Nation
Special officers of the Nation
v. 23. But David, at the time of that unfortunate census, took not the number of them from twenty years old and under, which would, moreover, not have fitted in with the army arrangements which he had in view, because the Lord had said He would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens, Gen 15:5; Gen 28:14,
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v. 24. Joab, the son of Zeruiah, began to number, as David commanded him, 1Ch 21:2, but he finished not, the pestilence from the Lord falling upon the people before he had visited the tribe of Benjamin, because there fell wrath for it against Israel, 1Ch 21:7; 2Sa 24:15; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of King David, not entered in the daily records or annals of the king’s reign, partly on account of the incompleteness of the records, partly on account of the terrible calamity associated with the census.
v. 25. And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth, the son of Adiel, he was in charge of the property and the spoils of war which were the property of the crown; and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, the towers or forts used for storehouses, was Jehonathan, the son of Uzziah;
v. 26. and over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground, the laborers on the royal domains, was Ezri, the son of Chelub;
v. 27. and over the vineyards, the territory of Judah being particularly adapted for wine-growing, was Shimei the Ramathite, of Rama, in the tribe of Benjamin; over the increase of the vineyards for the wine-cellars, the large vats, or reservoirs, for storing wine, was Zabdi the Shiphmite;
v. 28. and over the olive-trees and the sycomore-trees, that is, the sycamore-fig trees, that were in the low plains, especially in the southeastern and eastern part of Canaan, was Baal-hanan the Gederite; and over the cellars of oil was Joash;
v. 29. and over the herds that fed in Sharon, the rich plain in the west, between Caesarea and Joppa, was Shitrai the Sharonite; and over the herds that were in the valleys, namely, those in the hill country of Judah, was Shaphat, the son of Adlai;
v. 30. over the camels also, among the richest possessions of the king, was Obil the Ishmaelite, of a race which had always kept camels; and over the asses, these, like the camels, probably being in the country east of Jordan, was Jehdeiah the Meronothite;
v. 31. and over the flocks, the sheep and goats, was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was King David’s.
v. 32. Also Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe, the word here not designating an office, but literary activity; and Jehiel, the son of Hachmoni, or the Hachmonite, was with the king’s sons, a member of David’s council;
v. 33. and Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, 2Sa 15:12; and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion, a very close and trusted friend, 2Sa 15:37;
v. 34. and after Ahithophel was Jehoiada, the son of Benaiah, bearing the same name as his grandfather, and Abiathar, the priest of the line of Ithamar; and the general, the commander-in-chief and, at the same time, the minister of war, of the king’s army was Joab. It is a blessing of God upon a country if its ruler is a wise administrator, who is able also to choose the best assistants in all departments of his rule.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 those twenty years old or younger
those twenty years old or younger
"people 20 years old or younger" (See: Numbers)
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to increase Israel like the stars of heaven
This speaks of the number of people in Israel increasing as if they would become as numerous as the stars. AT: "to increase the number of people in Israel to be as many as the stars in the heavens" (See: Simile)
increase Israel
Here "Israel" represents the people who live there. AT: "increase the population of Israel" (See: Metonymy)
Zeruiah
See how you translated this woman's name in 1 Chronicles 2:16. (See: How to Translate Names)
Wrath fell on Israel
This speaks of God punishing the people as if his "wrath" were something that fell upon them. AT: "God punished the people of Israel" (See: Metonymy)
This number was not written down
This can be stated in active form. AT: "No one wrote this number down" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Yahweh
promise
heaven
Joab
wrath
chronicles
king
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.