13 And David said to Gad: 'There are difficulties pressing upon me from every side. But it is better for me to fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are many, than into the hands of men.'
14 Therefore, the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel. And there fell from Israel seventy thousand men.
15 Also, he sent an Angel to Jerusalem, so that he might strike it. And while he was striking, the Lord saw and took pity over the magnitude of the harm. And he commanded the Angel who was striking: 'It is enough. Now let your hand cease.' And the Angel of the Lord was standing beside the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 And David, lifting up his eyes, saw the Angel of the Lord, standing between heaven and earth with a drawn sword in his hand, turned toward Jerusalem. And both he and those greater by birth, being clothed in haircloth, fell prone upon the ground.
17 And David said to God: 'Am I not the one who ordered that the people be numbered? It is I who sinned; it is I who did evil. This flock, what does it deserve? O Lord my God, I beg you to let your hand be turned against me and against the house of my father. But let not your people be struck down.'
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