Joab was in charge of the counting. It took nine months to count all the troops because the Israelite army was quite large at this time. When at last Joab was finished counting the troops, he went to David to give him the figures.

But when David heard the numbers, he suddenly felt very guilty and realized he had been rash and foolish. He fell on the floor and begged God for forgiveness saying, "Please Lord, take away my sin, for I have been very foolish."

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