24:3 Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?”
24:4 But the king’s edict stood, despite the objections of 1 Joab and the leaders of the army. So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the Israelite army.
24:5 They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, on the south side of the city, at 2 the wadi of Gad, near Jazer. 24:6 Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi, coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon. 3 24:7 Then they went to the fortress of Tyre 4 and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba. 24:8 They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem. 5
1 tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.”
2 tn Heb “in the middle of.”
3 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
4 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.