Then the heart of David struck him, after the people were numbered. And David said to the Lord: "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But I pray that you, O Lord, may take away the iniquity of your servant. For I have acted very foolishly."
Then David said to Gad: "I am in great anguish. But it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men."
But afterward, they cried out to the Lord, and they said: 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and we have served the Baals and Ashtaroth. Now therefore, rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.'
And so, Samuel revealed to him all the words, and he did not hide them from him. And he responded: "He is the Lord. May he do what is good in his own eyes."
And they convened at Mizpah. And they drew water, and they poured it out in the sight of the Lord. And on that day they fasted, and in that place they said, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.