David felt ashamed after he had counted the people. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by what I have done. Lord, I beg you to forgive me, your servant, because I have been very foolish.”
When David saw the angel that killed the people, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who sinned and did wrong. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Please punish me and my family.”
“When they sin against you, you will stop the rain from falling on their land. Then they will pray, facing this place and praising you; they will stop sinning when you make them suffer.
The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to him. He wants to make them strong. Asa, you did a foolish thing, so from now on you will have wars.”
Those who heard Jesus began to leave one by one, first the older men and then the others. Jesus was left there alone with the woman standing before him.
In the past we also were foolish. We did not obey, we were wrong, and we were slaves to many things our bodies wanted and enjoyed. We spent our lives doing evil and being jealous. People hated us, and we hated each other.
But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.
Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed the command of the Lord your God. If you had obeyed him, the Lord would have made your kingdom continue in Israel always,
He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing such a thing to my master! Saul is the Lord’s appointed king. I should not do anything against him, because he is the Lord’s appointed king!”
Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Today you respected my life, so I will not try to hurt you. I have been very stupid and foolish.”