דברי הימים א, פרק כ״א, פסוק י״ג

David stands at a fateful crossroads, forced to select the punishment for his own actions. The weight of this decision brings him immense distress, as every option presented to him is devastating [מצודת דוד]. The agony of his choice is compared to a condemned man being asked to choose his own burial plot [רש״י]. Adding to this heavy burden is the crushing realization that his own personal failure has brought this looming disaster upon the people [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Despite the overwhelming anguish, David makes a deeply personal decision to surrender directly to the hands of God [מנחת שי]. By doing so, he selects the plague, a punishment that remains exclusively under God's control [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, a plague does not discriminate; it strikes all levels of society equally, leaving no distinction between the wealthy and the impoverished [רש״י].

The motivation behind this choice is rooted in God's boundless compassion. The commentators agree that David hopes that by keeping the punishment directly in God's domain, there remains an opportunity to plead for divine mercy, potentially bringing the affliction to an early end. In contrast, he adamantly refuses to fall into the hands of men. This means rejecting the punishment of war, which would surrender the people to ruthless and unforgiving enemies [רש״י]. It also means rejecting the punishment of famine. Famine is a slow, agonizing ordeal that forces victims to rely entirely on the charity of others just to survive. Because human beings simply do not possess the same capacity for mercy as God, David avoids any fate that leaves survival dependent on mankind [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].