Compare the passage in Chronicles. The account here is abridged, and 2 Samuel 24:18 has the appearance of being the original statement.…

And David spoke unto the Lord
In prayer; he and the elders of Israel being clothed in sackcloth, and fallen on their…

Perhaps there was more wickedness (especially more pride) in Jerusalem than elsewhere, and that was the sin then chastised. Therefore, the hand of …