1 Chronicles 21:14-17

14 So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.

15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah^[a] the Jebusite.

16 David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

17 David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd,^[b] have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? LORD my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

1 Chronicles 21:14-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 21

Excepting the three last verses, is contained in 2Sa 24:1-25 with some few variations, which are there observed; see the notes there. 18894-950102-2025-1Ch21.2

Cross References

• 1. 1 Chronicles 27:24
• 2. S Genesis 32:1
• 3. Psalms 125:2
• 4. S Genesis 6:6; S Exodus 32:14
• 5. S Genesis 19:13
• 6. S Numbers 14:5; S Joshua 7:6
• 7. S 2 Samuel 7:8; Psalms 74:1
• 8. John 1:12

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "Ornan," a variant of "Araunah" ; also in verses 18-28
• [b]. Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see 2 Samuel 24:17 and note); Masoretic Text does not have "the shepherd" .