David lifted up his eyes, and saw Yahweh’s angel standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
Parallel Translations
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David lifted up his eyes, and saw Yahweh’s angel standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
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And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
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And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD standing between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to 1 Chronicles 21:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 14:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
- 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
- Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
- Exodus 14:19-20 The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them, and stood behind them. It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night. One didn’t come near the other all night.
- Numbers 16:22 They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
- Numbers 22:31 Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw Yahweh’s angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.
- Joshua 5:13-14 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?” He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of Yahweh’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and asked him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
- 2 Kings 6:17 Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the young man’s eyes; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.
- 2 Kings 19:1 When king Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into Yahweh’s house.
- Psalms 35:13-14 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom. I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.
- Jonah 3:6-8 The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ch 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes, and…
1Ch 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders [of Israel, who were] clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
Ver. 16. Having a drawn sword in his hand.] This must needs be terrible to the beholders. Commodus, the emperor, set his own statue before the senate house, in form of an archer ready to shoot, that he might strike a terror into the people. {a}
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{a} Herodian.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In sackcloth, i.e. in mourning garments, humbling themselves before…
In sackcloth, i.e. in mourning garments, humbling themselves before God for their sins, and deprecating his wrath against the people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Sackcloth - In mourning garments, humbling themselves before God…
Sackcloth - In mourning garments, humbling themselves before God for their sins, and deprecating his wrath against the people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Here a picture of awful grandeur takes the place…
Here a picture of awful grandeur takes the place of the bare statement of the earlier historian 2Sa 24:17. And here, as elsewhere, the author probably extracts from the ancient documents such circumstances as harmonize with his general plan. As the sanctity of the temple was among the points whereon he was most anxious to lay stress, he gives in full all the miraculous circumstances attending this first designation of what became the temple site (marginal reference “k”) as a place “holy to the Lord.”
David and the elders ... clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces - Facts additional to the narrative of Samuel; But facts natural in themselves, and in harmony with that narrative. Similarly, the narrative in 1Ch 21:20 is additional to the account in Samuel; but its parts hang together; and there is no sufficient ground for suspecting it.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain David and the elders . . . clothed in…
David and the elders . . . clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces--They appeared in the garb and assumed the attitude of humble penitents, confessing their sins, and deprecating the wrath of God.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. lift up] The old form of the past…
16. lift up] The old form of the past changed in modern editions to lifted up; cp. Gen_22:4, etc.
saw the angel] The full description of the vision is peculiar to Chron.; cp. 2Sa_24:17.
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and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth] The words supplied in A.V. are unnecessary, and are omitted in R.V. The wearing of sackcloth was doubtless accompanied with fasting; cp. Jon_3:5.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) This verse is not read in Samuel, which,…
(16) This verse is not read in Samuel, which, however, mentions the essential fact that David “saw the angel that smote the people” (2Sa_24:17). There is nothing in the style to suggest suspicion of a later hand; and it is as likely that the compiler of Samuel has abridged the original account as that the chronicler has embellished it.
Having a drawn sword in his hand.—Comp. Num_22:23, where the same phrase occurs. Literally, and his sword drawn in his hand.
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Stretched out.—See Isa_5:25; Isa_9:12, &c., for this term so used of the menace of Divine wrath.
Then David and the elders.—Literally, and David fell, and the elders, covered with the sackcloth. on their faces. The elders have not been mentioned before, but wherever the king went he would naturally be accompanied by a retinue of nobles, and their presence on this occasion agrees with the statement of 2Sa_24:20, that Araunah saw the king and his servants coming towards him. (See 1Ch_21:21, below.)
Fell upon their faces.—See Num_22:31; Jos_5:14; Jdg_13:20.
Clothed in sackcloth.—The garb of mourners and penitents.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 16, 17. These verses offer instances, especially the…
Vers. 16, 17. These verses offer instances, especially the former, of the shorter narratives not being with Chronicles, but with Samuel And the longer narrative being with Chronicles is found uniformly in the cases in which reference is had, whether more or less directly, to the ecclesiastical or permanent institution of the Israelites.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain (See Scofield Heb 1:4).
angel
(See Scofield Heb 1:4).
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 standing between earth and heaven
standing between earth and heaven
This is symbolic language to indicate that the angel was sent from Yahweh in heaven to judge the people on the earth. (See: Symbolic Language)
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having a drawn sword in his hand raised over Jerusalem
The angel holding a sword in his hand is a symbolic action that shows he is ready to attack Jerusalem. This is symbolic, because the judgment was sickness. AT: "holding a sword in his hand as if ready to attack Jerusalem" (See: Symbolic Action)
clothed in sackcloth, lay facedown on the ground
These were symbols of repentance. (See: Symbolic Action)
Is it not I that commanded that the army be numbered?
David uses this question to emphasize that his is the one who sinned by counting the people. AT: "I am the one who commanded that the army be numbered." (See: Rhetorical Question)
But these sheep
David speaks of the people of Israel as if they were sheep, who are known for trusting and following their leader. (See: Metaphor)
what have they done?
David uses this question to asks God not to punish the people. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "they certainly have done nothing that deserves punishment." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Let your hand strike me and my family
Here "hand" represents Yahweh's power to punish. AT: "Punish me and my family" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
earth
heaven
Jerusalem
elder
sackcloth
God
command
evil
ewe
hand
family
plague
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 21:16-17 These verses provide a more detailed description of…
21:16-17 These verses provide a more detailed description of the angel and of David’s response than the parallel text (2 Sam 24:17). The sight of the angel carrying out his mission inspired David to plead on behalf of the people.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.