1 Chronicles 21:15
in 1 Chronicles 21Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
KJV
And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd God sent an angel - Thus the Targum: “And the Word of the Lord sent the angel of death against Jerusalem to destroy it; and he beheld the ashes of the binding of Isaac at the foot of the altar, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, which he made in the Mount of Worship; and the house of the upper sanctuary, where are the souls of the righteous, and the image of Jacob fixed on the throne of glory; and he turned in his Word from the evil which he designed to do unto them; and he said to the destroying angel, Cease; take Abishai their chief from among them, and cease from smiting the rest of the people.
This site's exposition
he repented him of the evil
on 1 Chronicles 21:15-16
Chronicles marks the halt with the Lord's own change of mind, he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, the mercy landing at the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, the site Samuel names Araunah's. Verse sixteen adds what Samuel's shorter report does not carry: David sees the angel standing between the earth and the heaven with a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem, and the elders of Israel are with him, all clothed in sackcloth, falling on their faces together. Jamieson Fausset and Brown read the fuller picture as the Chronicler's own contribution, a scene of grandeur where the earlier history gave only the bare report of the angel's presence. The king does not answer alone; the elders bear sackcloth beside him, the whole leadership standing for what one man's pride began.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When David repented of the sin God repented of the judgment, and ordered the destroying angel to stay his hand and sheath his sword,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
So the Lord . . . sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it--The infliction only of the pestilence is here noticed, without any account of its duration or its ravages, while a minute description is given of the visible appearance and menacing attitude of the destroying angel.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite--Ornan was probably his Hebrew or Jewish, Araunah his Jebusite or Canaanitish, name. Whether he was the old king of Jebus, as that title is given to him (2Sa 24:23), or not, he had been converted to the worship of the true God, and was possessed both of property and influence.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
But as [the angel] was about to wreak destruction, the Lord saw and renounced.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
extended over Jerusalem In Joshua (5:13), it says: “.. and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, etc.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
25 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֨ים׀ | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מַלְאָ֥ךְ׀ | malakh | an angel | H4397 → | 213 times |
| לִֽירוּשָׁלִַם֮ | lirushalim | to Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| לְהַשְׁחִיתָהּ֒ | lehashchitah | to destroy it | H7843 → | 146 times |
| וּכְהַשְׁחִ֗ית | ukhehashchit | and just as was destroying [it] | H7843 → | 146 times |
| רָאָ֤ה | raah | he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם | vaiyinachem | and he relented | H5162 → | 108 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָֽרָעָ֔ה | haraah | the calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַמַּלְאָ֤ךְ | lamalakh | to the angel | H4397 → | 213 times |
| הַמַּשְׁחִית֙ | hamashchit | <the> destroying | H7843 → | 146 times |
| רַ֔ב | rav | enough | H7227 → | 454 times |
| עַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| הֶ֣רֶף | heref | let drop | H7503 → | |
| יָדֶ֑ךָ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וּמַלְאַ֤ךְ | umalakh | and [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֹמֵ֔ד | ʾomed | [was] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | near | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| גֹּ֖רֶן | goren | [the] threshing floor of | H1637 → | 36 times |
| אָרְנָ֥ן | ʾarenan | Ornan | H771 → | 12 times |
| הַיְבוּסִֽי׃ ס | hayvusi | the Jebusite | H2983 → | 41 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַח֩and he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֨ים׀<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
מַלְאָ֥ךְ׀an angel
malakhH4397 →213 times
לִֽירוּשָׁלִַם֮to Jerusalem
lirushalimH3389 →643 times
לְהַשְׁחִיתָהּ֒to destroy it
lehashchitahH7843 →146 times
וּכְהַשְׁחִ֗יתand just as was destroying [it]
ukhehashchitH7843 →146 times
רָאָ֤הhe saw
raahH7200 →1300 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיִּנָּ֣חֶםand he relented
vaiyinachemH5162 →108 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָֽרָעָ֔הthe calamity
haraahH7451 →662 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לַמַּלְאָ֤ךְto the angel
lamalakhH4397 →213 times
הַמַּשְׁחִית֙<the> destroying
hamashchitH7843 →146 times
רַ֔בenough
ravH7227 →454 times
עַתָּ֖הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
הֶ֣רֶףlet drop
herefH7503 →
יָדֶ֑ךָhand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
וּמַלְאַ֤ךְand [the] angel of
umalakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֹמֵ֔ד[was] standing
ʾomedH5975 →521 times
עִם־near
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
גֹּ֖רֶן[the] threshing floor of
gorenH1637 →36 times
אָרְנָ֥ןOrnan
ʾarenanH771 →12 times
הַיְבוּסִֽי׃ סthe Jebusite
hayvusiH2983 →41 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 6:6And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
it leads to
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- 1 Samuel 15:11
“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all…
- Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Hebrews 3:10
Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- Isaiah 63:10
Through
Exodus 32:14So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.
it leads to
- Jonah 3:10
When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
- Psalms 106:45
And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.
- Jeremiah 26:13
So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, so that He might relent of the disaster He has pronounced against you.
- Jonah 3:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Chronicles

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
