1 Chronicles 21:30
in 1 Chronicles 21but David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah.
KJV
But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBecause of the sword of the angel - This is given as a reason why David built an altar in the threshing-floor of Ornan: he was afraid to go to Gibeon, because of the sword of the destroying angel, or he was afraid of delaying the offerings so long as his going thither would require, lest the destroying angel should in the mean while exterminate the people; therefore he hastily built an altar in that place, and on it made the requisite offerings, and by the fire from heaven God showed that he had accepted his act and his devotion.
This site's exposition
then he sacrificed there
on 1 Chronicles 21:28-30
Chronicles explains why David keeps sacrificing at Ornan's floor instead of Gibeon, where Moses' tabernacle and the bronze altar still stood: he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord, and could not bring himself to travel to the old altar while that sword still hung in memory. Matthew Henry reads the choice as no rejection of Gibeon's continuing service, since the tabernacle stayed in use there, but a mark of where God had visibly answered by fire and where David chose to keep returning. The chapter ends holding two sanctioned places of sacrifice at once, the old altar at Gibeon and the new ground at Ornan's floor that the next chapter names as the house of the Lord God. Adam Clarke reads the fear itself as reasonable, a king unwilling to risk the delay that going to Gibeon would cost while judgment might still be near.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
But God sees not as man sees. It is plain it was wrong in David to do it, and a great provocation to God, because he did it in the pride of his heart; and there is no sin that has in it more of contradiction and therefore more of offence to God than pride. The sin was David's; he alone must bear the blame of it.
30 But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the L ORD . We have here the controversy concluded, and, upon David's repentance, his peace made with God. Though thou wast angry with me, thy anger is turned away.
The symbols of unity were not so much insisted on as unity itself. Nay, when the present distress was over (as it should seem), David, as long as he lived, sacrificed there, though the altar at Gibeon was still kept up; for God had owned the sacrifices that were here offered and had testified his acceptance of them,
Afraid - When he saw the angel stand with his drawn sword over Jerusalem, he durst not go away to Gibeon, lest the angel in the mean time should destroy Jerusalem: for the prevention whereof he thought it proper to worship God in that place, which he had consecrated by his special presence and acceptance.
But David could not go before it to inquire of God,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
David, knowing that by sacrifice on this altar he had caused the angel to stay his hand, was afraid to transfer his offerings elsewhere, lest the Angel should resume his task and pestilence again break out.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָכֹ֥ל | yakhol | he was able | H3201 → | |
| דָּוִ֛יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לָלֶ֥כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְפָנָ֖יו | lefanav | <to> before it | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לִדְרֹ֣שׁ | lidrosh | to seek | H1875 → | 164 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֑ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִבְעַ֔ת | nivat | he was terrified | H1204 → | |
| מִפְּנֵ֕י | mipenei | of <the face of> | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֶ֖רֶב | cherev | [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| מַלְאַ֥ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָכֹ֥לhe was able
yakholH3201 →
דָּוִ֛ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לָלֶ֥כֶתto go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
לְפָנָ֖יו<to> before it
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
לִדְרֹ֣שׁto seek
lidroshH1875 →164 times
אֱלֹהִ֑יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִבְעַ֔תhe was terrified
nivatH1204 →
מִפְּנֵ֕יof <the face of>
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
חֶ֖רֶב[the] sword of
cherevH2719 →413 times
מַלְאַ֥ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Revelation 15:4Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
it leads to
- Psalms 86:9
All the nations You have made will come and bow before You, O Lord, and they will glorify Your name.
- Jeremiah 10:7
Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
- Malachi 1:11
For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
- Psalms 22:27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
- Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign…
- Psalms 86:9
Through
Revelation 1:17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
it leads to
- Isaiah 44:6
Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.
- Daniel 10:8–10
So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
- Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
- Isaiah 44:6
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.