1 Chronicles 21:16 · KJV
“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.”
— 1 Chronicles 21:16
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. {Ornan: also called, Araunah}
And David said unto God, {Is it} not I {that} commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but {as for} these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
1 Chronicles 21 — Context
So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
15And 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. {Ornan: also called, Araunah}
16And 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.
17And David said unto God, {Is it} not I {that} commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but {as for} these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.
18Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Cross References
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
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
Psalms 35:13-14
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing {was} sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. {humbled: or, afflicted}
Joshua 5:13-14
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, {Art} thou for us, or for our adversaries?
Jonah 3:6-8
For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered {him} with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
2 Kings 6:17
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain {was} full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Exodus 14:19-20
And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Genesis 3:24
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.