15 ¶ And God sent the Angel into Jerusalem to destroy it. And [a]as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and [b]repented of the evil, and said to the Angel that destroyed, It is now enough, let thine hand cease. Then the Angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of [c]Ornan the Jebusite.

16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the Angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, with his sword drawn in his hand and stretched out toward Jerusalem. Then David and the Elders of Israel which were clothed in sack, fell upon their faces.

17 And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded to number the people? It is even I that have sinned and have committed evil, but these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, I beseech thee, let thine hand be on me and on my father’s house, and not on [d]thy people for their destruction.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Read 2 Sam. 24:16.
  2. 1 Chronicles 21:15 When God draweth back his plagues, he seemeth to repent, read Gen. 6:6.
  3. 1 Chronicles 21:15 Or, Araunah.
  4. 1 Chronicles 21:17 Thus he both showeth a true repentance and a fatherly care toward his people, which desireth God to spare them, and to punish him and his.

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