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.

1 CHRONICLES 21:15KJV
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1 Chronicles 21:15 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 21:15 mean?

1 Chronicles 21:15 describes how God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but then God saw what was happening and changed His mind about bringing further disaster. God told the angel to stop, and the angel stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

This verse is set during a time when King David had sinned by ordering a census, and God was sending judgment on Israel. The verse shows a dramatic moment where God’s mercy interrupts judgment, and the specific location—the threshing floor of Ornan—later becomes important in Israel’s history as the site where the temple would be built.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 21:15

  • אֱלֹהִים (Elohim; H430) — This is the word for "God" used here, emphasizing God's authority and power in sending the angel.
  • מַלְאָךְ (mal’akh; H4397) — Translated as "angel," this word means a messenger or agent. The angel here is the direct instrument of God’s judgment and mercy.
  • שָׁחַת (shachath; H7843) — This verb is used for "destroy" and "destroying," carrying the sense of ruin or laying waste. It highlights the severity of the threat facing Jerusalem.
  • נָחַם (nacham; H5162) — Translated as "repented him," this word means to be moved to pity or to relent. It signals a change in God’s action, not a mistake, but a turning from judgment to mercy.
  • רַף (raphah; H7503) — The word for "stay" (as in "stay now thine hand") means to relax or let go, indicating that the angel is to stop the destruction immediately.

Why 1 Chronicles 21:15 matters

  • This verse clarifies that God’s judgment is not mechanical or unfeeling; God observes, responds, and can choose to show mercy even in the midst of punishment.
  • The mention of the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite is significant because this place later becomes the site of Solomon’s temple, connecting God’s mercy to a key location in Israel’s worship.
  • The verse helps clear up the idea that "repented" means God made a mistake; the original word suggests God was moved with compassion and chose to stop the destruction, showing both justice and mercy.

Where else these words appear

“Ornan” Hebrew H771 · used in 10 verses

  • 1 Chronicles 21:18 Then 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.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

“threshingfloor” Hebrew H1637 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
  • Ruth 3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
  • 1 Chronicles 21:22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.

“Jebusite” Hebrew H2983 · used in 39 verses

  • Genesis 10:16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
  • Joshua 9:1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;
  • 2 Samuel 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.

“stay” Hebrew H7503 · used in 45 verses

  • Exodus 4:26 So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
  • 1 Samuel 15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
  • Proverbs 4:13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.