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.

2 SAMUEL 24:16KJV
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2 Samuel 24:16 (KJV)

What does 2 Samuel 24:16 mean?

2 Samuel 24:16 describes how, as an angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD changed His mind about bringing further disaster and commanded the angel to stop. The angel then halted at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, marking the end of the destruction.

This verse takes place after King David’s sin of ordering a census, which led to a plague as punishment. The LORD (Yahweh) is shown as both just and merciful: He sends judgment but also limits it. The mention of the angel stopping at Araunah’s threshing floor sets up the location for a significant event that follows in the story.

The Hebrew behind 2 Samuel 24:16

  • "angel" (מַלְאָךְ, mal’akh): This word means "messenger" and here refers to a supernatural being carrying out God's judgment. The angel is a visible agent of destruction, not just a figure of speech.
  • "repented" (נָחַם, nacham): This word is often understood as "relented" or "was moved to pity." It does not mean God made a mistake, but rather that He chose to show mercy and stop the judgment.
  • "evil" (רָעָה, ra’ah): In this context, this word means "disaster" or "calamity," not moral evil. It emphasizes that the LORD was bringing a severe consequence, but not acting out of malice.
  • "stay" (רָפָה, raphah): This verb means "to let go" or "to relax." When God tells the angel to "stay" his hand, He is commanding the angel to cease the destruction immediately.

Why 2 Samuel 24:16 matters

  • This verse clears up the idea that God’s judgments are unchangeable; it shows that God can choose to show mercy even in the midst of judgment.
  • The detail about the threshing floor of Araunah is important because this location later becomes the site of the temple in Jerusalem, connecting this moment to a major turning point in Israel’s history.
  • The verse highlights both God’s justice (in sending the plague) and His compassion (in stopping it), giving a fuller picture of His character in the narrative.

Where else these words appear

“Araunah” Hebrew H728 · used in 7 verses

  • 2 Samuel 24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
  • 2 Samuel 24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
  • 2 Samuel 24:23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.

“threshingplace” 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 24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor 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.