1 Chronicles 21:12

Judgment

¹⁰ “Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

¹¹ So Gad went and said to David, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You must choose

between three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies and overtaken by their swords, or three days of the sword of the LORD—days of plague upon the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”

¹³ David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

¹⁴ So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: between three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies and overtaken by their swords, or three days of the sword of the LORD—days of plague upon the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should reply to Him who sent me.”
KJV: Either three years’ famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
WEB: either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three days of the sword of the LORD, even pestilence in the land, and the LORD’s angel destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.’”
ASV: either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before thy foes, while the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of Jehovah, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
DARBY: Choose thee, either three years of famine, or three months to be destroyed before thine adversaries while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee, or three days the sword of Jehovah and the pestilence in the land, and the angel of Jehovah destroying through all the borders of Israel. And now consider what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
BLB: either three years of famine, or three months of being swept away before the faces of your foes—and the sword of your enemies overtaking [you], or three days of the sword of YHWH and the plague upon the land and the angel of YHWH destroying in all the territory of Israel.’ And consider what word I should take back to Him who sent me.”

ÅB: enten hungersnød i tre år eller å ligge under for dine motstandere i tre måneder, så du ikke kan undfly dine fienders sverd, eller at Herrens sverd og pest skal komme over landet i tre dager, og Herrens engel skal volde ødeleggelse i hele Israels landemerke! Tenk nå etter hva jeg skal svare ham som har sendt meg!
OTB: 'Velg for deg selv:
enten tre år med hungersnød,
eller tre måneder å bli feid bort foran dine fiender,
mens dine fienders sverd overmanner deg,
eller tre dager med Herrens sverd,
en pest i landet,
og Herrens engel som ødelegger over hele Israels område.'
Nå bestem hva svar jeg skal bringe tilbake til Ham som sendte meg."
B1930: enten hungersnød i tre år eller å ligge under for dine motstandere i tre måneder, så du ikke kan undfly dine fienders sverd, eller at Herrens sverd og pest skal komme over landet i tre dager, og Herrens engel skal volde ødeleggelse i hele Israels landemerke! Tenk nu efter hvad jeg skal svare ham som har sendt mig!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Matthew 13:49–50
So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous,
Read in context
1 Chronicles 21:15–16
Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Read in context
Acts 12:23
Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 28:35
The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
Read in context
Jeremiah 47:6
‘Alas, O sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still!’
Read in context
2 Samuel 21:1
During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
Read in context
Psalms 91:6
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the calamity that destroys at noon.
Read in context
1 Kings 17:1
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
Read in context