Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 21:16
When David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem, David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, witness the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth with a drawn sword stretched over Jerusalem, and they fall facedown. (1 Chronicles 21:16)
The words — The Hebrew phrase מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה (malʾaḵ Yahweh) literally names the "angel of Yahweh," while the verb וַיִּשָּׂא (wa-yiśśāʾ) records David lifting his eyes to see the figure.
The thread — The motif of sudden divine appearance and corporate prostration reappears when Moses and Aaron fall facedown before the assembly (Numbers 14:5), when Joshua encounters a man with a drawn sword (Joshua 5:13), and when Ahab sacks cloth in response to a prophetic warning (1 Kings 21:27).
Why it lands — The text documents a physical collapse triggered by a visible judgment threat, establishing that human response to divine intervention begins with recognizing the reality of the encounter before any prayer or repentance follows.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Numbers 14:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel.
- 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
- Joshua 5:13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
- 2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
- Psalms 35:13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
- Jonah 3:6 When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
- Exodus 14:19 And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,
- Numbers 16:22 But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
- Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. And Balaam bowed low and fell facedown.