Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 21:19
So David went up at the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records David’s immediate movement after the angel of the LORD directs Gad to deliver a command to build an altar on Ornan’s threshing floor. This moment follows the cessation of divine judgment and precedes Ornan’s discovery of the angel.
The words — The verb וַיַּ֤עַל (va.Ya.'al) translates literally as “he went up,” coupled with בִּדְבַר (bi.d.var), meaning “by the word.” These terms anchor David’s physical ascent directly to Gad’s spoken message.
The thread — This sequence of immediate compliance with a divine messenger recurs in 2 Kings 5:10, John 2:5, and Acts 9:6, where figures act upon direct commands rather than independent deliberation. The narrative connects David’s response to a consistent biblical pattern of obedience to God’s appointed spokesperson.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that physical action must follow divine instruction without delay. It places the reader under the same expectation of immediate compliance when God speaks through His designated channels.
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 went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the Lord.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 5:10 Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean.”
- John 2:5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
- Acts 9:6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”