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1 Chronicles 21:16

Made Simple — Modern English Translation

Translated by Verse Made Simple Editorial
KJV ORIGINAL
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.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE

David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, holding a sword drawn and pointed toward Jerusalem. When David and the leaders of Israel saw this, they were wearing rough cloth to show their grief and threw themselves face-down on the ground.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

David and Israel's leaders saw God's angel prepared to bring judgment on Jerusalem, and they fell to the ground in fear and repentance.

📚 Historical Context

This happened after David conducted an unauthorized census of his military forces, which showed pride and lack of trust in God's protection. As punishment, God sent a plague that killed 70,000 people in Israel. The angel was about to destroy Jerusalem when God stopped the judgment at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

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Translation & Methodology Sources

The original manuscript text provided is based on the King James Version (KJV), which is in the public domain. Our modern English simplifications are generated via proprietary philological synthesis, cross-referenced against Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and the Textus Receptus to ensure unwavering theological and etymological precision.

Read our full translation methodology →