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1 Chronicles 21:13

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does 1 Chronicles 21:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Jehovah; for very great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Jehovah; for very great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
1 Chronicles 21:13 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Chronicles 21

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10Go and speak unto David, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
11So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Take which thou wilt:
12either 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.
13And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Jehovah; for very great are his mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
14So Jehovah sent a pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
15And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Jehovah beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was standing by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah standing between earth and heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
← 1 Chronicles 21:121 Chronicles 21:14 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“let me fall now into the hand of the Lord . . . let me not fall into the hand of man--Experience had taught him that human passion and vengeance had no bounds, whereas our wise and gracious Father in heaven knows the kind, and regulates the extent, of chastisement which every one needs.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I am in: Kg2 6:15, Kg2 7:4; Est 4:11, Est 4:16; Joh 12:27; Phi 1:23 let me fall: David here acted nobly: had he chosen war, his personal safety was in no danger, as there was an ordinance preventing him from going to battle; and in famine, his wealth would have secured his and his family's support; but all were equally exposed to the pestilence. Heb 10:31 great: or, many, Exo 34:6, Exo 34:7; Psa 5:7, Psa 51:1, Psa 51:2, Psa 69:13, Psa 69:16, Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15, Psa 103:8, Psa 106:7, Psa 130:7; Isa 55:7, Isa 63:7, Isa 63:15; Lam 3:32; Jon 3:9, Jon 4:2; Mic 7:18; Hab 3:2 but let me: Ch2 28:9; Pro 12:10; Isa 46:7, Isa 47:6 1 Chronicles 21:14”
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Related study paths

Read 1 Chronicles 21 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification