1 Chronicles 21:7
New International Version
This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

New Living Translation
God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it.

English Standard Version
But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel.

Berean Standard Bible
This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel.

King James Bible
And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

New King James Version
And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel.

New American Standard Bible
Now God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel.

NASB 1995
God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel.

NASB 1977
And God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel.

Legacy Standard Bible
And this thing was displeasing in the sight of God, so He struck Israel.

Amplified Bible
Now God was displeased with this act [of arrogance and pride], and He struck Israel.

Christian Standard Bible
This command was also evil in God’s sight, so he afflicted Israel.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
This command was also evil in God’s sight, so He afflicted Israel.

American Standard Version
And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

Contemporary English Version
David's order to count the people made God angry, and he punished Israel.

English Revised Version
And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
God considered the census to be sinful, so he struck Israel [with a plague].

Good News Translation
God was displeased with what had been done, so he punished Israel.

International Standard Version
God considered this behavior to be evil, so he attacked Israel.

Majority Standard Bible
This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel.

NET Bible
God was also offended by it, so he attacked Israel.

New Heart English Bible
God was displeased with this thing; therefore he struck Israel.

Webster's Bible Translation
And God was displeased with this thing, therefore he smote Israel.

World English Bible
God was displeased with this thing; therefore he struck Israel.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And it is evil in the eyes of God concerning this thing, and He strikes Israel,

Young's Literal Translation
And it is evil in the eyes of God concerning this thing, and He smiteth Israel,

Smith's Literal Translation
And it will be evil in the eyes of God concerning this word, and he will strike Israel.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And God was displeased with this thing that was commanded: and he struck Israel.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Then God was displeased with what had been ordered, and so he struck Israel.

New American Bible
This command was evil in the sight of God, and he struck Israel.

New Revised Standard Version
But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the LORD was displeased with this thing, because David had numbered Israel.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the matter was evil in the eyes of LORD JEHOVAH, because David numbered Israel.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He smote Israel.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And there was evil in the sight of the Lord respecting this thing; and he smote Israel.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Judgment for David's Sin
7This command was also evil in the sight of God; so He struck Israel. 8Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”…

Cross References
2 Samuel 24:10
After David had numbered the troops, his conscience was stricken and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

2 Samuel 24:1
Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

Numbers 14:11-12
And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them? / I will strike them with a plague and destroy them—and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are.”

Exodus 32:31-32
So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made gods of gold for themselves. / Yet now, if You would only forgive their sin.... But if not, please blot me out of the book that You have written.”

2 Samuel 12:13
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.

Psalm 51:1-4
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. / Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. / For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ...

1 Kings 15:5
For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

1 Chronicles 21:8-10
Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now I beg You to take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” / And the LORD instructed Gad, David’s seer, / “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.’”

1 Chronicles 27:23-24
David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky. / Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. For because of this census wrath came upon Israel, and the number was not entered in the Book of the Chronicles of King David.

Jeremiah 17:9-10
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? / I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

Acts 13:22
After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’

Hebrews 12:6
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”

1 John 1:8-9
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. / If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.


Treasury of Scripture

And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

2 Samuel 11:27
And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

1 Kings 15:5
Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

he smote

1 Chronicles 21:14
So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

Joshua 7:1,5,13
But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel…

Joshua 22:16-26
Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? …

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Account Command Displeased Evil Eyes Israel Pleased Punished Punishment Sight Smiteth Smote Struck
1 Chronicles 21
1. David, tempted by Satan, forces Joab to number the people
5. The number of the people being brought, David repents of it
9. David having three plagues proposed by God, chooses the pestilence
14. After the death of 70,000, David by repentance prevents the destruction of Jerusalem
18. David, by Gad's direction, purchases Ornan's threshing floor;
26. where having built an altar, God gives a sign of his favor by fire.
28. David sacrifices there, being restrained from Gibeon by fear of the angel














This command
The phrase "this command" refers to the directive given by King David to conduct a census of Israel. In the Hebrew context, the word for "command" (Hebrew: דָּבָר, davar) often implies a matter or thing that is spoken or decreed. In this instance, it highlights the authoritative nature of David's decision, which was not aligned with God's will. Historically, a census was not inherently wrong, but it was to be conducted under God's guidance, as it often implied reliance on human strength rather than divine provision.

was also evil
The term "evil" (Hebrew: רַע, ra) in this context signifies something morally wrong or displeasing to God. It underscores the gravity of David's action, which was rooted in pride and self-reliance. From a conservative Christian perspective, this serves as a reminder of the importance of aligning one's actions with God's will and the dangers of acting independently of divine guidance.

in the sight of God
This phrase emphasizes God's omniscience and His moral standard. The Hebrew word for "sight" (עֵינַיִם, enayim) literally means "eyes," indicating that nothing is hidden from God. It serves as a sobering reminder that God sees and evaluates all actions according to His righteous standards. For believers, this is an encouragement to live transparently before God, knowing that He is aware of all intentions and actions.

so He struck Israel
The consequence of David's sin was that God "struck Israel," indicating divine judgment. The Hebrew verb used here (נָכָה, nakah) means to smite or strike, often used in the context of punishment or discipline. This highlights the corporate nature of sin and its repercussions, affecting not just the individual but the community. It serves as a warning of the serious consequences of disobedience and the importance of repentance and seeking God's mercy.

(7-13) The Divine wrath, declared by Gad the seer.

(7) And God was displeased.--This verse also is not read in Samuel, which has instead, "And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people." The peculiarities of expression in Samuel suggest textual corruption. The chronicler's verse is a sort of general heading, or anticipative summary, to the following narrative. The margin rightly renders the first clause (see Genesis 21 for the same unusual construction).

Verse 7. - Smote Israel. These two words serve simply to summarize in the first instance what the compiler is about to rehearse at greater length. The parallel place shows, "And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people." Some better power occasioned that smiting. Reflection brought to David's heart and conscience (1 Samuel 24:5), as often to those of others, restored vitality. The exact circumstances or providences, however, which roused into action the conscience of David are not stated. The second clause of our verse cannot refer to any preliminary smiting, but to the oncoming visitation of pestilence. It is noticeable, if only as a coincidence, that the eleventh verse of the parallel passage (2 Samuel 24:11) opens with a similarly ambiguously placed clause, "For when David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the Prophet Gad," although this is explainable simply as our insufficient Authorized Version rendering. However, failing any external cause, the beginning of ver. 10 in this same parallel place may intimate the adequate account of all in the spontaneous stirring of David's conscience" the bitter thoughts of conscience born." In these two verses we suddenly come upon the name "God" instead of "the Lord," i.e. Jehovah.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
This
הַזֶּ֑ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

command
הַדָּבָ֖ר (had·dā·ḇār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

was also evil
וַיֵּ֙רַע֙ (way·yê·ra‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7489: To spoil, to make, good for, nothing, bad

in the sight
בְּעֵינֵ֣י (bə·‘ê·nê)
Preposition-b | Noun - cdc
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

of God;
הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

so He struck
וַיַּ֖ךְ (way·yaḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5221: To strike

Israel.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc


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OT History: 1 Chronicles 21:7 God was displeased with this thing (1 Chron. 1Ch iCh i Ch 1 chr 1chr)
1 Chronicles 21:6
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