Then Yahweh commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.
- BSB Then the LORD spoke to the angel, who put his sword back into its sheath.
- ESV Then the LORD commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
- NKJV So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.
- NASB The Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.
- NLT Then the Lord spoke to the angel, who put the sword back into its sheath.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At the LORD's command, the angel returned his sword to its sheath. The sign of judgment was stayed because atonement had been made.
Overview
The sheathing of the angel's sword marks the end of the plague and the turning away of divine wrath. Judgment ceased not arbitrarily but because sacrifice had been offered on the appointed altar. This pattern, wrath averted through a substitutionary offering, foreshadows the cross, where God's just judgment against sin was fully satisfied in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 103:20Praise Yahweh, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word.
- Jer 47:6“‘You sword of Yahweh, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put yourself back into your scabbard; rest, and be still.’
- Ezek 21:30Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, will I judge you.
- 1 Chr 21:15–16God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy, Yahweh saw, and he relented of the disaster, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough. Now withdraw your hand.” Yahweh’s angel was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
- Heb 1:14Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
- John 18:11Jesus therefore said to Peter, “Put the sword into its sheath. The cup which the Father has given me, shall I not surely drink it?”
- Matt 26:52Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword.
- 2 Sam 24:16When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Yahweh relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough. Now withdraw your hand.” Yahweh’s angel was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
- 1 Chr 21:20Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
- 1 Chr 21:12either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three days the sword of Yahweh, even pestilence in the land, and Yahweh’s angel destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore consider what answer I shall return to him who sent me.’”
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.
How 1 Chronicles 21:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.