1 Chronicles 20:1

20:1 In the spring, at the time when kings normally conduct wars, ¹  Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab defeated Rabbah and tore it down.

1 Chronicles 20:3

20:3 He removed the city’s residents and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and axes. ²  This was his policy ³  with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

1 Chronicles 21:15

21:15 God sent an angel ⁴  to ravage ⁵  Jerusalem. As he was doing so, ⁶  the Lord watched ⁷  and relented from ⁸  his judgment. ⁹  He told the angel who was destroying, “That’s enough! ¹⁰  Stop now!” ¹¹ 

Now the Lord’s angel was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan ¹²  the Jebusite.

[20:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and it was at the time of the turning of the year, at the time of the going out of kings.”

[20:3]  ² tc The Hebrew text reads “saws,” but since saws were just mentioned, it is preferable to emend מְגֵרוֹת (mÿgerot, “saws”) to מַגְזְרוֹת (magzÿrot, “axes”).

[20:3]  ³ tn Heb “and so he would do.”

[21:15]  ³ tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 24:15 reports that God sent a plague, while 24:16-17 attributes this to the instrumentality of an angel.

[21:15]  ⁴ tn Or “destroy.”

[21:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “while he was destroying.”

[21:15]  ⁶ tn Or “saw.”

[21:15]  ⁷ tn Or “was grieved because of.”

[21:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”

[21:15]  ⁹ tn For this nuance of the Hebrew word רַב (rav), see BDB 913 s.v. 1.f.

[21:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”

[21:15]  ¹¹ tn In the parallel text in 2 Sam 24:16 this individual is called אֲרַוְנָא (’aravna’, “Aravna”), traditionally “Araunah.” The form of the name found here also occurs in vv. 18-28.