The Meaning of 2 Samuel 24:16 Explained

2 Samuel 24:16

KJV: And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.

YLT: and the messenger putteth forth his hand to Jerusalem to destroy it, and Jehovah repenteth concerning the evil, and saith to the messenger who is destroying among the people, 'Enough, now, cease thy hand;' and the messenger of Jehovah was near the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

Darby: And the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it; but Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed among the people, It is enough: withdraw now thine hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

ASV: And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough; now stay thy hand. And the angel of Jehovah was by the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when the angel  stretched out  his hand  upon Jerusalem  to destroy  it, the LORD  repented  him of the evil,  and said  to the angel  that destroyed  the people,  It is enough:  stay  now thine hand.  And the angel  of the LORD  was by the threshingplace  of Araunah  the Jebusite. 

What does 2 Samuel 24:16 Mean?

Study Notes

angel (See Scofield " Hebrews 1:4 ") .
repent .
repented
Repentance (O.T.), Summary: In the O.T., repentance is the English word used to translate the Heb. nacham, to be "eased" or "comforted." It is used of both God and man. Notwithstanding the literal meaning of nacham, it is evident, from a study of all the passages, that the sacred writers use it in the sense of metanoia in the N.T.--a change of mind. Matthew 3:2 (See Scofield " Acts 17:30 ") . As in the N.T., such change of mind is often accompanied by contrition and self-judgment. When applied to God the word is used phenomenally according to O.T. custom. God seems to change His mind. The phenomena are such as, in the case of man, would indicate a change of mind.

Context Summary

2 Samuel 24:15-25 - Judgment Stayed By Sacrifice
The pestilence swept through the land like cholera or the black death in modern times. At last it approached the Holy City. It seemed as if the angel of the Lord were hovering over it, sword in hand, awaiting the final order. All this is spoken after the manner of men. It is clear, however, that, in answer to David's penitent faith, a great change came over the scene. If the same faith had been exercised before the plague reached Jerusalem, may we not believe that an arrest would have come previously? As soon as David was prepared, as in 2 Samuel 24:17, to suffer instead of his people, his love and contrition and faith were accepted on their behalf.
Then, on Mount Moriah, where centuries before Abraham's uplifted knife was stayed, the angel now stayed his act of judgment. The threshing floor of Araunah became the site of an altar, while afterward on that spot stood the Temple, the center of national worship and the scene of the manifestation of the Son of man. The lesson for us is that, when we take the true attitude toward God, we can exercise, by our faith, prayer and self-sacrifice, a wonderful influence in behalf of cities and nations.
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Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 24

1  David, tempted by Satan, forces Joab to number the people
5  The captains, in nine months and twenty days, gather 1,300,000 fighting men
10  David repents, and having three plagues proposed by God, chooses pestilence
15  After the death of 70,000, David by prayer prevents the destruction of Jerusalem
18  David, by God's direction, purchases Araunah's threshing floor;
25  and the plague stops

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 24:16 mean?

And when stretched out His hand the angel over Jerusalem to destroy it and relented Yahweh from the destruction and said to the angel who was destroying the people it is enough now restrain your hand And the angel of Yahweh was by the threshing floor of Araunah Araunah the Jebusite -
וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ יָד֨וֹ הַמַּלְאָ֥ךְ ׀ יְרֽוּשָׁלִַם֮ לְשַׁחֲתָהּ֒ וַיִּנָּ֤חֶם יְהוָה֙ אֶל־ הָ֣רָעָ֔ה וַ֠יֹּאמֶר לַמַּלְאָ֞ךְ הַמַּשְׁחִ֤ית בָּעָם֙ ! רַ֔ב עַתָּ֖ה הֶ֣רֶף יָדֶ֑ךָ וּמַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ הָיָ֔ה עִם־ גֹּ֖רֶן [האורנה] (הָאֲרַ֥וְנָה) הַיְבֻסִֽי ס

וַיִּשְׁלַח֩  And  when  stretched  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
יָד֨וֹ  His  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
הַמַּלְאָ֥ךְ ׀  the  angel 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַלְאָךְ  
Sense: messenger, representative.
יְרֽוּשָׁלִַם֮  over  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
לְשַׁחֲתָהּ֒  to  destroy  it 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁחַת  
Sense: to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay.
וַיִּנָּ֤חֶם  and  relented 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָחַם  
Sense: to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted.
יְהוָה֙  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הָ֣רָעָ֔ה  the  destruction 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: רַע 
Sense: bad, evil.
וַ֠יֹּאמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לַמַּלְאָ֞ךְ  to  the  angel 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַלְאָךְ  
Sense: messenger, representative.
הַמַּשְׁחִ֤ית  who  was  destroying 
Parse: Article, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁחַת  
Sense: to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay.
בָּעָם֙  the  people 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
! רַ֔ב  it  is  enough 
Parse: Adverb
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
עַתָּ֖ה  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
הֶ֣רֶף  restrain 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: רָפָה  
Sense: to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened.
יָדֶ֑ךָ  your  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
וּמַלְאַ֤ךְ  And  the  angel 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מַלְאָךְ  
Sense: messenger, representative.
יְהוָה֙  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
גֹּ֖רֶן  the  threshing  floor 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: גֹּרֶן  
Sense: threshing-floor.
[האורנה]  of  Araunah 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
(הָאֲרַ֥וְנָה)  Araunah 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲרַוְנָה 
Sense: a Jebusite who sold David the site for an altar.
הַיְבֻסִֽי  the  Jebusite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְבוּסִי  
Sense: descendants of the 3rd son of Canaan who lived in or around the site of Jebus, the early name for Jerusalem.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation