1 Chronicles 21:13David said to Gad, "I am in distress. Let me fall, I pray, into the hand of Yahweh; for his mercies are very great. Let me not fall into the hand of man."
The setting
Jerusalem throne room, ~1000 BC. King David, who commanded armies, now chooses to trust God's justice over human mercy. The irony: the king fears his own kind more than God. Modern Jerusalem, Israel.
The emotion here: broken but still trusting, like a child running to a parent after breaking something
The original word
rachamīm (רַחֲמִים) — womb-love, the fierce protective mercy a mother has for her child
Why it matters
David had experienced both God's discipline and human cruelty - he knew which was more trustworthy
Read with care
What most readers miss in 1 Chronicles 21:13
David isn't being pious - he's being practical. He's learned that people are crueler than God
Common misconceptionPeople think David is being super-spiritual. Actually, he's being strategic - he knows from experience that God's anger is temporary, but human revenge lasts forever.
The thread continues
Verses that echo 1 Chronicles 21:13
Bible Genome reading
1 Chronicles 21:13 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
1 Chronicles 21:13 comes from the book of 1 Chronicles, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to David. The dominant emotion in this verse is seeking, with a comfort power of 50% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the dialogue genre of biblical literature. Key themes include divine mercy, trust, surrender. Notable phrases: I am in distress; his mercies are very great. This verse is a prayer.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same seeking
“Pray without ceasing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
— Amos 5:24
“Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that …”
— Genesis 18:25
“Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don't know.”
— Jeremiah 33:3
“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evi…”
— Luke 11:4
Your reflection
What does 1 Chronicles 21:13 mean to you, today?
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