Hosea 1:6

1:6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord ¹  said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity ²  on the nation ³  of Israel. For ⁴  I will certainly not forgive ⁵  their guilt. ⁶ 

Isaiah 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ⁷  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ⁸ 

For these people lack understanding, ⁹ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Jeremiah 13:14

13:14 And I will smash them like wine bottles against one another, children and parents alike. ¹⁰  I will not show any pity, mercy, or compassion. Nothing will keep me from destroying them,’ ¹¹  says the Lord.”

Jeremiah 16:5

16:5 “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: ¹²  ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, ¹³  my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it! ¹⁴ 

Ezekiel 8:18

8:18 Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare ¹⁵  them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

Ezekiel 9:10

9:10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare ¹⁶  them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.” ¹⁷ 

Zechariah 1:12

1:12 The angel of the Lord then asked, “Lord who rules over all, ¹⁸  how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem ¹⁹  and the other cities of Judah which you have been so angry with for these seventy years?” ²⁰ 

Romans 9:18

9:18 So then, ²¹  God ²²  has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. ²³ 

Romans 11:22

11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but ²⁴  God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; ²⁵  otherwise you also will be cut off.

James 2:13

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over ²⁶  judgment.

¹ tn Heb “Then he said”; the referent (the Lord) does not appear in Hebrew, but has been specified in the translation for clarity. Many English versions specify the speaker here (KJV “God”; ASV “Jehovah”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “the Lord”).

² sn The negative particle לאֹ (lo’, “no, not”) and the root רָחַם (rakham, “compassion”) are repeated in 1:6, creating a wordplay between the name Lo-Ruhamah (literally “No-Pity”) and the announcement of divine judgment, “I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel.”

³ tn Heb “house”; cf. TEV, NLT “the people of Israel.”

⁴ tn The particle כִּי (ki) probably denotes cause (so NCV, TEV, CEV) or result here (GKC 505 §166.b; BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

⁵ tn The verb נָשָׂא (nasa’, “to take away”) frequently denotes “to forgive” meaning to take away sin (BDB 671 s.v. נָשָׂא 3.c). The construction נָשׂא אֶשָּׂא (naso’ ’esa’, “I will certainly take away,” infinitive absolute + imperfect of the same root) repeats the root נָשָׂא for rhetorical emphasis, stressing the divine resolution not to forgive Israel.

⁶ tn The phrase “their guilt” does not appear in Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The ellipsis of the accusative direct object of נָשׂא אֶשָּׂא (naso’ ’esa’, “I will certainly take away”) is an example of brachyology. The accusative “guilt” must be supplied frequently with נָשַׂא (see BDB 671 s.v. נָשָׂא 3.c; e.g., Num 14:19; Isa 2:9; Ps 99:8). Many recent English versions simplify this to “forgive them” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

⁷ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

⁸ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

⁹ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

¹⁰ tn Or “children along with their parents”; Heb “fathers and children together.”

¹¹ tn Heb “I will not show…so as not to destroy them.”

¹² tn Heb “For thus says the Lord…”

¹³ tn Heb “my peace.” The Hebrew word שְׁלוֹמִי (shÿlomi) can be translated “peace, prosperity” or “well-being” (referring to wholeness or health of body and soul).

¹⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

¹⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

¹⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

¹⁷ tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.

¹⁸ sn Note that here the angel of the Lord is clearly distinct from the Lord who rules over all himself.

¹⁹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁰ sn The seventy years refers to the predicted period of Babylonian exile, a period with flexible beginning and ending points depending on the particular circumstances in view (cf. Jer 25:1; 28:1; 29:10; Dan 9:2). Here the end of the seventy years appears to be marked by the completion of the temple in 516 b.c., exactly seventy years after its destruction in 586.

²¹ sn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²³ tn Grk “So then, he has mercy on whom he desires, and he hardens whom he desires.”

²⁴ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

²⁵ tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”

²⁶ tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.