106:23 He threatened 1 to destroy them,
but 2 Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him 3
and turned back his destructive anger. 4
78:38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury. 5
1 tn Heb “and he said.”
2 tn Heb “if not,” that is, “[and would have] if [Moses] had not.”
3 tn Heb “stood in the gap before him.”
4 tn Heb “to turn back his anger from destroying.”
5 tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.