2 Chronicles 15:2

15:2 He met ¹  Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. ²  If you seek him, he will respond to you, ³  but if you reject him, he will reject you.

Proverbs 28:13

28:13 The one who covers ⁴  his transgressions will not prosper, ⁵ 

but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy. ⁶ 

Isaiah 55:7

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁷ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁸ 

They should return ⁹  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹⁰ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹¹ 

Ezekiel 18:30-32

18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, ¹²  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ¹³  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ¹⁴  18:31 Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ¹⁵  Why should you die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I take no delight in the death of anyone, ¹⁶  declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

[15:2]  ¹ tn Heb “went out before.”

[15:2]  ² tn Heb “when you are with him.”

[15:2]  ³ tn Heb “he will allow himself to be found by you.”

[28:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew participles provide the subject matter in this contrast. On the one hand is the person who covers over (מְכַסֶּה, mÿkhasseh) his sins. This means refusing to acknowledge them in confession, and perhaps rationalizing them away. On the other hand there is the one who both “confesses” (מוֹדֶה, modeh) and “forsakes” (עֹזֵב, ’ozev) the sin. To “confess” sins means to acknowledge them, to say the same thing about them that God does.

[28:13]  ⁵ sn The verse contrasts the consequences of each. The person who refuses to confess will not prosper. This is an understatement (a figure of speech known as tapeinosis); the opposite is the truth, that eventually such a person will be undone and ruined. On the other hand, the penitent will find mercy. This expression is a metonymy of cause for the effect – although “mercy” is mentioned, what mercy provides is intended, i.e., forgiveness. In other passages the verb “conceal” is used of God’s forgiveness – he covers over the iniquity (Ps 32:1). Whoever acknowledges sin, God will cover it; whoever covers it, God will lay it open.

[28:13]  ⁶ sn This verse is unique in the book of Proverbs; it captures the theology of forgiveness (e.g., Pss 32 and 51). Every part of the passage is essential to the point: Confession of sins as opposed to concealing them, coupled with a turning away from them, results in mercy.

[55:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹¹ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[18:30]  ¹² tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ¹³ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ¹⁴ tn Or “leading to punishment.”

[18:31]  ¹⁵ sn In Ezek 11:19, 36:26 the new heart and new spirit are promised as future blessings.

[18:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the death of the one dying.”