Deuteronomy 32:36

32:36 The Lord will judge his people,

and will change his plans concerning ¹  his servants;

when he sees that their power has disappeared,

and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.

Jude 1:16

1:16 These people are grumblers and ²  fault-finders who go ³  wherever their desires lead them, ⁴  and they give bombastic speeches, ⁵  enchanting folks ⁶  for their own gain. ⁷ 

Isaiah 57:16-18

57:16 For I will not be hostile ⁸  forever

or perpetually angry,

for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me, ⁹ 

the life-giving breath I created.

57:17 I was angry because of their sinful greed;

I attacked them and angrily rejected them, ¹⁰ 

yet they remained disobedient and stubborn. ¹¹ 

57:18 I have seen their behavior, ¹² 

but I will heal them and give them rest,

and I will once again console those who mourn. ¹³ 

Lamentations 3:31-32

כ (Kaf)

3:31 For the Lord ¹⁴  will not

reject us forever. ¹⁵ 

3:32 Though he causes us ¹⁶  grief, he then has compassion on us ¹⁷ 

according to the abundance of his loyal kindness. ¹⁸ 

Hosea 11:8-9

The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?

11:8 How can I give you up, ¹⁹  O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboiim?

I have had a change of heart! ²⁰ 

All my tender compassions are aroused! ²¹ 

11:9 I cannot carry out ²²  my fierce anger!

I cannot totally destroy Ephraim!

Because I am God, and not man – the Holy One among you –

I will not come in wrath!

[32:36]  ¹ tn The translation understands the verb in the sense of “be grieved, relent” (cf. HALOT 689 s.v. נחם hitp 2); cf. KJV, ASV “repent himself”; NLT “will change his mind.” Another option is to translate “will show compassion to” (see BDB 637 s.v. נחם); cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV.

[1:16]  ² tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ³ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

[1:16]  ⁶ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ⁷ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

[57:16]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps, “argue,” or “accuse” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[57:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “for a spirit from before me would be faint.”

[57:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I struck him, hiding, and I was angry.” פָּנַיִם (panayim, “face”) is the implied object of “hiding.”

[57:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he walked [as an] apostate in the way of his heart.”

[57:18]  ¹² tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”

[57:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I will restore consolation to him, to his mourners.”

[3:31]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[3:31]  ¹⁵ tn The verse is unusually short and something unrecoverable may be missing.

[3:32]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Although he has caused grief.” The word “us” is added in the translation.

[3:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “He will have compassion.” The words “on us” are added in the translation.

[3:32]  ¹⁸ tc The Kethib preserves the singular form חַסְדּוֹ (khasdo, “his kindness”), also reflected in the LXX and Aramaic Targum. The Qere reads the plural form חֲסָדָיו (khasadayv, “his kindnesses”) which is reflected in the Latin Vulgate.

[11:8]  ¹⁹ tn The imperfect verbs in 11:8 function as imperfects of capability. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.

[11:8]  ²⁰ tn The phrase נֶהְפַּךְ עָלַי לִבִּי (nehpakh ’alay libbi) is an idiom that can be taken in two ways: (1) emotional sense: to describe a tumult of emotions, not just a clash of ideas, that are afflicting a person (Lam 1:20; HALOT 253 s.v. הפך 1.c) and (2) volitional sense: to describe a decisive change of policy, that is, a reversal of sentiment from amity to hatred (Exod 14:5; Ps 105:25; BDB 245 s.v. הָפַךְ 1; HALOT 253 s.v. 3). The English versions alternate between these two: (1) emotional discomfort and tension over the prospect of destroying Israel: “mine heart is turned within me” (KJV), “my heart recoils within me” (RSV, NRSV), “My heart is turned over within Me” (NASB), “My heart is torn within me” (NLT); and (2) volitional reversal of previous decision to totally destroy Israel: “I have had a change of heart” (NJPS), “my heart is changed within me” (NIV), and “my heart will not let me do it!” (TEV). Both BDB 245 s.v. 1.b and HALOT 253 s.v. 3 suggest that the idiom describes a decisive change of heart (reversal of decision to totally destroy Israel once and for all) rather than emotional turbulence of God shifting back and forth between whether to destroy or spare Israel. This volitional nuance is supported by the modal function of the 1st person common singular imperfects in 11:8 (“I will not carry out my fierce anger…I will not destroy Ephraim…I will not come in wrath”) and by the prophetic announcement of future restoration in 11:10-11. Clearly, a dramatic reversal both in tone and in divine intention occurs between 11:5-11.

[11:8]  ²¹ tn The Niphal of כָּמַר (kamar) means “to grow warm, tender” (BDB 485 s.v. כָּמַר), as its use in a simile with the oven demonstrates (Lam 5:10). It is used several times to describe the arousal of the most tender affection (Gen 43:30; 1 Kgs 3:26; Hos 11:8; BDB 485 s.v. 1; HALOT 482 s.v. כמר 1). Cf. NRSV “my compassion grows warm and tender.”

[11:9]  ²² tn The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.