Deuteronomy 4:30-31

4:30 In your distress when all these things happen to you in the latter days, ¹  if you return to the Lord your God and obey him ²  4:31 (for he ³  is a merciful God), he will not let you down ⁴  or destroy you, for he cannot ⁵  forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.

Deuteronomy 30:2-10

30:2 Then if you and your descendants ⁶  turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being ⁷  just as ⁸  I am commanding you today, 30:3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he ⁹  has scattered you. 30:4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, ¹⁰  from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 30:5 Then he ¹¹  will bring you to the land your ancestors ¹²  possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors. 30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse ¹³  your heart and the hearts of your descendants ¹⁴  so that you may love him ¹⁵  with all your mind and being and so that you may live. 30:7 Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate you and persecute you. 30:8 You will return and obey the Lord, keeping all his commandments I am giving ¹⁶  you today. 30:9 The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands ¹⁷  abundantly successful and multiply your children, ¹⁸  the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more ¹⁹  rejoice over you to make you prosperous ²⁰  just as he rejoiced over your ancestors, 30:10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him ²¹  with your whole mind and being.

Deuteronomy 30:1

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ²²  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ²³  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

Deuteronomy 8:1

The Lord’s Provision in the Desert

8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments ²⁴  I am giving ²⁵  you today so that you may live, increase in number, ²⁶  and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. ²⁷ 

Deuteronomy 8:1-2

The Lord’s Provision in the Desert

8:1 You must keep carefully all these commandments ²⁸  I am giving ²⁹  you today so that you may live, increase in number, ³⁰  and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors. ³¹  8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ³²  has brought you these forty years through the desert ³³  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 15:4

15:4 However, there should not be any poor among you, for the Lord ³⁴  will surely bless ³⁵  you in the land that he ³⁶  is giving you as an inheritance, ³⁷ 

Deuteronomy 30:6-9

30:6 The Lord your God will also cleanse ³⁸  your heart and the hearts of your descendants ³⁹  so that you may love him ⁴⁰  with all your mind and being and so that you may live. 30:7 Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate you and persecute you. 30:8 You will return and obey the Lord, keeping all his commandments I am giving ⁴¹  you today. 30:9 The Lord your God will make the labor of your hands ⁴²  abundantly successful and multiply your children, ⁴³  the offspring of your cattle, and the produce of your soil. For the Lord your God will once more ⁴⁴  rejoice over you to make you prosperous ⁴⁵  just as he rejoiced over your ancestors,

Nehemiah 9:28

9:28 “Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to ⁴⁶  their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again.

Isaiah 31:6

31:6 You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled! ⁴⁷ 

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁴⁸ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁴⁹ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁵⁰ 

They should return ⁵¹  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁵² 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁵³ 

Jeremiah 3:12-14

The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent

3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. ⁵⁴  Tell them,

‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. ⁵⁵ 

For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not be angry with you forever.

3:13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong, ⁵⁶ 

and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.

You must confess ⁵⁷  that you have given yourself to ⁵⁸  foreign gods under every green tree,

and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.

3:14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. ⁵⁹  If you do, ⁶⁰  I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion.

Jeremiah 3:22

3:22 Come back to me, you wayward people.

I want to cure your waywardness. ⁶¹ 

Say, ⁶²  ‘Here we are. We come to you

because you are the Lord our God.

Jeremiah 4:1

4:1 “If you, Israel, want to come back,” says the Lord,

“if you want to come back to me ⁶³ 

you must get those disgusting idols ⁶⁴  out of my sight

and must no longer go astray. ⁶⁵ 

Jeremiah 25:5

25:5 He said through them, ⁶⁶  ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and stop doing the evil things you are doing. ⁶⁷  If you do, I will allow you to continue to live here in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors as a lasting possession. ⁶⁸ 

Jeremiah 35:15

35:15 I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, “Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right. ⁶⁹  Do not pay allegiance to other gods ⁷⁰  and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay any attention or listen to me.

Lamentations 3:39-41

3:39 Why should any living person ⁷¹  complain

when punished for his sins? ⁷² 

נ (Nun)

3:40 Let us carefully examine our ways, ⁷³ 

and let us return to the Lord.

3:41 Let us lift up our hearts ⁷⁴  and our hands

to God in heaven:

Ezekiel 33:11

33:11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior ⁷⁵  and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! ⁷⁶  Why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Hosea 6:1

Superficial Repentance Breeds False Assurance of God’s Forgiveness

6:1 “Come on! Let’s return to the Lord!

He himself has torn us to pieces,

but he will heal us!

He has injured ⁷⁷  us,

but he will bandage our wounds!

Hosea 14:1

Prophetic Call to Genuine Repentance

14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for your sin has been your downfall! ⁷⁸ 

Joel 2:12

An Appeal for Repentance

2:12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says,

“return to me with all your heart –

with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

Tear your hearts, ⁷⁹ 

not just your garments!”

Malachi 3:7

3:7 From the days of your ancestors you have ignored ⁸⁰  my commandments ⁸¹  and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all. “But you say, ‘How should we return?’

Luke 15:18-20

15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned ⁸²  against heaven ⁸³  and against ⁸⁴  you. 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me ⁸⁵  like one of your hired workers.”’ 15:20 So ⁸⁶  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ⁸⁷  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ⁸⁸  he ran and hugged ⁸⁹  his son ⁹⁰  and kissed him.

James 4:8-10

4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ⁹¹  4:9 Grieve, mourn, ⁹²  and weep. Turn your laughter ⁹³  into mourning and your joy into despair. 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

[4:30]  ¹ sn The phrase is not used here in a technical sense for the eschaton, but rather refers to a future time when Israel will be punished for its sin and experience exile. See Deut 31:29.

[4:30]  ² tn Heb “hear his voice.” The expression is an idiom meaning “obey,” occurring in Deut 8:20; 9:23; 13:18; 21:18, 20; 26:14, 17; 27:10; 28:1-2, 15, 45, 62; 30:2, 8, 10, 20.

[4:31]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 4:3.

[4:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “he will not drop you,” i.e., “will not abandon you” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[4:31]  ⁵ tn Or “will not.” The translation understands the imperfect verbal form to have an added nuance of capability here.

[30:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “children.”

[30:2]  ⁷ tn Or “heart and soul” (also in vv. 6, 10).

[30:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to all.”

[30:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[30:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “are at the farthest edge of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[30:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:5]  ¹² tn Heb “fathers” (also later in this verse and in vv. 9, 20).

[30:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.

[30:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”

[30:9]  ¹⁷ tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.

[30:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”

[30:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.

[30:9]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”

[30:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:1]  ²² tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”

[30:1]  ²³ tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[8:1]  ²⁴ tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).

[8:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).

[8:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”

[8:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).

[8:1]  ²⁸ tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).

[8:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).

[8:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”

[8:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).

[8:2]  ³² tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ³³ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[15:4]  ³⁴ tc After the phrase “the Lord” many mss and versions add “your God” to complete the usual full epithet.

[15:4]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “surely.” Note however, that the use is rhetorical, for the next verse attaches a condition.

[15:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[15:4]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess.”

[30:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “circumcise” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “will give you and your descendents obedient hearts.” See note on the word “cleanse” in Deut 10:16.

[30:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).

[30:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on the second occurrence of the word “he” in v. 3.

[30:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I now enjoin on you.”

[30:9]  ⁴² tc The MT reads “hand” (singular). Most versions read the plural.

[30:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the fruit of your womb” (so NAB, NIV); NRSV “of your body.”

[30:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “return and.” The Hebrew verb is used idiomatically here to indicate the repetition of the following action.

[30:9]  ⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew text includes “for good.”

[9:28]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “in the hand of” (so KJV, ASV); NAB “to the power of.”

[31:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Return to the one [against] whom the sons of Israel made deep rebellion.” The syntax is awkward here. A preposition is omitted by ellipsis after the verb (see GKC 446 §138.f, n. 2), and there is a shift from direct address (note the second plural imperative “return”) to the third person (note “they made deep”). For other examples of abrupt shifts in person in poetic style, see GKC 462 §144.p.

[55:6]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁵² tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁵³ 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.

[3:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.

[3:12]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”

[3:13]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”

[3:13]  ⁵⁷ tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.

[3:13]  ⁵⁸ tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (dÿrakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.

[3:14]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “I am your true husband.”

[3:14]  ⁶⁰ tn The words, “If you do” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection of the Hebrew verb with the preceding.

[3:22]  ⁶¹ tn Or “I will forgive your apostasies.” Heb “I will [or want to] heal your apostasies.” For the use of the verb “heal” (רָפָא, rafa’) to refer to spiritual healing and forgiveness see Hos 14:4.

[3:22]  ⁶² tn Or “They say.” There is an obvious ellipsis of a verb of saying here since the preceding words are those of the Lord and the following are those of the people. However, there is debate about whether these are the response of the people to the Lord’s invitation, a response which is said to be inadequate according to the continuation in 4:1-4, or whether these are the Lord’s model for Israel’s confession of repentance to which he adds further instructions about the proper heart attitude that should accompany it in 4:1-4. The former implies a dialogue with an unmarked twofold shift in speaker between 3:22b-25 and 4:1-4:4 while the latter assumes the same main speaker throughout with an unmarked instruction only in 3:22b-25. This disrupts the flow of the passage less and appears more likely.

[4:1]  ⁶³ tn Or “If you, Israel, want to turn [away from your shameful ways (those described in 3:23-25)]…then you must turn back to me.” Or perhaps, “Israel, you must turn back…Yes, you must turn back to me.”

[4:1]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “disgusting things.”

[4:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Or possibly, “If you get those disgusting idols out of my sight, you will not need to flee.” This is less probable because the normal meaning of the last verb is “to wander,” “ to stray.”

[25:5]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “saying.” The infinitive goes back to “he sent”; i.e., “he sent, saying.”

[25:5]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “Turn [masc. pl.] each person from his wicked way and from the evil of your [masc. pl.] doings.” See the same demand in 23:22.

[25:5]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “gave to you and your fathers with reference to from ancient times even unto forever.” See the same idiom in 7:7.

[35:15]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “Turn, each of you, from his [= your] wicked way and make good your deeds.” Compare 18:11 where the same idiom occurs with the added term of “make good your ways.”

[35:15]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “Don’t go after/follow other gods.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom and see 11:10; 13:10; 25:6 for the same idiom.

[3:39]  ⁷¹ tn The Hebrew word here is אָדָם (’adam) which can mean “man” or “person.” The second half of the line is more personalized to the speaking voice of the defeated soldier using גֶּבֶר (gever, “man”). See the note at 3:1.

[3:39]  ⁷² tc Kethib reads the singular חֶטְאוֹ (khet’o, “his sin”), which is reflected in the LXX. Qere reads the plural חֲטָאָיו (khata’ayv, “his sins”) which is preserved in many medieval Hebrew mss and reflected in the other early versions (Aramaic Targum, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate). The external and internal evidence are not decisive in favor of either reading.

[3:40]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Let us test our ways and examine.” The two verbs וְנַחְקֹרָה…נַחְפְּשָׂה (nakhpÿsah…vÿnakhqorah, “Let us test and let us examine”) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal force: “Let us carefully examine our ways.”

[3:41]  ⁷⁴ tc The MT reads the singular noun לְבָבֵנוּ (lÿvavenu, “our heart”) but the ancient versions (LXX, Aramaic Targum, Latin Vulgate) and many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural noun לְבָבֵינוּ (lÿvavenu, “our hearts”). Hebrew regularly places plural pronouns on singular nouns used as a collective (135 times on the singular “heart” and only twice on the plural “hearts”). The plural “hearts” in any Hebrew construction is actually rather rare. The LXX renders similar Hebrew constructions (singular “heart” plus a plural pronoun) with the plural “hearts” about 1/3 of the time, therefore it cannot be considered evidence for the reading. The Vulgate may have been influenced by the LXX. Although a distributive sense is appropriate for a much higher percentage of passages using the plural “hearts” in the LXX, no clear reason for the differentiation in the LXX has emerged. Likely the singular Hebrew form is original but the meaning is best represented in English with the plural.

[33:11]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “turn from his way.”

[33:11]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.

[6:1]  ⁷⁷ tn “has struck”; NRSV “struck down.”

[14:1]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”

[2:12]  ⁷⁹ sn The figurative language calls for genuine repentance, and not merely external ritual that goes through the motions.

[3:7]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “turned aside from.”

[3:7]  ⁸¹ tn Or “statutes” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “decrees”; NLT “laws.”

[15:18]  ⁸² sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”

[15:18]  ⁸³ sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.

[15:18]  ⁸⁴ tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”

[15:19]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “make me.” Here is a sign of total humility.

[15:20]  ⁸⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ⁸⁷ tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ⁹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:8]  ⁹¹ tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).

[4:9]  ⁹² tn This term and the following one are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.

[4:9]  ⁹³ tn Grk “let your laughter be turned.”