Exodus 34:6-7

34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ¹  “The Lord, the Lord, ²  the compassionate and gracious ³  God, slow to anger, ⁴  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ⁵  34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ⁶  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ⁷  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁸ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁹ 

and sinful people their plans. ¹⁰ 

They should return ¹¹  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ¹² 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 3:12-13

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. ¹⁴  Tell them,

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

‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. ¹⁵ 

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, ¹⁶ 

and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.

You must confess ¹⁷  that you have given yourself to ¹⁸  foreign gods under every green tree,

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

Jeremiah 3:1

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ¹⁹ 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ²⁰ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ²¹ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ²² 

says the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:7-9

1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go ²³  to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 1:8 Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, ²⁴  for I will be with you to protect ²⁵  you,” says the Lord. 1:9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. ²⁶ 

[34:6]  ¹ tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.

[34:6]  ² sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.

[34:6]  ³ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ⁴ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ⁵ sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.

[34:7]  ⁶ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

[34:7]  ⁷ sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

[55:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ¹² tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”

[3:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”

[3:13]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.

[3:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ²² tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[1:7]  ²³ tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”

[1:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “be afraid of them.” The antecedent is the “whomever” in v. 7.

[1:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “rescue.”

[1:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” This is an example of the Hebrew “scheduling” perfect or the “prophetic” perfect where a future event is viewed as so certain it is spoken of as past. The Hebrew particle rendered here “assuredly” (Heb הִנֵּה, hinneh) underlines the certitude of the promise for the future. See the translator’s note on v. 6.