Jeremiah 30:11

30:11 For I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that

I will be with you and will rescue you.

I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure.

I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.” ² 

Jeremiah 33:26

33:26 Just as surely as I have done this, so surely will I never reject the descendants of Jacob. Nor will I ever refuse to choose one of my servant David’s descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, ³  I will restore them ⁴  and show mercy to them.”

Ezekiel 39:25

39:25 “Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Now I will restore ⁵  the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have mercy on the entire house of Israel. I will be zealous for my holy name.

Hosea 11:8-9

The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?

11:8 How can I give you up, ⁶  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! ⁷ 

All my tender compassions are aroused! ⁸ 

11:9 I cannot carry out ⁹  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!

[30:11]  ¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:11]  ² tn The translation “entirely unpunished” is intended to reflect the emphatic construction of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb.

[33:26]  ³ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is probably intensive here as it has been on a number of occasions in the book of Jeremiah (see BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.e for the category).

[33:26]  ⁴ tn Or “I will make them prosperous once again,” or “I will bring them back from captivity.”

[39:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “cause to return.”

[11:8]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verbs in 11:8 function as imperfects of capability. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.

[11:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.