Numbers 23:19

23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie,

nor a human being, ¹  that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? ² 

Isaiah 55:8-9

55:8 “Indeed, ³  my plans ⁴  are not like ⁵  your plans,

and my deeds ⁶  are not like ⁷  your deeds,

55:9 for just as the sky ⁸  is higher than the earth,

so my deeds ⁹  are superior to ¹⁰  your deeds

and my plans ¹¹  superior to your plans.

Micah 7:18-20

7:18 There is no other God like you! ¹² 

You ¹³  forgive sin

and pardon ¹⁴  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ¹⁵ 

You do not remain angry forever, ¹⁶ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

7:19 You will once again ¹⁷  have mercy on us;

you will conquer ¹⁸  our evil deeds;

you will hurl our ¹⁹  sins into the depths of the sea. ²⁰ 

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ²¹ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ²² 

in ancient times. ²³ 

Malachi 3:6

Resistance to the Lord through Selfishness

3:6 “Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises, ²⁴  you, sons of Jacob, have not perished.

Romans 11:28-29

11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

[23:19]  ¹ tn Heb “son of man.”

[23:19]  ² tn The verb is the Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “to cause to rise; to make stand”). The meaning here is more of the sense of fulfilling the promises made.

[55:8]  ³ tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV).

[55:8]  ⁴ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “are not.” “Like” is interpretive, but v. 9 indicates that a comparison is in view.

[55:9]  ⁵ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[55:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “ways” (so many English versions).

[55:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “are higher than.”

[55:9]  ⁸ tn Or “thoughts” (so many English versions).

[7:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.

[7:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[7:19]  ⁹ tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy.

[7:19]  ¹⁰ tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues.

[7:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.

[7:19]  ¹² sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).

[7:20]  ¹¹ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ¹² tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[3:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “do not change.” This refers to God’s ongoing commitment to his covenant promises to Israel.