Psalms 85:4

85:4 Restore us, O God our deliverer!

Do not be displeased with us! ¹ 

Isaiah 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ² 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ³ 

and sinful people their plans. ⁴ 

They should return ⁵  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁶ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁷ 

Jeremiah 31:18-19

31:18 I have indeed ⁸  heard the people of Israel ⁹  say mournfully,

‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. ¹⁰ 

You disciplined us and we learned from it. ¹¹ 

Let us come back to you and we will do so, ¹² 

for you are the Lord our God.

31:19 For after we turned away from you we repented.

After we came to our senses ¹³  we beat our breasts in sorrow. ¹⁴ 

We are ashamed and humiliated

because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ ¹⁵ 

Ezekiel 18:30

18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, ¹⁶  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ¹⁷  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ¹⁸ 

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 ¹⁹  and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! ²⁰  Why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Matthew 3:10

3:10 Even now the ax is laid at ²¹  the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Acts 3:19

3:19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out,

[85:4]  ¹ tn Heb “break your displeasure with us.” Some prefer to emend הָפֵר (hafer, “break”) to הָסֵר (haser, “turn aside”).

[55:6]  ² tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ³ tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁶ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁷ 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.

[31:18]  ⁸ tn The use of “indeed” is intended to reflect the infinitive absolute which precedes the verb for emphasis (see IBHS 585-86 §35.3.1f).

[31:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “Ephraim.” See the study note on 31:9. The more familiar term is used, the term “people” added to it, and plural pronouns used throughout the verse to aid in understanding.

[31:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like an untrained calf.” The metaphor is that of a calf who has never been broken to bear the yoke (cf. Hos 4:16; 10:11).

[31:18]  ¹¹ tn The verb here is from the same root as the preceding and is probably an example of the “tolerative Niphal,” i.e., “I let myself be disciplined/I responded to it.” See IBHS 389-90 §23.4g and note the translation of some of the examples there, especially Isa 19:22; 65:1.

[31:18]  ¹² tn Heb “Bring me back in order that I may come back.” For the use of the plural pronouns see the marginal note at the beginning of the verse. The verb “bring back” and “come back” are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. (See BDB 999 s.v. שׁוּב Hiph.2.a for the first verb and 997 s.v. Qal.6.c for the second.) For the use of the cohortative to express purpose after the imperative see GKC 320 §108.d or IBHS 575 §34.5.2b.

[31:19]  ¹³ tn For this meaning of the verb see HAL 374 s.v. יָדַע Nif 5 or W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 129. REB translates “Now that I am submissive” relating the verb to a second root meaning “be submissive.” (See HALOT 375 s.v. II יָדַע and J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 19-21, for evidence for this verb. Other passages cited with this nuance are Judg 8:16; Prov 10:9; Job 20:20.)

[31:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I struck my thigh.” This was a gesture of grief and anguish (cf. Ezek 21:12 [21:17 HT]). The modern equivalent is “to beat the breast.”

[31:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “because I bear the reproach of my youth.” For the plural referents see the note at the beginning of v. 18.

[18:30]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ¹⁷ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ¹⁸ tn Or “leading to punishment.”

[33:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “turn from his way.”

[33:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.

[3:10]  ²¹ sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.