Yesaya 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ¹ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ² 

and sinful people their plans. ³ 

They should return ⁴  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁵ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁶ 

Yeremia 4:1

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

“if you want to come back to me ⁷ 

you must get those disgusting idols ⁸  out of my sight

and must no longer go astray. ⁹ 

Ratapan 5:21

5:21 Bring us back to yourself, O Lord, so that we may return ¹⁰  to you;

renew our life ¹¹  as in days before, ¹² 

Yehezkiel 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 ¹³  and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! ¹⁴  Why should you die, O house of Israel?’

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! ¹⁵ 

Yoel 2:12-14

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, ¹⁶ 

not just your garments!”

2:13 Return to the Lord your God,

for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to anger and boundless in loyal love ¹⁷  – often relenting from calamitous punishment. ¹⁸ 

2:14 Who knows?

Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, ¹⁹ 

and leave blessing in his wake ²⁰  –

a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! ²¹ 

Yakobus 4:8

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. ²² 

[55:6]  ¹ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ² tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ³ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁵ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁶ 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.

[4:1]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “disgusting things.”

[4:1]  ⁹ 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.”

[5:21]  ¹⁰ tc The Kethib is וְנָשׁוּב (vÿnashuv, “and we will return,” ו [vav] conjunction + Qal imperfect 1st person common plural from שׁוּב [shuv, “to return”]). The Qere is וְנָשׁוּבָה (vÿnashuvah, “and let us return,” ו [vav] conjunction + Qal cohortative 1st person common plural from שׁוּב [shuv, “to return”]).

[5:21]  tn The cohortative after a volitive indicates purpose (“so that”). There is a wordplay in Hebrew between “Bring us back” (Hiphil imperative of שׁוּב [shuv, “to return”]) and “let us return” (Qal imperfect of שׁוּב [shuv, “to return”]). This repetition of the root שׁוּב (shuv) is significant; it depicts a reciprocal relationship between God’s willingness to allow the nation to return to him on one hand and its national repentance on the other.

[5:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “our days.” The term “days” is a synecdoche of time (= days) for what is experienced within that time span (= life) (e.g., Gen 5:4, 8, 11; 6:3; 9:29; 11:32; 25:7; 47:8, 9; Deut 22:19, 29; 23:7; Josh 24:31; Judg 2:7, 18; 2 Sam 19:35; Job 7:1, 16, 18; Pss 8:9; 39:5, 6; 90:9, 10, 12, 14; 103:15; Prov 31:12; Eccl 2:3; 5:17, 19; 6:3).

[5:21]  ¹² tn Heb “as of old.”

[33:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “turn from his way.”

[33:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “ways.” This same word is translated “behavior” earlier in the verse.

[14:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”

[2:12]  ¹⁶ sn The figurative language calls for genuine repentance, and not merely external ritual that goes through the motions.

[2:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”

[2:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”

[2:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “turn” or “turn back.”

[2:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “leave a blessing behind him.”

[2:14]  ²¹ tn The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[4:8]  ²² tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).