Ulangan 32:16

32:16 They made him jealous with other gods, ¹ 

they enraged him with abhorrent idols. ² 

Ulangan 32:36

32:36 The Lord will judge his people,

and will change his plans concerning ³  his servants;

when he sees that their power has disappeared,

and that no one is left, whether confined or set free.

Ulangan 32:43

32:43 Cry out, O nations, with his people,

for he will avenge his servants’ blood;

he will take vengeance against his enemies,

and make atonement for his land and people.

Yudas 1:16

1:16 These people are grumblers and ⁴  fault-finders who go ⁵  wherever their desires lead them, ⁶  and they give bombastic speeches, ⁷  enchanting folks ⁸  for their own gain. ⁹ 

Mazmur 103:13

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ¹⁰ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ¹¹ 

Mazmur 103:17

103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, ¹² 

and is faithful to their descendants, ¹³ 

Yesaya 60:10

60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;

their kings will serve you.

Even though I struck you down in my anger,

I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 63:9

63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. ¹⁵ 

The messenger sent from his very presence ¹⁶  delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected ¹⁷  them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. ¹⁸ 

Yesaya 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ¹⁹  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ²⁰ 

Yeremia 31:20

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.

They are the children I take delight in. ²¹ 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ²² 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ²³ 

Ratapan 3:22

ח (Khet)

3:22 The Lord’s loyal kindness ²⁴  never ceases; ²⁵ 

his compassions ²⁶  never end.

Hosea 11:8-9

The Divine Dilemma: Judgment or Mercy?

11:8 How can I give you up, ²⁷  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! ²⁸ 

All my tender compassions are aroused! ²⁹ 

11:9 I cannot carry out ³⁰  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!

Lukas 15:20

15:20 So ³¹  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ³²  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ³³  he ran and hugged ³⁴  his son ³⁵  and kissed him.

Yakobus 5:11

5:11 Think of how we regard ³⁶  as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ³⁷ 

[32:16]  ¹ tc Heb “with strange (things).” The Vulgate actually supplies diis (“gods”).

[32:16]  ² tn Heb “abhorrent (things)” (cf. NRSV). A number of English versions understand this as referring to “idols” (NAB, NIV, NCV, CEV), while NLT supplies “acts.”

[32:36]  ³ tn The translation understands the verb in the sense of “be grieved, relent” (cf. HALOT 689 s.v. נחם hitp 2); cf. KJV, ASV “repent himself”; NLT “will change his mind.” Another option is to translate “will show compassion to” (see BDB 637 s.v. נחם); cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

[1:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

[1:16]  sn They give bombastic speeches. The idiom of opening one’s mouth in the NT often implied a public oration from a teacher or one in authority. Cf. Matt 5:2; Luke 4:22; Acts 1:16; 3:18; 10:34; Eph 6:19; Rev 13:5-6.

[1:16]  ⁸ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ⁹ tn Or “to their own advantage.”

[103:13]  ¹⁰ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ¹² tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”

[60:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”

[63:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).

[63:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”

[63:9]  sn This may refer to the “angel of God” mentioned in Exod 14:19, who in turn may be identical to the divine “presence” (literally, “face”) referred to in Exod 33:14-15 and Deut 4:37. Here in Isa 63 this messenger may be equated with God’s “holy Spirit” (see vv. 10-11) and “the Spirit of the Lord” (v. 14). See also Ps 139:7, where God’s “Spirit” seems to be equated with his “presence” (literally, “face”) in the synonymous parallelistic structure.

[63:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”

[63:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”

[63:15]  ¹⁹ tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.

[31:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.

[31:20]  ²² tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ²³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[3:22]  ²⁴ tn It is difficult to capture the nuances of the Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed). When used of the Lord it is often connected to his covenant loyalty. This is the only occasion when the plural form of חֶסֶד (khesed) precedes the plural form of רַחֲמִים (rakhamim, “mercy, compassion”). The plural forms, as with this one, tend to be in late texts. The plural may indicate several concrete expressions of God’s kindnesses or may indicate the abstract concept of his kindness.

[3:22]  ²⁵ tc The MT reads תָמְנוּ (tamnu) “indeed we are [not] cut off,” Qal perfect 1st person common plural from תָּמַם (tamam, “be finished”): “[Because of] the kindnesses of the Lord, we are not cut off.” However, the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum) and many medieval Hebrew mss preserve the alternate reading תָּמּוּ (tammu), Qal perfect 3rd person common plural from תָּמַם (tamam, “to be finished”): “The kindnesses of the Lord never cease.” The external evidence favors the alternate reading. The internal evidence supports this as well, as the parallel B-line suggests: “his compassions never come to an end.” Several English versions follow the MT: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed” (KJV, NKJV), “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed” (NIV). Other English versions follow the alternate textual tradition: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (RSV, NRSV), “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease” (NASB), “The kindness of the Lord has not ended” (NJPS) and “The Lord’s unfailing love still continues” (TEV).

[3:22]  ²⁶ tn The plural form of רַחֲמִים (rakhamim) may denote the abstract concept of mercy, several concrete expressions of mercy, or the plural of intensity: “great compassion.” See IBHS 122 §7.4.3a.

[11:8]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect verbs in 11:8 function as imperfects of capability. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.

[11:8]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 564 §34.1a.

[15:20]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ³² tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ³³ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  sn The major figure of the parable, the forgiving father, represents God the Father and his compassionate response. God is ready with open arms to welcome the sinner who comes back to him.

[15:20]  ³⁴ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ³⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:11]  ³⁶ tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”

[5:11]  ³⁷ sn An allusion to Exod 34:6; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.