Keluaran 34:6

34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ¹  “The Lord, the Lord, ²  the compassionate and gracious ³  God, slow to anger, ⁴  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ⁵ 

Bilangan 14:18

14:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, ⁶  forgiving iniquity and transgression, ⁷  but by no means clearing ⁸  the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.’ ⁹ 

Bilangan 14:1

The Israelites Respond in Unbelief

14:1 ¹⁰ Then all the community raised a loud cry, ¹¹  and the people wept ¹²  that night.

Bilangan 21:13

21:13 From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends from the regions ¹³  of the Amorites, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

Bilangan 21:2

21:2 So Israel made a vow ¹⁴  to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver ¹⁵  this people into our ¹⁶  hand, then we will utterly destroy ¹⁷  their cities.”

Bilangan 30:9

Vows Made by Widows

30:9 “But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact. ¹⁸ 

Nehemia 9:17

9:17 They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. ¹⁹  But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love. ²⁰  You did not abandon them,

Nehemia 9:31

9:31 However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.

Mazmur 25:6-7

25:6 Remember ²¹  your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,

for you have always acted in this manner. ²² 

25:7 Do not hold against me ²³  the sins of my youth ²⁴  or my rebellious acts!

Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord! ²⁵ 

Mazmur 51:1

Psalm 51 ²⁶ 

For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba. ²⁷ 

51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of ²⁸  your loyal love!

Because of ²⁹  your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! ³⁰ 

Mazmur 78:38

78:38 Yet he is compassionate.

He forgives sin and does not destroy.

He often holds back his anger,

and does not stir up his fury. ³¹ 

Mazmur 86:5

86:5 Certainly ³²  O Lord, you are kind ³³  and forgiving,

and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.

Mazmur 86:15

86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.

You are patient ³⁴  and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness. ³⁵ 

Mazmur 103:8

103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;

he is patient ³⁶  and demonstrates great loyal love. ³⁷ 

Mazmur 103:13

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ³⁸ 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ³⁹ 

Mazmur 116:5

116:5 The Lord is merciful and fair;

our God is compassionate.

Mazmur 119:132

119:132 Turn toward me and extend mercy to me,

as you typically do to your loyal followers. ⁴⁰ 

Mazmur 136:1-26

Psalm 136 ⁴¹ 

136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his loyal love endures. ⁴² 

136:2 Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his loyal love endures.

136:3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his loyal love endures,

136:4 to the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself,

for his loyal love endures,

136:5 to the one who used wisdom to make the heavens,

for his loyal love endures,

136:6 to the one who spread out the earth over the water,

for his loyal love endures,

136:7 to the one who made the great lights,

for his loyal love endures,

136:8 the sun to rule by day,

for his loyal love endures,

136:9 the moon and stars to rule by night,

for his loyal love endures,

136:10 to the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his loyal love endures,

136:11 and led Israel out from their midst,

for his loyal love endures,

136:12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his loyal love endures,

136:13 to the one who divided ⁴³  the Red Sea ⁴⁴  in two, ⁴⁵ 

for his loyal love endures,

136:14 and led Israel through its midst,

for his loyal love endures,

136:15 and tossed ⁴⁶  Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

for his loyal love endures,

136:16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,

for his loyal love endures,

136:17 to the one who struck down great kings,

for his loyal love endures,

136:18 and killed powerful kings,

for his loyal love endures,

136:19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his loyal love endures,

136:20 Og, king of Bashan,

for his loyal love endures,

136:21 and gave their land as an inheritance,

for his loyal love endures,

136:22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant,

for his loyal love endures,

136:23 to the one who remembered us when we were down, ⁴⁷ 

for his loyal love endures,

136:24 and snatched us away from our enemies,

for his loyal love endures,

136:25 to the one who gives food to all living things, ⁴⁸ 

for his loyal love endures.

136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,

for his loyal love endures!

Mazmur 145:8

145:8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate;

he is patient ⁴⁹  and demonstrates great loyal love. ⁵⁰ 

Yesaya 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ⁵¹ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ⁵² 

and sinful people their plans. ⁵³ 

They should return ⁵⁴  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁵⁵ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁵⁶ 

Yesaya 63:7

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,

of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.

I will tell about all ⁵⁷  the Lord did for us,

the many good things he did for the family of Israel, ⁵⁸ 

because of ⁵⁹  his compassion and great faithfulness.

Yesaya 63:9

63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. ⁶⁰ 

The messenger sent from his very presence ⁶¹  delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected ⁶²  them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. ⁶³ 

Ratapan 3:22

ח (Khet)

3:22 The Lord’s loyal kindness ⁶⁴  never ceases; ⁶⁵ 

his compassions ⁶⁶  never end.

Daniel 9:9

9:9 Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, ⁶⁷  even though we have rebelled against him.

Daniel 9:18-19

9:18 Listen attentively, ⁶⁸  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ⁶⁹  and the city called by your name. ⁷⁰  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ⁷¹  but because your compassion is abundant. 9:19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, pay attention, and act! Don’t delay, for your own sake, O my God! For your city and your people are called by your name.” ⁷² 

Yoel 2:13

2:13 Return to the Lord your God,

for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to anger and boundless in loyal love ⁷³  – often relenting from calamitous punishment. ⁷⁴ 

Yunus 4:2

4:2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought ⁷⁵  would happen ⁷⁶  when I was in my own country. ⁷⁷  This is what I tried to prevent ⁷⁸  by attempting to escape to Tarshish! ⁷⁹  – because I knew ⁸⁰  that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger ⁸¹  and abounding ⁸²  in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. ⁸³ 

Mikha 7:18

7:18 There is no other God like you! ⁸⁴ 

You ⁸⁵  forgive sin

and pardon ⁸⁶  the rebellion

of those who remain among your people. ⁸⁷ 

You do not remain angry forever, ⁸⁸ 

but delight in showing loyal love.

Lukas 1:50

1:50 from ⁸⁹  generation to generation he is merciful ⁹⁰  to those who fear ⁹¹  him.

Lukas 6:36

6:36 Be merciful, ⁹²  just as your Father is merciful.

Roma 2:4

2:4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know ⁹³  that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

Efesus 1:6

1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace ⁹⁴  that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. ⁹⁵ 

Efesus 2:4

2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,

[34:6]  ¹ tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.

[34:6]  ² sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.

[34:6]  ³ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ⁴ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ⁵ sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.

[14:18]  ⁶ tn The expression is רַב־חֶסֶד (rav khesed) means “much of loyal love,” or “faithful love.” Some have it “totally faithful,” but that omits the aspect of his love.

[14:18]  ⁷ tn Or “rebellion.”

[14:18]  ⁸ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the verbal activity of the imperfect tense, which here serves as a habitual imperfect. Negated it states what God does not do; and the infinitive makes that certain.

[14:18]  ⁹ sn The Decalogue adds “to those who hate me.” The point of the line is that the effects of sin, if not the sinful traits themselves, are passed on to the next generation.

[14:1]  ¹⁰ sn This chapter forms part of the story already begun. There are three major sections here: dissatisfaction with the reports (vv. 1-10), the threat of divine punishment (vv. 11-38), and the defeat of the Israelites (vv. 39-45). See K. D. Sakenfeld, “The Problem of Divine Forgiveness in Num 14,” CBQ 37 (1975): 317-30; also J. R. Bartlett, “The Use of the Word רֹאשׁ as a Title in the Old Testament,” VT 19 (1969): 1-10.

[14:1]  ¹¹ tn The two verbs “lifted up their voice and cried” form a hendiadys; the idiom of raising the voice means that they cried aloud.

[14:1]  ¹² tn There are a number of things that the verb “to weep” or “wail” can connote. It could reflect joy, grief, lamentation, or repentance, but here it reflects fear, hopelessness, or vexation at the thought of coming all this way and being defeated by the Canaanite armies. See Judg 20:23, 26.

[21:13]  ¹³ tn Or “border.”

[21:2]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative with the verb: They vowed a vow. The Israelites were therefore determined with God’s help to defeat Arad.

[21:2]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text has the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of נָתַן (natan) to stress the point – if you will surely/indeed give.”

[21:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my.”

[21:2]  ¹⁷ tn On the surface this does not sound like much of a vow. But the key is in the use of the verb for “utterly destroy” – חָרַם (kharam). Whatever was put to this “ban” or “devotion” belonged to God, either for his use, or for destruction. The oath was in fact saying that they would take nothing from this for themselves. It would simply be the removal of what was alien to the faith, or to God’s program.

[30:9]  ¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text says her vow “shall stand against her.” In other words, she must fulfill, or bear the consequences of, whatever she vowed.

[9:17]  ¹⁹ tc The present translation follows a few medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX in reading בְּמִצְרָיִם (bÿmitsrayim, “in Egypt”; so also NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT) rather than the MT reading בְּמִרְיָם (bÿmiryam, “in their rebellion”).

[9:17]  ²⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere reading חֶסֶד (khesed, “loyal love”) rather than the Kethib reading וְחֶסֶד (vÿkhesed, “and loyal love”) of the MT.

[25:6]  ²¹ tn That is, “remember” with the intention of repeating.

[25:6]  ²² tn Heb “for from antiquity [are] they.”

[25:7]  ²³ tn Heb “do not remember,” with the intention of punishing.

[25:7]  ²⁴ sn That is, the sins characteristic of youths, who lack moral discretion and wisdom.

[25:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “according to your faithfulness, remember me, you, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord.”

[51:1]  ²⁶ sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. The exiles could relate to David’s experience, for they, like him, and had been forced to confront their sin. They appropriated David’s ancient prayer and applied it to their own circumstances.

[51:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”

[51:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “according to.”

[51:1]  ³⁰ tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”

[78:38]  ³¹ tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.

[86:5]  ³² tn Or “for.”

[86:5]  ³³ tn Heb “good.”

[86:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “slow to anger.”

[86:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and great of loyal love and faithfulness.”

[86:15]  sn The psalmist’s confession of faith in this verse echoes Exod 34:6.

[103:8]  ³⁶ tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Ps 86:15).

[103:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Ps 86:15).

[103:13]  ³⁸ tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ³⁹ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[119:132]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “according to custom toward the lovers of your name.” The “lovers of” God’s “name” are the Lord’s loyal followers. See Pss 5:11; 69:36; Isa 56:6.

[136:1]  ⁴¹ sn Psalm 136. In this hymn the psalmist affirms that God is praiseworthy because of his enduring loyal love, sovereign authority, and compassion. Each verse of the psalm concludes with the refrain “for his loyal love endures.”

[136:1]  ⁴² tn Or “is forever.”

[136:13]  ⁴³ tn Or “cut.”

[136:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Reed Sea” (also in v. 15). “Reed Sea” (or “Sea of Reeds”) is a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew expression יָם סוּף (yam suf), traditionally translated “Red Sea.” See the note on the term “Red Sea” in Exod 13:18.

[136:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “into pieces.”

[136:15]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “shook off.”

[136:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “who, in our low condition, remembered us.”

[136:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “to all flesh,” which can refer to all people (see Pss 65:2; 145:21) or more broadly to mankind and animals. Elsewhere the psalms view God as the provider for all living things (see Pss 104:27-28; 145:15).

[145:8]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “slow to anger” (see Pss 86:15; 103:8).

[145:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and great of loyal love” (see Pss 86:15; 103:8).

[55:6]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ⁵² tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

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

[55:7]  ⁵⁶ 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.

[63:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[63:7]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”

[63:7]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “according to.”

[63:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).

[63:9]  ⁶¹ 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]  ⁶² tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”

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

[3:22]  ⁶⁴ 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]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ 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.

[9:9]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “to the Lord our God (belong) compassion and forgiveness.”

[9:18]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[9:19]  ⁷² tn Heb “for your name is called over your city and your people.” See the note on this expression in v 18.

[2:13]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”

[2:13]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”

[4:2]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “my saying?” The first common singular suffix on דְבָרִי (dÿvari, “my saying”) functions as a subjective genitive: “I said.” The verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) here refers to the inner speech and thoughts of Jonah (see HALOT 66 s.v. אמר 4; BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר 2; e.g., Gen 17:17; Ruth 4:4; 1 Sam 20:26; Esth 6:6; Jonah 2:4). There is no hint anywhere else in the book that Jonah had argued with God when he was originally commissioned. While most English versions render it “I said” or “my saying,” a few take it as inner speech: “This is what I feared” (NEB), “It is just as I feared” (REB), “I knew from the very beginning” (CEV).

[4:2]  ⁷⁶ tn The phrase “would happen” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[4:2]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “Is this not my saying while I was in my own country?” The rhetorical question implies a positive answer (“Yes, this was the very thing that Jonah had anticipated would happen all along!”) so it is rendered as an emphatic declaration in the translation.

[4:2]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “This is why I originally fled to Tarshish.” The verb קָדַם (qadam) in the Piel stem has a broad range of meanings and here could mean: (1) “to go before, be in front of” (1 Sam 20:25; Ps 68:26); (2) “to do [something] beforehand,” (Ps 119:147); or (3) “to anticipate, to do [something] early, forestall [something]” (Ps 119:148). The lexicons nuance Jonah 4:2 as “to do [something] for the first time” (HALOT 1069 s.v. קדם 4) or “to do [something] beforehand” (BDB 870 s.v. קָדַם 3). The phrase קִדַּמְתִּי לִבְרֹחַ (qiddamti livroakh, “I did the first time to flee”) is an idiom that probably means “I originally fled” or “I fled the first time.” The infinitive construct לִבְרֹחַ (“to flee”) functions as an object complement. This phrase is translated variously by English versions, depending on the category of meaning chosen for קָדַם: (1) “to do [something] for the first time, beforehand”: “That is why I fled beforehand” (JPS, NJPS), “I fled before” (KJV), “I fled previously” (NKJV), “I fled at the beginning” (NRSV), “I first tried to flee” (NJB), “I fled at first” (NAB); (2) “to do [something] early, to hasten to do [something]”: “That is why I was so quick to flee” (NIV), “I hastened to flee” (ASV), “I made haste to flee” (RSV), “I did my best to run away” (TEV); and (3) “to anticipate, forestall [something]”: “it was to forestall this that I tried to escape to Tarshish” (REB), “to forestall it I tried to escape to Tarshish” (NEB), “in order to forestall this I fled” (NASB). The ancient versions also handle it variously: (1) “to do [something] early, to hasten to do [something]”: “Therefore I made haste to flee” (LXX), “That is why I hastened to run away” (Tg. Jonah 4:2); and (2) “to go before, to be in front”: “Therefore I went before to flee to Tarshish” (Vulgate). The two most likely options are (1) “to do [something] the first time” = “This is why I originally fled to Tarshish” and (2) “to anticipate, forestall [something]” = “This is what I tried to forestall [= prevent] by fleeing to Tarshish.”

[4:2]  ⁷⁹ tn See note on the phrase “to Tarshish” in 1:3.

[4:2]  sn The narrator skillfully withheld Jonah’s motivations from the reader up to this point for rhetorical effect – to build suspense and to create a shocking, surprising effect. Now, for the first time, the narrator reveals why Jonah fled from the commission of God in 1:3 – he had not wanted to give God the opportunity to relent from judging Nineveh! Jonah knew that if he preached in Nineveh, the people might repent and as a result, God might more than likely relent from sending judgment. Hoping to seal their fate, Jonah had originally refused to preach so that the Ninevites would not have an opportunity to repent. Apparently Jonah hoped that God would have therefore judged them without advance warning. Or perhaps he was afraid he would betray his nationalistic self-interests by functioning as the instrument through which the Lord would spare Israel’s main enemy. Jonah probably wanted God to destroy Nineveh for three reasons: (1) as a loyal nationalist, he despised non-Israelites (cf. 1:9); (2) he believed that idolaters had forfeited any opportunity to be shown mercy (cf. 2:9-10); and (3) the prophets Amos and Hosea had recently announced that God would sovereignly use the Assyrians to judge unrepentant Israel (Hos 9:3; 11:5) and take them into exile (Amos 5:27). If God destroyed Nineveh, the Assyrians would not be able to destroy Israel. The better solution would have been for Jonah to work for the repentance of Nineveh and Israel.

[4:2]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “know.” What Jonah knew then he still knows about the Lord’s character, which is being demonstrated in his dealings with both Nineveh and Jonah. The Hebrew suffixed tense accommodates both times here.

[4:2]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “long of nostrils.” Because the nose often expresses anger through flared nostrils it became the source of this idiom meaning “slow to anger” (e.g., Exod 34:6; Num 14:18; Neh 9:17; Pss 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Jer 15:15; Nah 1:3; BDB 74 s.v. אָרֵךְ).

[4:2]  ⁸² tn Heb “great” (so KJV); ASV, NASB “abundant”; NAB “rich in clemency.”

[4:2]  ⁸³ tn Heb “calamity.” The noun רָעָה (ra’ah, “calamity, disaster”) functions as a metonymy of result – the cause being the threatened judgment (e.g., Exod 32:12, 14; 2 Sam 24:16; Jer 18:8; 26:13, 19; 42:10; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). The classic statement of God’s willingness to relent from judgment when a sinful people repent is Jer 18:1-11.

[4:2]  sn Jonah is precisely correct in his listing of the Lord’s attributes. See Exod 34:6-7; Num 14:18-19; 2 Chr 30:9; Neh 9:17, 31-32; Pss 86:3-8, 15; 103:2-13; 116:5 (note the parallels to Jonah 2 in Ps 116:1-4); 145:8; Neh 9:17; Joel 2:13.

[7:18]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”

[7:18]  ⁸⁵ 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]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “pass over.”

[7:18]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”

[7:18]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”

[1:50]  ⁸⁹ tn Grk “and from.” Here καί (kai) has been translated by a semicolon to improve the English style.

[1:50]  ⁹⁰ sn God’s mercy refers to his “loyal love” or “steadfast love,” expressed in faithful actions, as the rest of the psalm illustrates.

[1:50]  ⁹¹ tn That is, “who revere.” This refers to those who show God a reverential respect for his sovereignty.

[6:36]  ⁹² sn Merciful is a characteristic of God often noted in the OT: Exod 34:6; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:31; Jonah 4:2; 2 Sam 24:14. This remark also echoes the more common OT statements like Lev 19:2 or Deut 18:13: “you must be holy as I am holy.”

[2:4]  ⁹³ tn Grk “being unaware.”

[1:6]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “to the praise of his glorious grace.” Many translations translate δόξης τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ (doxh" th" carito" autou, literally “of the glory of his grace”) with τῆς χάριτος as an attributed genitive (cf., e.g., NIV, NRSV, ESV). The translation above has retained a literal rendering in order to make clear the relationship of this phrase to the other two similar phrases in v. 12 and 14, which affect the way one divides the material in the passage.

[1:6]  ⁹⁵ tn Grk “the beloved.” The term ἠγαπημένῳ (hgaphmenw) means “beloved,” but often bears connotations of “only beloved” in an exclusive sense. “His dearly loved Son” picks up this connotation.

[1:6]  sn God’s grace can be poured out on believers only because of what Christ has done for them. Hence, he bestows his grace on us because we are in his dearly loved Son.