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. ¹ 

Mazmur 103:13-14

103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, ² 

so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers. ³ 

103:14 For he knows what we are made of; ⁴ 

he realizes ⁵  we are made of clay. ⁶ 

[78:38]  ¹ 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.

[103:13]  ² tn Or “sons,” but the Hebrew term sometimes refers to children in general.

[103:13]  ³ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “our form.”

[103:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “remembers.”

[103:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “we [are] clay.”