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Joel 2:13

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

KJV

Et scindite corda vestra, et non vestimenta vestra ; et convertimini ad Dominum Deum vestrum, quia benignus et misericors est, patiens et multæ misericordiæ, et præstabilis super malitia.

Vulgate

καὶ διαρήξατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ μὴ τὰ ἱμάτια ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπιστράφητε πρὸς Κύριον τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων ἐστίν, μακρόθυμος καὶ πολυέλεος καὶ μετανοῶν ἐπὶ ταῖς κακίαις.

LXX

and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

ASV

וְ/קִרְע֤וּ לְבַבְ/כֶם֙ וְ/אַל בִּגְדֵי/כֶ֔ם וְ/שׁ֖וּבוּ אֶל יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵי/כֶ֑ם כִּֽי חַנּ֤וּן וְ/רַחוּם֙ ה֔וּא אֶ֤רֶךְ אַפַּ֨יִם֙ וְ/רַב חֶ֔סֶד וְ/נִחָ֖ם עַל הָ/רָעָֽה

Hebrew

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In the original Hebrew

19 distinct Hebrew words appear in this verse.

אֶ֥רֶךְ
'rk
adjective · 15×
אֶל
'l
preposition · 5475×
אַל
'l
preposition · 720×
ה֖וּא
hv'
pronoun · 1878×
ו
v
noun · 218×
וֹ
v
noun · 275×
וֹ
v
noun · 246×
וֹ
v
noun · 251×
חַנּ֣וּן
chnvn
adjective · 13×
יְהוָ֖ה
yhvh
proper_noun · 6455×
יִּקְרַ֣ע
yqr'
verb · 63×
ךָ
k
noun · 2564×
כִּֽי
ky
pronoun · 4439×
נִי
ny
verb · 108×
עַל
'l
noun · 5732×
רַב
rb
verb · 458×
רַח֣וּם
rchvm
adjective · 13×
רָ֑ע
r'
verb · 664×
שׁ֣וּב
shvb
verb · 1058×

Themes

Historic Christian voices

7 passages from patristic writers, Reformers, and church catechisms citing this verse.

§1430Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance.23
2. And when He had said, not to do it before men, He added, to be seen of them. And though it seems as if the same thing were said a second time, yet if any one give particular attention, it is not the same thing, but one is different from the other; and it has great security, and unspeakable care and tenderness. For it may be, both that one doing alms before men may not do it …
Chapter 32.—Of the Prophecy that is Contained in the Prayer and Song of Habakkuk. In his prayer, with a song, to whom but the Lord Christ does he say, “O Lord, I have heard Thy hearing, and was afraid: O Lord, I have considered Thy works, and was greatly afraid?”11731173 Hab. iii. 2. What is this but the inexpressible admiration of the foreknown, new, and sudden salvation of me…
Repentance is the change of life which follows upon the knowledge of God's goodness and our own wretchedness. When the Gospel is truly preached and heard, men see their sinfulness and flee to God for mercy. This is the true repentance — not outward penance, not satisfaction rendered to a priest, but the turning of the whole heart to God.
Q. What is the dying of the old self? A. It is to be genuinely sorry for sin, to hate it more and more, and to run away from it.

Cross-references

  • 1Tim 4:8 — For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
  • 2Kgs 22:11 — And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
  • 2Kgs 22:19 — Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desola
  • 2Sam 1:11 — Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
  • 2Sam 24:16 — And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the a
  • Acts 3:19 — Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
  • Eccl 3:7 — A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
  • Eph 2:4 — But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
  • Exod 32:14 — And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
  • Exod 34:6 — And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
  • Exod 34:6 — And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
  • Gen 6:6 — And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
  • Hos 12:6 — Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.
  • Isa 57:15 — For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of t
  • Isa 66:2 — For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
  • Jas 1:19 — Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
  • Jas 5:11 — Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
  • Jer 18:7 — At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
  • Jer 18:8 — If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
  • Jer 42:10 — If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
  • Job 1:20 — Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,
  • Jonah 3:9 — Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
  • Jonah 3:10 — And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
  • Jonah 4:2 — And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and me
  • Jonah 4:2 — And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and me
  • Matt 5:3 — Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Matt 6:16 — Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
  • Mic 7:18 — Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
  • Nah 1:3 — The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
  • Nah 1:3 — The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
  • Neh 9:17 — And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God
  • Neh 9:17 — And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God
  • Num 14:18 — The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and four
  • Ps 34:18 — The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
  • Ps 51:17 — The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
  • Ps 86:5 — For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
  • Ps 86:5 — For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
  • Ps 86:15 — But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
  • Ps 86:15 — But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
  • Ps 90:13 — Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.