So the Lord relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says Yahweh.
- KJV The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.
- BSB So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said.
- NASB The Lord relented of this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
- NLT So the Lord relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
In response to Amos's plea, God relents and declares the locust judgment will not happen. God's mercy answers the prophet's intercession.
Overview
God's 'relenting' shows his genuine responsiveness to prayer while remaining unchanging in character; he is moved to mercy without ceasing to be just. The threatened destruction is withheld, displaying his compassion. This pattern of intercession leading to mercy points to the gospel, where Christ's intercession secures lasting forgiveness for his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 32:36For Yahweh will judge his people, and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone; that there is no one remaining, shut up or left at large.
- Jonah 3:10God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.
- Hos 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within me, my compassion is aroused.
- Joel 2:14Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God.
- Amos 7:6Yahweh relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Ps 106:45He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
- Jas 5:16Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
- Jer 26:19Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Yahweh, and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and Yahweh relented of the disaster which he had pronounced against them? We would commit great evil against our own souls that way!”
- 1 Chr 21:15God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was about to destroy, Yahweh saw, and he relented of the disaster, and said to the destroying angel, “It is enough. Now withdraw your hand.” Yahweh’s angel was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Amid judgment on injustice, Amos promises the raising up of David's fallen tent — read by James in Acts 15 as the ingathering of the nations into the kingdom of the risen Christ.
How Amos 7:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.