For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
Parallel translations
- WEB For 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.
- BSB For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- NKJV “Forthe Lord will judge His people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone, And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
- NASB “For the Lord will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free.
- NLT “Indeed, the Lord will give justice to his people, and he will change his mind about his servants, when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.
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
The LORD will judge His people yet have compassion on His servants when He sees their strength is gone. It matters because God's judgment is tempered by mercy toward His own.
Overview
The same God who judges also relents in compassion when His people are brought low and helpless. This turn from judgment to mercy reveals God's heart to restore rather than only to punish. Such compassion toward the helpless foreshadows the gospel, where God shows mercy to those who, unable to save themselves, are rescued through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ps 135:14For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants.
- Ps 106:45And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
- 2 Kgs 14:26For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.
- Judg 2:18And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
- Deut 30:1–3And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
- 1 Kgs 14:10Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
- Ps 7:8The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
- 1 Kgs 21:21Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
- Ps 90:13Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
- Ps 50:4He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
- Judg 10:15–16And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
- Amos 7:3The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.
- Jer 31:20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.
- Amos 7:6The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.
- Ps 96:13Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
- Joel 2:14Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
- 2 Kgs 9:8For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:
- Heb 10:30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 32:36 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
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