So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on His people.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people.
- KJV And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
- NKJV So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.
- NASB So the Lord relented of the harm which He said He would do to His people.
- NLT So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
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
God relents from the destruction He had threatened. It reveals the power of intercessory prayer and God's mercy.
Overview
In response to Moses' plea, God 'repents' of the disaster, sparing the nation. This does not mean God changed His mind out of ignorance, but that He governs His world in genuine response to the prayers He ordains. Faithful readers see here both God's mercy and the dignity He gives to intercession, fulfilled supremely in the prayers of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jonah 3:10When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
- Ps 106:45And He remembered His covenant with them, and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.
- Jer 26:13So now, correct your ways and deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, so that He might relent of the disaster He has pronounced against you.
- 1 Chr 21:15Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
- Jer 18:8But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring.
- 2 Sam 24:16But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
- Jonah 4:2So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.
- Jer 26:19Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did Hezekiah not fear the LORD and seek His favor, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster He had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great harm on ourselves!”
- Joel 2:13So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
- Deut 32:26I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 32:14 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.