So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to 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.
- BSB So the LORD relented from the calamity He had threatened to bring on 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 3:10God 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.
- Ps 106:45He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
- Jer 26:13Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey Yahweh your God’s voice; and Yahweh will relent from the evil that he has pronounced against you.
- 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.
- Jer 18:8if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them.
- 2 Sam 24:16When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Yahweh relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough. Now withdraw your hand.” Yahweh’s angel was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
- Jonah 4:2He prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please, Yahweh, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you relent of doing harm.
- 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!”
- Joel 2:13Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
- Deut 32:26I said that I would scatter them afar. I would make their memory to cease from among men;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
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