Limitless Word
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
Exodus 34:6 · Berean Standard Bible · underlined terms are tappable
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,
  • KJV And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
  • NKJV And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
  • NASB Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in faithfulness and truth;
  • NLT The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

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 proclaims Himself merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth. This is one of Scripture's fullest revelations of God's character.

Overview

God declares His own name as overflowing with compassion, grace, patience, steadfast love, and faithfulness. This proclamation becomes a touchstone echoed throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Psalm 103; Joel 2:13). It reveals the heart of God toward sinners and is gloriously embodied in Jesus, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Cross-references & the web

Theme

  • Image & GloryThe Lord proclaims his name — merciful and gracious.

Cross-references · 32

  • Ps 86:15But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.
  • 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.
  • Ps 103:8–13The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.
  • Ps 145:8The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.
  • Neh 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.
  • 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.
  • Num 14:17–19So now I pray, may the power of my Lord be magnified, just as You have declared:
  • Ps 86:5For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.
  • 2 Chr 30:9For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”
  • Mic 7:18Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
  • Deut 5:10but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
  • Eph 1:7–8In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
  • Ps 138:2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else.
  • Ps 116:5The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
  • Ps 108:4For Your loving devotion extends beyond the heavens, and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
  • Rom 2:4Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
  • Ps 111:4He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.
  • Ps 57:10For Your loving devotion reaches to the heavens, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
  • Exod 22:27because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
  • Ps 112:4Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
  • Exod 3:13–16Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?”
  • Mic 7:20You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.
  • Lam 3:23They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!
  • John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
  • Ps 91:4He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
  • Rom 5:20–21The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
  • Ps 31:19How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!
  • Exod 33:20–23But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
  • Ps 111:8They are upheld forever and ever, enacted in truth and uprightness.
  • Ps 146:6the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.
  • 1 Kgs 19:11Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
  • Isa 12:4and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 34:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 34:6 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.