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And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Exodus 34:6 · King James Version · 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,
  • BSB 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,
  • 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 thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
  • Joel 2:13And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
  • Ps 103:8–13The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
  • Ps 145:8The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
  • Neh 9:17And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.
  • Jonah 4:2And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
  • Num 14:17–19And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my LORD be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
  • Ps 86:5For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
  • 2 Chr 30:9For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.
  • Mic 7:18Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
  • Deut 5:10And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
  • Eph 1:7–8In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
  • Ps 138:2I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
  • Ps 116:5Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
  • Ps 108:4For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.
  • Rom 2:4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
  • Ps 111:4He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
  • Ps 57:10For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
  • Exod 22:27For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
  • Ps 112:4Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
  • Exod 3:13–16And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
  • Mic 7:20Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
  • Lam 3:23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
  • John 1:17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
  • Ps 91:4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
  • Rom 5:20–21Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
  • Ps 31:19Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
  • Exod 33:20–23And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
  • Ps 111:8They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
  • Ps 146:6Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
  • 1 Kgs 19:11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
  • Isa 12:4And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention 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.