³¹ (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor ^(A)destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.

⁸ And the Lord, ^(A)He is the One who goes before you. ^(B)He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

² So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I ^(A)fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a ^(B)gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.

⁶ And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord ^(A)God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in ^(B)goodness and ^(C)truth, ^7 (D)keeping mercy for thousands, ^(E)forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, ^(F)by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

⁹ For if you return to the Lord, your brethren and your children will be treated with ^(A)compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the Lord your God is ^(B)gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you ^(C)return to Him.”

^6 (A)Be strong and of good courage, ^(B)do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, ^(C)He is the One who goes with you. ^(D)He will not leave you nor forsake you.”