Exodus 34:6
New English Translation
6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed:[a] “The Lord, the Lord,[b] the compassionate and gracious[c] God, slow to anger,[d] and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,[e]
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- Exodus 34:6 tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqraʾ veshem yehvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation—and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.
- Exodus 34:6 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.
- Exodus 34:6 tn See Exod 33:19.
- Exodus 34:6 sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.
- Exodus 34:6 sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.
Isaiah 54:7-8
New English Translation
7 “For a short time I abandoned[a] you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In a burst[b] of anger I rejected you[c] momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your Protector,[d] the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 54:7 tn Or “forsook” (NASB).
- Isaiah 54:8 tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”
- Isaiah 54:8 tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”
- Isaiah 54:8 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
Nehemiah 9:16-18
New English Translation
16 “But they—our ancestors[a]—behaved presumptuously; they rebelled[b] and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt.[c] But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love.[d] You did not abandon them, 18 even when they made a cast image of a calf for themselves and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’ or when they committed atrocious[e] blasphemies.
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- Nehemiah 9:16 tn Heb “and our fathers.” The ו (vav) is explicative.
- Nehemiah 9:16 tn Heb “they stiffened their neck” (so also in the following verse).
- Nehemiah 9:17 tc The present translation follows a few medieval Hebrew mss and the LXX in reading בְּמִצְרָיִם (bemitsrayim, “in Egypt”; so also NAB, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT) rather than the MT reading בְּמִרְיָם (bemiryam, “in their rebellion”).
- Nehemiah 9:17 tc The translation follows the Qere reading חֶסֶד (khesed, “loyal love”) rather than the Kethib reading וְחֶסֶד (vekhesed, “and loyal love”) of the MT.
- Nehemiah 9:18 tn Heb “great.”
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