if they take it to heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and implore Your favor in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have acted wickedly’;

if they take it to heart in the land where they are taken captive, and repent and plead to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and have acted wickedly’;

Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”

If one does not repent, He will sharpen His sword; He has bent His bow and taken aim.

Zion will be redeemed with justice And her repentant ones with righteousness.

For this is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” But you were not willing,

God Invites Repentance

And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself to be more righteous than treacherous Judah.

Lord, do Your eyes not look for honesty? You have struck them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.

“You shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Do people fall and not get up? Does one turn away and not repent?

I have listened and heard, They have spoken what is not right; No one repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, Like a horse charging into the battle.

I will winnow them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; They did not repent of their ways.

For after I turned back, I repented; And after I was instructed, I slapped my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated Because I bore the shame of my youth.’

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

“Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you.

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live!”

Nineveh Repents

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,

A Call to Repentance

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,

But did My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, not overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘Just as the Lord of armies planned to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance;

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The Unrepenting Cities

Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.