Joel 2:13

 Joel 2:13

And 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.

a. ASV: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn back unto Jehovah your God, For gracious and merciful is He, Slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, And He hath repented concerning the evil. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil [when His conditions are met]. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.[Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. The Israel Bible: Rend your hearts Rather than your garments, And turn back to Hashem your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in kindness, And renouncing punishment.  [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to HASHEM your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and He relents of evil. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

1. “And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God…”

a. [And] rend [Strong: 7167 qara` kaw-rah' a primitive root; to rend, literally or figuratively (revile, paint the eyes, as if enlarging them):--cut out, rend, X surely, tear.]

b. [your] heart heart [Strong: 3824 lebab lay-bawb' from 3823; the heart (as the most interior organ); used also like 3820:--+ bethink themselves, breast, comfortably, courage, ((faint), (tender-)heart((-ed)), midst, mind, X unawares, understanding.]

c. [and] not [Strong: 408 'al al a negative particle (akin to 3808); not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing:--nay, neither, + never, no ,nor, not, nothing (worth), rather than.]

d. [your] garments [Strong: 899 beged behg'-ed from 898; a covering, i.e. clothing; also treachery or pillage:--apparel, cloth(-es, ing), garment, lap, rag, raiment, robe, X very (treacherously), vesture, wardrobe.]

e. [and] turn [Strong: 7725 shuwb shoob a primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again:--((break, build, circumcise, dig, do anything, do evil, feed, lay down, lie down, lodge, make, rejoice, send, take, weep)) X again, (cause to) answer (+ again), X in any case (wise), X at all, averse, bring (again, back, home again), call (to mind), carry again (back), cease, X certainly, come again (back), X consider, + continually, convert, deliver (again), + deny, draw back, fetch home again, X fro, get (oneself) (back) again, X give (again), go again (back, home), (go) out, hinder, let, (see) more, X needs, be past, X pay, pervert, pull in again, put (again, up again), recall, recompense, recover, refresh, relieve, render (again), requite, rescue, restore, retrieve, (cause to, make to) return, reverse, reward, + say nay, send back, set again, slide back, still, X surely, take back (off), (cause to, make to) turn (again, self again, away, back, back again, backward, from, off), withdraw.]

f. unto [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

g. [the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

h. [your] God [Strong: 430 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

1). Bible Gateway: Tearing of clothing: Primarily associated with mourning, such action was an expression of deep sorrow and heartfelt grief. It was also a natural reaction at times of great distress and in cases of sincere repentance. The tearing of clothes was a sign of mourning. It was a demonstration of grief 2Sa 1:11-12 See also 2Sa 13:30-31; 2Ki 2:11-12; Job 1:20; Job 2:12. It was often associated with wearing sackcloth Ge 37:34 See also 2Sa 3:31-32. The high priest was forbidden to tear his clothes in mourning Lev 21:10-12 See also Lev 10:1-7. The tearing of clothes indicated deep distress. Jdg 11:34-35 Jephthah had vowed to sacrifice whatever came out of the door of his house to meet him. See also Ge 37:29; Ge 44:12-13; Nu 14:1-9; Jos 7:3-6; 2Ki 6:26-30; 2Ki 18:28-19:4 pp Isa 36:13-37:4; Est 3:13-4:1; Ac 14:8-18. Repentance was sometimes accompanied by the tearing of clothes. 1Ki 21:20-27 See also Jer 36:21-24 an indication of the lack of repentance; Joel 2:12-14 God requires that the tearing of clothes should express genuine repentance. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionary-of-bible-themes/5188-tearing-clothes

2. “...for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”

a. for [Strong: 3588 kiy kee a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed:--and, + (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-)as, assured(-ly), + but, certainly, doubtless, + else, even, + except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, + nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, + (al- )though, + till, truly, + until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.]

b. he [is] [Strong: 1931 huw' hoo of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is hiyw {he}; a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular, he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are:--he, as for her, him(-self), it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they, this, those, which (is), who.]

c. gracious [Strong: 2587 channuwn khan-noon' from 2603; gracious:--gracious.]

d. [and] merciful [Strong: 7349 rachuwm rakh-oom' from 7355; compassionate:--full of compassion, merciful.]

e. slow [Strong: 750 'arek aw-rake' from 748; long:--long(-suffering, -winged), patient, slow (to anger).]

f. [to] anger [Strong: 639 'aph af from 599; properly, the nose or nostril; hence, the face, and occasionally a person; also (from the rapid breathing in passion) ire:--anger(-gry), + before, countenance, face, + forebearing, forehead, + (long-)suffering, nose, nostril, snout, X worthy, wrath.]

g. [and of] great [Strong: 7227 rab rab by contracted from 7231; abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality):--(in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly, full, great(-ly, man, one), increase, long (enough, (time)), (do, have) many(-ifold, things, a time), ((ship-))master, mighty, more, (too, very) much, multiply(-tude), officer, often(-times), plenteous, populous, prince, process (of time), suffice(-lent).]

h. kindness [Strong: 2617 checed kheh'-sed from 2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety: rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty:--favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-)kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.]

i. [and] repenteth [him] [Strong: 5162 nacham naw-kham' a primitive root; properly, to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself):--comfort (self), ease (one's self), repent(-er,-ing, self).]

j. of [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

k. [the] evil [Strong: 7451 ra` rah from 7489; bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral):-- adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease(-ure), distress, evil((- favouredness), man, thing), + exceedingly, X great, grief(-vous), harm, heavy, hurt(-ful), ill (favoured), + mark, mischief(-vous), misery, naught(-ty), noisome, + not please, sad(-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked(-ly, -ness, one), worse(-st), wretchedness, wrong. (Incl. feminine raaah; as adjective or noun.).]