Joel 2:13
New International Version
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

New Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Berean Standard Bible
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.

New American Standard Bible
And tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in mercy And relenting of catastrophe.

NASB 1995
And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.

NASB 1977
And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting of evil.

Legacy Standard Bible
And tear your heart and not your garments.” Now return to Yahweh your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting concerning evil.

Amplified Bible
Rip your heart to pieces [in sorrow and contrition] and not your garments.” Now return [in repentance] to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness [faithful to His covenant with His people]; And He relents [His sentence of] evil [when His people genuinely repent].

Christian Standard Bible
Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the LORD your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster.

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And rip your hearts, and not your robes, and be turned to LORD JEHOVAH your God because he is merciful and he is cherishing, and his Spirit is patient and his grace abundant, and he changes evil

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy, and repents of evils.

Contemporary English Version
Don't rip your clothes to show your sorrow. Instead, turn back to me with broken hearts. I am merciful, kind, and caring. I don't easily lose my temper, and I don't like to punish.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil.

English Revised Version
and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God, for he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Tear your hearts, not your clothes. Return to the LORD your God. He is merciful and compassionate, patient, and always ready to forgive and to change his plans about disaster.

Good News Translation
Let your broken heart show your sorrow; tearing your clothes is not enough." Come back to the LORD your God. He is kind and full of mercy; he is patient and keeps his promise; he is always ready to forgive and not punish.

International Standard Version
Tear your hearts, not your garments; and turn back to the LORD your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to become angry, overflowing in gracious love, and grieves about this evil.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn unto the LORD your God; For He is gracious and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy, And repenteth Him of the evil.

Literal Standard Version
And tear your heart, and not your garments, | And turn back to your God YHWH, | For He [is] gracious and merciful, | Slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, | And relenting from evil.

Majority Standard Bible
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.

New American Bible
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment.

NET Bible
Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love--often relenting from calamitous punishment.

New Revised Standard Version
rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.

New Heart English Bible
Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.

Webster's Bible Translation
And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth of the evil.

World English Bible
Tear your heart and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.

Young's Literal Translation
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.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Return with All Your Heart
12“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” 13So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster. 14Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him—grain and drink offerings for the LORD your God.…

Cross References
Genesis 37:34
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

Exodus 34:6
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,

2 Samuel 1:11
Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same.

Job 1:20
Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 86:5
For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You.


Treasury of Scripture

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents him of the evil.

rend.

2 Kings 22:19
Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

your garments.

Genesis 37:29,34
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes…

2 Samuel 1:11
Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:

1 Kings 21:27
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

for.

Exodus 34:6,7
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, …

Numbers 14:18
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Psalm 86:5,15
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee…

slow.

Nehemiah 9:17
And 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.

Psalm 103:8
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

Nahum 1:3
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

and repenteth.

Psalm 106:45
And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.

Jeremiah 18:7,8
At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; …

Amos 7:2-6
And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small…

Jump to Previous
Abounding Abundant Anger Calamity Clothing Compassionate Evil Full Garments Grace Gracious Great Heart Kindness Loving Merciful Mercy Pity Punishment Purpose Ready Relenting Rend Repenteth Sending Slow Steadfast Tear Turn Turned
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Abounding Abundant Anger Calamity Clothing Compassionate Evil Full Garments Grace Gracious Great Heart Kindness Loving Merciful Mercy Pity Punishment Purpose Ready Relenting Rend Repenteth Sending Slow Steadfast Tear Turn Turned
Joel 2
1. He shows unto Zion the terribleness of God's judgment.
12. He exhorts to repentance;
15. prescribes a fast;
18. promises a blessing thereon.
21. He comforts Zion with present,
28. and future blessings.














(13) Repenteth him of the evil--i.e., in the sense that of His own will He would not the death of a sinner. The judgments of God, like His mercies, are conditional. As the "Lord repented (i.e., grieved) that He had made Saul king over Israel," and revoked the appointment, so now He repenteth Him of the evil which will fall on His people if impenitent. If they will repent, it may be He will do it not.

Verse 13. - And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God. Where there is real contrition of spirit because of sin, outward manifestations are both suitable and proper, though not by way of display or for sake of ostentation. But they were reminded, on the other hand, that mere outward manifestations avail nothing unless there also exist the deep inward feelings which are in harmony with and naturally underlie those manifestations. Out of such inward feelings those outward expressions properly originate; hence, after the exhortation to fasting and weeping and mourning, it is added, "Rend your heart, and not your garments." To rend the garments, among the Jews, was a token of great grief, and imported that the individual who did so was overwhelmed with excessive sorrow, or had encountered some terrible calamity. Thus we read of Jacob, on receiving his son Joseph's coat of many colours, rending his clothes, putting sackcloth on his loins, and mourning for his son many days (comp. also 2 Chronicles 34:27). In these instances the sorrow was deep and genuine and bitter. It was possible, however, to exhibit the external signs of grief without any such corresponding inward feeling of sorrow; just as it is still possible for men to draw near to God with their lips while the heart is far from him. To prevent such hypocritical pretence they are commanded to rend their hearts, and not their garments only. There was no impropriety in rending their garments in token of great grief for sin and of great indignation against themselves for their folly, but the command imports that they were not to rest in the outward sign without the reality of the thing signified. For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. To the exhortation he subjoins the encouraging manifestation of the Divine character with which God, ages before, had favoured Moses, substituting for "truth" the trait of character best suited to the present emergency. He is not an absolute God or an inexorable God, but their covenant God and Father who invites them even to himself, against whom they had so heinously sinned and whom they had so grievously offended.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So rend
וְקִרְע֤וּ (wə·qir·‘ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 7167: To rend

your hearts
לְבַבְכֶם֙ (lə·ḇaḇ·ḵem)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 3824: Inner man, mind, will, heart

and not
וְאַל־ (wə·’al-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

your garments,
בִּגְדֵיכֶ֔ם (biḡ·ḏê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 899: A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage

and return
וְשׁ֖וּבוּ (wə·šū·ḇū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the LORD
יְהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

your God.
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֑ם (’ĕ·lō·hê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

For
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

He
ה֔וּא (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

is gracious
חַנּ֤וּן (ḥan·nūn)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2587: Gracious

and compassionate,
וְרַחוּם֙ (wə·ra·ḥūm)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7349: Compassionate

slow
אֶ֤רֶךְ (’e·reḵ)
Adjective - masculine singular construct
Strong's 750: Long

to anger,
אַפַּ֙יִם֙ (’ap·pa·yim)
Noun - md
Strong's 639: The nose, nostril, the face, a person, ire

and abounding
וְרַב־ (wə·raḇ-)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7227: Much, many, great

in loving devotion.
חֶ֔סֶד (ḥe·seḏ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2617: Kindness, piety, reproof, beauty

And He relents
וְנִחָ֖ם (wə·ni·ḥām)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5162: To sigh, breathe strongly, to be sorry, to pity, console, rue, to avenge

from
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

sending disaster.
הָרָעָֽה׃ (hā·rā·‘āh)
Article | Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil


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OT Prophets: Joel 2:13 Tear your heart and not your garments (Jl Joe.)
Joel 2:12
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