Exodus 34:6–7
God describes himself to Moses: merciful, slow to anger, great in steadfast love
Study it word by word6And YHWH passed by before him and proclaimed, “YHWH, YHWH, an El merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,
7keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, calling to account the iniquity of fathers on sons and on sons’ sons, to the third and to the fourth generation.”
In its context
4So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones; and Moses rose early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as YHWH had commanded him, and he took in his hand two tablets of stone.
5And YHWH descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of YHWH.
…
8And Moses hurried to bow to the ground and worshiped.
9And he said, “If, please, I have found favor in your eyes, Adonai, let Adonai go, please, in our midst; although it is a stubborn people, forgive our iniquity and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”
Its words in the original
- יַּעֲבֹרyaavor· pass, cross over
Pass by, pass through, cross over; also go beyond, transgress (a command). In the causative form, make pass, bring across, take away.
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- פָּנָיpanay· face, presence
Face. From there "surface" (the face of something) and "presence" (being before someone's face); with a preposition it means "before" or "in front of".
- יִּקְרָאyikra· call, proclaim
Call: speak out to someone, summon, invite, give a name, proclaim; also read aloud. "Call on the name of YHWH" is to pray to him and worship him.
- אֵלel· El, God, god
"El", an ancient Hebrew word for "God". Alone or with another title it is a name of the God of Israel: El Elyon (God Most High), El Shaddai (God Almighty). Neighboring peoples used the same word for their gods; then this translation writes "god" in lower case. It also means "mighty".
- רַחוּםrachum· merciful
Merciful: who feels tenderness and compassion. Said almost always of God.
- חַנּוּןchanun· gracious
Gracious, merciful: who shows favor to one in need. Said almost always of God.
- אֶרֶךְerech· long, slow
Long. "Long of nose" is the Hebrew way of saying "slow to anger", patient.
- אַפַּיִםapayim· anger, nose
Nose, nostrils. Since breathing grows hard in anger, the same word also means "anger"; sometimes "face".
- רַבrav· many, great
Many, much, abundant, great; also "elder" or "chief".
- חֶסֶדchesed· loyal love
"Chesed": love that stays faithful to a commitment. It is kindness that does not remain a feeling: it acts in favor of the other and does not abandon him. The Bible says it above all of God's love for his people.
- אֱמֶתemet· faithfulness, truth
Truth, firmness. Said of a person or of God, faithfulness: he can be trusted because he keeps his word. It often goes with "loyal love".
- נֹצֵרnotser· keep, guard
Keep, watch over, preserve.
- אֲלָפִיםalafim· thousand
Thousand.
- נֹשֵׂאnose· lift, carry, bear
Lift up, carry, bear. "Bear sin" is to suffer its consequences; said of God, "taking away" sin is forgiving it. "Lift up the eyes" is to look.
- עָוֺןavon· iniquity
Iniquity: wickedness, a serious wrong. The same word covers the wrong, the guilt it leaves and the punishment it brings.
- פֶשַׁעfesha· transgression
A serious wrong against someone: rebellion, transgression.
- חַטָּאָהchataa· sin, sin offering
Sin: missing the mark of what God asks; also the guilt and the punishment. In the laws the same word also names the sacrifice offered for sin.
- נַקֵּהnake· be free, go unpunished
Be free of an obligation or of guilt; be held innocent, go unpunished. With God, leave the guilty unpunished.
- פֹּקֵדpoked· attend to, count
Attend to someone, take note of him. When God does it, he intervenes: for good (to fulfill a promise) or to call to account and punish. Also count, muster, appoint over, put in charge.
- אָבוֹתavot· father
Father; also ancestor ("our fathers"), and the founder or head of a family or group.
- בָּנִיםbanim· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- שִׁלֵּשִׁיםshileshim· third generation
Descendants of the third generation: great-grandchildren.
- רִבֵּעִיםribeim· fourth generation
Those of the fourth generation: the great-great-grandchildren.