Verses about turning back to god

For the director. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Show me favor, Elohim, according to your loyal love; according to the abundance of your mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and from my sin make me clean. For my transgressions I know, and my sin is before me always. Against you, against you alone, I have sinned, and what is evil in your eyes I have done, so that you may be righteous when you speak, pure when you judge.

When I kept silent, my bones wore away through my roaring all the day. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my vigor was turned into the droughts of summer. Selah. My sin I made known to you, and my iniquity I did not cover; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to YHWH,” and you took away the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says YHWH, Elohim of Israel: ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your lord’s house and your lord’s wives into your bosom, and I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that were too little, I would add to you as much and as much again. Why have you despised the word of YHWH, doing evil in my eyes? Uriah the Hittite you struck with the sword, and his wife you took for yourself as wife, and him you killed with the sword of the sons of Ammon. And now the sword shall not depart from your house forever, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says YHWH: ‘Look, I am raising up evil against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it in secret, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHWH.” Nathan said to David, “YHWH also has caused your sin to pass; you shall not die.

And he told this parable also to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised the rest: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing, was praying these things to himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house declared righteous, rather than that one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

And I said, “Woe to me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; for the King, YHWH Tsevaot, my eyes have seen.”

Whoever covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and abandons them will obtain compassion.

Say to them, As I live, declares Adonai YHWH, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but in the wicked man’s turning from his way and living. Turn, turn from your evil ways; and why will you die, house of Israel?

Yet even now, declares YHWH, return to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamenting. And tear your heart, and not your garments, and return to YHWH your Elohim; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love, and relenting over the evil.

Seek YHWH while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked abandon his way, and the man of wickedness his thoughts; and let him return to YHWH, and he will have compassion on him; and to our Elohim, for he will abound in forgiving.”

And the men of Nineveh believed Elohim, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. And the word reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, took off his robe from himself, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes. And he had it proclaimed and said in Nineveh, by decree of the king and his great men, saying, “Human being and livestock, herd and flock, are not to taste anything; they are not to graze, and water they are not to drink. And let them be covered with sackcloth, human being and livestock, and let them cry out to Elohim mightily; and let them turn, each from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? Elohim may turn and relent, and turn back from the burning of his anger, and we will not perish.” And Elohim saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and Elohim relented concerning the evil that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; change your minds and believe in the good news.”

So change your minds and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,

So God, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now commands all people everywhere to change their minds, because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the inhabited world in righteousness, by a man whom he has appointed, having given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to a change of mind?

The Lord is not slow about the promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to a change of mind.

Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near to him to hear him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes into the house, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes his mind than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of a change of mind.

Or what woman having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachma, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma that I had lost.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who changes his mind.”

And he got up and went to his own father. But while he was still far away, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and running, he fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, slaughter it, and let us eat and celebrate, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?” And Peter said to them, “Change your minds, and let each of you be immersed in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. And my spirit I will put within you, and I will bring it about that you walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances and do them.

A clean heart create for me, Elohim, and a firm spirit renew within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and your holy spirit do not take from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and let a generous spirit sustain me.

So if anyone is in the Messiah, there is a new creation; the old things have passed away; look, new things have come.

Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his ways, declares Adonai YHWH. Turn back, and turn others away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be a stumbling block for you. Cast away from you all your transgressions with which you have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of the one who dies, declares Adonai YHWH. So turn back, and live.”