The Lord's 13 Attributes of Mercy
Exodus 34:6–7
וַיַּעֲבֹר יְהוָה עַל־פָּנָיו וַיִּקְרָא, יְהוָה יְהוָה, אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן, אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם, וְרַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת. נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים, נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה, וְנַקֵּה...
And Lord (Tetragrammaton) passed over before his face and called:
“Lord, Lord, God, compassionate and gracious,
long of nostrils (slow to anger), and abundant in covenant-love and truth,
keeping covenant-love for thousands,
bearing iniquity and transgression and sin,
and cleansing—yet not cleansing completely,
visiting the iniquity of fathers upon sons and upon sons’ sons,
to the third and to the fourth {generation – not in the Text}.”
# | Hebrew | Transliteration | Translation | ||
1 | יְהוָה | Adonai | God of mercy before one sins | ||
2 | יְהוָה | Adonai | God of mercy after one has sinned and repented | ||
3 | אֵל | El | Mighty God, powerful to show kindness | ||
4 | רַחוּם | Rachum | Compassionate, moved by suffering | ||
5 | וְחַנּוּן | Ve-chanun | Gracious, giving freely even undeserved | ||
6 | אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם | Erech appayim | Slow to anger, patient | ||
7 | וְרַב־חֶסֶד | Ve-rav chesed | Abundant in steadfast love | ||
8 | וֶאֱמֶת | Ve-emet | And truth, faithful, trustworthy | ||
9 | נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים | Notzer chesed la’alafim | Keeping mercy for thousands (of generations) | ||
10 | נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן | Nose avon | Forgiving iniquity (deliberate sin) | ||
11 | וָפֶשַׁע | Va-fesha | Forgiving transgression (rebellion) | ||
12 | וְחַטָּאָה | Ve-chata’ah | Forgiving sin (error, mistake) | ||
13 | וְנַקֵּה | Ve-nakeh | And cleansing, purifying the sinner |