Jeremiah 18:8

8 si paenitentiam egerit gens illa a malo suo quod locutus sum adversum eam agam et ego paenitentiam super malo quod cogitavi ut facerem ei

Jeremiah 18:8 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 18:8

If that nation against whom I have pronounced
Such a sentence as this, should immediately, upon the above declaration, do as Nineveh did: turn from their evil;
their evil of sin, their evil ways and works, as an evidence of the truth of their repentance for former sins: I will repent of the evil that one thought to do unto them;
as they change their course of life, God will change the dispensations of his providence towards them, and not bring upon them the evil of punishment he threatened them with; in which sense repentance can only be understood of God, he doing that which is similar to what men do when they repent of anything; they stop their proceedings, and change their outward conduct; so God proceeds not to do what he threatened to do, and changes his outward behaviour to men; he wills a change, and makes one in his methods of acting, but never changes his will.

Jeremiah 18:8 In-Context

6 numquid sicut figulus iste non potero facere vobis domus Israhel ait Dominus ecce sicut lutum in manu figuli sic vos in manu mea domus Israhel

7 repente loquar adversum gentem et adversum regnum ut eradicem et destruam et disperdam illud

8 si paenitentiam egerit gens illa a malo suo quod locutus sum adversum eam agam et ego paenitentiam super malo quod cogitavi ut facerem ei

9 et subito loquar de gente et regno ut aedificem et ut plantem illud

10 si fecerit malum in oculis meis ut non audiat vocem meam paenitentiam agam super bono quod locutus sum ut facerem ei