God repented, and God does not repent

The Skeptic's Annotated Bible, under "God does repent?", sets Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17 against Genesis 6:6, Exodus 32:11-14, 1 Samuel 15:11 and 35, Jeremiah 18:8, Jonah 3:10 and Amos 7:1-6, among others. Introducing Jeremiah 15:6 it says God has repented "so many times he's getting tired of it." At full strength the case is that too many passages show God announcing one thing and then doing another for this to be a matter of one English word.

The ESV Study Bible says the verb at 1 Samuel 15:11 and 35 describes God's own sorrow that Saul turned out as he did, while at verse 29 it means God will not change his mind about a decision once he has made it. The CSB Study Bible says the word at 15:29 is used in a totally different sense from verse 11: the Lord regretted Saul's failures but would not change his verdict. On Numbers 23:19 the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible says change there denotes making idle or deceptive promises or failing to follow through, and sets Israel's God against Mesopotamian gods who were whimsical and could be manipulated.

The same Hebrew verb stands on both sides, so the original carries its own version of the question: God regrets, and God does not regret. The translation diagnosis removes the suggestion that God sins and repents of it. Reconciling regret with not changing course still takes the harmonizers' move, which separates a feeling from a verdict. The ESV Study Bible says its own reading of 15:11 does not even address whether God knew beforehand. Whether God changes his plans is a larger argument this entry does not settle.

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