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Repentance

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The act of feeling remorse for one's sins or moral wrongdoings and committing to change, often involving confession and atonement.

Detailed Definition
Repentance (Teshuvah in Judaism, Tawbah in Islam) is a central spiritual process in many faiths, representing the turning away from sin and returning to a right relationship with God. It involves genuine contrition, confession, and a resolve to amend one's life. For poets, repentance is a profound internal drama, rich with emotional conflict and the potential for redemption. It provides a framework for exploring guilt, shame, forgiveness, spiritual purification, and the transformative power of humility, often serving as the crucial first step on a journey toward grace and self-renewal.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Jewish poetry, Repentance (teshuvah) is return: “Turn heart like soil—Repentance plants new seeds”; In Christian verse, Repentance is change of mind: “Prodigal’s journey—Repentance begins with one step home”; In Islamic poetry, Repentance is mercy’s door: “Sin stains—Repentance washes in Rahim’s stream”; Contemporary poets frame Repentance as repair: “Listen, apologize, change—Repentance as justice.”
Additional Notes
Repentance (teshuvah in Judaism, metanoia in Greek) means “turning back” to God with changed mind and action; it is communal as well as personal; in poetry, repentance is portrayed through gestures—washing hands, tearing clothes, returning home—emphasizing restoration over guilt and forward motion over stagnation.
Also Known As
Metanoia Tawbah Contrition Penance repent
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