ירמיהו, פרק י״ח, פסוק ח׳

God's decrees are never absolute; they remain entirely responsive to human behavior. When a nation faces imminent destruction but decides to change its course, God reacts in turn and halts the impending disaster. The act of turning away from evil simply means abandoning the specific sins and wrongs that triggered His decree of ruin in the first place [רש"י, רד"ק, מצודת דוד].

Interestingly, the motivation behind this change does not need to be pure or ideal. Even if a nation abandons its wicked ways solely out of terror and a desire to avoid the threatened punishment, this basic level of repentance is still effective enough to cancel the harsh decree [מלבי"ם]. In response to the nation's improved behavior, God undergoes a complete reversal of thought [רש"י, מצודת ציון]. He changes His mind, withdrawing the ruin He had planned so that the disaster never takes place [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

However, another perspective draws a sharp distinction between the repentance of the Israelites and that of other nations. Because the concept of complete, fundamental repentance was granted specifically to Israel, the repentance of other nations operates on a more limited scale. For them, changing their ways serves to buy time and delay the disaster, much like what happened with the people of Nineveh. Alternatively, it might soften the severity of the decree, making the punishment lighter than originally planned. Yet, in this view, their repentance does not erase the judgment entirely [חומת אנך].