which means literally that he inflicted pain on himself (= he tortured himself or he agonized); the added phrase “to his heart [= mind],” only strengthens the force of the affliction. Coming to a new decision was no light matter; it involved an agonizing reappraisal (as the expression goes) and was reached with great personal pain.6 The excursus is a remarkable treatise on God’s repentance and forgiveness that spans the biblical narrative much as does the account of these nine commandments. David