TO REGRET, to have a change of feeling — and NOT the standard word for repentance, which is metanoeō, 'to change the mind' (see that entry). ⚠ Matthew uses this softer, more emotional verb at exactly two places and they are worth reading together. The son in the parable of the two sons refuses and then 'metamelētheis, went' (21:29), and the priests 'did not even metamelēthēte afterwards and believe' (21:32) — the charge is not that they reasoned badly but that nothing moved. Then it is what JUDAS does: 'seeing that he was condemned, he metamelētheis' and returned the silver (27:3), a regret that changes nothing and ends in a rope. The Greek Old Testament also uses it of God 'relenting' — the same territory as Hebrew nacham. English 'repent' covers both verbs and hides the distinction. → first discussed at Matt 21:29