(let) depart, dismiss, divorce, forgive, let go, loose, put (send) away, release, set at liberty

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(turning asunder). Allowed by Mosaic law (Deut. 24:1-4¹When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. ²And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. ³And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; ⁴Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. (Deuteronomy 24:1‑4)), yet forbidden in certain cases (Deut. 22:19,29¹⁹And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. (Deuteronomy 22:19)
²⁹Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days. (Deuteronomy 22:29)). God hates divorce. Christ allowed divorce in the case of adultery (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:9³¹It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: ³²But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. (Matthew 5:31‑32)
⁹And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. (Matthew 19:9); Mark 10:11¹¹And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. (Mark 10:11); Luke 16:18¹⁸Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. (Luke 16:18)).

“Divorce” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

This was explained by the Lord. Moses had suffered a man to put away his wife for any cause, as we see in Deuteronomy 24:1,3¹When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. (Deuteronomy 24:1)
³And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; (Deuteronomy 24:3); but the Lord maintained God’s original ordinance that what God had joined together, man had no right to put asunder, therefore a man must not put away his wife except for fornication, when she herself had broken the bond (Matt. 5:31-32³¹It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: ³²But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. (Matthew 5:31‑32); Mark 19:3-9). A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT must be given to the woman, the drawing up of which, and having it witnessed, was some little check upon a man’s hasty temper.

Divorce is used symbolically to express God’s action in putting away Israel, who had been grossly unfaithful, and giving her a bill of divorcement (Isa. 50:1¹Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. (Isaiah 50:1); Jer. 3:8⁸And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. (Jeremiah 3:8)).

“Forgiveness” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

There are three Hebrew words translated to forgive.

1. kaphar, “to cover” (Deut. 21:8⁸Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. (Deuteronomy 21:8); Psa. 78:38³⁸But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. (Psalm 78:38); Jer. 18:23²³Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger. (Jeremiah 18:23)). It is also translated “atonement.”

2. nasa, “to bear,” take away [guilt]: used by Joseph's brethren when they asked him to forgive them (Gen. 50:17¹⁷So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. (Genesis 50:17)); and used of God as "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin" (Ex. 34:7⁷Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. (Exodus 34:7); Num. 14:18¹⁸The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. (Numbers 14:18)); and in describing the blessedness of the man "whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psa. 32:1¹<<A Psalm of David, Maschil.>> Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. (Psalm 32:1)).

In the N. T. two words are used: ὔφεσις., from ἀφίημι, “to send from, release, remit,” several times translated REMISSION; and χαριξομαι, “to be gracious, bestow freely, forgive.” Both words are applied to the forgiveness granted by God, as well as that between man and his fellow.

There are two aspects in which forgiveness is brought before us in scripture.

1. The mind and thought of God Himself towards the sinner whom He forgives. On the ground of the sacrifice of Christ, God not only ceases to hold those who have faith in Christ's blood as guilty before Him, but His favor is towards them. "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb. 10:17¹⁷And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17)). Thus all sense of imputation of guilt is gone from the mind of God. "God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" ἐχαρίσυτο, graciously forgiven, (Eph. 4:32³²And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)). So in the O.T., "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely" (Hos. 14:4⁴I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. (Hosea 14:4)).

2. The guilty one is released, forgiven. "That they may receive forgiveness of sins" (Acts 26:18¹⁸To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)). "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psa. 103:12¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)). "Your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake" (1 John 2:12¹²I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. (1 John 2:12)). Hence it is true of all Christians, that their sins are forgiven. Another thought is included in the forgiveness of sins, namely, that having redemption by Christ, which brings into a new state, the whole guilty past is forgiven, removed from us, so that there is no hindrance to the enjoyment of that into which redemption brings.

The general principle as to forgiveness is stated in 1 John 1:9⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9): "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins;" and to this is added, "and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This involves honesty of heart, whether in a sinner first coming to God, or in a child who has grieved the heart of the Father by sinning. The two aspects above referred to are here also. The faithfulness and righteousness of God in forgiving, and the cleansing us from all unrighteousness. God is faithful to His own blessed character of grace revealed in His Son, and righteous through the propitiation which He has made.

3. If a Christian is “put away” from the assembly and is repentant, he is forgiven and restored (2 Cor. 2:7, 10⁷So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. (2 Corinthians 2:7)
¹⁰To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; (2 Corinthians 2:10)). This of course is different from the act of God in forgiving sins, and may be called administrative forgiveness in the church; and if the act of discipline is led of the Spirit, it is ratified in heaven: (Compare John 20:22-23²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: ²³Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. (John 20:22‑23)). This is entirely different from any pretended absolution that may be pronounced over poor deluded unconverted persons.

4. There is also a governmental forgiveness in connection with the government of God here below in time, both on God's part, and toward one another (Isa. 40:1-2¹Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ²Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1‑2); Luke 17:3³Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. (Luke 17:3); James 5:15-16¹⁵And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. ¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:15‑16); 1 John 5:16¹⁶If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. (1 John 5:16)). We are called upon to forgive one another; and if we indulge in a harsh unforgiving spirit, we must not expect our Father to forgive us in His governmental dealings (Matt. 6:14-15¹⁴For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: ¹⁵But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14‑15)).

Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:

Number:

630 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Greek:

ἀπολύω

Transliteration:

apoluo

Phonic:

ap-ol-oo’-o

Meaning:

from 575 and 3089; to free fully, i.e. (literally) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexively, depart), or (figuratively) let die, pardon or (specially) divorce

KJV Usage:

(let) depart, dismiss, divorce, forgive, let go, loose, put (send) away, release, set at liberty