Repentance in the Bible is less a feeling of sorrow than a change of direction, a turning around and walking a different way.
Hebrew has two words that end up under this one English roof. Nacham means to sigh, to be sorry, to console oneself, and it's used both of God relenting from judgment and of people grieving. Shuv, far more common in the prophets, means simply to turn or return. It's a word about direction, not emotion, describing someone who was walking away from God and now walks back.
Greek adds a further split. Metanoia means a change of mind or purpose, a genuine reorientation of a person's whole bearing. Metamelomai means regret or remorse, feeling bad about something after the fact, with no guarantee of change. English collapses shuv and nacham into one word, and does the same to metanoia and metamelomai, so a reader can't always tell from 'repent' alone whether the text means sorrow, a change of heart, or an actual U-turn in behaviour.
When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
Nineveh's shuv, its turning from evil, leads God to nacham, to relent from disaster.
So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
The prophet calls for turning the heart, not just outward mourning, using the language of shuv.
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
John the Baptist's call uses metanoeo, announcing a change of direction ahead of the kingdom.
Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
Peter pairs metanoeo with turning back, showing repentance as movement, not mere feeling.
Most English versions use 'repent' for both metanoeo and metamelomai, though the Greek keeps them apart. For God's nacham, translators often reach for 'relent' rather than 'repent,' since God changing his mind about a judgment feels different from a person's repentance. Shuv frequently becomes 'turn' or 'return' in the prophets rather than 'repent,' which is closer to what the Hebrew is doing.
The common mistake is treating repentance as mainly a feeling, being sorry or upset about something you did. That's closer to metamelomai, the word used of Judas in Matthew 27:3, who felt remorse but never turned back to God. There's also a well-worn word study claiming metanoia literally means 'after-mind,' so repentance is just an intellectual change of opinion. Its actual biblical usage is fuller than that: a real change of direction, not just a change of mood or view.
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