An entry in the 7 Scrolls Bible Dictionary, with every example verse shown in the Berean Standard Bible.
What is the biblical definition of mercy?
In the Bible, mercy is compassion shown to someone in need or in the wrong, especially holding back a punishment they deserve. It is closely tied to God's loyal, covenant love.
How often does the Bible use the word mercy?
| Word form (BSB) | Times used | Verses |
|---|---|---|
| mercy | 139 | 127 |
| mercies | 5 | 5 |
| merciful | 17 | 16 |
| compassion | 98 | 93 |
| loving devotion | 188 | 186 |
| All listed forms | 447 | 404 |
Books where these words appear in the most verses: Psalms (155), Exodus (20), Isaiah (20), Jeremiah (16), Matthew (15).
The BSB usually renders the Hebrew hesed as loving devotion, so that phrase has its own row. Compassion is included because it often translates a different Hebrew word for mercy. A few verses, like Micah 6:8, use mercy for hesed instead.
How we counted: a whole-word, case-insensitive search of every verse of the Berean Standard Bible (31,086 verses in our data) for each listed English form. Counts describe the English translation, not the Hebrew or Greek behind it, and include every sense of the word.
How does the Bible use mercy?
What does mercy mean in the Old Testament?
The Old Testament describes mercy with several words. One is rachamim, compassion, linked to the word for womb. It pictures the tender care of a parent. The other key word is hesed, loyal love that keeps its promises.
These words come together when God reveals the divine name to Moses in Exodus 34:6–7. God is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness”. Later writers quote this line again and again, from Psalm 103:8 to Jonah 4:2. It became Israel's summary of who God is.
Why is hesed so hard to translate?
Hesed combines kindness, loyalty and faithfulness inside a relationship. English has no single word for it. Translations have used mercy, kindness, steadfast love and more. The BSB mostly uses loving devotion, as in Psalm 136, where every verse ends with “His loving devotion endures forever”.
Hesed is not only for God. In Ruth 1:8 Naomi blesses her daughters-in-law for the loving devotion they showed. In Micah 6:8 people are told “to love mercy”, and the word there is hesed. Mercy is something people do, not only something they receive.
How does the New Testament speak of mercy?
The Greek eleos is the usual word. Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”, in Matthew 9:13. He blesses the merciful in Matthew 5:7. In Luke 18:13 the tax collector simply prays for mercy, and Jesus says he went home justified.
The letters link mercy with salvation. Ephesians 2:4 calls God “rich in mercy”, and Titus 3:5 says God saved people according to mercy, not their own good deeds. James 2:13 adds a warning and a hope: mercy triumphs over judgment.
Key Bible verses about mercy
Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,
Exodus 34:6 BSB
God's self-description to Moses: compassionate, gracious and abounding in loving devotion. Many later passages echo it.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
Psalm 51:1 BSB
David asks for mercy on the basis of God's loving devotion and great compassion, not his own record.
Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.
Lamentations 3:22 BSB
In a ruined city the writer still finds that God's mercies never fail.
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 BSB
People are called to love mercy. The Hebrew word here is hesed.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7 BSB
The merciful are blessed and will be shown mercy.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:36 BSB
Jesus asks people to be merciful just as their Father is merciful.
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
Ephesians 2:4 BSB
God is rich in mercy, and that mercy flows from great love.
What are the Hebrew and Greek words behind it?
Hebrew: hesed — loyal love, loving devotion, mercy
Faithful kindness within a covenant relationship. It is one of the central words for God's character in the Hebrew Bible.
Hebrew: rachamim — compassion, mercy
Related to the word for womb. It describes deep, tender feeling for someone who is suffering.
Greek: eleos — mercy, pity
The main New Testament word for mercy, used in the Beatitudes and in the letters.
Mercy vs grace: what is the difference?
A common way to put it: mercy is not getting the punishment you deserve, and grace is getting a gift you do not deserve. Mercy holds back judgment. Grace gives favor. The Bible often names them together, as in Exodus 34:6 and Hebrews 4:16. See what grace means for the other side of the pair.
Why does mercy matter?
Mercy is the reason many Bible stories turn out the way they do. Israel, David, Jonah's Nineveh and the tax collector in Luke 18 all deserve judgment and receive mercy. Without the word, these stories lose their center.
Knowing about hesed also helps readers see that mercy in Scripture is not a mood. It is loyal love that keeps showing up. That idea runs through many entries in the Bible dictionary.
Quick check
Which prophet's words does Jesus quote when he says I desire mercy, not sacrifice?
Hosea (Hosea 6:6, quoted in Matthew 9:13).
How does the BSB usually translate the Hebrew word hesed?
As loving devotion, for example in Psalm 136:1.
According to James 2:13, what does mercy triumph over?
Judgment (James 2:13).
Related Bible words
In summary
- Mercy means compassion instead of deserved punishment.
- The Hebrew hesed is loyal love; the BSB usually calls it loving devotion.
- Exodus 34:6–7 is the Bible's classic description of God's mercy.
- Mercy holds back judgment; grace gives undeserved favor.
- Scripture expects people who receive mercy to show it.