Reference: Pity
Hastings
This word is entirely synonymous with compassion both in OT and NT, except, perhaps, in 1Pe 3:8, where 'sympathetic' would better express the meaning of the original word (see Revised Version margin). Pity was regarded by OT writers as holding an essential place in the relations of God and His people (see Ps 78:38; 86:15; 103:13; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8; Isa 63:8; cf. Jas 5:11). One of the ways in which this Divine feeling became active on their behalf reveals an incipient belief in the dealings of Jehovah with nations other than Israel; for He is often represented as infusing compassion for His chosen into the hearts of their enemies (cf. 1Ki 8:50; 2Ch 30:9; Ps 106:46; Ezr 9:9; Ne 1:11; Jer 42:12). An objective manifestation of the feeling of pity in the heart of God was recognized in the preservation of His people from destruction (La 3:22 f.), and in the numerous instances which were regarded as the interventions of mercy on their behalf (cf. Ex 15:13; Nu 14:19; De 13:17; 30:3; 2Ki 13:23; 2Ch 36:15). The direct result of this belief was that Israelites were expected to display a similar disposition towards their brethren (cf. Mic 6:8; Isa 1:17; Jer 21:12; Pr 19:17). They were not required, however, to look beyond the limits of their own race (De 7:16, See De 7:9) except in the case of individual aliens who might at any time be living within their borders (see Ex 22:21; 23:9; De 10:18 f. etc.).
In the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus inculcates the exercise of pity in men's dealings with each other, and teaches the sacredness of its character by emphasizing its identity with God's compassion for sinners (Mt 18:33; cf. Lu 6:36; Mt 5:7; 9:18). The teaching of Jesus, moreover, broadened its conception in the human mind by insisting that henceforth it could never be confined to the members of the Jewish nation (cf. the parable of the Good Samaritan, Lu 10:25-37). At the same time His own attitude to the thronging multitudes surrounding Him was characterized by profound pity for their weaknesses (Mt 15:32 = Mr 8:2; cf. Mt 9:36; 14:14). Under His guidance, too, Divine pity for the world was transmuted into that Eternal Love which resulted in the Incarnation (Joh 3:16). Side by side with this development, and in exact correspondence with it, Jesus evolves out of human pity for frailty the more fundamental, because it is the more living, quality of love, which He insists will be active even in the face of enmity (Mt 5:43 f., Lu 6:27 ff.).
J. R. Willis.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
You will lead the people You have redeemed with Your faithful love; You will guide [them] to Your holy dwelling with Your strength.
"You must not exploit a foreign resident or oppress him, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
You must not oppress a foreign resident; you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Please pardon the wrongdoing of this people in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love, just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now."
Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands.
You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God is delivering over to you and not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreign resident, giving him food and clothing.
Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand, so that the Lord will turn from His burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers.
then He will restore your fortunes, have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.
May You forgive Your people who sinned against You and all their rebellions against You, and may You give them compassion in the eyes of their captors, so that they may be compassionate to them.
Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
Please, Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to that of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give Your servant success today, and have compassion on him in the presence of this man. [At the time,] I was the king's cupbearer.
Yet He was compassionate; He atoned for [their] guilt and did not destroy [them]. He often turned His anger aside and did not unleash all His wrath.
But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abundant in faithful love and truth.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
He has caused His wonderful works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
Light shines in the darkness for the upright. He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in faithful love.
Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and He will give a reward to the lender.
Learn to do what is good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause.
He said, "They are indeed My people, children who will not be disloyal," and He became their Savior.
House of David, this is what the Lord says: Administer justice every morning, and rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor, or My anger will flare up like fire and burn unquenchably because of their evil deeds.
I will grant you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil.
[Because of] the Lord's faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end.
He has told you men what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: Only to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.
Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.
"You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
As He was telling them these things, suddenly one of the leaders came and knelt down before Him, saying, "My daughter is near death, but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live."
When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.
As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they've already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way."
Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'
"I have compassion on the crowd, because they've already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat.
"But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Just then an expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the law?" He asked him. "How do you read it?" read more. He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. "You've answered correctly," He told him. "Do this and you will live." But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus took up [the question] and said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion. He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him. When I come back I'll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.' "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" "The one who showed mercy to him," he said. Then Jesus told him, "Go and do the same."
"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job's endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord: the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble,