23 Bible Verses about Mercy, Human

The poor man pleads,
But the rich man answers roughly.

“The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, [as swift] as the eagle swoops down [to attack], a nation whose language you will not understand, a defiant nation who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young,

He shall make restitution for the ewe lamb four times as much [as the lamb was worth], because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply moved over her son, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; cut him!”

“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has touched me.

The soul of the wicked desires evil [like an addictive substance];
His neighbor finds no compassion in his eyes.

“I was angry with My people,
I profaned [Judah] My inheritance
And gave them into your hand [Babylon].
You showed them no mercy;
You made your yoke very heavy on the aged.

[The Lord answered] “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

“Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion, to each other; and do not oppress or exploit the widow or the fatherless, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise or even imagine evil in your hearts against one another.’ But they refused to listen and pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder [stiffening themselves in resistance] and stopped up their ears.

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),
And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

“Blessed [content, sheltered by God’s promises] are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.

“Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion, to each other;

Speak and act [consistently] as people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty [that moral law that frees obedient Christians from the bondage of sin]. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.

and never return evil for evil or insult for insult [avoid scolding, berating, and any kind of abuse], but on the contrary, give a blessing [pray for one another’s well-being, contentment, and protection]; for you have been called for this very purpose, that you might inherit a blessing [from God that brings well-being, happiness, and protection].

Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon];
They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb,
Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children.

“They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and inhuman and have no mercy.
Their voice sounds like the roaring sea;
They ride [in formation] on horses,
Arrayed as a man for battle
Against you, O Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)!”

Then afterward,” says the Lord, “I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the virulent disease, the sword, and the famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemy, into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them nor have mercy and compassion on them.”’

“They seize their bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no compassion.
They sound like the roaring of the sea;
They ride on horses,
Every man equipped like a man [ready] for the battle
Against you, O Daughter of Babylon.

Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Edom [the descendants of Esau] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword,
Corrupting and stifling his compassions and casting off all mercy;
His destructive anger raged continually,
And he maintained [and nurtured] his wrath forever.

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon Teman,
And it shall consume the citadels of Bozrah [in Edom].”

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You cannot look favorably on wickedness.
Why then do You look favorably
On those who act treacherously?
Why are you silent when the wicked (Chaldean oppressors) destroy
Those more righteous than they?

Why do You make men like the fish of the sea,
Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler [and are helpless against their enemies]?

The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook,
And drag them away with a net,
And gather them together in their fishing net;
So they rejoice and are glad.
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Therefore, they offer sacrifices to their net
And burn incense to their fishing net;
Because through these things their catch is large and they live luxuriously,
And their food is plentiful.

Will they continue to empty their net
And [mercilessly] go on destroying nations without sparing?

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you give a tenth (tithe) of your mint and dill and cumin [focusing on minor matters], and have neglected the weightier [more important moral and spiritual] provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the [primary] things you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall not make a covenant (treaty) with them nor show mercy and compassion to them.