Compassion (human or divine, especially active)
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ἔλεος names mercy as compassion that moves toward the needy and undeserving with covenant faithfulness, not as indulgence that ignores sin. In the Pastoral Epistles, mercy appears in the apostolic greeting and in the saving logic of Titus 3:5.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἔλεος (G1656) · Open the biblical lexicon
ἔλεος names mercy as compassion that moves toward the needy and undeserving with covenant faithfulness, not as indulgence that ignores sin. In the Pastoral Epistles, mercy appears in the apostolic greeting and in the saving logic of Titus 3:5.
The BSB source-word alignment has 27 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include mercy (23), . . . (1), of [His] mercy (1), of mercy (1), to be merciful (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (6), 2 Timothy (3), James (3), Matthew (3).
ἔλεος names mercy as compassion that moves toward the needy and undeserving with covenant faithfulness, not as indulgence that ignores sin. In the Pastoral Epistles, mercy appears in the apostolic greeting and in the saving logic of Titus 3:5. Paul blesses Timothy with mercy from God the Father and Christ Jesus because ministry needs more than authority, courage, and doctrine.
It needs God's compassionate help for weak servants and wounded churches. Titus 3:5 then makes the term explicitly soteriological: God saved us according to His mercy, not according to righteous deeds we had done. That keeps mercy from becoming vague sympathy. It is God's free, saving compassion toward sinners, expressed through new birth, renewal by the Holy Spirit, priestly help, and a people who learn to show mercy because they have received mercy.
ἔλεος names God's saving mercy and the mercy-shaped life that flows from it. The Pastoral Epistles place mercy in the greeting of ministry and in the ground of salvation, while the wider canon shows mercy received at the throne of grace and practiced toward others.
To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Mercy stands between grace and peace in the greeting to Timothy. Ministry begins under God's compassionate provision, not under human competence alone.
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul repeats the greeting as Timothy faces hardship. Mercy is not a decorative wish; it is needed for faithful endurance in ministry.
May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.
Paul asks mercy for the household of Onesiphorus because this brother refreshed him and was not ashamed of his chains. Mercy has a communal and costly ministry setting.
May the Lord grant Onesiphorus His mercy on that day. You know very well how much he ministered to me in Ephesus.
Mercy is sought on the final day. The word carries eschatological weight, because servants need the Lord's compassion before the Judge.
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
This is the decisive salvation anchor. God saves according to His mercy, not according to our righteous deeds, through new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Mercy is received at the throne of grace through priestly access. The word is not bare sentiment; it is help secured before God for needy people.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Great mercy gives new birth into a living hope through Christ's resurrection. Mercy opens resurrection hope, not merely temporary relief.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Compassion that moves to action; God's covenant mercy actively extended toward the needy and undeserving.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 28 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
pity, mercy
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 27 lexical occurrence verses.
ἔλεος is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
Highlights God’s gracious inclusion of the nations. 1 Timothy 1:1-2
Identifies the covenant priority fulfilled in Christ’s redemptive mission. 2 Timothy 1:15-18
Mercy defines covenant obedience. James 2:8–13
Demonstrates the compassionate action that characterizes those transformed by grace. Luke 10:25–37
Paul’s prayer reflects confidence that God recognizes and remembers faithful acts of service. Matthew 9:9–13
Adding mercy to the usual grace-and-peace greeting (1:2) highlights God's tender compassion toward sinners and strugglers, which Paul will illustrate in his own story (1:13-16). This is crucial in a letter that confronts serious error and sin, reminding readers that correction happens in a context of divine pity, not harshness. Romans 15:7-13
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
ἔλεος is central to pastoral ministry because it tells the church what needy servants actually live on. Timothy needs mercy in the greeting. Onesiphorus needs mercy for his household and on the last day. Sinners are saved according to God's mercy, not according to righteous deeds they have done. That movement keeps the word from becoming sentimental. Mercy is holy compassion that reaches people who cannot rescue themselves.
It humbles proud religion, steadies weary servants, and teaches the church to become merciful without pretending sin is harmless. A mercy-shaped church knows how to confess need, approach the throne of grace, give thanks for new birth, and extend compassion under the truth of God.
Titus.3.5
ἔλεος is a noun for mercy, compassion, or pity. In the New Testament it must be read through its actual contexts: greetings, salvation, priestly help, final judgment, and merciful conduct. Do not make the word carry every claim about love, grace, or forgiveness by itself.
The Old Testament repeatedly reveals the Lord as merciful and gracious, and the New Testament shows that mercy reaching its saving clarity in Christ. The Pastorals draw that mercy into ministry greetings, salvation by new birth, and final-day hope for faithful servants.
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