Greek word · G4697

σπλαγχνίζω

splanchnizō

to pity

The verb is built from τὰ σπλάγχνα (ta splanchna), 'the inward parts': heart, liver, lungs, bowels. In older Greek the related active verb meant to eat the innards of a sacrificial animal (2 Maccabees 6:8 uses splanchnismos for the sacrificial meal). This sense is rare before the NT.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σπλαγχνίζομαι

(σπλάγχνον), [in LXX (act., -ίζω): Proverbs 17:5 A, 2Ma.6:8 (= -εύω) * ;]

to be moved as to the σπλάγχνα (which see), hence, to feel pity or compassion: absol., Luke 10:33 15:20; ptcp., σπλαγχνισθείς, with indic., Matthew 18:27 20:34, Mark 1:41; before ἐπί, with dative of person(s), Matthew 14:14, Luke 7:13; ἐπί, with accusative, Matthew 15:32, Mark 6:34 8:2 9:22; ωερί, Matthew 9:36. (The word is elsewhere found only in Sm: 1Ki.23:21, Ezekiel 24:21, Test. Zeb., 4:6-7; see Thayer, see word; MM, xxiii quote Thumb, Hellen., 123 as practically confirming Lft. on Philippians 1:8, in the suggestion that the verb was a coinage of the Jewish dispersion.) †

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 20:34

Range of meaning

The verb is built from τὰ σπλάγχνα (ta splanchna), 'the inward parts': heart, liver, lungs, bowels. In older Greek the related active verb meant to eat the innards of a sacrificial animal (2 Maccabees 6:8 uses splanchnismos for the sacrificial meal). By the late Second Temple period the inward parts had become the usual way to speak of where deep feeling lives, much as English uses 'heart'. The verb then came to mean 'be moved with pity, feel compassion'. This sense is rare before the NT. Its clearest Jewish parallels are in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (e.g. Testament of Zebulun), which pair it with mercy.

Against the English

'Had compassion' (KJV), 'moved with compassion' (BSB, WEB, YLT, NASB), 'in pity' (ESV), 'felt sorry for them' (NLT). All are accurate. 'Felt sorry' is the weakest: it can sound like passing regret. 'Moved with compassion' keeps the sense of being stirred from inside. The form is passive ('having been moved'), but the meaning is something he felt, not something done to him.

How it drifted

No real change of meaning has happened. Modern English 'compassion' can, however, suggest a calm, steady disposition, while the Greek describes an inner stirring that moves the body to act. Be careful not to overdo the 'gut' etymology. By NT times the image had become ordinary vocabulary, like English 'heartfelt'. It was not a vivid picture of the stomach.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT the verb is used only of Jesus, and in three of his parables of the figure who stands for God's mercy: the master (Matt 18:27), the Samaritan (Luke 10:33) and the father (Luke 15:20). Matthew uses it five times: 9:36 (crowds like sheep without a shepherd), 14:14 (healing the sick), 15:32 (feeding the hungry), 18:27 (the master forgiving a debt), and here. The noun splanchna is used for deep affection in Paul (Phil 1:8; 2:1; Philem 7, 12, 20). The Hebrew background is רַחֲמִים (raḥamim), 'mercy, compassion', which is related to רֶחֶם (reḥem), 'womb'.

From the study of Matthew 14:14

Range of meaning

From τὰ σπλάγχνα (ta splanchna), the inner organs: heart, liver, lungs, intestines. Like 'heart' or 'gut' in English, the word came to mean the seat of strong feeling. The verb means 'to be moved with pity' or 'to feel deep compassion'. The feeling is physical, felt in the body.

Against the English

KJV and YLT 'was moved with compassion' keeps the sense that the feeling came over him. BSB, WEB, NIV and ESV 'had compassion' and NASB 'felt compassion' are accurate. Modern 'compassion' can sound like mild sympathy, which is softer than the Greek.

How it drifted

English 'compassion' comes from Latin for 'suffering with'. In everyday modern use it often means a gentle, kindly attitude. It does not carry the gut-level force of the Greek, or the expectation that the feeling leads to action.

Used elsewhere in the period

In ordinary Greek, the related verb σπλαγχνεύω meant eating the entrails of a sacrifice (compare 2 Maccabees 6:8; 7:42). The sense 'feel pity' mainly shows up in Jewish Greek. Examples are the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (e.g. Testament of Zebulun, where showing mercy 'from the inward parts' is central) and a variant at LXX Proverbs 17:5. The noun σπλάγχνα means 'tender feelings' in 4 Maccabees and in Paul (Philippians 1:8; 2:1). In the New Testament the verb is used only in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It describes either Jesus (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34) or characters in parables who stand for God's mercy: the master in Matthew 18:27, the Samaritan in Luke 10:33, the father in Luke 15:20 (per BDAG and Köster in TDNT).

From the study of Matthew 9:36

Range of meaning

From splanchna, the inward organs (heart, liver, lungs, kidneys), which ancient people treated as the seat of strong emotion, the way English uses 'heart' or 'gut.' The verb means to feel pity or compassion from deep inside, to be inwardly stirred for someone.

Against the English

'Moved with compassion' (KJV, BSB, WEB, YLT) is accurate. NIV/ESV 'had compassion' is correct but flatter. It can sound like a settled attitude, where the Greek describes something that happened inside him at a moment of seeing.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is rare before the New Testament. The Greek Old Testament has a compound form at Proverbs 17:5 and related words in 2 Maccabees 6:7–8, but there they refer to eating the entrails of a sacrifice. The sense 'feel compassion' is clear in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (e.g., Testament of Zebulun 6–8), a Jewish text roughly contemporary with the New Testament. In the Gospels the verb is used only of Jesus or of figures in his parables who embody costly mercy: the forgiving king (Matt 18:27), the Samaritan (Luke 10:33), the father of the prodigal (Luke 15:20). (TDNT, Köster, s.v. σπλάγχνον.)

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 5

  1. Matthew 9:36 ἐσπλαγχνίσθη He was moved with compassion

    When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

    Here: Built on splanchna, 'innards, guts.' He was stirred to the core, a gut-deep pity. The verb is passive in form: something happened inside him, and the next things he does (prayer, sending out workers, ch. 10) come from it.

  2. Matthew 14:14 ἐσπλαγχνίσθη was moved with compassion

    When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

    Here: Literally 'he was stirred in his inward parts', the organs people then thought of as the seat of deep feeling. The form is passive: something happened inside him in response to what he saw. In the Gospels this feeling always leads straight to action.

  3. Matthew 15:32 σπλαγχνίζομαι I am moved with compassion

    Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

    Here: 'I am moved to the gut.' A deep, physical stirring of pity. It comes first in the sentence for emphasis. In the present tense it describes what Jesus feels right now. Only here and in the parallel Mark 8:2 does Jesus name this feeling in his own words.

  4. Matthew 18:27 Σπλαγχνισθεὶς Having been moved with compassion

    His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.

    Here: Literally 'stirred in the inner organs', the gut feeling the ancients placed in the bowels. The past-tense participle puts the feeling first: everything the lord does next comes out of it.

  5. Matthew 20:34 σπλαγχνισθεὶς Having been moved with compassion

    Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and at once they received their sight and followed Him.

    Here: A deep, felt surge of pity, pictured in the body's inward parts. The participle comes first and gives the reason for everything that follows: the touch grows out of this feeling.

Mark · 4

  1. Mark 1:41 σπλαγχνισθεὶς having compassion

    Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”

    Here: 'Having been moved in the inner parts.' It is a gut-level surge of pity, not polite sympathy. The verb form puts the feeling first, before any action. Some ancient manuscripts read 'having become angry' here instead (see textual notes).

  2. Mark 6:34 ἐσπλαγχνίσθη was moved with compassion

    When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

    Here: Literally "he was gut-stirred." The word comes from splanchna, the inner organs, which were thought of as the seat of deep feeling. The aorist presents it as something that happened to him at the moment of seeing, not as a settled attitude.

  3. Mark 8:2 σπλαγχνίζομαι I am moved with compassion

    “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.

    Here: “I am moved to the core.” The verb comes from the word for the inner organs, which were thought to be where strong feeling lived. It is in the present tense, so Jesus is describing what he feels as he looks at the crowd. This is the only place in Mark where Jesus says the word about himself.

  4. Mark 9:22 σπλαγχνισθεὶς having compassion

    “It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 7:13 ἐσπλαγχνίσθη was moved with compassion

    When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.”

    Here: Built on splanchna, 'the inward organs'. It means he was moved deep in his gut. The aorist (simple past) tense presents it as a single surge of feeling on seeing her.

  2. Luke 10:33 ἐσπλαγχνίσθη, was moved with compassion,

    But a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

    Here: Literally "he was moved in his inner parts." The word comes from the Greek for the gut and internal organs, which people then treated as the seat of deep feeling. Elsewhere in the Gospels it is used almost only of Jesus or of figures in parables who stand for God. Here a Samaritan feels it, and in the next verse it turns at once into action.

  3. Luke 15:20 ἐσπλαγχνίσθη, was moved with compassion,

    So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

    Here: 'He was moved in his inner parts.' A gut-level surge of compassion that drives what he does next. In the first three Gospels this verb is used of Jesus, and otherwise only of characters in his parables.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.