Mercy

Occurrences in Scripture

In the Old Testament, mercy appears in the words by which God reveals himself. At Mount Sinai, God declares himself to be "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6). This confession recurs throughout the Old Testament. Joel 2:12–14 appeals to it in calling the people to return to God. In Jonah 4:2, Jonah cites the same confession while voicing his displeasure that God has spared Nineveh.

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches, "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36; Luke 6:35–37). The Parable of the Good Samaritan ends with the answer that the neighbor of the man who fell among thieves was "he that shewed mercy on him" (Luke 10:37). Paul calls God "the Father of mercies" (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Original Languages and Translation

In the Korean Revised Version (New Revised Edition), the word jabi ("mercy") renders several different original-language terms. In the Old Testament, "merciful" chiefly translates the Hebrew raḥum. This word is commonly explained as sharing a root with the word for "womb," and it is understood to express a deep compassion like that of a mother cherishing her child.

Words from the same root are rendered elsewhere as geungyul ("compassion" or "mercy"), so the boundary between the two terms in Korean translation is not sharply defined. Hesed is usually rendered inja or inae ("lovingkindness") and is treated as a separate term.

In the New Testament, the "mercy" of Luke 6:36 and 2 Corinthians 1:3 belongs to the oiktirmos word group. By contrast, the jabi listed among the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22; KJV "gentleness") translates chrēstotēs, which is closer in meaning to "kindness" or "benevolence." In Romans 2:4 the same word is rendered as God's injahasim (KJV "goodness") (Romans 2:4).

The Sino-Korean term jabi (慈悲) is also widely used in Buddhism. As a result, its meaning as a biblical translation term sometimes overlaps with the connotations it carries in everyday usage.

Meaning Across Scripture

In the Old Testament, mercy appears as the reason God does not abandon his covenant people even when they sin. The New Testament sees this mercy revealed in the coming and the atonement of Jesus Christ. At the same time, it calls for a life that extends to one's neighbor the mercy one has received. Jesus' quotation of Hosea 6:6, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice," belongs to the same line of thought (Matthew 9:13).

Interpretation and Issues

• Mercy and justice: How God's mercy coexists with his judgment of sin is a long-standing theological question. The Reformed tradition tends to explain that justice is satisfied through Christ's substitutionary bearing of the penalty, and that mercy is extended on that basis. Wesleyan theology emphasizes the prevenient grace given beforehand to all people, stressing that mercy is open to everyone.
• Distinguishing mercy and grace: Korean preaching frequently draws the distinction that "grace is receiving what one does not deserve, while mercy (jabi or geungyul) is being spared the punishment one does deserve." This is a summary formulated for doctrinal teaching; the usage of the biblical languages does not always divide along these lines.
• The practice of mercy: The Catholic Church teaches acts such as feeding the hungry under the heading of the "works of mercy." Protestants generally treat these matters under almsgiving and relief and love of neighbor.

In the Korean Church

The nine fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23 are frequently memorized in Sunday school and Scripture memorization programs, so the word jabi is widely familiar through this list. In the liturgies of the Anglican Church of Korea, the Lutheran Church in Korea, and others, the Kyrie eleison is sometimes sung or prayed in Korean as "Lord, have mercy."