verb
elēamō
Strong’sG1653
I pity, have mercy on
stem elē-32 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books19 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
To pity, to have mercy or compassion on someone 1234. The word is a later form of the more common verb eleeo, sharing the same meaning 13, and can describe showing mercy through word or deed, including mercy shown as an act of divine grace 2. Used without an object, it can simply mean to feel pity 3. In the Greek Old Testament it appears only as a variant reading in a couple of places, and in the New Testament it occurs in two passages 1.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
Strong’s G1653 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidel-eh-eh'-o
to compassionate (by word or deed, specially, by divine grace)
Fromfrom G1656;
King Jameshave compassion (pity on), have (obtain, receive, shew) mercy (on).
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
imperfect ἠλέουν Refs 4th c.BC+aorist ἠλέησα, Epic dialect ἐλέησα (see. below):—passive, perfect ἠλέημαι Refs 4th c.BC+: (ἔλεος):—to have pity on, show mercy to, ὁ δ᾽ ἐρύσατο καί μ᾽ ἐλέησεν Refs 8th c.BC+
2 absolutely,feel pity, Refs 5th c.BC+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| elēatōἐλεεῖ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | has mercy on | 1× |
| elēamiἘλεήσω | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | have mercy on | 1× |
| elēiliἐλεηθήσονται | will happen · theyfuture passive indicative 3rd person plural | receive mercy | 1× |
| elēamaἠλέησα | happened · Iaorist active indicative 1st person singular | had mercy on | 1× |
| elēataἠλέησέν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | had mercy on | 2× |
| elēimaἠλεήθην | happened · Iaorist passive indicative 1st person singular | received mercy | 2× |
| elēinaἠλεήθημεν | happened · weaorist passive indicative 1st person plural | shown mercy | 1× |
| elēivaἠλεήθητε | happened · yeaorist passive indicative 2nd person plural | received mercy | 1× |
| elēameiōἐλεῶ | happening now · Ipresent active subjunctive 1st person singular | have mercy | 1× |
| elēateiaἐλεήσῃ | happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular | have mercy on | 1× |
| elēileiaἐλεηθῶσιν | happened · theyaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person plural | receive mercy | 1× |
| elēavōrἐλεᾶτε | happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural | have mercy on | 2× |
| elēasarἐλέησόν | happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular | have mercy on | 11× |
| elēaraἐλεῆσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | had mercy on | 1× |
| elēarōntosἐλεῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | shows mercy | 1× |
| elēarōntouἐλεῶντος | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive singular masculine | shows mercy | 1× |
| elēirantoisἐλεηθέντες | happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative plural masculine | received mercy | 1× |
| elēorēntosἠλεημένος | has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine | mercy | 1× |
| elēorēntoisἠλεημένοι | has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine | received mercy | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 10 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēamō | elēame | elēami1×Ἐλεήσω | elēama1×ἠλέησα | elēamē | elēamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | elēasō | elēase | elēasi | elēasa | elēasē | elēaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēatō1×ἐλεεῖ | elēate | elēati | elēata2×ἠλέησέν | elēatē | elēatelē |
| we 1st person plural | elēanō | elēane | elēani | elēana | elēanē | elēanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēavō | elēave | elēavi | elēava | elēavē | elēavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | elēalō | elēale | elēali | elēala | elēalē | elēalelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēomō | elēome | elēomē | elēomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | elēosō | elēose | elēosē | elēoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēotō | elēote | elēotē | elēotelē |
| we 1st person plural | elēonō | elēone | elēonē | elēonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēovō | elēove | elēovē | elēovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | elēolō | elēole | elēolē | elēolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēimi | elēima2×ἠλεήθην |
| you 2nd person singular | elēisi | elēisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēiti | elēita |
| we 1st person plural | elēini | elēina1×ἠλεήθημεν |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēivi | elēiva1×ἠλεήθητε |
| they 3rd person plural | elēili1×ἐλεηθήσονται | elēila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 3 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēameiō1×ἐλεῶ | elēameia | elēameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | elēaseiō | elēaseia | elēaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēateiō | elēateia1×ἐλεήσῃ | elēateiē |
| we 1st person plural | elēaneiō | elēaneia | elēaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēaveiō | elēaveia | elēaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | elēaleiō | elēaleia | elēaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēomeiō | elēomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | elēoseiō | elēoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēoteiō | elēoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | elēoneiō | elēoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēoveiō | elēoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | elēoleiō | elēoleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | elēiseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēiteia |
| we 1st person plural | elēineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēiveia |
| they 3rd person plural | elēileia1×ἐλεηθῶσιν |
Commands — imperative mood, 13 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | elēasōr | elēasar11×ἐλέησόν | elēasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēatōr | elēatar | elēatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēavōr2×ἐλεᾶτε | elēavar | elēavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | elēalōr | elēalar | elēalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | elēosōr | elēosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēotōr | elēotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēovōr | elēovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | elēolōr | elēolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | elēisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēivar |
| they 3rd person plural | elēilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēamoiō | elēamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | elēasoiō | elēasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēatoiō | elēatoia |
| we 1st person plural | elēanoiō | elēanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēavoiō | elēavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | elēaloiō | elēaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | elēosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | elēonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | elēoloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | elēimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | elēisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | elēitoia |
| we 1st person plural | elēinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | elēivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | elēiloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | elēarō | elēari | elēara1×ἐλεῆσαι | elēarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | elēorō | elēorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | elēiri | elēira |
Used as an adjective — participle, 5 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | elēarōntos2×ἐλεῶν | elēarintos | elēarantos | elēarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | elēorōntos | elēorēntos2×ἠλεημένος | ||
| acted on passive voice | elēirintos | elēirantos1× |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
elē is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
32 occurrences, every one of them listed
elēatō“has mercy on”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Romans 9:18ara oun hon thelatō elēatō, hon de thelatō sklērunatō.Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy …
elēami“have mercy on”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular1×
Romans 9:15to Mōuso gar legatō; Elēami hon an elēameiō, kai oiktirami hon …… He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I …
elēili“receive mercy”will happen · theyfuture passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Matthew 5:7“receive mercy”makariois tois eleēmonois, hoti autois elēili.Blessed are the merciful, for they will be …
elēama“had mercy on”happened · Iaorist active indicative 1st person singular1×
Matthew 18:33“had mercy on”… ton sundoulon su, hōs kamis sin elēama?… mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’
elēata“had mercy on”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Mark 5:19“had mercy on”… hoseim tos kurios si poiatē kai elēata sin.… tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy He has shown you.”
Philippians 2:27… asthenata paraplēsiem thanato; alla tos theos elēata auton, ouk auton de monon alla …… indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him …
elēima“received mercy”happened · Iaorist passive indicative 1st person singular2×
1 Timothy 1:13“received mercy”… blasfēmon kai diōkton kai hubriston; alla elēima, hoti agnoarōntos poiama en apistia,… formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was …
1 Timothy 1:16“received mercy”alla dia houtem elēima, hina en mi prōto endeiketeia Christos …But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect …
elēina“shown mercy”happened · weaorist passive indicative 1st person plural1×
2 Corinthians 4:1“shown mercy”… houtem, echarōntois tan diakonian houtan kathōs elēina, ouk enkakanō,… given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
elēiva“received mercy”happened · yeaorist passive indicative 2nd person plural1×
Romans 11:30… pote apeithava to theo, nun de elēiva ta houtoiu apeitheia,… who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience,
elēameiō“have mercy”happening now · Ipresent active subjunctive 1st person singular1×
Romans 9:15… Mōuso gar legatō; Elēami hon an elēameiō, kai oiktirami hon an oiktirameiō.… will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on …
elēateia“have mercy on”happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
Romans 11:32… pantoin eis apeitheian hina toin pantoin elēateia.… to disobedience so that He may have mercy on everyone.
elēileia“receive mercy”happened · theyaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person plural1×
Romans 11:31… humetere elese hina kai autois nun elēileia;… order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you.
elēavōr“have mercy on”happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural2×
Jude 1:22kai hoin men elēavōr diakrinorōntoin,And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt;
Jude 1:23“have mercy on”… sōzavōr ek pureu harpazarōntois, hoin de elēavōr en fobo, misarōntois kai ton apo …save others by snatching them from the fire; and to still others show mercy tempered with fear, hating even the clothing stained by the flesh.
elēasar“have mercy on”happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular11×
Matthew 9:27… auto duo tuflois krazarōntois kai legarōntois; Elēasar nin, huior David.… blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Matthew 15:22… teiu horeiu ekeineiu exercharantas krazate legarōntas; Elēasar min, kurior huios David; tas thugatras …… crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed …
Matthew 17:15kai legarōntos; Kurior, elēasar mu ton huion, hoti selēniazotō kai …“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has …
Matthew 20:30… hoti Iēsus paragatō, krazala legarōntois; Kurior, elēasar nin, huios David.… cried out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Matthew 20:31… tois de megoterem krazala legarōntois; Kurior, elēasar nin, huios David.… the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Mark 10:47… krazarō kai legarō; Huior David Iēsur, elēasar min.… cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Mark 10:48… de polle mallon krazate; Huior David, elēasar min.… all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Luke 16:24kai autos fōnarantos legata; Patror Abraam, elēasar min kai pempasar Lazaron hina baptateia …So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip …
Luke 17:13… autois airala fōnan legarōntois; Iēsur epistator, elēasar nin.… raised their voices, shouting, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
Luke 18:38kai boata legarōntos; Iēsur huior David, elēasar min.… called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Luke 18:39… de polle mallon krazate; Huior David, elēasar min.… all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
elēara“had mercy on”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
Matthew 18:33ouk date kai sin elēara ton sundoulon su, hōs kamis sin …Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I …
elēarōntos“shows mercy”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine1×
Romans 12:8“shows mercy”… haplota, tos prostēorōntos en spouda, tos elēarōntos en hilarota.… him lead with diligence; if it …
elēarōntou“shows mercy”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive singular masculine1×
Romans 9:16“shows mercy”… thelarōntou oude tou trecharōntou alla tou elēarōntou theou.… man’s desire or effort, but on God’s …
elēirantois“received mercy”happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
1 Peter 2:10… theou, tois ouk elēorēntois nun de elēirantois.… received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
elēorēntos“mercy”has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine1×
1 Corinthians 7:25… ouk echamō, gnōman de dōamō hōs elēorēntos hupo kuriou pistos arō.… as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
elēorēntois“received mercy”has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
1 Peter 2:10… nun de laos theou, tois ouk elēorēntois nun de elēirantois.… of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.