Several months ago I started to go through the Bible to see how many verses there were about "Compassion". I was amazed at how many there were. So far, I've found almost 70. There are a lot more that I've not found in my reading yet. Here are the ones that I've found. I'll be breaking them down into ones found in the Old Testament and ones found in the New Testament. The version of the Bible that I'll be using here is "The Message" compiled by Eugene H. Peterson.

OLD TESTAMENT

Deuteronomy 14:29

"Keep it in reserve for the Levite who won't get any property or inheritance as you will, and for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow who live in your neighborhood. That way they'll have plenty to eat and G-D, your G-D, will bless you in all your work."

Deuteronomy 15:7

"When you happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that G-D, your G-D, is giving you, don't look the other way pretending you don't see him. Don't keep a tight grip on your purse.

Deuteronomy 15:11

"There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.

Deuteronomy 24:19-21

"19: When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf back in the field, don't go back and get it; leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that G-D, your G-D, will bless you in all your work. 20: When you shake the olives off your trees, don't go back over the branches and strip them bare--what's left is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. 21: And when you cut the grapes in your vineyard, don't take every last grape--leave a few for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.

Ecclesiastes 11:1

"Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns. "

Ezekiel 18:7

"doesn't bully anyone, doesn't pile up bad debts, doesn't steal, doesn't refuse food to the hungry, doesn't refuse clothing to the ill-clad,"

Isaiah 1:17

"Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down(trodden)"

Isaiah 58:7

"What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families."

Jeremiah 22:16

"He stuck up for the down-and-out, And things went well for Judah. Isn't this what it means to know me?" G-D's Decree!

Leviticus 19:9-10


"9: When you harvest your land, don't harvest right up to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings from the harvest. 10: Don't strip your vineyard bare or go back and pick up the fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am G-D, your G-D."

Leviticus 19:18

"Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am G-D."

Proverbs 14:21

"It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor--what a blessing!"

Proverbs 14:31

"You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you're kind to the poor, you honor G-D."

Proverbs 16:19

"It's better to live humbly among the poor , than to live it up among the rich and famous."

Proverbs 19:17

"Mercy to the needy is a loan to G-D, and G-D pays back those loans in full."

Proverbs 17:5

"Whoever mocks poor people, insults their Creator; gloating over misfortune is a punishable crime."

Proverbs 21:13

"If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor, your cries will go unheard, unanswered."

Proverbs 22:2

"The rich and the poor shake hands as equals-- G-D made them both!"

Proverbs 22:9

"Generous hands are blessed hands, because they give bread to the poor.

Proverbs 25:21

"If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch; if he's thirsty, bring him a drink."

Proverbs 31:9

"Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!"

Psalm 3:8

"Real help comes from G-D. Your blessing clothes your people!

Psalm 41:1

"Dignify those who are down on their luck; you'll feel good--that's what G-D does."

Psalm 72:4

"Please stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy, come down hard on the cruel tyrants."

Psalm 72:12

"Because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need, the destitute who have run out of luck."

NEW TESTAMENT

Colossians 3:12

"So, chosen by G-D for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe G-D picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline."

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

"1: If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2: If I speak G-D's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3: If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. 4: Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, 5: Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, 6: Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, 7: Puts up with anything, Trusts G-D always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. 8: Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. 9: We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. 10: But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. 11: When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. 12: We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as G-D sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! 13: But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love."

Galatians 5:14

"For everything we know about G-D's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom.

Hebdrews 6:10

"G-D doesn't miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you've shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it."

Hebrews 10:23-25

"23: Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. 24: Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, 25: not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching."

Hebrews 13:2

"Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!"

James 1:27

"Real religion, the kind that passes muster before G-D the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world."

James 2:8

"You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: "Love others as you love yourself."

James 2:14-26

"14: Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15: For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16: and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup--where does that get you? 17: Isn't it obvious that G-D talk without G-D acts is outrageous nonsense? 18: I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. 19: Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only G-D, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? 20: Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? 21: Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with G-D by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? 22: Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? 23: The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed G-D and was set right with G-D," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "G-D's friend." 24: Is it not evident that a person is made right with G-D not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? 25: The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding G-D's spies and helping them escape--that seamless unity of believing and doing--what counted with G-D? 26: The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse."

John 13:35

"This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples--when they see the love you have for each other."

John 15:12

"This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you."

1 John 4:8

"The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about G-D, because G-D is love--so you can't know him if you don't love."

1 John 4:12

"No one has seen G-D, ever. But if we love one another, G-D dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us-- perfect love!"

1 John 3:14

"The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. "

1 John 4:20

"If anyone boasts, "I love G-D," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the G-D he can't see?

Luke 6:33-35

"33: If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. 34: If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. 35: "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never--I promise--regret it. Live out this G-D created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst.

Mark 9:41

"Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that G-D will notice."

Matthew 5:45-47

"45: for then you are working out of your true selves, your G-D created selves. This is what G-D does. He gives his best-- the sun to warm and the rain to nourish--to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. 46: If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. 47: If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

Matthew 10:42

"Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing."

Matthew 19:19

"honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself."

Matthew 22:39

" But there is a second to set alongside it: "Love others as well as you love yourself.'

Matthew 25:31-46

"31: "When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. 32: Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, 33: putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. 34: "Then the King will say to those on his right, "Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. 35: And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, 36: I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37: "Then those "sheep' are going to say, "Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? 38 -39: And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' 40: Then the King will say, "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.' 41: "Then he will turn to the "goats,' the ones on his left, and say, "Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. 42: And why? Because-- I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43: I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes, Sick and in prison, and you never visited.' 44: "Then those "goats' are going to say, "Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?' 45: "He will answer them, "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me--you failed to do it to me.' 46: "Then those "goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the "sheep' to their eternal reward."

1 Peter 4:8-9

"8: Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. 9: Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless--cheerfully."

Philippians 2:4

"Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."

Romans 12:13

"Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality."

Romans 13:8

"Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along."

Titus 3:14

"14: Our people have to learn to be diligent in their work so that all necessities are met (especially among the needy) and they don't end up with nothing to show for their lives."