View All Biblical Expressions

Bowels/inner parts moved with compassion

Here’s what it means

A person felt deep compassion, affection, anguish, or longing.

Why the Bible says it this way

An idiom is a familiar phrase whose meaning comes from the whole expression, not from reading each word by itself.

A helpful detail: Ancient speakers located deep emotion in the inward organs. English commonly uses “heart” for the same idea.

Where it appears