Biblical Meaning Of Broken And Contrite Heart

The biblical concept of a "broken and contrite heart" refers to a state of deep humility, repentance, and dependence on God, often contrasted with a hardened or deceitful heart. This spiritual condition is highly valued in scripture, particularly in the Psalms and prophetic literature, as a prerequisite for divine favor and healing ^[14].

The Hebrew word for "heart," לֵב (lev) or לֵבָב (levav), appears frequently in the Old Testament and encompasses more than just the physical organ. It is considered the center of a person's spiritual activity, intellect, emotions, and will ^[8]. The heart is where thoughts are formed (Proverbs 24:2), where emotions like envy reside (Proverbs 14:30), and where spiritual life originates ^{[3, 4, 8]}. It can be "smitten and withereth like grasse" (Psalms 102:4) or "wounded" (Psalms 109:22) ^{[5, 6]}. The Bible describes the unrenewed heart as deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), full of evil imaginations and vain thoughts, far from God, and prone to error and unbelief ^{[2, 7]}.

The idea of a "broken heart" (לֵב נִשְׁבָּר, lev nishbar) or "contrite spirit" (רוּחַ נִדְכָּא, ruach nidka) is most famously expressed in Psalm 51:17: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." Here, a broken spirit is presented as a sacrifice acceptable to God, superior to animal offerings ^{[12, 13]}. This "brokenness" implies a humbling under the weight of sin, a genuine repentance, and a recognition of one's unworthiness before God ^[12]. It is a heart that has been "smitten, wounded, and broken" by God's word and the Spirit, leading to grief over sin committed against a loving God ^[12].

The term "contrite" (from the Latin contritus, meaning "crushed" or "ground to pieces") further emphasizes this state of being deeply humbled and remorseful. John Calvin describes contrition as a "wounded heart, which, humbling the individual to the earth, allows him not to rise" ^[18]. This state of contrition is not merely legalistic sorrow but an evangelical grief that arises from beholding a "pierced and wounded Saviour" and experiencing pardoning grace ^[12].

Scripture frequently contrasts the broken and contrite heart with a "hardened" or "uncircumcised" heart. Pharaoh's heart, for instance, is repeatedly described as hardened (Exodus 4:21; 7:13, 22; 8:15; 9:12, 35; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17) ^[11]. This hardening can be a divine act or a consequence of human stubbornness. The New Testament also speaks of a hardened heart (καρδία πεπωρωμένη, kardia peporōmenē), indicating an inability to understand or perceive spiritual truths (Mark 6:52; John 12:40) ^{[9, 10]}. An uncircumcised heart (Jeremiah 9:25; Ezekiel 44:7, 9) is similarly resistant to God's will ^[11]. In contrast, God promises to give a "heart to know me" (Jeremiah 24:7) and to "create in me a clean heart" (Psalm 51:10) ^[15].

The prophets often speak of God's preference for a contrite spirit. Isaiah 57:15 states that God dwells "with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." This passage highlights God's compassion for those who are spiritually low and His desire to restore them ^{[14, 18]}. Similarly, Isaiah 61:1 mentions that the Messiah is anointed "to bind up the brokenhearted."

The concept of a broken heart also appears in contexts of deep sorrow or distress that are not necessarily related to sin. For example, Job 17:1 speaks of a "crushed spirit" which can refer to an "unbearably sad heart" ^[17]. However, when paired with "contrite," the emphasis shifts to a spiritual posture of repentance and humility before God ^[14].

The breaking of the heart can be understood as a divine work. Hosea 10:2, for instance, describes a situation where Israel's heart is "divided" between God and idols, leading to judgment where God will "break down their altars" ^{[1, 19]}. Adam Clarke interprets this as God doing in judgment what the people should have done in contrition, breaking their idols and altars ^[19]. Rashi, commenting on Lamentations 3:65, also connects the breaking of hearts to divine judgment, referencing Hosea 11:8 where God says, "I will break you, O Yisroel" ^[16].

The "broken and contrite heart" is thus a metaphor for a heart that has been humbled, softened, and made receptive to God's grace. It is a heart that acknowledges its sinfulness, mourns over it, and turns to God in dependence. This spiritual state is not a sign of weakness but of true strength, as it opens the individual to God's healing and revival ^[14].

Sources

Hosea “Hosea 10:2 (Geneva1599) — Their heart is deuided: nowe shall they be founde faultie: he shall breake downe their altars: he shall destroy their images.”
Jeremiah “Jeremiah 17:9 (LEB) — The heart is deceitful more than anything else, and it is disastrous. Who can understand it?”
Proverbs “Proverbs 14:30 (YLT) — A healed heart <FI>is<Fi> life to the flesh, And rottenness to the bones <FI>is<Fi> envy.”
Proverbs “Proverbs 24:2 (YLT) — For destruction doth their heart meditate, And perverseness do their lips speak.”
Psalms “Psalms 102:4 (Geneva1599) — Mine heart is smitten and withereth like grasse, because I forgate to eate my bread.”
Psalms “for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me. -- Psalms 109:22”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Heart, Character of the Unrenewed — Hateful to God -- Pr 6:16,18; 11:20. Full of evil -- Ec 9:3. Full of evil imaginations -- Ge 6:5; 8:21; Pr 6:18. Full of vain thoughts -- Jer 4:14. Fully set to do evil -- Ec 8:11. Desperately wicked -- Jer 17:9. Far from God -- Isa 29:13; Mt 15:8. Not perfect with God -- 1Ki 15:3; Ac 8:21; Pr 6:18. Not prepared to seek God -- 2Ch 12:14. A treasury of evil -- Mt 12:35; Mr 7:21. Darkened -- Ro 1:21. Prone to error -- Ps 95:10. Prone to depart from God -- De 29:18; Jer 17:5. Impenitent -- Ro 2:5. Unbelieving -- Heb 3:12. Blind -- Eph”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Heart — According to the Bible, the heart is the centre not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. "Heart" and "soul" are often used interchangeably (Deut. 6:5; 26:16; comp. Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33), but this is not generally the case. The heart is the "home of the personal life," and hence a man is designated, according to his heart, wise (1 Kings 3:12, etc.), pure (Ps. 24:4; Matt. 5:8, etc.), upright and righteous (Gen. 20:5, 6; Ps. 11:2; 78:72), pious and good (Luke 8:15), etc. In these and such passages the word "soul" could not ”
MACULA Greek “John 12:40 — Greek linguistic analysis (MACULA): Text: Τετύφλωκεν αὐτῶν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ ἐπώρωσεν αὐτῶν τὴν καρδίαν ἵνα μὴ ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ νοήσωσιν τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ στραφῶσιν καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς Word-by-word: Τετύφλωκεν = "He has blinded" [5186] V-RAI-3S; αὐτῶν = "of them" [846] P-GPM; τοὺς = "the" [3588] T-APM; ὀφθαλμοὺς = "eyes" [3788] N-APM; καὶ = "and" [2532] CONJ; ἐπώρωσεν = "has hardened" [4456] V-AAI-3S; αὐτῶν = "of them" [846] P-GPM; τὴν = "the" [3588] T-ASF; καρδίαν = "heart" [2588] N-ASF; ἵνα = "that" [2443] CONJ; μὴ = "not" [3361] PRT-N; ἴδωσιν = "they should see" [3708] V-2”
MACULA Greek “Mark 6:52 — Greek linguistic analysis (MACULA): Text: οὐ γὰρ συνῆκαν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις ἀλλ’ ἦν αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία πεπωρωμένη Word-by-word: οὐ = "not" [3756] PRT-N; γὰρ = "for" [1063] CONJ; συνῆκαν = "they understood" [4920] V-AAI-3P; ἐπὶ = "by" [1909] PREP; τοῖς = "the" [3588] T-DPM; ἄρτοις = "loaves" [740] N-DPM; ἀλλ’ = "but" [235] CONJ; ἦν = "had been" [1510] V-IAI-3S; αὐτῶν = "of them" [846] P-GPM; ἡ = "the" [3588] T-NSF; καρδία = "heart" [2588] N-NSF; πεπωρωμένη = "hardened" [4456] V-RPP-NSF”
Brown-Driver-Briggs “[BDB H3820] leb (part 6/7) — the heart is uncircumcised Jer 9:25; Ezek 44:7 (twice in verse); 44:9 and hardened: לב חזּק Exod 4:21; 10:20, 27 (E), 9:12; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17 (P), Josh 11:20 (D2 ?); לֵב יֶחֱזַק Exod 7:13, 22; 8:15; 9:35 (P); חִזְקֵילֵֿב Ezek 2:4; לב הקשׁה Exod 7:3 (P) Prov 28:14; קְשֵׁילֵֿב Ezek 3:7; לב הכביד Exod 8:11; 8:28; 9:34; 10:1 (J); לב כָּבֵד 7:14; 9:7 (J); לב כּכּד 1Sam 6:6; הַזֶה לֵבהָֿעָם הַשְׁמֵן make the heart of this people fat Isa 6:10 (?); לֵב שְׁרִ(י)רוּת Deut 29:18; Psa 81:13 after Jer 3:17; 7:24; 9:13; 11:8; 13:10; 16:12; 18:12; 23:17; האבן לב the heart of stone E”
Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 51:17: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,.... That is humbled under a sense of sin; has true repentance for it; is smitten, wounded, and broken with it, by the word of God in the hand of the Spirit, which is a hammer to break the rock in pieces; and that not merely in a legal, but in an evangelical way; grieving for sin as committed against a God of love; broken and melted down under a sense of it, in a view of pardoning grace; and mourning for it, while beholding a pierced and wounded Saviour: the sacrifices of such a broken heart and contrite spirit are the sacrif”
Midrash Rabbah (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Midrash Rabbah, Vayikra Rabbah 7:2: “Offerings to God are a broken spirit…” (Psalms 51:19). Zavdi ben Levi, Rabbi Yosei ben Petras, and the Rabbis, one said: David said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘I overcame my inclination and repented before You. If You accept me in repentance, I know that Solomon my son will stand and build the Temple, build the altar, and burn all the offerings in the Torah upon it,’ based on this verse: “Offerings to God are a broken spirit.” Another said: From where is it derived that one who repents, it is ascribed to him as though he ascended to Jerusalem, built”
Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 34:18: 34:18 Those who are brokenhearted possess a spirit of deep contrition and dependence on the Lord. God accepts this spirit as a proper sacrifice (51:17). The wicked hate the brokenhearted (109:16), but the Lord heals them (147:3; see Isa 57:15; 61:1).”
CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 140: do them.” Jeremiah xxiv. 7 , “I will give them an heart to know me. The Psalmist prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” ( Ps. li. 10 .) It is admitted that the word heart, like all other familiar terms, is used in different senses in the Scriptures. It often means the whole soul; as when mention is made of the eyes, the thoughts, and the intentions of the heart. It very frequently means the feelings or affections, or is used collectively for them all, or for the seat of the feelings. A cold, hard”
Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Lamentations 3:65: Break their hearts. A breaking of the heart, as [Scripture] says, “I will break you, O Yisroel,” 42 Hosheia 11:8. [and as in,] “who broke your adversaries in your hand.” 43 Bereishis 14:20. Another explanation of מְגִנַּת לֵב is ‘stopping up of the heart,’ trouble and sighing, which are like a shield against their heart. But he who explains it as an expression of grief is wrong, because there is no nun in this word, for the nun in יָגוֹן is not a radical, but it is like the nun of הָמוֹן from the [same] root as הָמוּ גוֹיִם, and like the nun”
Job (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Job 17:1: 17:1 My spirit is crushed: This can refer to a properly contrite attitude (Ps 51:17), but more often it connotes an unbearably sad heart (Prov 18:14).”
CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 67: of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones,” ( Isaiah 57:15 ). By the term contrition which you so often hear, understand a wounded heart, which, humbling the individual to the earth, allows him not to rise. With such contrition must your heart be wounded, if you would, according to the declaration of God, be exalted with the humble. If this is not your case, you shall be humbled by the mighty hand of God to your shame and disgrace. 2066 7. Our divine Master, no”
Hosea (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Hosea 10:2: Their heart is divided - They wish to serve God and Mammon, Jehovah and Baal: but this is impossible. Now God will do in judgment what they should have done in contrition, "break down their altars, and spoil their images."”

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