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Jeremiah 17:9 — Word Study

Depth

WLCעָקֹ֥ב הַלֵּ֛ב מִכֹּ֖ל וְאָנֻ֣שׁ ה֑וּא מִ֖י יֵדָעֶֽנּוּ׃

BSAThe heartlêb [insidious, not straight or honest] [is] deceitfulʻâqôb [crooked, exceedingly corrupt] above all thingskôl [everything, all else] and beyond cureʼânash [incurable, desperately wicked] Whomîy [what person, which one] can understand ityâdaʻ [know, ascertain by seeing]

Word
Listen & take awayJeremiah 17
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 9 is in this chapter.
Hebrew ↓ Download MP3 The Masoretic text of this chapter, read aloud. Read by Abraham Shmuelof, courtesy of Audio Scriptures International. Chapter divisions by the Academy of Ancient Languages..
Say the word Each Hebrew word carries its transliteration (ye.da.'E.nu) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Jeremiah 17:9quick helps
In a sentenceJeremiah describes the heart's deceitfulness and its incurable nature.
Who is speakingThe prophet Jeremiah, conveying God's message.
Where we areThis verse is part of a larger discussion on the heart's nature and its consequences.
The hard wordעָקֹ֥ב
Take awayThe heart is fundamentally flawed and beyond human understanding.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectהוּא The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the Old Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — Jeremiah 17:9

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — The Nature of the Heartgenerated

8He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.
9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
11Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”

Jeremiah 17:9 presents a stark view of the human heart, emphasizing its deceitful nature and the difficulty of understanding it. This verse is situated within a broader context where God contrasts the righteous and the wicked, highlighting the consequences of a heart turned away from Him. The surrounding verses elaborate on the blessings of trusting in the Lord versus the curses of reliance on human strength.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Jeremiah 16:12And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me.
2Genesis 6:5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
3Genesis 8:21When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
4Job 15:14–16What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
5Psalm 51:5Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 12 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word עָקֹב, a.Kogenerated

The Hebrew word עָקֹב (ʿāqōb) is a masculine singular noun that conveys the idea of deceitfulness and crookedness. It is built from a root that suggests a lack of honesty, often used to describe actions or paths that are insidious or treacherous.

This word appears in various contexts throughout the Bible, often indicating something that is not straightforward or is inherently corrupt. Its usage in Isaiah 40:4 reinforces its connotation of being crooked or steep, which aligns with the moral implications of the heart's nature in this verse.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In this study, we reference the Berean Standard Bible, which uses deceitful for עָקֹב. The KJV and ASV also align with this choice, emphasizing the heart's corrupt nature.

Where translations differ is in the rendering of עָקֹב: exceedingly corrupt (ASV, WEB) versus crooked (YLT). This highlights the nuances of the word's meaning and its implications for understanding human nature.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The finite verb יֵדָעֶנּוּ governs the entire verse, with two main clauses: the first describing the heart's nature and the second posing a rhetorical question about understanding it. The structure emphasizes the heart's deceitfulness before transitioning to the question of comprehension.

The sentence's arrangement places the heart's character at the forefront, followed by the inquiry into who can truly grasp its complexities. This layout underscores the profound mystery surrounding human nature.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The Septuagint translates עָקֹב as βαθεῖα (bathéia), which means 'deep' or 'profound.' This choice shifts the focus slightly from deceitfulness to a depth of complexity, suggesting that the heart's nature is not only crooked but also deeply rooted in human experience.

This translation reflects an interpretative angle that may emphasize the heart's hidden depths, aligning with the idea that understanding it is a significant challenge.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Jeremiah 17:9 states that the heart is deceitful and beyond cure, posing the question of who can understand it. This verse highlights the flawed nature of the human heart and the difficulty in comprehending its true condition.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that the heart is deceitful?

It indicates that the heart can lead one astray, filled with insincerity and corruption, making it unreliable.

Why is the heart described as beyond cure?

This suggests that human nature is deeply flawed and cannot be healed by human efforts alone.

What is the significance of the question, 'Who can understand it?'

It emphasizes the complexity and mystery of human motives and intentions, indicating that only God can fully comprehend the heart.

How does this verse relate to other biblical teachings about the heart?

It connects with other passages that discuss the heart's role in moral and spiritual life, illustrating the need for divine intervention in understanding and transforming the heart.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways have I seen the deceitfulness of my own heart?
  2. How can I seek to understand my motivations and intentions more clearly?
  3. What steps can I take to guard my heart against deceit?
  4. How does recognizing the heart's nature affect my relationship with God and others?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Early Church Fathers reference this verse to discuss the nature of humanity and the understanding of Christ, arguing from its insights into human condition and divine revelation.

IrenaeusAGAINST HERESIES 3:19.2 c. 130–202
For this reason it is said, “Who shall declare his generation?” since “he is man, and who shall recognize him?” But one to whom the Father who is in heaven has revealed him knows him,
Early Church Fathers on Jeremiah 17 →
TertullianON THE FLESH OF CHRIST 15 c. 155–220
For it is of him that Isaiah writes: “A man of suffering and acquainted with the bearing of weakness.” Jeremiah writes: “He is man,
Early Church Fathers on Jeremiah 17 →
TertullianAGAINST MARCION 3.7 c. 155–220
The Father, now that he has made him a little lower than the angels, will crown him with glory and honor and will put all things beneath his feet.
Early Church Fathers on Jeremiah 17 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Jeremiah 17:9 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The heart is deceitful above all things,.... This is the source of the idolatry and creature confidence of the Jews, sins which were the cause of their ruin; and though what is here said is

Read John Gill on Jeremiah 17 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Read Robert Jamieson on Jeremiah 17 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The words translated deceitful, and desperately wicked, are very variously translated, fraudulent, perverse, supplanting. He speaks to the Jews, that they might not lean too much to their own counsels, fancies, or understandings; but it is a proposition true concerning the hearts of all the sons and daughters of men; there is nothing so false and deceitful as the heart of man; deceitful in its apprehensions of things, in the hopes and promises which it nourisheth, in the assurances that it gives us, &c.; unsearchable by others, deceitful with reference to ourselves, and abominably wicked, so that neither can a man know his own heart, neither can any other know our hearts.

Read Matthew Poole on Jeremiah 17 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?Ver. 9. The heart of man is deceitful above all things.] The pravity and perversity of man’ s heart, full of harlotry and creature confidence, deceiving and being deceived, is here plainly and plentifully described; and oh that it were duly and deeply considered. "Deceitful" it is here said to be "above all things," no creature like it. Varium est, versutum, et versipelle; tortuosum est, anfractuosum et fallax, ideoque inscrutabile; It is full of turnings and windings, nooks and corners, wiles and sleights. It deceived David, as wise as he was, and tripped up his heels, as the word here used…

Read John Trapp on Jeremiah 17 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) The heart is deceitful . . .—The sequence of ideas seems as follows: If the blessing and the curse are thus so plainly marked, how is it that man chooses the curse and not the blessing, the portion of the “heath in the desert” rather than that of the “tree planted by the waters”? And the answer is found in the inscrutable self-deceit of his nature blinding his perceptions of good and evil. Desperately wicked.—Rather, incurably diseased, as in Jeremiah 15:18; Jeremiah 30:12; Jeremiah 30:15; Isaiah 17:11, and elsewhere. Wickedness is, of course, implied, but it is regarded rather as a moral taint following on the deliberate choice, than as the choice itself.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Jeremiah 17 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 9. The heart is deceitful] עקב הלב akob halleb, "the heart is supplanting - tortuous - full of windings - insidious;" lying ever at the catch; striving to avail itself of every favourable circumstance to gratify its propensities to pride, ambition, evil desire, and corruption of all kinds. And desperately wicked] ואנש הוא veanush hu, and is wretched, or feeble; distressed beyond all things, in consequence of the wickedness that is in it. I am quite of Mr. Parkhurst's opinion, that this word is here badly translated as אנש anash is never used in Scripture to denote wickedness of any kind. My old MS. Bible translates thus: - Schrewid is the herte of a man: and unserchable: who schal…

Read AdamClarke on Jeremiah 17 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9–13. See introd. summary to section. This sub-section is made up of three isolated pieces, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13; the metres also varying.

Read Cambridge on Jeremiah 17 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

9. The heart is deceitful — The connexion is this: Man trusts in his fellowman in obedience to the natural impulses of his heart, and because he thinks him trustworthy; but “the heart is deceitful.”

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Jeremiah 17 →

The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

WEBWorld English Bible2000

The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it?

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

NETBNew English Translation2006

The human mind is more deceitful than anything else. It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

¶ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

RVARevised Version, American1894

The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is desperately sick: who can know it?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

The heart is deceitful above all things , and desperately wicked: who can know it?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

The heart is deceitfull and wicked aboue all things, who can knowe it?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurable; who can know it?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

Crooked [is] the heart above all things, And it [is] incurable — who doth know it?

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

The heart [is] deceitful above all things, || And it [is] incurable—who knows it?

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

Deceitful is the heart above all things, and sick: who can know it?

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

The heart is more deceitful than anything else. It is sick; who can understand it?

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

The heart is perverse above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

The mind is more deceptive than anything else—it's incurably sick! Who can possibly understand it?

BBEBible in Basic English1949

The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?

Word by word, the decisions they made

עָקֹ֥בa.Ko [is] deceitful H6121 2 different renderings
exceedingly corruptASV WEB
crookedYLT

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseclausepredicateעָקֹ֥ב[is].deceitfulnoun phrase · subjectהַtheלֵּ֛בheartprepositional phrase · prepositionalמִmoreכֹּ֖לthan.everythingוְand.[is]clausepredicateאָנֻ֣שׁincurablesubjectה֑וּאitclausesubjectמִ֖יwho?verbיֵדָעֶֽwillobjectנּוּhe.know.it

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran

The Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, and the Dead Sea Scrolls show agreement on the core wording of this verse, with the Septuagint providing a Greek rendering that corresponds closely to the Hebrew. The Dead Sea Scrolls, while partially restored, align with the Masoretic Text in the significant elements of the verse.

Masoretic TextLeningrad Codex, c. AD 1008 — the text this page is built on

עָקֹ֥ב הַלֵּ֛ב מִכֹּ֖ל וְאָנֻ֣שׁ ה֑וּא מִ֖י יֵדָעֶֽנּוּ׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
עָקֹ֥בβαθεῖαהַלֵּ֛בκαρδίαמִכֹּ֖לπάνταוְאָנֻ֣שׁἄνθρωπόςה֑וּאἐστινמִ֖יτίςיֵדָעֶֽנּוּ׃αὐτόν

7 of the 7 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.

Dead Sea Scrolls — 4Q70a copy a thousand years older than the Leningrad Codex

עקב הלב [מכל] [ואנש] [הוא] [מי] [ידע׳נו]

nothing on the leather here — 2 partly restored, 5 supplied entire by an editor.

Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Jeremiah 17:9עָקֹב[is] deceit[is] deceitfulעָקֹבלֵבthe heartthe heartלֵבכֹּלmore than emore than everyכֹּלאָנַשׁand [is] inand [is] incuraאָנַשׁהוּאititהוּאמִיwho?who?מִייָדַעwill he knowill he know itיָדַעעָקַבto assailto assailעָקַבכָּלַלto perfectto perfectכָּלַללֵבָבheartheartלֵבָבמָהwhat?what?מָהחָסֵרlackinglackingחָסֵרחָכָםwisewiseחָכָםעֵדָהcongregaticongregationעֵדָהעֲבֹדָהserviceserviceעֲבֹדָהכְּאֵבpainpainכְּאֵבמַכָּהwoundwoundמַכָּהטָמֵאuncleanuncleanטָמֵאעֵתtimetimeעֵתיָעַדto appointto appointיָעַדכְּמוֹlikelikeכְּמוֹאֲנִיIIאֲנִיבִּיןto understto understandבִּין
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Jeremiah 17:9

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

[is] deceitful the heart more than everything and [is] incurable it who? will he know it
עָקֹ֥בa.Ko [is] deceitful H6121 Noun common · masculine singular absolute
3× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word means something is not straight or honest, like a crooked path or a deceitful action, often used to describe unfair or polluted things. It appears in various books, including the prophets. This concept is important in understanding God's desire for integrity.
Amplified meaning
crooked, exceedingly corrupt
Tyndale gloss
insidious
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word עָקֹב (ʿāqōb) has meanings related to deceitfulness and steepness. It is built from the root associated with tracking or being crooked. The entries indicate it can describe something insidious or hilly, with a specific reference in Isaiah 40:4. There is some variation in the emphasis on its meanings across lexicons.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

עָקֹב adj.

insidious, deceitful

foot-tracked

base

עָקֹב adj. steep, hilly;—Is 40:4

ref

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H6121a עָקֹב . insidious, deceitful

. foot-tracked

H6121b עָקֹב steep

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

6121 `aqob aw-kobe'

from 6117; in the original sense, a knoll (as swelling up);

in the denominative sense (transitive) fraudulent or

(intransitive) tracked:--crooked, deceitful, polluted.

see HEBREW for 06117

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

עָקֹב (a.qov) — insidious.

1) deceitful, sly, insidious

1a) deceitful, sly, insidious, slippery

1b) foot-tracked

עָקֹב (a.qov) — steep.

steep, hilly

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj — Noun common · masculine singular absolute
HNcmsa
[is] deceitful the heart more than everything and [is] incurable it who? will he know it
הַלֵּ֛בha.Lev the heart H3820 Particle · noun common masculine singular absolute
595× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Leb refers to the heart, but also represents feelings, will, and intellect in the Bible. It is used figuratively to describe the center of something, and is often translated as heart or mind. Leb is a complex concept that encompasses emotions and thoughts.
Amplified meaning
insidious, not straight or honest
Tyndale gloss
heart
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word לֵב (lev) means 'heart' and encompasses the inner man, mind, will, and emotions. It refers to the center of feelings, intellect, and moral character, as well as the seat of appetites and courage. The entries suggest a broad range of meanings related to human experience and thought, with a specific mention of its use in Jeremiah 51:1.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

לֵב 599 n.m. (f.) inner man, mind, will, heart

seldom of things in the midst of the sea

elsewhere of men

the inner man in contrast with the outer

the inner man, indef., soul, comprehending mind, affections and will

specific reference to mind

spec. ref. to inclinations, resolutions and determinations of the will

spec. ref. to conscience

[various]

for the man himself

as seat of appetites

as seat of emotions and passions

seat of courage

base

לֵב קָמָי prob. late Atbash Je 51:1.

ref

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H3820a לֵב inner man, mind, will, heart . seldom of things in the midst of the sea

. elsewhere of men . the inner man in contrast with the outer

. the inner man, indef., soul, comprehending mind, affections and will

. specific reference to mind

. spec. ref. to inclinations, resolutions and determinations of the will

. spec. ref. to conscience

. [various]

. for the man himself

. as seat of appetites

. as seat of emotions and passions

. seat of courage

H3820b לֵב קָמָי prob. late Atbash

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

3820 leb labe

a form of 3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very

widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect;

likewise for the centre of anything:--+ care for, comfortably,

consent, X considered, courag(-eous), friend(-ly), ((broken-),

(hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart((-ed)), X

heed, X I, kindly, midst, mind(-ed), X regard((-ed)), X

themselves, X unawares, understanding, X well, willingly,

wisdom.

see HEBREW for 03824

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

לֵב (lev) — heart.

1) inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding

1a) inner part, midst

1a1) midst (of things)

1a2) heart (of man)

1a3) soul, heart (of man)

1a4) mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory

1a5) inclination, resolution, determination (of will)

1a6) conscience

1a7) heart (of moral character)

1a8) as seat of appetites

1a9) as seat of emotions and passions 1a10) as seat of courage

לֵב (lev) — Leb.

§ Leb- = "heart of"

(probably a cryptic name for Babylon by Atbash)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Art | N-ms — Particle · noun common masculine singular absolute
HTd/Ncmsa
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hart (lebh, lebhabh; kardia): The different senses in which the word occurs in the Old Testament and the New Testament may be grouped under the following heads:

1. Various Meanings:

It represents in the first place the bodily organ, and by easy transition those experiences which affect or are affected by the body. Fear, love, courage, anger, Joy, sorrow, hatred are always ascribed to the heart--especially in the Old Testament; thus courage for which usually ruach is used (Ps 27:14); joy (Ps 4:7); anger (De 19:6, "while his heart is hot," lebhabh); fear (1Sa 25:37); sorrow (Ps 13:2), etc.

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;

[is] deceitful the heart more than everything and [is] incurable it who? will he know it
מִכֹּ֖לmi.Kol more than everything H3605 Preposition · noun common masculine singular absolute
5,415× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for 'all' or 'everything' is used throughout the Bible, like in Genesis 1:31, where God sees all He has made as very good. It encompasses the entirety of something, whether people, things, or situations.
Amplified meaning
everything, all else
Tyndale gloss
all
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It can refer to totality, including every person or thing, and is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included. The term can also denote a broader sense of everything in existence or all circumstances of life. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all

with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every

Absolutely:

without the art., all things, all

with the art. הַכֹּל

where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned

in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H3605 כֹּל once כּוֹל the whole, all . with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every

. Absolutely: . without the art., all things, all

. with the art. הַכֹּל . where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned

. in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

3605 kol kole

or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole;

hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a

plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any

(manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as

many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole,

whoso(-ever).

see HEBREW for 03634

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

כֹּל (kol) — all.

1) all, the whole

1a) all, the whole of

1b) any, each, every, anything

1c) totality, everything

Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep | N-ms — Preposition · noun common masculine singular absolute
HR/Ncmsa
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
[is] deceitful the heart more than everything and [is] incurable it who? will he know it
וְאָנֻ֣שׁve.'a.Nush and [is] incurable H605 Conjunction
9× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This Hebrew verb means to be weak or sick, and is used to describe someone who is incurable or desperately wicked. It appears in the Bible to describe people who are hopeless or frail. In the KJV, it is translated as desperate or woeful.
Amplified meaning
incurable, desperately wicked
Tyndale gloss
be incurable
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אָנַשׁ (anash) is a Hebrew verb meaning to be weak or sick. It encompasses a range of conditions, including being frail, incurable, or even metaphorically desperate. The word appears in various forms, such as in the Qal and Niphal stems, indicating both physical and figurative states of illness or weakness.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

[אָנַשׁ] vb. be weak, sick

Qal as adj. incurable, of wound, but metaph.

Niph. be sick, of child

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H605 [אָנַשׁ] be weak, sick

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

605 'anash aw-nash'

a primitive root; to be frail, feeble, or (figuratively)

melancholy:--desperate(-ly wicked), incurable, sick, woeful.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אָנַשׁ (a.nash) — be incurable.

1) to be weak, sick, frail

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be incurable

1a2) to be sick

1a3) desperate, incurable, desperately wicked, woeful, very sick (pass participle) (metaph.)

1b) (Niphal) to be sick

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj | Adj — Conjunction
HC/Aamsa
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
[is] deceitful the heart more than everything and [is] incurable it who? will he know it
ה֑וּאHu' it H1931 Pronoun
1,879× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word is a pronoun meaning 'he', 'she', or 'it', used to refer to a person or thing. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a subject or make it clear who is being talked about.
Tyndale gloss
he/she/it
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

הוּא (hu) is a third-person singular pronoun meaning he, she, or it, used for emphasis or when no verb is present. It can also refer to oneself or serve as a demonstrative pronoun. The word has various nuances, including resuming the subject with emphasis or expressing it unobtrusively. It can indicate 'that' or 'those' when used with the definite article.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

הוּא m. הִיא f., pron. of the 3rd ps. sing. he, she, used also (in both genders) for the neuter it

an emph. he (she, it, they), sometimes equivalent to himself (herself, itself, themselves), or (esp. with the art.) that (those)

It resumes the subj. with emph.

Where, however, the pron. follows the pred., its position gives it the minimum of emphasis, and it expresses (or resumes) the subject as unobtrusively as possible

It anticipates (as it seems) the subject

As an emph. predicate, of God

In a neuter sense, that, it (of an action, occurrence, matte, etc.)

With the art.: so regularly when joined to a subst. defined itself by the art.

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1931 הוּא, הִיא he, she, used also (in both genders) for the neuter it . an emph. he (she, it, they), sometimes equivalent to himself (herself, itself, themselves), or (esp. with the art.) that (those)

. It resumes the subj. with emph.

. Where, however, the pron. follows the pred., its position gives it the minimum of emphasis, and it expresses (or resumes) the subject as unobtrusively as possible

. It anticipates (as it seems) the subject

. As an emph. predicate, of God

. In a neuter sense, that, it (of an action, occurrence, matte, etc.)

. With the art.: so regularly when joined to a subst. defined itself by the art.

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1931 huw' hoo

of which the feminine (beyond the Pentateuch) is hiyw {he}; a

primitive word, the third person pronoun singular, he (she or

it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also

(intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same;

sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally

(instead of copula) as or are:--he, as for her, him(-self),

it, the same, she (herself), such, that (...it), these, they,

this, those, which (is), who.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

הוּא (hu) — he/she/it.

pron 3p s

1) he, she, it

1a) himself (with emphasis)

1b) resuming subj with emphasis

1c) (with minimum emphasis following predicate)

1d) (anticipating subj)

1e) (emphasising predicate)

1f) that, it (neuter) demons pron

2) that (with article)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HPp3ms — Pronoun
HPp3ms
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
[is] deceitful the heart more than everything and [is] incurable it who? will he know it
מִ֖יmi who? H4310 Pronoun
423× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word is used to ask questions like who, whose, or whom. It can also be used to express a wish, like would that or whoever. It appears in many forms throughout the Bible, often in phrases like O that or what.
Amplified meaning
what person, which one
Tyndale gloss
who?
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

מִי (mi) is an interrogative pronoun primarily used to ask about persons, meaning 'who?' or 'whose?'. It can also appear in rhetorical questions and has some idiomatic uses, such as 'who among...?' or 'whosoever'. The word is rarely applied to things, and its forms can vary in emphasis.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מִי 423 pron.interrog. who? of persons

מִי is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied

in the gen. whose

in an indirect qu.

מִי ב׳ who among … ?

strengthened and emph. forms of interrog.

various rhetorical uses whose

מִי may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it

once, following a verb, any one

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4310 מִי who? of persons . מִי is rarely used of things, and usually where persons are understood or implied

. in the gen. whose

. in an indirect qu.

. מִי ב׳ who among … ?

. strengthened and emph. forms of interrog.

. various rhetorical uses whose

. מִי may sometimes be rendered whosoever, though, as the examples will shew, it does not really mean it

. once, following a verb, any one

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4310 miy me

an interrogative pronoun of persons, as 4100 is of things,

who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things); also

(indefinitely) whoever; often used in oblique construction

with prefix or suffix:--any (man), X he, X him, + O that!

what, which, who(-m, -se, -soever), + would to God.

see HEBREW for 04100

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מִי (mi) — who?.

who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Part — Pronoun
HPi
[is] deceitful the heart more than everything and [is] incurable it who? will he know it
יֵדָעֶֽנּוּ׃ye.da.'E.nu will he know it H3045 Verb qal imperfect third person masculine singular · suffix
945× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for to know means to ascertain by seeing, and is used in many senses, including to learn, perceive, and recognize, as seen in various KJV translations.
Amplified meaning
know, ascertain by seeing
Tyndale gloss
to know
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

יָדַע (yada`) is a Hebrew verb meaning 'to know,' encompassing a wide range of senses including perception, recognition, and experience. It can refer to knowing someone intimately or being skilled in a task. The word has various forms, indicating actions such as making known or being made known. Lexicons note its use in both literal and figurative contexts, but there is no significant disagreement among them.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

יָדַע 943 vb. know

Qal

know, learn to know

perceive

perceive and see; find out and discern

discriminate, distinguish

know by experience

recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess

consider

not know = not expect

know a person, be acquainted with

know a person carnally, of sexual intercourse

know how, to do a thing, be able to do it

be skilful in

abs. have knowledge, be wise

Niph.

be made known, be or become known, of things

make oneself known of pers.

be perceived

be instructed

Pi. cause to know

Pu. known

Hiph. make known, declare

Hoph. made known

Hithp. make oneself known

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H3045 יָדַע know .. . know, learn to know

. perceive

. perceive and see; find out and discern

. discriminate, distinguish

. know by experience

. recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess

. consider

. not know = not expect

. know a person, be acquainted with

. know a person carnally, of sexual intercourse

. . know how, to do a thing, be able to do it

. be skilful in

. abs. have knowledge, be wise

. . be made known, be or become known, of things

. make oneself known of pers.

. be perceived

. be instructed

. cause to know

. known

. make known, declare

. made known

. make oneself known

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

3045 yada` yaw-dah'

a primitive root; to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing);

used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally,

euphemistically and inferentially (including observation,

care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation,

punishment, etc.) (as follow):--acknowledge, acquaintance(-ted

with), advise, answer, appoint, assuredly, be aware,

(un-)awares, can(-not), certainly, comprehend, consider, X

could they, cunning, declare, be diligent, (can, cause to)

discern, discover, endued with, familiar friend, famous, feel,

can have, be (ig-)norant, instruct, kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause

to let, make) know, (come to give, have, take) knowledge, have

(knowledge), (be, make, make to be, make self) known, + be

learned, + lie by man, mark, perceive, privy to, X

prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man

of) skill, be sure, of a surety, teach, (can) tell,

Read the full entry →
Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

יָדַע (ya.da) — to know.

1) to know

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to know

1a1a) to know, learn to know

1a1b) to perceive

1a1c) to perceive and see, find out and discern

1a1d) to discriminate, distinguish

1a1e) to know by experience

1a1f) to recognise, admit, acknowledge, confess

1a1g) to consider

1a2) to know, be acquainted with

1a3) to know (a person carnally)

1a4) to know how, be skilful in

1a5) to have knowledge, be wise

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be made known, be or become known, be revealed

1b2) to make oneself known

1b3) to be perceived

1b4) to be instructed

1c) (Piel) to cause to know

1d) (Poal) to cause to know

1e) (Pual)

1e1) to be known

1e2) known, one known, acquaintance (participle)

1f) (Hiphil) to make known, declare

1g) (Hophal) to be made known

1h) (Hithpael) to make oneself known, reveal oneself

Aramaic equivalent: ye.da (יְדַע "to know" H3046)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
V-Qal-Imperf-3ms | Suff — Verb qal imperfect third person masculine singular · suffix
HVqi3ms/Sp3ms
Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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