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Psalms 38:9 — Word Study

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WLCאֲֽדֹנָי נֶגְדְּךָ֥ כָל־ תַּאֲוָתִ֑י וְ֝אַנְחָתִ֗י מִמְּךָ֥ לֹא־ נִסְתָּֽרָה׃

BSAbe numbpûwg to crushdâkâh tillʻad muchmᵉʼôd to roarshâʼag groaningnᵉhâmâh [sighing, deep sorrow] heartlêb

Word
Listen & take awayPsalms 38
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 (nis.Ta.rah) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Psalms 38:9quick helps
In a sentenceThe psalmist expresses his deepest longings and sorrows directly to the Lord, emphasizing that nothing is hidden from Him.
Who is speakingThe psalmist, addressing God with reverence.
Where we areIn a moment of personal anguish, the psalmist lays bare his heart before God.
The hard wordתַּאֲוָתִ֑י
Take awayThe psalmist's desires and sorrows are fully known to God.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause verbH5641 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 — Psalms 38:9

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 — A Cry for Helpgenerated

8I am numb and badly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.
9O Lord, my every desire is before You; my groaning is not hidden from You.
10My heart pounds, my strength fails, and even the light of my eyes has faded.
11My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.

Psalms 38:9 captures a moment of deep emotional distress where the psalmist acknowledges his pain and longing before God. This verse is part of a larger lament, where the psalmist expresses his suffering and seeks divine attention and mercy. The surrounding verses highlight his physical and emotional state, emphasizing the need for God's presence in times of trouble.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Psalm 102:5–20Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones.
2John 1:48“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
3Romans 8:22–23We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.
42 Corinthians 5:2For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 4 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word תַּאֲוָתִ֑י, ta.'a.va.Tigenerated

The word תַּאֲוָה (ta'avah) is a feminine noun meaning 'desire' or 'longing.' It encompasses a range of meanings from simple wishes to deep yearnings of the heart. The parsing indicates that it is in the construct state, linking it closely to the speaker's personal experience.

This term is used in various contexts in the Bible, often reflecting the inner desires of individuals. Here, it underscores the psalmist's heartfelt wishes laid out before God, showing vulnerability and a plea for understanding.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the verse reads: 'my every desire is before You,' which is consistent across the translations.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The verse comprises two main clauses connected by a conjunction: אֲֽדֹנָי (O Lord) introduces the address to God, followed by two phrases that detail the psalmist's emotional state. The structure emphasizes the directness of the psalmist's appeal to God.

The first clause presents the psalmist's desires, while the second clause highlights the visibility of his groaning, indicating that both his longings and sorrows are laid bare before God.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In the Septuagint, the Hebrew word תַּאֲוָה is rendered as ὠρυόμην, which conveys a sense of deep emotional expression. This choice reflects a broader interpretation of the psalmist's feelings, suggesting an intense outpouring of grief and longing.

The Greek translation captures the essence of the Hebrew, emphasizing the emotional weight behind the psalmist's words.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Psalms 38:9 expresses the psalmist's heartfelt desires and groans before God, indicating that nothing is hidden from Him. The psalmist acknowledges his pain and longing, seeking divine attention and understanding in his distress.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does the psalmist mean by 'my every desire is before You'?

The psalmist is expressing that all his longings and wishes are openly presented to God, highlighting his vulnerability and need for divine attention.

Why does the psalmist mention his groaning?

The mention of groaning signifies the depth of his sorrow and anguish, indicating that his pain is not hidden from God.

How does this verse reflect the psalmist's relationship with God?

This verse shows a close and personal relationship where the psalmist feels free to express his innermost feelings and desires to God.

What can we learn from the psalmist's approach to God in this verse?

We can learn the importance of being honest and open with God about our feelings and struggles, trusting that He is aware of and cares for our deepest longings.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What are some of my deepest desires that I can bring before God in prayer?
  2. How can I express my feelings of sorrow or anguish to God honestly?
  3. In what ways can I be more open about my struggles with God?
  4. What does it mean to me that my groans and longings are not hidden from God?

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

Early church commentary on this verse highlights the psalmist's expression of longing and sorrow before God, emphasizing the importance of bringing one's desires to Him.

Augustine of HippoExposition on Psalms 38 354–430
And who observed and noticed the cause of his groaning? "All my desire is before You" [Psalms 38:9].
Early Church Fathers on Psalms 38 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Psalms 38:9 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Lord, all my desire [is] before thee,.... To be delivered from his afflictions, to have a discovery and application of pardoning grace, and to have communion with his God: the desire of his soul was

Read John Gill on Psalms 38 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 38 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

I do not utter all these complaints, nor roar out, that thou mayst hear and know them, for thou hearest and knowest even my lowest groans; yea, mine inward desires, and all my necessities. And therefore, I pray thee, pity and deliver me, as I trust thou wilt do.

Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 38 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psalms 38:9 Lord, all my desire [is] before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.Ver. 9. Lord, all my desire is before thee] Confused desires, broken requests, if from a broken spirit, are upon the file of heaven, and stand before God till they may have an answer. And my groaning is not hid from thee] No, not my breathing, Lamentations 3:56. God can feel breath; but the groanings of his people go to his heart.

Read John Trapp on Psalms 38 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) All my desire.—Notice the clutch at the thought of divine justice, as the clutch of a drowning man amid that sea of trouble.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Psalms 38 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 9. Lord, all my desire is before thee] I long for nothing so much as thy favour; and for this my heart is continually going out after thee. Instead of אדני Adonai, Lord, several of Dr. Kennicott's MSS. have יהוהYehovah.

Read AdamClarke on Psalms 38 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9–14. The neglect of friends and the scorn of enemies augment his sufferings.

Read Cambridge on Psalms 38 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Lord, all my desire is before thee - That is, Thou knowest all that I would ask or that I need. This is the expression of one who felt that his only hope was in God, and that He fully understood the case.

Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 38 →

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

O Lord, my every desire is before You; my groaning is not hidden from You.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

O Lord, my every desire is before You; my groaning is not hidden from You.

NETBNew English Translation2006

O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire; my groaning is not hidden from you.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Lord, all my desire is before thee; And my groaning is not hid from thee.

RVARevised Version, American1894

Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

LORD, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Lord, I powre my whole desire before thee, and my sighing is not hid from thee.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my sighing is not hid from thee.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

Lord, before Thee [is] all my desire, And my sighing from Thee hath not been hid.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Lord, all my desire [is] before You, || And my sighing has not been hid from You.

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

(38:10) Lord, before thee is all my longing; and my sighing is from thee not hidden.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Lord, you understand my heart's deepest yearnings, and my groanings are not hidden from you.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Deliver thou me from all my iniquities: thou hast made me a reproach to the fool.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Lord, you know what I desperately want, you hear every sigh I make.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Lord, all my desire is before you; my sorrow is not kept secret from you.

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.

clauseclausenoun phraseאֲֽדֹנָLordיmyclauseclauseprepositional phrase · predicateנֶגְדְּ[is].beforeךָ֥younoun phrase · subjectכָלallnoun phraseתַּאֲוָתִ֑desireיmyוְ֝andclausenoun phrase · subjectאַנְחָתִ֗groaningיmyprepositional phrase · prepositionalמִמְּfromךָ֥youadverbialלֹאnotverbנִסְתָּֽרָהit.is.hidden

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


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

The Masoretic Text matches closely with the Septuagint, with six out of eight words corresponding directly. The Dead Sea Scrolls fragment contains seven words from the verse, with six supplied by an editor, indicating a strong textual tradition.

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

אֲֽדֹנָי נֶגְדְּךָ֥ כָל־ תַּאֲוָתִ֑י וְ֝אַנְחָתִ֗י מִמְּךָ֥ לֹא־ נִסְתָּֽרָה׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
אֲֽדֹנָיἐκακώθηνנֶגְדְּךָ֥ἐταπεινώθηνכָל־ἕωςתַּאֲוָתִ֑יὠρυόμηνוְ֝אַנְחָתִ֗יκαρδίαςמִמְּךָ֥μου

6 of the 8 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 — 4Q83a copy a thousand years older than the Leningrad Codex

נפגא [ונדכיתי] [עד] [מאד] [שאגתי] [מנהמת] [לב׳י]

7 words of the verse are on this fragment — 6 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.

Psalms 38:9אָדוֹןO LordO Lordאָדוֹןנֶ֫גֶד[is] before[is] before youנֶ֫גֶדכֹּלallallכֹּלתַּאֲוָהdesire mydesire myתַּאֲוָהאֲנָחָהand sighingand sighing myאֲנָחָהמִן־from youfrom youמִן־לֹאnotnotלֹאסָתַרit is hiddeit is hiddenסָתַראָוָהto desireto desireאָוָהנָגַדto tellto tellנָגַדכָּלַלto perfectto perfectכָּלַלאָדוֹןlordlordאָדוֹןמֵןstringstringמֵןיהוהYHWH/GodYHWH/Godיהוהכֹּהthusthusכֹּהבְּלִיַּ֫עַלBelial: woBelial: worthleבְּלִיַּ֫עַלעֵדָהcongregaticongregationעֵדָהעֲבֹדָהserviceserviceעֲבֹדָהמַאֲכָלfoodfoodמַאֲכָליָגוֹןsorrowsorrowיָגוֹןיָגֵעַbe weary/tbe weary/toilיָגֵעַרָחַקto removeto removeרָחַקיָתַרto remainto remainיָתַריָכֹלbe ablebe ableיָכֹלעוֹדstillstillעוֹדפָּנֶהfacefaceפָּנֶה
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 Psalms 38:9

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.

O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
אֲֽדֹנָי'aDo.nai O Lord H136 Noun proper
440× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Adonay is a title used to refer to God, spoken in place of Yahweh as a sign of reverence and respect. It is used throughout the Bible to address God or refer to Him in a formal way. Adonay is a term of worship and devotion.
Tyndale gloss
Lord
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אֲדֹנָי (Adonay) means 'Lord' and is an emphatic form of another Hebrew word for lord. It is used specifically as a title for God, often in place of Yahweh to show reverence. Variations include אֲדֹנִי and אֲדֹנַי, which help distinguish divine from human references.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אָדוֹן n.m. lord (אֲדֹנִי, אֲדֹנַי, אֲדֹנָי are variations of Mass. pointing to distinguish divine reference fr. human. Pl., with few exc. an intens. pl. of rank; word takes sf. as pl. in all other pers.; so doubtless here. Orig. reading prob. in all cases אֲדֹנַי; אֲדֹנִי now found in J 51 t.)

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H136 אָדוֹן lord (אֲדֹנִי, אֲדֹנַי, אֲדֹנָי are variations of Mass. pointing to distinguish divine reference fr. human. Pl., with few exc. an intens. pl. of rank; word takes sf. as pl. in all other pers.; so doubtless here. Orig. reading prob. in all cases אֲדֹנַי; אֲדֹנִי now found in J 51 t.)

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

136 'Adonay ad-o-noy'

am emphatic form of 113; the Lord (used as a proper name of

God only):--(my) Lord.

see HEBREW for 0113

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) — Lord.

Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence

Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HNpt — Noun proper
HNpt
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Lord

There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered.

(1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The form “Jehovah” is retained only in Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4, both in the Authorized and the Revised Version.

(2.) Heb. ‘adon, means one possessed of absolute control. It denotes a master, as of slaves (Gen. 24:14, 27), or a ruler of his subjects (45:8), or a husband, as lord of his wife (18:12).

The old plural form of this Hebrew word is ’adonai. From a superstitious reverence for the name “Jehovah,” the Jews, in reading their Scriptures, whenever that name…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

[GOD]

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

This name belongs to God by preeminence; and in this sense ought never to be given to any creature. Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, the Son of God, and equal with the Father, is often called Lord in Scripture, especially in the writing of Paul. The word LORD, in the English Bible, when printed in small capitals, stands always for JEHOVAH in the Hebrew. See JEHOVAH.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ A prince Jos 13:3; Jud 3:3; 1Sa 5:8; 6:4

→ See GOD

→ See JESUS

O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
נֶגְדְּךָ֥neg.de.Kha [is] before you H5048 Suffix
151× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Before or in front of something, as in Genesis 18:22 where Abraham stands before the Lord. It describes a position of being face to face or in someone's presence.
Tyndale gloss
before
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

נֶ֫גֶד (neged) refers to something that is conspicuous or in front, functioning as both a noun and an adverb. It denotes a position opposite or before someone, often used to indicate presence or visibility. The word can imply a counterpart or mate, and it appears in contexts emphasizing sight or proximity.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

נֶ֫גֶד 151 subst. what is conspicuous or in front, always as adv. or prep. in front of, in sight of, opposite to

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5048 נֶ֫גֶד subst. what is conspicuous or in front, always as adv. or prep. in front of, in sight of, opposite to

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5048 neged neh'-ghed

from 5046; a front, i.e. part opposite; specifically a

counterpart, or mate; usually (adverbial, especially with

preposition) over against or before:--about, (over) against,

X aloof, X far (off), X from, over, presence, X other side,

sight, X to view.

see HEBREW for 05046

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

נֶ֫גֶד (ne.ged) — before.

subst

1) what is conspicuous, what is in front of

adv

2) in front of, straight forward, before, in sight of

3) in front of oneself, straightforward

4) before your face, in your view or purpose

with prep

5) what is in front of, corresponding to

6) in front of, before

7) in the sight or presence of

8) parallel to

9) over, for

10) in front, opposite

11) at a distance

prep

12) from the front of, away from

13) from before the eyes of, opposite to, at a distance from

14) from before, in front of

15) as far as the front of

Aramaic equivalent: ne.ged (נֶ֫גֶד "before" H5049)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HAcmsc/Sp2ms — Suffix
HAcmsc/Sp2ms
O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
כָל־khol- all H3605 Noun common · masculine singular construct
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.
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
HNcmsc — Noun common · masculine singular construct
HNcmsc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ol: Used in various combinations, and with different meanings.

(1) All along, "Weeping all along as he went" (Jer 41:6), i.e. throughout the whole way he went, feigning equal concern with the men from Shiloh, etc., for the destruction of the Temple, so as to put them off their guard.

(2) All in all, "That God may be all in all" (1Co 15:28, Greek: panta en pasin, "all things in all (persons and) things"). "The universe, with all it comprises, will wholly answer to God's will and reflect His mind" (Dummelow).

(3) All one, "It is all one" (Job 9:22), "it makes no difference whether I live or die."

(4) At all, "If thy father miss me at all" (1Sa 20:6), "in any way," "in the least."

The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
תַּאֲוָתִ֑יta.'a.va.Ti desire my H8378 Noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
20× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word means desire or longing, and can refer to a positive or negative yearning. In the Bible, it is used to describe the desires of the heart, as seen in Psalm 38:9. It can also imply a delight or satisfaction.
Tyndale gloss
desire
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

תַּאֲוָה (ta'avah) means 'desire' and encompasses a range of meanings including longing, appetite, and covetousness. It can refer to both a subjective feeling of satisfaction and an objective charm or delight. The term is used in various contexts, sometimes with negative connotations such as lust or greed.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

תַּאֲוָה n.f. desire

thing desired

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H8378 תַּאֲוָה desire

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

8378 ta'avah tah-av-aw'

from 183 (abbreviated); a longing; by implication, a delight

(subjectively, satisfaction, objectively, a charm):--dainty,

desire, X exceedingly, X greedily, lust(ing), pleasant. See

also 6914.

see HEBREW for 0183

see HEBREW for 06914

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

תַּאֲוָה (ta.a.vah) — desire.

1) desire

1a) desire, wish, longings of one's heart

1a1) lust, appetite, covetousness (bad sense)

1b) thing desired, object of desire

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HNcfsc/Sp1bs — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
HNcfsc/Sp1bs
O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
וְ֝אַנְחָתִ֗יve.'an.cha.Ti and sighing my H585 Conjunction · noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
11× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word describes the sound of someone sighing or groaning, often because they're sad or in pain. It's used in Exodus 2:23 to describe the Israelites' cries of distress.
Tyndale gloss
sighing
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אֲנָחָה (anachah) refers to sighing or groaning, often associated with expressions of grief or physical distress. The term appears in poetic and late contexts, and its usage encompasses both mournful and general sighing. There are no significant disagreements among the lexicons regarding its meaning.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אֲנָחָה n.f. sighing, groaning (poet. & late)

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H585 אֲנָחָה sighing, groaning (poet. & late)

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

585 'anachah an-aw-khaw'

from 585; sighing:--groaning, mourn, sigh.

see HEBREW for 0585

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אֲנָחָה (a.na.chah) — sighing.

sighing, groaning (expression of grief or physical distress)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HC/Ncfsc/Sp1bs — Conjunction · noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
HC/Ncfsc/Sp1bs
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
מִמְּךָ֥mi.me.Kha from you H4480 Preposition · suffix
1,189× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This Hebrew word means a portion or part of something, and is often used to show the relationship between things, like from or out of something.
Tyndale gloss
from
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word מִן־ (*min*) is a preposition meaning 'from' or 'out of,' indicating separation or origin. It covers various uses, including temporal references, comparisons, and causal relationships. Additionally, it can denote a portion when used as a noun מֵן (*men*). The entries highlight its versatility in expressing different nuances of separation and position.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מִן־, and מִ, before יְ, prep. expressing the idea of separation, hence out of, from, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not

with verbs expressing (or implying) separation or removal

from, against

מן also, without a verb of similar significance, sometimes expresses the idea of separation, away from, far from

of position, off, on the side of, on

Out of, Gk. ἐκ, Lat. ex

Partitively

Of time—

as marking the terminus a quo, the anterior limit of a continuous period from, since

as marking the period immediately succeeding the limit after

towards, to

(וְעַד) עַד … מִן from … even to

In comparisons, beyond, above

מן is prefixed to an infin.:

with causal force, from, on account of, through

after verbs implying restraint, prevention, cessation, etc.

with a temporal force, since, after

Once as a conj. before a finite verb. that

In compounds:

base

Read the full entry →
Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4480a מִן־, מִ, prep. expressing the idea of separation, hence out of, from, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not . with verbs expressing (or implying) separation or removal . from, against

. מן also, without a verb of similar significance, sometimes expresses the idea of separation, away from, far from

. of position, off, on the side of, on

. Out of, Gk. ἐκ, Lat. ex

. Partitively

. Of time— . as marking the terminus a quo, the anterior limit of a continuous period from, since

. as marking the period immediately succeeding the limit after

. towards, to

. (וְעַד) עַד … מִן from … even to

. In comparisons, beyond, above

. מן is prefixed to an infin.: . with causal force, from, on account of, through

. after verbs implying restraint, prevention, cessation, etc.

. with a temporal force, since, after

. Once as a conj. before a finite verb. that

Read the full entry →
Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4480 min min

or minniy {min-nee'}; or minney (constructive plural)

{min-nay'}; (Isaiah 30:11); for 4482; properly, a part of;

hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses (as

follows):--above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason

of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over,

since, X then, through, X whether, with.

see HEBREW for 04482

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מִן־ (min) — from.

prep

1) from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than

1a) from (expressing separation), off, on the side of

1b) out of

1b1) (with verbs of proceeding, removing, expelling)

1b2) (of material from which something is made)

1b3) (of source or origin)

1c) out of, some of, from (partitively)

1d) from, since, after (of time)

1e) than, more than (in comparison)

1f) from...even to, both...and, either...or

1g) than, more than, too much for (in comparisons)

1h) from, on account of, through, because (with infinitive)

conj

2) that

Aramaic equivalent: min (מִן־ "from" H4481)

מֵן (men) — portion.

n.m.

portion

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HR/Sp2ms — Preposition · suffix
HR/Sp2ms
O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
לֹא־lo'- not H3808 Particle
5,170× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for not or no is used to indicate absence or negation, as when God says no to the Israelites' requests, or when they disobey His commands.
Tyndale gloss
not
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

לֹא (lo') is a Hebrew word meaning 'not' or 'no.' It serves as a simple negation and can imply absence or prohibition. The word can also be used in various contexts, often combined with other particles for emphasis or clarification. Its Aramaic equivalent is לָא (la), which also means 'not.'

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

לֹא or לוֹא adv. not

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H3808 לֹא or לוֹא not

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

3808 lo' lo

or lowi {lo}; or loh (Deut. 3:11) {lo}; a primitive particle;

not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often

used with other particles (as follows):--X before, + or else,

ere, + except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never,

no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), (X as though...,(can-), for) not (out

of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, +

of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

לֹא (lo) — not.

1) not, no

1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition)

1b) not (with modifier-negation)

1c) nothing (subst)

1d) without (with particle)

1e) before (of time)

Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HTn — Particle
HTn
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
O Lord [is] before you all desire my and sighing my from you not it is hidden
נִסְתָּֽרָה׃nis.Ta.rah it is hidden H5641 Verb · Niphal · perfect third person feminine singular
81× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to hide or conceal something, like covering it up. It can also mean to keep something secret or hidden from others, as in Psalm 27:5.
Tyndale gloss
to hide
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

סָתַר (sa.tar) is a Hebrew verb meaning to hide or conceal. It encompasses various forms, including hiding oneself, being hidden, and carefully concealing something or someone. The entries indicate its use in different grammatical aspects, such as the Niphal, Piel, Pual, Hiphil, and Hithpael stems. The Aramaic equivalent is noted as סְתַר.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

סָתַר vb. hide, conceal

Niph.

hide oneself

be hid, concealed

Pi. Imv. carefully hide (i.e. shelter) the outcasts

Pu. Pt. love carefully concealed

Hithp. hide oneself carefully

Hiph. conceal, hide

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5641 סָתַר hide, conceal . . hide oneself

. be hid, concealed

. Imv. carefully hide (i.e. shelter) the outcasts

. Pt. love carefully concealed

. hide oneself carefully

. conceal, hide

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5641 cathar saw-thar'

a primitive root; to hide (by covering), literally or

figuratively:--be absent, keep close, conceal, hide (self),

(keep) secret, X surely.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

סָתַר (sa.tar) — to hide.

1) to hide, conceal

1a) (Niphal)

1a1) to hide oneself

1a2) to be hidden, be concealed

1b) (Piel) to hide carefully

1c) (Pual) to be hidden carefully, be concealed

1d) (Hiphil) to conceal, hide

1e) (Hithpael) to hide oneself carefully

Aramaic equivalent: se.tar (סְתַר "to hide" H5642A)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HVNp3fs — Verb · Niphal · perfect third person feminine singular
HVNp3fs
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hid'-'n: The translation of Taman, "to hide," "to bury" (Job 3:16); of tsaphan "to conceal," "store up" (Job 15:20, "The number of years is hidden to the oppressor," the Revised Version (British and American) "even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor," margin "and years that are numbered are laid up"; Job 24:1, "Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty," the Revised Version (British and American) "Why are times not laid up by the Almighty?" margin as the King James Version with "Why is it?" prefixed; Ps 83:3, "They consulted (the Revised Version (British and American) "consult") against thy hidden ones"); of matspunim (from tsaphan), "hidden…

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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