Word study
Agony
6 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “agony”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “agony” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- שָׁבָץ shâbâtsentanglement, perplexitytranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H7661Noun · Translated: agony 1Full study and its 1 verse →
2 Samuel 1:9 Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’
- בָּהַל bâhalalarm, dismaytranslated this way 1 time of its 37 uses · Strong’s H926Verb · Translated: terrified 8, dismayed 7, terror 3, rushed 2Full study and all 37 verses →
Psalm 6:2 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.
- חוּל chûlwhirl, dance, writhetranslated this way 1 time of its 58 uses · Strong’s H2342Verb · Translated: brought forth 6, tremble 5, labor 3, waited 2Full study and all 55 verses →
Isaiah 23:5 When the report reaches Egypt, they will writhe in agony over the news of Tyre.
- חִיל chîla writhing, anguishtranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H2427Noun · Translated: anguish 3, pain 3, agony 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Jeremiah 22:23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
- גִּיחַ gîachburst forthtranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s H1518Verb · Translated: charged 1, burst forth 1, surges 1, brought me forth 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Micah 4:10 Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!
- מְאֹד meôdmuchness, force, abundance, exceedinglytranslated this way 1 time of its 195 uses · Strong’s H3966Adverb · Translated: greatly 28, very 12, was very 8, exceedingly 8Full study and all 186 verses →
Zechariah 9:5 Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
Greek words (New Testament)
- βασανίζω basanízōI torment, torture, buffettranslated this way 2 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s G928Verb · Translated: tormented 4, torture 3, agony 2, buffeted 1Full study and all 12 verses →
Matthew 8:6 “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”
Revelation 12:2 She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.
- ὀδυνάω odynáōI torment, paintranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G3600Verb · Translated: agony 2, especially grieved 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Luke 16:24 So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
Luke 16:25 But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.
- ὠδίν ōdínthe pain of childbirth, severe agonytranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G5604Noun · Translated: birth pains 2, agony 1, labor pains 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Acts 2:24 But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep Him in its grip.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.