Word study
Always
4 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “always”. 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 “always” 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)
- תָּמִיד tâmîdcontinuitytranslated this way 26 times of its 99 uses · Strong’s H8548Adverb · Translated: always 26, regular 20, continually 14, regularly 7Full study and all 99 verses →
Exodus 28:38 And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be acceptable before the LORD.
Deuteronomy 11:12 It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.
- כֹּל kôlthe whole, alltranslated this way 11 times of its 5,107 uses · Strong’s H3605Noun · Translated: all 1,589, and all 471, whole 223, every 196Full study and all 4,112 verses →
- עוֹלָם ôlâmlong duration, antiquity, futuritytranslated this way 4 times of its 341 uses · Strong’s H5769Noun · Translated: forever 114, everlasting 60, endures forever 43, permanent 38Full study and all 324 verses →
Exodus 19:9 The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said.
Leviticus 25:32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the cities they possess.
- נֶצַח netsacheminence, enduring, everlastingness, perpetuitytranslated this way 3 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s H5331Noun · Translated: forever 16, always 3Full study and all 31 verses →
Psalm 9:18 For the needy will not always be forgotten; nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.
Isaiah 57:16 For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me— the breath of life I have made.
Greek words (New Testament)
- πάντοτε pántotealways, at all timestranslated this way 21 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s G3842Adverb · Translated: always 21, times 5, time 2, continue 1Full study and all 29 verses →
Matthew 26:11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
Mark 14:7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
- ἀεί aeíalwaystranslated this way 7 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G104Adverb · Translated: always 7Full study and all 7 verses →
Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
2 Corinthians 4:11 For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
- εὐχαριστέω eucharistéōI thank, give thankstranslated this way 4 times of its 38 uses · Strong’s G2168Verb · Translated: gave thanks 10, thank 9, giving thanks 5, always thank 4Full study and all 37 verses →
1 Corinthians 1:4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
- διά diáthrough, on account oftranslated this way 3 times of its 607 uses · Strong’s G1223Preposition · Translated: through 201, by 83, because of 56, for 37Full study and all 553 verses →
Matthew 18:10 See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
Acts 2:25 David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- ἔχω échōI have, hold, possesstranslated this way 3 times of its 624 uses · Strong’s G2192Verb · Translated: has 63, have 52, with 35, you have 29Full study and all 560 verses →
Matthew 26:11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
Mark 14:7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
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.