Word study
Await
5 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: await, awaits, awaiting. 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 “await” 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)
- עַל alheighttranslated this way 2 times of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition · Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
- קָוָה qâvâhwait fortranslated this way 1 time of its 48 uses · Strong’s H6960Verb · Translated: wait 20, hope 6, waited 4, hoped 3Full study and all 45 verses →
Genesis 49:18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.
- דּוּמִיָּה dûmîâhsilence, still waiting, reposetranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s H1747Noun · Translated: rest 1, still 1, finds rest 1, awaits 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Psalm 65:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion; to You our vows will be fulfilled.
- בּוֹא bôcome in, come, go in, gotranslated this way 1 time of its 2,442 uses · Strong’s H935Verb · Translated: come 358, came 298, bring 209, brought 201Full study and all 2,217 verses →
- עוֹד ôda going round, continuancetranslated this way 1 time of its 390 uses · Strong’s H5750Adverb · Translated: longer 80, still 63, again 52, more 38Full study and all 372 verses →
Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀπεκδέχομαι apekdéchomaiI expect eagerly, wait for eagerlytranslated this way 4 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G553Verb · Translated: eagerly await 4, waits 1, wait eagerly 1, wait 1Full study and all 8 verses →
1 Corinthians 1:7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 5:5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness.
- προσδέχομαι prosdéchomaiI expect, welcome, accepttranslated this way 3 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s G4327Verb · Translated: waiting 5, Welcome 2, await 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Acts 23:21 Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”
Titus 2:13 as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
- μένω ménōI remain, abidetranslated this way 1 time of its 115 uses · Strong’s G3306Verb · Translated: remain 29, remains 20, stay 13, stayed 10Full study and all 101 verses →
Acts 20:23 I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.
- ἀναμένω anaménōI awaittranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G362Verb · Translated: await 1Full study and its 1 verse →
1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead — Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.
- ἐκδέχομαι ekdéchomaiI wait for, expecttranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G1551Verb · Translated: waiting 1, wait 1, expecting 1, waits 1Full study and all 6 verses →
James 5:7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil — how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
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.