Word study
Burden
7 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: burden, burdened, burdens, burdening. 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 “burden” 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)
- מַשָּׂא massâload, burden, lifting, bearing, tributetranslated this way 37 times of its 64 uses · Strong’s H4853Noun · Translated: burden 35, load 7, carry 5, burdens 2Full study and all 60 verses →
Numbers 4:49 At the LORD’s command through Moses they were numbered, and each one was assigned his work and burden, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Deuteronomy 1:12 But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself?
- עָמַס âmasloadtranslated this way 3 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H6006Verb · Translated: burdened 2Full study and all 8 verses →
1 Kings 12:11 Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
2 Chronicles 10:11 Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
- סֹבֶל sôbelburdentranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H5448Noun · Translated: burden 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Isaiah 9:4 For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
Isaiah 10:27 On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.
- עֲבֹדָה ăbôdâhlabour, servicetranslated this way 2 times of its 127 uses · Strong’s H5656Noun · Translated: service 56, work 25, labor 8, task 5Full study and all 112 verses →
Exodus 2:23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
Nehemiah 5:18 Each day one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine was provided. But I did not demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.
- כָּבַד kâbadbe heavy, weighty, burdensome, honouredtranslated this way 2 times of its 109 uses · Strong’s H3513Verb · Translated: honor 19, honored 11, heavy 10, hardened 6Full study and all 105 verses →
2 Samuel 13:25 “No, my son,” the king replied, “we should not all go, or we would be a burden to you.” Although Absalom urged him, he was not willing to go, but gave him his blessing.
Nehemiah 5:15 The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people. But I did not do this, because of my fear of God.
- קָשֶׁה qâshehhard, severetranslated this way 2 times of its 35 uses · Strong’s H7186Adjective · Translated: stiff-necked 6, harshly 5, hard 3, stubborn 2Full study and all 35 verses →
1 Kings 12:4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
2 Chronicles 10:4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you must lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
- עָבַד âbadwork, servetranslated this way 2 times of its 286 uses · Strong’s H5647Verb · Translated: serve 110, served 44, worship 32, work 9Full study and all 259 verses →
Isaiah 43:23 You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense.
Isaiah 43:24 You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened Me with your sins; you have wearied Me with your iniquities.
Greek words (New Testament)
- βάρος bárosa weight, burdentranslated this way 4 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G922Noun · Translated: burden 3, weight 1, burdens 1, demand 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Matthew 20:12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’
Acts 15:28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:
- βαρέω baréōI weight, load, burdentranslated this way 3 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G916Verb · Translated: heavy 1, overcome 1, weighed 1, burden 1Full study and all 6 verses →
2 Corinthians 1:8 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
1 Timothy 5:16 If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need .
- καταναρκάω katanarkáōI burden, encumbertranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G2655Verb · Translated: burden 3Full study and all 3 verses →
2 Corinthians 11:9 And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.
2 Corinthians 12:13 In what way were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!
- φορτίον phortíona burden, freighttranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G5413Noun · Translated: load 2, burden 1, loads 1, heavy burdens 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Matthew 11:30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Luke 11:46 “Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “For you weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.
- ἐπιβαρέω epibaréōI burdentranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G1912Verb · Translated: burden 2, overstate 1Full study and all 3 verses →
1 Thessalonians 2:9 Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
2 Thessalonians 3:8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
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.
What the Bible says about burden: passages by topic →
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.