Word study
Cry
17 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: cry, cried, crying, cries. 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 “cry” 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)
- זָעַק zâaqcry, cry out, calltranslated this way 56 times of its 72 uses · Strong’s H2199Verb · Translated: cried 26, cry 23, cries 4, summoned 3Full study and all 72 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.
Judges 3:9 But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.
- צָעַק tsâaqcry, cry out, calltranslated this way 39 times of its 55 uses · Strong’s H6817Verb · Translated: cried 19, cry 13, called 3, summoned 3Full study and all 53 verses →
Genesis 4:10 “What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
Exodus 5:8 But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
- קָרָא qârâcall, proclaim, readtranslated this way 34 times of its 709 uses · Strong’s H7121Verb · Translated: called 211, call 104, named 58, summoned 50Full study and all 663 verses →
Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
Leviticus 13:45 A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’
- קוֹל qôlsound, voicetranslated this way 14 times of its 425 uses · Strong’s H6963Noun · Translated: voice 197, sound 63, voices 22, thunder 11Full study and all 378 verses →
Exodus 32:18 But Moses replied: “It is neither the cry of victory nor the cry of defeat; I hear the sound of singing!”
Numbers 16:34 At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!”
- צַעֲקָה tsaăqâhcry, outcrytranslated this way 14 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s H6818Noun · Translated: cry 9, outcry 3, cries 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Genesis 27:34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, O my father!”
Exodus 3:7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- רִנָּה rinnâhringing crytranslated this way 11 times of its 33 uses · Strong’s H7440Noun · Translated: cry 11, shouts of joy 5, song 5, joy 4Full study and all 33 verses →
1 Kings 8:28 Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.
2 Chronicles 6:19 Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You.
- שָׁוַע shâvacry out for helptranslated this way 11 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s H7768Verb · Translated: cry for help 5, cry 4, help 4, call for help 2Full study and all 21 verses →
Job 24:12 From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
Psalm 18:41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them — to the LORD, but He did not answer.
- שַׁוְעָה shavâhcry for helptranslated this way 10 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H7775Noun · Translated: cry 5, cry for help 3, cry for deliverance 1, outcry 1Full study and all 11 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.
2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried out to my God. And from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears.
- זַעַק zaaqshriek, outcrytranslated this way 10 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H2201Noun · Translated: cry 8, outcry 4, lamentation 1, cry for help 1Full study and all 16 verses →
Nehemiah 9:9 You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
Job 16:18 O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest.
- אָמַר âmarutter, saytranslated this way 9 times of its 4,555 uses · Strong’s H559Verb · Translated: said 1,531, says 576, say 352, replied 341Full study and all 3,827 verses →
- רוּעַ rûaraise a shouttranslated this way 8 times of its 44 uses · Strong’s H7321Verb · Translated: shout 10, Make a joyful noise 5, shout in triumph 4, shouted 3Full study and all 40 verses →
Joshua 6:10 But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!”
Judges 7:21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran.
- תְּרוּעָה terûâhshout or blast of war, alarm, or joytranslated this way 6 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s H8643Noun · Translated: shouting 4, short blasts 2, shout 2, shout of joy 2Full study and all 29 verses →
Job 39:25 At the blast of the horn, he snorts with fervor. He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shouts of captains and the cry of war.
Jeremiah 20:16 May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,
- בָּכָה bâkâhweep, bewailtranslated this way 5 times of its 110 uses · Strong’s H1058Verb · Translated: wept 44, weep 22, weeping 21, mourned 4Full study and all 100 verses →
Exodus 2:6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the little boy was crying. So she had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew children.”
Numbers 11:13 Where can I get meat for all these people? For they keep crying out to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
- רָנַן rânangive a ringing crytranslated this way 4 times of its 56 uses · Strong’s H7442Verb · Translated: shout for joy 18, sing for joy 12, sing 5, Rejoice 3Full study and all 53 verses →
Psalm 84:2 My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Proverbs 8:3 Beside the gates to the city, at the entrances she cries out:
- אֵל êlmotion totranslated this way 3 times of its 4,199 uses · Strong’s H413Preposition · Translated: to 1,941, to me 285, to you 149, to him 137Full study and all 3,455 verses →
Exodus 8:12 After Moses and Aaron had left Pharaoh, Moses cried out to the LORD for help with the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh.
- צְוָחָה tsevâchâhoutcrytranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6682Noun · Translated: cry 2, cry of lament 1, outcry 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Psalm 144:14 Our oxen will bear great loads. There will be no breach in the walls, no going into captivity, and no cry of lament in our streets.
Isaiah 24:11 In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.
- צָהַל tsâhalneigh, cry shrillytranslated this way 3 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H6670Verb · Translated: Cry aloud 2Full study and all 9 verses →
Isaiah 10:30 Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!
Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
Greek words (New Testament)
- κράζω krázōI cry aloud, shriektranslated this way 35 times of its 54 uses · Strong’s G2896Verb · Translated: cried 20, crying 8, shouting 6, shouted 5Full study and all 53 verses →
Matthew 9:27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Mark 3:11 And when the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God!”
- βοάω boáōI shout, call aloudtranslated this way 5 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G994Verb · Translated: calling 4, cried 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Mark 15:34 At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Luke 9:38 Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.
- ἀνακράζω anakrázōI shout aloudtranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G349Verb · Translated: cried 5Full study and all 5 verses →
Mark 1:23 Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:
Luke 4:33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice,
- κραυγή kraugḗa shout, clamor, outcrytranslated this way 3 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G2906Noun · Translated: cry 1, voice 1, clamor 1, outcry 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Matthew 25:6 At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Hebrews 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
- λέγω légōI say, speaktranslated this way 2 times of its 993 uses · Strong’s G3004Verb · Translated: said 216, tell 164, say 105, saying 86Full study and all 936 verses →
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.