Word study
Devoid
4 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “devoid”. 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 “devoid” 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)
- קָצֵר qâtsêrshorttranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H7116Adjective · Translated: devoid 2, short 1, quick-tempered man 1, quick-tempered 1Full study and all 5 verses →
2 Kings 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown.
Isaiah 37:27 Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown.
- דַּעַת daathknowledgetranslated this way 2 times of its 84 uses · Strong’s H1847Noun · Translated: knowledge 69, know 5, devoid of knowledge 2Full study and all 82 verses →
Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
Jeremiah 51:17 Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
- אָבַד âbadperishtranslated this way 1 time of its 179 uses · Strong’s H6Verb · Translated: perish 53, destroy 27, perished 15, destroyed 14Full study and all 173 verses →
Deuteronomy 32:28 Israel is a nation devoid of counsel, with no understanding among them.
- בְּלִי belîwearing outtranslated this way 1 time of its 55 uses · Strong’s H1097Adverb · Translated: without 16, lack 6, accidentally 3, nothing 2Full study and all 54 verses →
Job 41:33 Nothing on earth is his equal— a creature devoid of fear!
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀποστερέω aposteréōI deprive one of something, robtranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G650Verb · Translated: cheat 2, cheated 1, deprive 1, devoid 1Full study and all 6 verses →
1 Timothy 6:5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- ἔχω échōI have, hold, possesstranslated this way 1 time of its 624 uses · Strong’s G2192Verb · Translated: has 63, have 52, with 35, you have 29Full study and all 560 verses →
Jude 1:19 These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.
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.