Word study
Falsely
6 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “falsely”. 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 “falsely” 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)
- שֶׁקֶר sheqerdeception, disappointment, falsehoodtranslated this way 10 times of its 104 uses · Strong’s H8267Noun · Translated: lies 18, lying 16, false 12, falsely 10Full study and all 100 verses →
Leviticus 6:3 or finds lost property and lies about it and swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that a man might commit—
Deuteronomy 19:18 The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is proven to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother,
- שָׁקַר shâqardo or deal falselytranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s H8266Verb · Translated: deal falsely 1, deceive 1, lie 1, betrayed 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Genesis 21:23 Now, therefore, swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or descendants. Show to me and to the country in which you reside the same kindness that I have shown to you.”
- תּוֹעָה tôâhwandering, errortranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s H8442Noun · Translated: hindrance 1, falsely 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Isaiah 32:6 For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.
- שָׁבַע shâbasweartranslated this way 1 time of its 185 uses · Strong’s H7650Verb · Translated: swore 43, sworn 32, swear 28, swore an oath 12Full study and all 175 verses →
Jeremiah 5:2 Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
- נָבָא nâbâprophesytranslated this way 1 time of its 114 uses · Strong’s H5012Verb · Translated: prophesy 50, prophesied 25, prophesying 22, prophesies 9Full study and all 101 verses →
Jeremiah 29:9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
- אֲכַל ăkaleat, devourtranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H399Verb · Translated: maliciously 1, ate 1, falsely accused 1, gorge 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Daniel 6:24 At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions— they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
Greek words (New Testament)
- οὐ ouno, nottranslated this way 2 times of its 704 uses · Strong’s G3756Adverb · Translated: not 470, no 123, never 26, nothing 12Full study and all 643 verses →
- ψεύδομαι pseúdomaiI lietranslated this way 1 time of its 12 uses · Strong’s G5574Verb · Translated: lie 5, lying 3, falsely 1, lied 1Full study and all 12 verses →
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
- ψευδομαρτυρέω pseudomartyréōI testify falselytranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G5576Verb · Translated: bear false witness 3, bore false witness 1, testified falsely 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Mark 14:57 Then some men stood up and testified falsely against Him:
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.