Word study
Heart
11 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: heart, hearts. 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 “heart” 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)
- לֵב lêbinner man, mind, will, hearttranslated this way 417 times of its 526 uses · Strong’s H3820Noun · Translated: heart 326, hearts 78, mind 30, judgment 11Full study and all 495 verses →
Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
Exodus 4:14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
- לֵבָב lêbâbinner man, mind, will, hearttranslated this way 195 times of its 234 uses · Strong’s H3824Noun · Translated: heart 145, hearts 47, mind 9, conscience 2Full study and all 214 verses →
Genesis 20:5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”
Leviticus 19:17 You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.
- נֶפֶשׁ nepheshsoul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passiontranslated this way 11 times of its 666 uses · Strong’s H5315Noun · Translated: soul 178, life 119, lives 30, person 22Full study and all 622 verses →
1 Samuel 2:33 And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, I will cause your eyes to fail and your heart to grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men.
2 Samuel 3:21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once, and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.
- לִבָּה libbâhhearttranslated this way 7 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H3826Noun · Translated: hearts 4, heart 3Full study and all 7 verses →
Psalm 7:9 Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
Proverbs 15:11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD— how much more the hearts of men!
- כִּלְיָה kilyâhkidneystranslated this way 5 times of its 32 uses · Strong’s H3629Noun · Translated: kidneys 19, heart 4, inmost 2Full study and all 26 verses →
Job 19:27 I will see Him for myself; my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger. How my heart yearns within me!
Psalm 26:2 Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.
- מֵעֶה mêehinternal organs, inward parts (intestines, bowels), bellytranslated this way 4 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H4578Noun · Translated: body 4, within 4, heart 4, stomach 3Full study and all 28 verses →
Psalm 40:8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
Song of Solomon 5:4 My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him.
- קֶרֶב qerebinward part, midsttranslated this way 3 times of its 213 uses · Strong’s H7130Noun · Translated: within 27, among you 18, among 16, midst 16Full study and all 211 verses →
Proverbs 26:24 A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
Isaiah 4:4 when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- נָבֵל nâbêlbe senseless, foolishtranslated this way 2 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s H5034Verb · Translated: wither 4, fall 3, lose heart 2, fading 2Full study and all 21 verses →
2 Samuel 22:46 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.
Psalm 18:45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.
- חֵיק chêqbosomtranslated this way 2 times of its 34 uses · Strong’s H2436Noun · Translated: arms 6, bosom 4, laps 4, lap 3Full study and all 31 verses →
Psalm 89:50 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my heart from so many people —
Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- לָבַב lâbabget a mindtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H3823Verb · Translated: made cakes 1, more become wise 1, captured my heart 1, stolen my heart 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Song of Solomon 4:9 You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your neck.
- לְבַב lebabhearttranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H3825Noun · Translated: mind 5, heart 2Full study and all 6 verses →
Daniel 5:20 But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.
Daniel 5:22 But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.
Greek words (New Testament)
- καρδία kardíathe heart, inner life, intentiontranslated this way 150 times of its 153 uses · Strong’s G2588Noun · Translated: hearts 80, heart 69, mind 1, heart's 1Full study and all 146 verses →
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Mark 2:6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts,
- σπλάγχνον splánchnonbowels, compassion, pitytranslated this way 4 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G4698Noun · Translated: affection 4, hearts 2, heart 2, tender 1Full study and all 11 verses →
Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Philemon 1:7 I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
- σκληροκαρδία sklērokardíahardness of hearttranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G4641Noun · Translated: hardness of heart 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Matthew 19:8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart. But it was not this way from the beginning.
Mark 10:5 But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.
- ἐκκακέω ekkakéōI am faint, am wearytranslated this way 3 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G1573Verb · Translated: lose heart 3, grow weary 2, discouraged 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
- καρδιογνώστης kardiognṓstēsa knower of the inner lifetranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G2589Noun · Translated: know everyone's heart 1, knows the heart 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Acts 1:24 And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen
Acts 15:8 And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.
- ἐκλύω eklýōI am unstrung, become weak, failtranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G1590Verb · Translated: faint 2, lose heart 2, give 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Hebrews 12:3 Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes 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 heart: 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.