Word study
Honest
7 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “honest”. 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 “honest” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- צֶדֶק tsedeqrightness, righteousnesstranslated this way 6 times of its 116 uses · Strong’s H6664Noun · Translated: righteousness 57, righteous 19, honest 6, justice 5Full study and all 111 verses →
Leviticus 19:36 You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 25:15 You must maintain accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- כֵּן kênright, veritable, honesttranslated this way 5 times of its 461 uses · Strong’s H3651Adverb · Translated: Therefore 159, so 111, this 24, way 13Full study and all 451 verses →
Genesis 42:11 We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
Genesis 42:19 If you are honest, leave one of your brothers in custody while the rest of you go and take back grain to relieve the hunger of your households.
- אֲשֶׁר ăsherparticle of relationtranslated this way 1 time of its 3,225 uses · Strong’s H834Pronoun · Translated: that 886, who 451, as 247, which 160Full study and all 2,844 verses →
- יֹשֶׁר yôsherstraightness, uprightnesstranslated this way 1 time of its 14 uses · Strong’s H3476Noun · Translated: uprightness 4, upright 3, right 2, straight 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Job 6:25 How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?
- אֵמוּן êmûntrusting, faithfulnesstranslated this way 1 time of its 8 uses · Strong’s H529Noun · Translated: faithful 5, unfaithfulness 1, honest 1, trustworthy 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Proverbs 14:5 An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness pours forth lies.
- מִשְׁפָּט mishpâṭjudgmenttranslated this way 1 time of its 406 uses · Strong’s H4941Noun · Translated: justice 111, ordinances 73, judgments 40, judgment 40Full study and all 394 verses →
- נָכֹחַ nâkôachstraight, right, straightnesstranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s H5228Adjective · Translated: right 1, plain 1, honest 1, uprightly 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Proverbs 24:26 An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀληθής alēthḗsunconcealed, truetranslated this way 2 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s G227Adjective · Translated: true 10, valid 5, real 3, honest 2Full study and all 25 verses →
Matthew 22:16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.
Mark 12:14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”
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.