Word study

Iniquity

4 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: iniquity, iniquities. 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 “iniquity” or one of its forms.

Compare the Hebrew words side by side

Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)

  • עָוֺן âvôniniquity, guilt, or punishment of iniquitytranslated this way 166 times of its 230 uses · Strong’s H5771Noun  ·  Translated: iniquity 128, iniquities 37, guilt 20, punishment 12

    Genesis 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

    Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

    Full study and all 214 verses →
  • אָוֶן âventrouble, sorrow, wickednesstranslated this way 27 times of its 68 uses · Strong’s H205Noun  ·  Translated: iniquity 27, evil 6, wicked 6, disaster 3

    Job 4:8 As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.

    Psalm 5:5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.

    Full study and all 68 verses →
  • עֶוֶל evelinjustice, unrighteousnesstranslated this way 15 times of its 53 uses · Strong’s H5766Noun  ·  Translated: iniquity 15, injustice 14, wrong 5, wickedness 4

    Job 6:30 Is there iniquity on my tongue? Can my mouth not discern malice?’’

    Psalm 107:42 The upright see and rejoice, and all iniquity shuts its mouth.

    Full study and all 51 verses →
  • עַיִן ayineyetranslated this way 2 times of its 764 uses · Strong’s H5869Noun  ·  Translated: eyes 383, sight 186, eye 38, presence 13

    Psalm 73:7 From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

    Full study and all 731 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ἀδικία adikíaunrighteousnesstranslated this way 3 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s G93Noun  ·  Translated: wickedness 9, unrighteousness 3, unjust 2, iniquity 2

    Acts 8:23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.”

    2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

    Full study and all 23 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. 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.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. 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.