Word study
Judgment
8 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: judgment, judgments. 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 “judgment” 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)
- מִשְׁפָּט mishpâṭjudgmenttranslated this way 83 times of its 406 uses · Strong’s H4941Noun · Translated: justice 111, ordinances 73, judgments 40, judgment 40Full study and all 394 verses →
Exodus 28:15 You are also to make a breastpiece of judgment with the same workmanship as the ephod. Construct it with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen.
Leviticus 18:4 You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.
- שֶׁפֶט shepheṭjudgementtranslated this way 16 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H8201Noun · Translated: judgments 8, judgment 6, acts of judgment 2Full study and all 16 verses →
Exodus 6:6 Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
Numbers 33:4 who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.
- שָׁפַט shâphaṭjudge, governtranslated this way 13 times of its 199 uses · Strong’s H8199Verb · Translated: judge 81, judges 35, judged 15, vindicate 7Full study and all 181 verses →
2 Chronicles 22:8 So while Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them.
Psalm 37:33 the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned under judgment.
- לֵב lêbinner man, mind, will, hearttranslated this way 11 times of its 526 uses · Strong’s H3820Noun · Translated: heart 326, hearts 78, mind 30, judgment 11Full study and all 495 verses →
Proverbs 6:32 He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
Proverbs 7:7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment,
- דִּין dînjudgmenttranslated this way 4 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s H1779Noun · Translated: judgment 4, cause 4, justice 3Full study and all 17 verses →
Job 19:29 then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”
Psalm 76:8 From heaven You pronounced judgment, and the earth feared and was still
- תּוּשִׁיָּה tûshîâhsound, efficient wisdom, abiding successtranslated this way 3 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H8454Noun · Translated: sound judgment 3, success 2, sound wisdom 2, true wisdom 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Proverbs 3:21 My son, do not lose sight of this: Preserve sound judgment and discernment.
Proverbs 8:14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight and strength.
- שְׁפוֹט shephôṭjudgment, act of judgmenttranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H8196Noun · Translated: judgment 2Full study and all 2 verses →
2 Chronicles 20:9 ‘If disaster comes upon us— whether sword or judgment, plague or famine— we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your Name is in this temple. We will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear us and save us.’
Ezekiel 23:10 They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and put her to the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgment against her.
- דִּין dînjudgementtranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H1780Noun · Translated: judgment 2, court 2, are just 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Ezra 7:26 If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
Daniel 7:22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.
Greek words (New Testament)
- κρίσις krísisjudging, divine judgmenttranslated this way 37 times of its 46 uses · Strong’s G2920Noun · Translated: judgment 35, justice 5, judgments 2Full study and all 45 verses →
Matthew 5:21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
Luke 10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
- κρίμα krímaa judgment, verdict, lawsuittranslated this way 16 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s G2917Noun · Translated: judgment 15, condemnation 5Full study and all 27 verses →
Matthew 7:2 For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Luke 23:40 But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment?
- βῆμα bēmathe space covered by a step of the foot, a tribunaltranslated this way 10 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s G968Noun · Translated: judgment seat 10, foot of ground 1, throne 1Full study and all 12 verses →
Matthew 27:19 While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
John 19:13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
- κρίνω krínōI judge, decide, think goodtranslated this way 8 times of its 114 uses · Strong’s G2919Verb · Translated: judge 43, judged 12, judges 7, decided 5Full study and all 98 verses →
Acts 15:19 It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
- γνώμη gnṓmēopinion, counsel, judgment, intentiontranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G1106Noun · Translated: judgment 2, purpose 2, decided 1, conviction 1Full study and all 7 verses →
1 Corinthians 7:25 Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
1 Corinthians 7:40 In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
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 judgment: 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.