Word study
Lose
6 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: lost, lose, loses. 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 “lose” 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)
- אָבַד âbadperishtranslated this way 12 times of its 179 uses · Strong’s H6Verb · Translated: perish 53, destroy 27, perished 15, destroyed 14Full study and all 173 verses →
Numbers 17:12 Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we are perishing! We are lost; we are all lost!
1 Samuel 9:20 As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?”
- אֲבֵדָה ăbêdâha lost thingtranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H9Noun · Translated: lost property 2, lost item 1, lost 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Exodus 22:9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.
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—
- אָסַף âsaphgather, removetranslated this way 2 times of its 193 uses · Strong’s H622Verb · Translated: gathered 56, gather 27, assembled 13, assemble 8Full study and all 183 verses →
Judges 18:25 The Danites said to him, “Do not raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”
Joel 2:10 Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.
- 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.
- לוּז lûzturn aside, departtranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H3868Verb · Translated: devious 2, lose 2, perverse 1, deceit 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Proverbs 3:21 My son, do not lose sight of this: Preserve sound judgment and discernment.
Proverbs 4:21 Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.
- שַׁכּוּל shakkûlbereaved, robbed of offspringtranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H7909Adjective · Translated: robbed of her cubs 3, lost 2, bereaved 1, childless 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Song of Solomon 4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.
Song of Solomon 6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀπόλλυμι apóllymiI destroy, lose, am perishingtranslated this way 32 times of its 90 uses · Strong’s G622Verb · Translated: lost 12, lose 11, perish 10, destroy 9Full study and all 84 verses →
Matthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it.
- 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.
- 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.
- μωραίνω mōraínōI make foolish, taint, make uselesstranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3471Verb · Translated: loses its savor 2, became fools 1, made foolish 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Luke 14:34 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned?
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.