Word study

Nevertheless

7 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “nevertheless”. 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 “nevertheless” 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)

  • רַק raqthintranslated this way 8 times of its 97 uses · Strong’s H7535Adverb  ·  Translated: only 27, but 24, Nevertheless 8, However 7

    Exodus 21:19 then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.

    1 Kings 8:19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’

    Full study and all 96 verses →
  • אַךְ aksurelytranslated this way 7 times of its 138 uses · Strong’s H389Adverb  ·  Translated: but 31, Surely 29, only 11, Nevertheless 7

    Leviticus 11:36 Nevertheless, a spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but one who touches a carcass in it will be unclean.

    1 Kings 11:12 Nevertheless, for the sake of your father David, I will not do it during your lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

    Full study and all 135 verses →
  • מֶלֶךְ melekkingtranslated this way 3 times of its 2,416 uses · Strong’s H4428Noun  ·  Translated: king 1,810, kings 267, king's 134, royal 58Full study and all 1,901 verses →
  • כִּי kîburning, brandingtranslated this way 3 times of its 3,991 uses · Strong’s H3588Conjunction  ·  Translated: for 1,770, that 572, because 523, when 194Full study and all 3,583 verses →
  • אֶפֶס ephesthe two extremitiestranslated this way 2 times of its 39 uses · Strong’s H657Noun  ·  Translated: ends 13, none 4, Nevertheless 2, and 2

    Numbers 13:28 Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.

    2 Samuel 12:14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”

    Full study and all 39 verses →
  • דָּוִד DâvidDavidtranslated this way 2 times of its 1,046 uses · Strong’s H1732Noun  ·  Translated: David 902, David's 67, made david 4, Thus David 3Full study and all 902 verses →
  • כֵּן kênright, veritable, honesttranslated this way 2 times of its 461 uses · Strong’s H3651Adverb  ·  Translated: Therefore 159, so 111, this 24, way 13Full study and all 451 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • πλήν plḗnhowever, neverthelesstranslated this way 6 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s G4133Conjunction  ·  Translated: but 13, Nevertheless 6, yet 3

    Luke 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

    Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

    Full study and all 29 verses →
  • ἀλλά allábut, excepttranslated this way 2 times of its 565 uses · Strong’s G235Conjunction  ·  Translated: but 433, Instead 49, However 9, contrary 8Full study and all 541 verses →
  • δέ début, on the other hand, andtranslated this way 2 times of its 1,642 uses · Strong’s G1161Conjunction  ·  Translated: but 784, and 340, now 117, then 101Full study and all 1,541 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.