Word study
Praise
6 Hebrew and 8 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: praise, praises, praised, praising. 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 “praise” 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)
- הָלַל hâlalshinetranslated this way 94 times of its 165 uses · Strong’s H1984Verb · Translated: praise 65, Hallelujah 24, praised 14, boast 9Full study and all 140 verses →
Judges 16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy who destroyed our land and multiplied our dead.”
2 Samuel 14:25 Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.
- תְּהִלָּה tehillâhpraise, song of praisetranslated this way 56 times of its 57 uses · Strong’s H8416Noun · Translated: praise 46, praises 7, hymn of praise 1, like your praise 1Full study and all 57 verses →
Exodus 15:11 Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You — majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
Deuteronomy 10:21 He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen.
- יָדָה yâdâhthrow, casttranslated this way 38 times of its 114 uses · Strong’s H3034Verb · Translated: praise 36, give thanks 32, confess 11, give you thanks 8Full study and all 111 verses →
Genesis 29:35 And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.
2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.
- זָמַר zâmarmake musictranslated this way 34 times of its 45 uses · Strong’s H2167Verb · Translated: sing praises 19, sing praise 10, make music 7, Sing 4Full study and all 41 verses →
Judges 5:3 Listen, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel.
2 Samuel 22:50 Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.
- שְׁבַח shebachlaud, praisetranslated this way 4 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H7624Verb · Translated: praise 2, praised 2, honored 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Daniel 2:23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
- רוֹמָם rômâmextolling, praisetranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H7318Verb · Translated: praised 1, high praises 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Psalm 66:17 I cried out to Him with my mouth and praised Him with my tongue.
Psalm 149:6 May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a double-edged sword in their hands,
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἔπαινος épainoscommendation, praisetranslated this way 9 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G1868Noun · Translated: praise 8, approval 1, praised 1, praiseworthy 1Full study and all 11 verses →
Romans 2:29 No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
- αἰνέω ainéōI praisetranslated this way 8 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G134Verb · Translated: praising 5, Praise 3Full study and all 8 verses →
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:
Acts 2:47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
- ἐξομολογέω exomologéōI consent fully, confesstranslated this way 3 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G1843Verb · Translated: praise 3, confess 3, Confessing 3, consented 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Luke 10:21 At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
- δόξα dóxahonor, renown, glory splendortranslated this way 3 times of its 163 uses · Strong’s G1391Noun · Translated: glory 131, glorious 18, praise 3, splendor 3Full study and all 149 verses →
John 12:43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
1 Thessalonians 2:6 Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
- εὐλογητός eulogētósworthy of praise, blessedtranslated this way 3 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G2128Adjective · Translated: Blessed 5, worthy of praise 3Full study and all 8 verses →
Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
2 Corinthians 11:31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is forever worthy of praise, knows that I am not lying.
- αἶνος aînospraisetranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G136Noun · Translated: praise 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Matthew 21:16 “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”
Luke 18:43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
- ἐπαινέω epainéōI praise, commendtranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G1867Verb · Translated: commended 1, extol 1, commend 1, praise to offer 1Full study and all 5 verses →
1 Corinthians 11:17 In the following instructions I have no praise to offer, because your gatherings do more harm than good.
1 Corinthians 11:22 Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!
- εὐλογέω eulogéōI blesstranslated this way 2 times of its 41 uses · Strong’s G2127Verb · Translated: blessed 22, bless 8, spoke a blessing 6, praising 2Full study and all 39 verses →
Luke 1:64 Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God.
Luke 24:53 praising God continually in the temple.
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 praise: 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.