Word study
Regret
2 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: regret, regretted. 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 “regret” 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)
- נָחַם nâchambe sorry, consoletranslated this way 3 times of its 106 uses · Strong’s H5162Verb · Translated: comfort 24, relent 13, comforted 12, relented 7Full study and all 98 verses →
Genesis 6:6 And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
1 Samuel 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
- חֶמְדָּה chemdâhid.translated this way 1 time of its 23 uses · Strong’s H2532Noun · Translated: pleasant 3, precious 3, highly precious 2, riches 2Full study and all 23 verses →
2 Chronicles 21:20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He died, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Greek words (New Testament)
- μεταμέλλομαι metaméllomaiI change my mindtranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G3338Verb · Translated: regret 2, changed his mind 1, repent 1, filled with remorse 1Full study and all 5 verses →
2 Corinthians 7:8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it— for I see that my letter caused you sorrow, but only for a short time—
- ἀμεταμέλητος ametamélētosnot to be repented oftranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G278Adjective · Translated: irrevocable 1, without regret 1Full study and all 2 verses →
2 Corinthians 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
- λύπη lýpēpain, grieftranslated this way 1 time of its 16 uses · Strong’s G3077Noun · Translated: sorrow 9, pain 2, painful 2, grief 1Full study and all 14 verses →
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give , not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
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.