Word study
Sing
9 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: sing, sang, singing, sings, sung, singed. 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 “sing” 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)
- שִׁיר shîrsingtranslated this way 41 times of its 83 uses · Strong’s H7891Verb · Translated: sing 31, singers 25, sang 4, male 3Full study and all 76 verses →
Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted. The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.
Numbers 21:17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it!
- זָמַר zâmarmake musictranslated this way 37 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.
- רָנַן rânangive a ringing crytranslated this way 23 times of its 56 uses · Strong’s H7442Verb · Translated: shout for joy 18, sing for joy 12, sing 5, Rejoice 3Full study and all 53 verses →
1 Chronicles 16:33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth.
Job 29:13 The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
- עָנָה ânâhanswer, respondtranslated this way 10 times of its 317 uses · Strong’s H6030Verb · Translated: answered 79, answer 75, replied 47, respond 14Full study and all 308 verses →
Exodus 15:21 And Miriam sang back to them: “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”
Numbers 21:17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it!
- שִׁיר shîrsongtranslated this way 5 times of its 89 uses · Strong’s H7892Noun · Translated: song 62, songs 12, musical 6, singing 2Full study and all 87 verses →
Genesis 31:27 Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.
Nehemiah 12:27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from all their homes and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps, and lyres.
- הָלַל hâlalshinetranslated this way 4 times of its 165 uses · Strong’s H1984Verb · Translated: praise 65, Hallelujah 24, praised 14, boast 9Full study and all 140 verses →
2 Chronicles 29:30 Then King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD in the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped.
Song of Solomon 6:9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises.
- רִנָּה rinnâhringing crytranslated this way 3 times of its 33 uses · Strong’s H7440Noun · Translated: cry 11, shouts of joy 5, song 5, joy 4Full study and all 33 verses →
Isaiah 35:10 So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”
- דָבַר dâbarspeaktranslated this way 3 times of its 1,113 uses · Strong’s H1696Verb · Translated: speak 209, said 157, spoken 142, spoke 110Full study and all 1,025 verses →
- נָשָׂא nâsâlift, take, carrytranslated this way 2 times of its 642 uses · Strong’s H5375Verb · Translated: bear 49, lift 45, lifted 41, carried 38Full study and all 601 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- ᾄδω áidōI singtranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G103Verb · Translated: sang 3, Sing 2Full study and all 5 verses →
Ephesians 5:19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord,
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
- ὑμνέω hymnéōI sing, sing hymns totranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G5214Verb · Translated: sung a hymn 2, singing hymns 1, sing your praises 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Mark 14:26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
- ψάλλω psállōI sing psalmstranslated this way 4 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G5567Verb · Translated: sing 2, sing hymns 1, make music 1, sing praises 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Romans 15:9 so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”
1 Corinthians 14:15 What then shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
- θρηνέω thrēnéōI wail, lamenttranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G2354Verb · Translated: sang a dirge 2, wailing 1, wail 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Matthew 11:17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
Luke 7:32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
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.