Word study
Soon
12 Hebrew and 8 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “soon”. 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 “soon” 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)
- הָיָה hâyâhfall out, come to pass, become, betranslated this way 9 times of its 2,848 uses · Strong’s H1961Verb · Translated: will be 206, become 178, came 169, was 151Full study and all 2,573 verses →
- אֲשֶׁר ăsherparticle of relationtranslated this way 6 times of its 3,225 uses · Strong’s H834Pronoun · Translated: that 886, who 451, as 247, which 160Full study and all 2,844 verses →
Genesis 27:30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt.
Genesis 29:10 As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
- רָאָה rââhseetranslated this way 3 times of its 1,266 uses · Strong’s H7200Verb · Translated: see 354, saw 285, seen 124, look 45Full study and all 1,181 verses →
Genesis 24:30 As soon as he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and heard Rebekah’s words, “The man said this to me,” he went and found the man standing by the camels near the spring.
- הִנֵּה hinnêhlo! behold!translated this way 3 times of its 689 uses · Strong’s H2009Interjection · Translated: Behold 175, Look 83, saw 47, indeed 36Full study and all 662 verses →
Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
- מָהַר mâharhastentranslated this way 3 times of its 66 uses · Strong’s H4116Verb · Translated: quickly 20, hurried 9, Hurry 6, swift 4Full study and all 61 verses →
2 Samuel 15:14 And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.”
Psalm 106:13 Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.
- מְעַט meaṭa little, fewness, a fewtranslated this way 3 times of its 92 uses · Strong’s H4592Adjective · Translated: little 35, few 18, enough 10, soon 3Full study and all 85 verses →
Psalm 81:14 how soon I would subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes!
Ezekiel 16:47 And you not only walked in their ways and practiced their abominations, but soon you were more depraved than they were.
- דִּי dîwho, which, thattranslated this way 3 times of its 172 uses · Strong’s H1768Pronoun · Translated: that 48, of 30, who 18, whom 9Full study and all 117 verses →
Daniel 3:7 Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Daniel 4:26 As for the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
- יָצָא yâtsâgo or come outtranslated this way 2 times of its 1,035 uses · Strong’s H3318Verb · Translated: brought 108, went 103, go 82, came 78Full study and all 975 verses →
Genesis 19:17 As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
- בּוֹא bôcome in, come, go in, gotranslated this way 2 times of its 2,442 uses · Strong’s H935Verb · Translated: come 358, came 298, bring 209, brought 201Full study and all 2,217 verses →
- דָּבָר dâbârspeech, wordtranslated this way 2 times of its 1,244 uses · Strong’s H1697Noun · Translated: word 342, words 299, acts 51, Chronicles 42Full study and all 1,120 verses →
- עַתָּה attâhnowtranslated this way 2 times of its 428 uses · Strong’s H6258Adverb · Translated: now 178, therefore 47, and now 41, but now 31Full study and all 402 verses →
Nehemiah 6:7 and you have even appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim on your behalf: ‘There is a king in Judah.’ Soon these rumors will reach the ears of the king. So come, let us confer together.”
Job 7:21 Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”
- קָרוֹב qârôbneartranslated this way 2 times of its 74 uses · Strong’s H7138Adjective · Translated: near 38, nearest 4, nearby 3, next 2Full study and all 72 verses →
Isaiah 56:1 This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed.
Ezekiel 7:8 Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon you and vent My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and repay you for all your abominations.
Greek words (New Testament)
- εὐθέως euthéōsimmediately, soontranslated this way 9 times of its 73 uses · Strong’s G2112Adverb · Translated: immediately 27, once 21, soon 9, quickly 4Full study and all 72 verses →
Mark 1:10 As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.
Acts 17:10 As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue.
- ὅταν hótanwhen, whensoevertranslated this way 6 times of its 108 uses · Strong’s G3752Conjunction · Translated: when 88, soon 6, after 6, whenever 2Full study and all 106 verses →
Matthew 24:32 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.
Mark 13:28 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.
- καί kaíand, even, also, namelytranslated this way 4 times of its 6,414 uses · Strong’s G2532Conjunction · Translated: and 5,245, then 262, also 157, even 101Full study and all 4,279 verses →
- τάχος táchosquickness, speedtranslated this way 4 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G5034Noun · Translated: soon 4, quickly 2Full study and all 6 verses →
- ταχύ tachýquickly, speedilytranslated this way 4 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G5035Adverb · Translated: soon 4, quickly 3, shortly 2, turn around 1Full study and all 11 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 →
- ταχέως tachéōssoon, quickly, hastilytranslated this way 2 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G5030Adverb · Translated: quickly 5, soon 2, shortly 1, quick 1Full study and all 9 verses →
- τάχιον táchionmore swiftlytranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G5032Adjective · Translated: soon 2, quickly 1Full study and all 3 verses →
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.