Word study
Sure
6 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “sure”. 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 “sure” 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)
- יָדַע yâdaknowtranslated this way 6 times of its 914 uses · Strong’s H3045Verb · Translated: know 453, known 53, knows 48, knew 38Full study and all 863 verses →
Joshua 23:13 know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.
1 Kings 2:37 On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
- שָׁמַר shâmarkeep, watch, preservetranslated this way 2 times of its 461 uses · Strong’s H8104Verb · Translated: keep 133, careful 39, kept 33, guard 25Full study and all 436 verses →
Genesis 24:6 Abraham replied, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there.
Exodus 10:28 “Depart from me!” Pharaoh said to Moses. “Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die.”
- שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 2 times of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb · Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56Full study and all 920 verses →
Deuteronomy 22:1 If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother.
Deuteronomy 24:13 be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.
- יֵשׁ yêshbeing, substance, existencetranslated this way 2 times of its 113 uses · Strong’s H3426Adverb · Translated: there is 29, is there 12, is 9, do you have 4Full study and all 105 verses →
Deuteronomy 29:18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit,
- אֶמֶת emethfirmness, faithfulness, truthtranslated this way 2 times of its 125 uses · Strong’s H571Noun · Translated: truth 37, faithfulness 35, true 20, faithfully 10Full study and all 123 verses →
Joshua 2:12 Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD that you will indeed show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
Psalm 69:13 But my prayer to You, O LORD, is for a time of favor. In Your abundant loving devotion, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation.
- הִנֵּה hinnêhlo! behold!translated this way 2 times of its 689 uses · Strong’s H2009Interjection · Translated: Behold 175, Look 83, saw 47, indeed 36Full study and all 662 verses →
1 Samuel 24:20 Now I know for sure that you will be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.
Greek words (New Testament)
- γινώσκω ginṓskōI come to know, learn, realizetranslated this way 4 times of its 220 uses · Strong’s G1097Verb · Translated: know 95, understand 19, known 15, knew 12Full study and all 205 verses →
Luke 1:18 “How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
Ephesians 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- βέβαιος bébaiosfirm, steadfast, enduringtranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G949Adjective · Translated: sure 2Full study and all 8 verses →
2 Corinthians 1:7 And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.
2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,
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.