Word study
True
6 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “true”. 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 “true” 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)
- אֶמֶת emethfirmness, faithfulness, truthtranslated this way 21 times of its 125 uses · Strong’s H571Noun · Translated: truth 37, faithfulness 35, true 20, faithfully 10Full study and all 123 verses →
Deuteronomy 17:4 and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel,
2 Samuel 7:28 And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.
- בּוֹא bôcome in, come, go in, gotranslated this way 3 times of its 2,442 uses · Strong’s H935Verb · Translated: come 358, came 298, bring 209, brought 201Full study and all 2,217 verses →
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
- כֵּן kênright, veritable, honesttranslated this way 3 times of its 461 uses · Strong’s H3651Adverb · Translated: Therefore 159, so 111, this 24, way 13Full study and all 451 verses →
Joshua 21:42 Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
1 Samuel 23:17 saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.”
- אׇמְנָם omnâmverily, trulytranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H551Conjunction · Translated: Truly 4, true 2, Yes 1, indeed 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Ruth 3:12 Yes, it is true that I am a kinsman-redeemer, but there is a redeemer nearer than I.
Job 34:12 Indeed, it is true that God does not act wickedly, and the Almighty does not pervert justice.
- תּוּשִׁיָּה tûshîâhsound, efficient wisdom, abiding successtranslated this way 2 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H8454Noun · Translated: sound judgment 3, success 2, sound wisdom 2, true wisdom 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Job 11:6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.
Job 12:16 True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.
- יַצִּיב yatstsîbcertain, truetranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H3330Adjective · Translated: sure 1, true 1, Certainly 1, stands 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Daniel 2:45 And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel 7:16 I approached one of those who were standing there, and I asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me the interpretation of these things:
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀληθινός alēthinóstrue, real, genuinetranslated this way 27 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s G228Adjective · Translated: true 27, sincere 1Full study and all 26 verses →
Luke 16:11 So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?
John 1:9 The true Light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
- ἀληθής alēthḗsunconcealed, truetranslated this way 10 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s G227Adjective · Translated: true 10, valid 5, real 3, honest 2Full study and all 25 verses →
John 10:41 Many came to Him and said, “Although John never performed a sign, everything he said about this man was true.”
Romans 3:4 Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”
- ἀλήθεια alḗtheiatruthtranslated this way 5 times of its 107 uses · Strong’s G225Noun · Translated: truth 88, true 5, of 4, truthfully 2Full study and all 97 verses →
2 Corinthians 7:14 Indeed, I was not embarrassed by anything I had boasted to him about you. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved to be true as well.
Ephesians 4:24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
- οὕτω hoútōthus, so, in this mannertranslated this way 3 times of its 163 uses · Strong’s G3779Adverb · Translated: so 67, way 33, this 10, like 8Full study and all 161 verses →
Acts 7:1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
- γνήσιος gnḗsiosreal, true, genuinetranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1103Adjective · Translated: true 3, sincerity 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Philippians 4:3 Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have contended at my side for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
- μέν méntruly, indeedtranslated this way 2 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s G3303Conjunction · Translated: indeed 7, for 4, although 3, true 2Full study and all 24 verses →
2 Corinthians 12:12 The marks of a true apostle — signs, wonders, and miracles — were performed among you with great perseverance.
Philippians 1:15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.
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.