Word study
Truly
4 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “truly”. 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 “Truly” 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)
- אׇמְנָם omnâmverily, trulytranslated this way 4 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H551Conjunction · Translated: Truly 4, true 2, Yes 1, indeed 1Full study and all 8 verses →
2 Kings 19:17 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste these nations and their lands.
Job 12:2 “Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die!
- אֶמֶת emethfirmness, faithfulness, truthtranslated this way 3 times of its 125 uses · Strong’s H571Noun · Translated: truth 37, faithfulness 35, true 20, faithfully 10Full study and all 123 verses →
Isaiah 10:20 On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
Jeremiah 26:15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, upon this city, and upon its residents; for truly the LORD has sent me to speak all these words in your hearing.”
- כֵּן kênright, veritable, honesttranslated this way 2 times of its 461 uses · Strong’s H3651Adverb · Translated: Therefore 159, so 111, this 24, way 13Full study and all 451 verses →
Ezra 10:12 And the whole assembly responded in a loud voice: “Truly we must do as you say!
- אַף aphalso, yeatranslated this way 2 times of its 110 uses · Strong’s H637Conjunction · Translated: and 12, indeed 10, much more 9, much less 7Full study and all 102 verses →
Isaiah 46:11 I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will surely do it.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀμήν amḗnverily, truly, amen, so let it betranslated this way 100 times of its 130 uses · Strong’s G281Hebrew Word · Translated: Truly 100, Amen 30Full study and all 104 verses →
Matthew 5:18 For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Mark 3:28 Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.
- ἀληθῶς alēthōstruly, really, certainlytranslated this way 12 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s G230Adverb · Translated: Truly 12, Surely 2, true 1, certainty 1Full study and all 17 verses →
Matthew 14:33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”
Mark 15:39 When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
- ὄντως óntōsreally, trulytranslated this way 6 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G3689Adverb · Translated: truly 6, Surely 1, indeed 1, certainly 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Mark 11:32 But if we say, ‘From men’ ...” they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John truly was a prophet.
1 Corinthians 14:25 and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!”
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.