Word study
Try
5 Hebrew and 9 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: tried, trying, try, tries. 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 “try” 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)
- בָּקַשׁ bâqashseektranslated this way 4 times of its 222 uses · Strong’s H1245Verb · Translated: seek 78, sought 21, seeking 13, search 13Full study and all 212 verses →
Deuteronomy 13:10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
1 Samuel 19:10 Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But David eluded him and the spear struck the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
- בָּחַן bâchanexamine, trytranslated this way 4 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s H974Verb · Translated: test 10, tested 5, tried 3, tests 2Full study and all 28 verses →
Job 34:36 If only Job were tried to the utmost for answering like a wicked man.
Psalm 17:3 You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.
- נָסָה nâsâhtest, trytranslated this way 2 times of its 36 uses · Strong’s H5254Verb · Translated: test 16, tested 13, accustomed 2Full study and all 34 verses →
Deuteronomy 4:34 Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation — by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors — as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?
Psalm 26:2 Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.
- קָרַב qârabcome near, approachtranslated this way 2 times of its 276 uses · Strong’s H7126Verb · Translated: present 65, bring 18, approached 16, presented 14Full study and all 258 verses →
Judges 19:13 He continued, “Come, let us try to reach one of these towns to spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”
Malachi 1:8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.
- לָאָה lââhbe weary, impatienttranslated this way 2 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s H3811Verb · Translated: wearied 4, weary 4, wearies 2, try the patience 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Isaiah 7:13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
Greek words (New Testament)
- ζητέω zētéōI seek, search for, desiretranslated this way 19 times of its 117 uses · Strong’s G2212Verb · Translated: seek 17, seeking 14, looking 11, trying 9Full study and all 114 verses →
Luke 5:18 Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to bring him inside to set him before Jesus,
John 5:18 Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
- πειράζω peirázōI try, tempt, testtranslated this way 3 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s G3985Verb · Translated: tempted 11, tested 7, test 7, testing 3Full study and all 33 verses →
Acts 9:26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.
Acts 16:7 And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.
- κωλύω kōlýōI prevent, hindertranslated this way 2 times of its 23 uses · Strong’s G2967Verb · Translated: hinder 4, prevented 3, tried to stop 2, stop 2Full study and all 23 verses →
Mark 9:38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”
Luke 9:49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”
- ἐπιχειρέω epicheiréōI take in hand, attempttranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G2021Verb · Translated: tried 2, undertaken 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Acts 9:29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.
Acts 19:13 Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”
- κρίνω krínōI judge, decide, think goodtranslated this way 2 times of its 114 uses · Strong’s G2919Verb · Translated: judge 43, judged 12, judges 7, decided 5Full study and all 98 verses →
Acts 25:10 Paul replied, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.
Acts 25:20 Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.
- ἀναγκάζω anankázōI force, compeltranslated this way 2 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G315Verb · Translated: made 2, compel 2, compelled 2, tried to make 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Acts 26:11 I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
Galatians 6:12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.
- πορθέω porthéōI lay waste, destroytranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G4199Verb · Translated: tried to destroy 2, wreaked havoc 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Galatians 1:13 For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
Galatians 1:23 They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
- θέλω thélōI will, wish, desiretranslated this way 2 times of its 207 uses · Strong’s G2309Verb · Translated: want 65, wants 21, willing 16, wanted 15Full study and all 198 verses →
Acts 17:18 Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.
Galatians 1:7 which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.
- πείθω peíthōI persuade, urgetranslated this way 2 times of its 50 uses · Strong’s G3982Verb · Translated: convinced 10, confident 6, persuaded 4, trusted 2Full study and all 50 verses →
Acts 18:4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
2 Corinthians 5:11 Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
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.