Word study
Twist
8 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: twisted, twist, twists, twisting. 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 “twist” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- סָלַף sâlaphtwist, pervert, overturntranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H5557Verb · Translated: twists 2, overthrows 1, undermines 1, subverts 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Exodus 23:8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
Deuteronomy 16:19 Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- מָלַק mâlaqnip, nip offtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H4454Verb · Translated: twist 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Leviticus 1:15 Then the priest shall bring it to the altar, twist off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood should be drained out on the side of the altar.
Leviticus 5:8 He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first present the one for the sin offering. He is to twist its head at the front of its neck without severing it;
- עָוָה âvâhbend, twisttranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H5753Verb · Translated: done wrong 4, perverted 2Full study and all 17 verses →
Proverbs 12:8 A man is praised according to his wisdom, but a twisted mind is despised.
Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
- חוּל chûlwhirl, dance, writhetranslated this way 1 time of its 58 uses · Strong’s H2342Verb · Translated: brought forth 6, tremble 5, labor 3, waited 2Full study and all 55 verses →
Psalm 29:9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in His temple all cry, “Glory!”
- עָצַב âtsabhurt, pain, grievetranslated this way 1 time of its 17 uses · Strong’s H6087Verb · Translated: grieved 5, grieve 2Full study and all 17 verses →
Psalm 56:5 All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.
- הָפַךְ hâphakturn, overturntranslated this way 1 time of its 93 uses · Strong’s H2015Verb · Translated: turned 27, turn 7, changed 4, overthrew 3Full study and all 91 verses →
Psalm 78:57 They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.
- חָבַשׁ châbashbind, bind on, bind uptranslated this way 1 time of its 32 uses · Strong’s H2280Verb · Translated: saddled 11, binds 3, Saddle 2, bind 2Full study and all 30 verses →
Ezekiel 27:24 In your marketplace they traded with you fine garments of blue, embroidered work, and multicolored rugs with cords tightly twisted and knotted.
- מִיץ mîtssqueezing, pressing, wringingtranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s H4330Noun · Translated: churning 1, twisting 1, stirring 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Proverbs 30:33 For as the churning of milk yields butter, and the twisting of the nose draws blood, so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”
Greek words (New Testament)
- πλέκω plékōI weave together, plaittranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G4120Verb · Translated: twisted together 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Matthew 27:29 And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Mark 15:17 They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.
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.