Vision

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: vision, visions. 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 “vision” or one of its forms.

• חָזוֹן châzôn34
• חֵזֵו chêzêv11
• מַרְאָה marâh10
• מַרְאֶה mareh10
• ὅραμα hórama10
• חִזָּיוֹן chizzâyôn8
• מַחֲזֶה machăzeh4
• חָזָה châzâh4
• ὀπτασία optasía4
• שָׁוְא shâve3
• חָזוּת châzûth2
• ὅρασις hórasis2

Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side

Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)

• חָזוֹן châzônvisiontranslated this way 34 times of its 35 uses · Strong’s H2377Noun  ·  Translated: vision 27, visions 5, revelation 1, like a vision 1

  1 Samuel 3:1 And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce.

  2 Chronicles 32:32 As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his deeds of loving devotion, they are indeed written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

  Full study and all 34 verses →
• חֵזֵו chêzêvvision, appearancetranslated this way 11 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s H2376Noun  ·  Translated: visions 7, vision 4, appearance 1

  Daniel 2:19 During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven

  Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

  Full study and all 12 verses →
• מַרְאָה marâhvisiontranslated this way 10 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H4759Noun  ·  Translated: vision 6, visions 3, mirrors 1, like the visions 1

  Genesis 46:2 And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.

  Numbers 12:6 He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.

  Full study and all 11 verses →
• מַרְאֶה marehsight, appearance, visiontranslated this way 10 times of its 76 uses · Strong’s H4758Noun  ·  Translated: appearance 16, vision 8, appear 6, sight 5

  Ezekiel 8:4 And there I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain.

  Daniel 8:16 And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

  Full study and all 63 verses →
• חִזָּיוֹן chizzâyônvisiontranslated this way 8 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H2384Noun  ·  Translated: vision 4, visions 3, revelation 1, like a vision 1

  Job 4:13 In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

  Isaiah 22:1 This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,

  Full study and all 9 verses →
• מַחֲזֶה machăzehvisiontranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H4236Noun  ·  Translated: vision 4

  Genesis 15:1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

  Numbers 24:4 the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

  Full study and all 4 verses →
• חָזָה châzâhsee, beholdtranslated this way 4 times of its 54 uses · Strong’s H2372Verb  ·  Translated: see 18, seen 6, saw 5, sees 3

  Lamentations 2:14 The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.

  Ezekiel 21:29 while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you— to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.

  Full study and all 50 verses →
• שָׁוְא shâveemptiness, vanitytranslated this way 3 times of its 52 uses · Strong’s H7723Noun  ·  Translated: vain 12, false 8, falsehood 4, worthless 4

  Ezekiel 13:6 They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.

  Ezekiel 13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

  Full study and all 47 verses →
• חָזוּת châzûthvision, conspicuousnesstranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H2380Noun  ·  Translated: vision 2, prominent 2, agreement 1

  Isaiah 21:2 A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”

  Isaiah 29:11 And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”

  Full study and all 5 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

• ὅραμα hóramaa spectacle, visiontranslated this way 10 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G3705Noun  ·  Translated: vision 10, sight 1

  Matthew 17:9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

  Acts 9:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Here I am, Lord,” he answered.

  Full study and all 11 verses →
• ὀπτασία optasíaa vision, supernatural appearancetranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3701Noun  ·  Translated: vision 3, visions 1

  Luke 1:22 When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

  Acts 26:19 So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

  Full study and all 4 verses →
• ὅρασις hórasisa sight, vision, appearancetranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3706Noun  ·  Translated: visions 1, looked 1, gleamed 1, vision 1

  Acts 2:17 ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

  Revelation 9:17 Now the horses and riders in my vision looked like this: The riders had breastplates the colors of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and sulfur.

  Full study and all 3 verses →

What the Bible says about vision: passages by topic →

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.