Word study
Wick
11 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: wicked, wick. 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 “wick” 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)
- רָשָׁע râshâwicked, criminaltranslated this way 247 times of its 264 uses · Strong’s H7563Adjective · Translated: wicked 221, wicked man 22, guilty 5Full study and all 249 verses →
Genesis 18:23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Exodus 9:27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. “This time I have sinned,” he said. “The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
- רַע rabad, eviltranslated this way 35 times of its 651 uses · Strong’s H7451Adjective · Translated: evil 263, disaster 72, harm 38, wicked 31Full study and all 615 verses →
Genesis 13:13 But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
Numbers 14:27 “How long will this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the complaints that the Israelites are making against Me.
- רָעַע râabe evil, badtranslated this way 12 times of its 97 uses · Strong’s H7489Verb · Translated: wicked 9, harm 8, evil 8, evildoers 8Full study and all 97 verses →
Genesis 19:7 “Please, my brothers,” he pleaded, “don’t do such a wicked thing!
Judges 19:23 The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage.
- בְּלִיַּעַל belîaalworthlessnesstranslated this way 8 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s H1100Noun · Translated: wicked 8, worthless 8, scoundrel 2, chaos 2Full study and all 26 verses →
Deuteronomy 13:13 that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),
Judges 19:22 While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!”
- אָוֶן âventrouble, sorrow, wickednesstranslated this way 7 times of its 68 uses · Strong’s H205Noun · Translated: iniquity 27, evil 6, wicked 6, disaster 3Full study and all 68 verses →
Job 22:15 Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?
Psalm 36:3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.
- מְזַמְּרָה mezammerâhtweezertranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H4212Noun · Translated: wick trimmers 5Full study and all 5 verses →
1 Kings 7:50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.
2 Kings 12:13 However, the money brought into the house of the LORD was not used for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver for the house of the LORD.
- רֶשַׁע reshawickednesstranslated this way 4 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H7562Noun · Translated: wickedness 21, wicked 4Full study and all 29 verses →
Job 34:8 He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.
Psalm 84:10 For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
- עָוֺן âvôniniquity, guilt, or punishment of iniquitytranslated this way 4 times of its 230 uses · Strong’s H5771Noun · Translated: iniquity 128, iniquities 37, guilt 20, punishment 12Full study and all 214 verses →
Psalm 49:5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?
Ezekiel 14:3 “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I consult with them in any way?
- מֶלְקָח melqâchtweezerstranslated this way 3 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H4457Noun · Translated: wick trimmers 3, tongs 3Full study and all 6 verses →
Exodus 25:38 The wick trimmers and their trays must be of pure gold.
Numbers 4:9 They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which to supply it.
- עֶוֶל evelinjustice, unrighteousnesstranslated this way 2 times of its 53 uses · Strong’s H5766Noun · Translated: iniquity 15, injustice 14, wrong 5, wickedness 4Full study and all 51 verses →
2 Samuel 3:34 Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. As a man falls before the wicked, so also you fell.” And all the people wept over him even more.
Psalm 89:22 No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.
- פִּשְׁתָּה pishtâhflaxtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6594Noun · Translated: flax 1, ripe and the flax 1, wick 1, like a wick 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
Isaiah 43:17 who brings out the chariots and horses, the armies and warriors together, to lie down, never to rise again; to be extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
Greek words (New Testament)
- πονηρός ponērósevil, bad, wickedtranslated this way 13 times of its 77 uses · Strong’s G4190Adjective · Translated: evil 49, wicked 11, bad 5, more wicked 2Full study and all 71 verses →
Matthew 12:39 Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
- ἄδικος ádikosunjust, unrighteoustranslated this way 2 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s G94Adjective · Translated: unrighteous 4, dishonest 2, wicked 2, unjust 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Acts 24:15 and I have the same hope in God that they themselves cherish, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
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.