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Psalms 119:20 — Word Study

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WLCגָּרְסָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֣י לְתַאֲבָ֑ה אֶֽל־ מִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָ בְכָל־ עֵֽת׃

BSAMy soulnephesh [broken, deeply longing, the essence of my being, living breath] is consumedgâraç with longingtaʼăbâh [yearning, intense desire] forʼêl Your judgmentsmishpâṭ [divine, justice, ordinances] at allkôl [during, throughout, every, each] timesʻêth [moments, occasions, seasons]

Word
Listen & take awayPsalms 119
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 20 is in this chapter.
Hebrew ↓ Download MP3 The Masoretic text of this chapter, read aloud. Read by Abraham Shmuelof, courtesy of Audio Scriptures International. Chapter divisions by the Academy of Ancient Languages..
Say the word Each Hebrew word carries its transliteration ('Et) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Psalms 119:20quick helps
In a sentenceThe psalmist expresses a deep longing for God's judgments, emphasizing a continual desire for divine guidance.
Who is speakingThe psalmist, reflecting on his inner state and relationship with God.
Where we areThis verse is part of a meditation on the psalmist's experience as a stranger on earth.
The hard wordגָּרְסָ֣ה
Take awayThe psalmist's soul is deeply yearning for God's justice.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause verbגָּרַס The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the Old Testament

1 of 7 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.

Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — Psalms 119:20

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — Longing for Divine Judgmentsgenerated

19I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.
20My soul is consumed with longing for Your judgments at all times.
21You rebuke the arrogant— the cursed who stray from Your commandments.
22Remove my scorn and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies.

Psalm 119:20 reveals the psalmist's intense longing for God's judgments, which he desires at all times. This longing is set against the backdrop of feeling like a stranger on earth, as seen in the preceding verse, Psalm 119:19. The psalmist's yearning reflects a deep need for divine guidance and justice, resonating with themes found throughout the psalms, such as in Psalm 42:1 and Psalm 63:1.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Psalm 119:40–131How I long for Your precepts! Revive me in Your righteousness.
2Psalm 42:1As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
3Psalm 63:1O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
4Psalm 84:2My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
5Proverbs 13:12Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 11 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word גָּרְסָ֣ה, ga.re.Sahgenerated

The verb גָּרַס (garas) means 'to crush' or 'to break,' indicating a state of being overwhelmed or consumed. In this context, it expresses the psalmist's deep emotional state, as his soul is crushed with longing for God's judgments.

This word is used in a perfect tense, indicating a completed action that affects the present. The psalmist's longing is not a fleeting emotion; it is a profound and ongoing desire for divine justice and guidance.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The translations agree on the essence of the verse, conveying the psalmist's deep longing for God's judgments.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is גָּרְסָ֣ה, is consumed, which governs the subject נַפְשִׁ֣י (my soul) and the prepositional phrase לְתַאֲבָ֑ה (for longing). This structure emphasizes the emotional state of the psalmist, highlighting the depth of his longing.

The Hebrew word order places the subject before the verb, which is typical in Hebrew poetry, allowing for a more dramatic expression of the psalmist's feelings.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In the Septuagint, the Hebrew גָּרְסָ֣ה is translated as ἐπεπόθησεν (has yearned), which conveys a similar sense of deep desire. This choice reflects a slightly broader interpretation, emphasizing the yearning aspect of the psalmist's longing.

This translation choice indicates a focus on the emotional state rather than the physical act of being crushed, which may resonate with Greek readers.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Psalm 119:20 expresses the psalmist's deep longing for God's judgments, illustrating a desire for divine guidance in his life. This longing is set within the context of feeling like a stranger on earth, emphasizing the need for God's justice at all times.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean for the psalmist's soul to be consumed with longing?

It indicates a deep emotional state where the psalmist feels overwhelmed by a desire for God's judgments and guidance.

How does this verse connect with the themes in other psalms?

Similar themes of longing for God's presence and guidance are found in other psalms, such as Psalm 42:1 and Psalm 63:1.

Why does the psalmist refer to himself as a stranger on earth?

This reflects a sense of alienation and a desire for divine justice and guidance amidst the challenges of life.

What does the word 'judgments' refer to in this context?

It refers to God's divine justice and ordinances, which the psalmist yearns for to navigate life rightly.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What are some ways I can cultivate a deeper longing for God's guidance in my own life?
  2. How do I respond to feelings of being a stranger in this world?
  3. In what ways can I seek to understand and apply God's judgments in my daily decisions?
  4. How can I express my longings to God in prayer, like the psalmist does?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Early Church Fathers, such as Augustine, reflect on this verse to discuss the nature of love and desire in relation to God's commandments.

Augustine of HippoExposition on Psalms 119 354–430
But what is loved by loving, if love itself be not loved? Whence by consequence that stranger upon earth, after praying that the commandments of God might not be hidden from him, wherein love is enjoined either solely or principally;
Early Church Fathers on Psalms 119 →
Augustine of HippoCity of God 14.7 354–430
The right will is, therefore, well-directed love, and the wrong will is ill-directed love. Love, then, yearning to have what is loved, is desire; and having and enjoying it, is joy; fleeing what is opposed to it, it is fear;
Early Church Fathers on Psalms 119 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Psalms 119:20 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

My soul breaketh for the longing,.... His heart was just ready to break, and his soul fainted; he was ready to die, through a vehement desire of enjoying the object longed for, after mentioned; "hope

Read John Gill on Psalms 119 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. "Breaketh" implies a heart full of desire, even to breaking.

Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 119 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Breaketh; fainteth, as it frequently doth, when a thing vehemently desired is denied or delayed. Compare . Unto thy judgments; to a more sound knowledge and serious practice of them.

Read Matthew Poole on Psalms 119 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psalms 119:20 My soul breaketh for the longing [that it hath] unto thy judgments at all times.Ver. 20. My soul breaketh] The Seventy render it, My soul hath desired to desire thy judgments. How many broken spirits do even spend and exhale themselves in continual sallies, as it were, and egressions of affection to God and his judgments! Comminuitur, debilior fit. The stone will fall down to come to its own place, though it break itself in many pieces; so the good souls.

Read John Trapp on Psalms 119 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(20) Breaketh.—The Hebrew is peculiar to this place and Lamentations 3:16. The LXX., Vulg., and Aquila have “greatly desired;” Symmachus, “was perfect;” Theodotion, “had confidence;” Jerome, “longed,” all which point either to a different reading or to a different sense from that which is given in the lexicons to the word.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Psalms 119 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 20. My soul breaketh] We have a similar expression: It broke my heart, That is heart-breaking, She died of a broken heart. It expresses excessive longing, grievous disappointment, hopeless love, accumulated sorrow. By this we may see the hungering and thirsting which the psalmist had after righteousness, often mingled with much despondency.

Read AdamClarke on Psalms 119 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

20. A plea for an answer to the prayer of Psa 119:19. His soul breaks, lit. is crushed, overwhelmed and consumed with longing for the fuller knowledge of God’s judgements, i.e. the authoritative declaration of His Will. See above, p. 704.

Read Cambridge on Psalms 119 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

My soul breaketh - This word means to break; to crush; to break in pieces by scraping, rubbing, or grating.

Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 119 →

The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

My soul is consumed with longing for Your judgments at all times.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

My soul is consumed with longing for Your judgments at all times.

NETBNew English Translation2006

I desperately long to know your regulations at all times.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

My soul breaketh for the longing That it hath unto thine ordinances at all times.

RVARevised Version, American1894

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath to thy judgments at all times.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Mine heart breaketh for the desire to thy iudgements alway.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

My soul breaketh for longing after thy judgments at all times.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

Broken hath my soul for desire Unto Thy judgments at all times.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

My soul has broken for desire || To Your judgments at all times.

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

My soul is broken from longing for thy ordinances at all times.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

My desires are crushed by the longing to know your righteous decrees at all times.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

I'm always so keen to know your instructions.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

My soul is broken with desire for your decisions at all times.

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseverbגָּרְסָ֣הit.is.crushednoun phrase · subjectנַפְשִׁ֣selfיmyprepositional phrase · prepositionalלְforתַאֲבָ֑הlongingprepositional phrase · prepositionalאֶֽלtonoun phraseמִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יjudgmentsךָyourprepositional phrase · prepositionalבְatnoun phraseכָלeveryעֵֽתtime

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran

The Masoretic Text reads גָּרְסָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֣י לְתַאֲבָ֑ה אֶֽל־ מִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָ בְכָל־ עֵֽת׃, which is closely matched by the Septuagint, though the Greek rendering reflects a different word order and some interpretive differences. The Dead Sea Scrolls show some variations, with significant portions restored by editors.

Masoretic TextLeningrad Codex, c. AD 1008 — the text this page is built on

גָּרְסָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֣י לְתַאֲבָ֑ה אֶֽל־ מִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָ בְכָל־ עֵֽת׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
גָּרְסָ֣הἐπεπόθησενנַפְשִׁ֣יμουלְתַאֲבָ֑הἐπιθυμῆσαιמִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָἐνבְכָל־καιρῷ

5 of the 7 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.

Dead Sea Scrolls — 4Q90a copy a thousand years older than the Leningrad Codex

גרסה נפש׳י [לתאבה] [אל] [משפטי׳ך] [בכל] [עת]

2 words on the leather — 5 supplied entire by an editor.

Dead Sea Scrolls — 11Q5a copy a thousand years older than the Leningrad Codex

גרשה נפש׳י לתאבה אל משפטי׳כה בכול עת

7 words on the leather.

Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Psalms 119:20גָּרַסit is crushit is crushedגָּרַסנֶ֫פֶשׁself myself myנֶ֫פֶשׁתַּאֲבָהfor longingfor longingתַּאֲבָהאֶלtotoאֶלמִשְׁפָּטjudgments yjudgments yourמִשְׁפָּטכֹּלat everyat everyכֹּלעֵתtimetimeעֵתנָפַשׁbe refreshbe refreshedנָפַשׁתָּעַבto loatheto loatheתָּעַבשָׁפַטto judgeto judgeשָׁפַטכָּלַלto perfectto perfectכָּלַלעַדperpetuityperpetuityעַדבָּקַשׁto seekto seekבָּקַשׁחַיalivealiveחַיפָּלַלto prayto prayפָּלַליִרְמְיָ֫הJeremiahJeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫החֻקָּהstatutestatuteחֻקָּהחֹקstatute: dstatute: decreeחֹקעֵדָהcongregaticongregationעֵדָהעֲבֹדָהserviceserviceעֲבֹדָהמָחָרtomorrowtomorrowמָחָר
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Psalms 119:20

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

it is crushed self my for longing to judgments your at every time
גָּרְסָ֣הga.re.Sah it is crushed H1638 Verb · Qal · perfect third person feminine singular
2× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
To break or crush something means to destroy it, like in the book of Psalms. This word can also mean to dissolve or lose strength. The KJV Bible translates it as break.
Tyndale gloss
to break
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

גָּרַס (garas) is a Hebrew verb meaning to crush or break. It can refer to being crushed or broken in a physical or figurative sense, such as in the context of longing or divine punishment. The entries highlight its use in both Qal and Hiphil forms, illustrating its application in different contexts.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

[גָּרַס] vb. be crushed

Qal my soul is crushed (i.e. perisheth: cf. Syr.) with longing for

Hiph. and he hath crushed my teeth with gravel, fig. of divine chastisement.

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1638 גָּרַס

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1638 garac gaw-ras'

a primitive root; to crush; also (intransitively and

figuratively) to dissolve:--break.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

גָּרַס (ga.ras) — to break.

1) to be crushed, be broken

1a) (Qal) to be crushed

1b) (Hiphil) to crush, break (the teeth)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
V-Qal-Perf-3fs — Verb · Qal · perfect third person feminine singular
HVqp3fs
it is crushed self my for longing to judgments your at every time
נַפְשִׁ֣יnaf.Shi self my H5315 Noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
754× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for soul or living being, used in the Bible to describe the essence of a person or animal. It encompasses the ideas of life, breath, and vitality, and is translated as 'soul' or 'creature' in the KJV. This word is central to biblical concepts of humanity and existence.
Amplified meaning
broken, deeply longing, the essence of my being, living breath
Tyndale gloss
soul
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word נֶ֫פֶשׁ (*nephesh*) broadly means 'soul' or 'living being,' encompassing concepts like life, self, person, desire, and emotion. It is derived from the root meaning 'to breathe' and signifies both physical and mental aspects of existence. The lexicons note its use in various contexts, including as the seat of appetites and emotions, though its application to will and character is uncertain.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

נֶ֫פֶשׁ 756 n.f. soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passion

= that which breathes, the breathing substance or being

The נפשׁ becomes a living being

The נפשׁ is specif.

The נפשׁ as the essential of man stands for the man himself

נפשׁ = seat of the appetites, in all periods (46 t.)

נ׳ = seat of emotions and passions

נפשׁ is used occasionally for mental acts

נפשׁ for acts of the will is dub.

נפשׁ = character is still more dub.

נ׳ in D

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5315 נֶ֫פֶשׁ soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passion . = that which breathes, the breathing substance or being

. The נפשׁ becomes a living being

. The נפשׁ is specif.

. The נפשׁ as the essential of man stands for the man himself

. נפשׁ = seat of the appetites, in all periods (46 t.)

. נ׳ = seat of emotions and passions

. נפשׁ is used occasionally for mental acts

. נפשׁ for acts of the will is dub.

. נפשׁ = character is still more dub.

. נ׳ in D

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5315 nephesh neh'-fesh

from 5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of

(abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal,

accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):--any,

appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead(-ly), desire,

X (dis-)contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart(-y),

(hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me,

mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-,

thy-)self, them (your)-selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they,

thing, (X she) will, X would have it.

see HEBREW for 05314

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

נֶ֫פֶשׁ (ne.phesh) — soul.

1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion

1a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man

1b) living being

1c) living being (with life in the blood)

1d) the man himself, self, person or individual

1e) seat of the appetites

1f) seat of emotions and passions

1g) activity of mind

1g1) uncertain

1h) activity of the will

1h1) uncertain

1i) activity of the character

1i1) uncertain

נֶ֫פֶשׁ (ne.phesh) — soul: life.

1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion

1a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man

1b) living being

1c) living being (with life in the blood)

1d) the man himself, self, person or individual

1e) seat of the appetites

1f) seat of emotions and passions

1g) activity of mind

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-cs | Suff — Noun common feminine singular construct · suffix
HNcfsc/Sp1bs
it is crushed self my for longing to judgments your at every time
לְתַאֲבָ֑הle.ta.'a.Vah for longing H8375 Preposition · noun common feminine singular absolute
1× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
A strong feeling of desire is what this word represents. In Psalm 38:9, David expresses his longing for God's help.
Amplified meaning
yearning, intense desire
Tyndale gloss
longing
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

תַּאֲבָה (ta'abah) is a feminine noun meaning 'longing' or 'desire.' It is derived from the root word תָּאַב (ta'ab), which also relates to desire. The term appears in contexts such as Psalm 119:20, indicating a deep yearning.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

תַּאֲבָה n.f. longing;—ψ 119:20.

done

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H8375 תַּאֲבָה

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

8375 ta'abah tah-ab-aw'

from 8374 (compare 15); desire:--longing.

see HEBREW for 08374

see HEBREW for 015

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

תַּאֲבָה (ta.a.vah) — longing.

longing

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep | N-fs — Preposition · noun common feminine singular absolute
HR/Ncfsa
it is crushed self my for longing to judgments your at every time
אֶֽל־'el- to H413 Preposition
5,518× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This Hebrew word means 'to' or 'toward', showing direction or movement. It appears in many books, including Genesis and Exodus, to indicate where someone is going. The KJV translates it in various ways, like 'about', 'according to', or 'against'.
Tyndale gloss
to(wards)
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word אֶל (el) is primarily a preposition indicating motion towards or direction to a person or place. It can also imply entering a limit, presence at a location, or a hostile direction (against). Additionally, it may express concepts such as concerning, in addition to, or according to. The entries highlight its versatility in both physical and metaphorical contexts.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph),

prep. denoting motion to or direction towards (whether physical or mental).of motion to or unto a person or place

Where the limit is actually entered, into

Of direction towards anything

Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against

Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to

Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of

Of rule or standard according to (rare)

Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion

Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H413 אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph), . of motion to or unto a person or place

. Where the limit is actually entered, into

. Of direction towards anything

. Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against

. Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to

. Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of

. Of rule or standard according to (rare)

. Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion

. Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

413 'el ale

(but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el});

a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but

occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or

among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after,

against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and,

by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of,

over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether,

with(-in).

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אֶל (el) — to(wards).

1) to, toward, unto (of motion)

2) into (limit is actually entered)

2a) in among

3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion)

4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character)

5) in addition to, to

6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of

7) according to (rule or standard)

8) at, by, against (of one's presence)

9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep — Preposition
HR
it is crushed self my for longing to judgments your at every time
מִשְׁפָּטֶ֥יךָmish.pa.Tei.kha judgments your H4941 Noun common masculine plural construct · suffix
422× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Mishpat means justice or judgment, and is often used to describe God's righteous judgment, as well as human laws and decisions, in books like Deuteronomy and Isaiah.
Amplified meaning
divine, justice, ordinances
Tyndale gloss
justice: judgement
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) primarily means judgment or justice and encompasses various aspects such as legal rights, ordinances, and decisions. It is derived from a root meaning to pronounce a verdict, covering both human and divine law. The entries highlight its application in legal contexts, including the act of deciding cases and the attributes of justice and rectitude.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מִשְׁפָּט 422 n.m. judgment

judgment

justice, right, rectitude

ordinance

decision

one's (legal) right, privilege, due

proper, fitting, measure

custom, manner

what manner of

plan

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4941 מִשְׁפָּט judgment . judgment

. justice, right, rectitude

. ordinance

. decision

. one's (legal) right, privilege, due

. . proper, fitting, measure

. custom, manner

. what manner of

. plan

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4941 mishpat mish-pawt'

from 8199; properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable)

pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree

(human or (participant's) divine law, individual or

collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the

crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a

participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or

even a style:--+ adversary, ceremony, charge, X crime,

custom, desert, determination, discretion, disposing, due,

fashion, form, to be judged, judgment, just(-ice, -ly),

(manner of) law(-ful), manner, measure, (due) order,

ordinance, right, sentence, usest, X worthy, + wrong.

see HEBREW for 08199

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מִשְׁפָּט (mish.pat) — justice: judgement.

: judgement/punishment

1) judgment, justice, ordinance

1a) judgment

1a1) act of deciding a case

1a2) place, court, seat of judgment

1a3) process, procedure, litigation (before judges)

1a4) case, cause (presented for judgment)

1a5) sentence, decision (of judgment)

1a6) execution (of judgment)

1a7) time (of judgment)

1b) justice, right, rectitude (attributes of God or man)

1c) ordinance

1d) decision (in law)

1e) right, privilege, due (legal)

1f) proper, fitting, measure, fitness, custom, manner, plan

מִשְׁפָּט (mish.pat) — justice.

: justice/right/righteousness

1) judgment, justice, ordinance

1a) judgment

1a1) act of deciding a case

1a2) place, court, seat of judgment

1a3) process, procedure, litigation (before judges)

1a4) case, cause (presented for judgment)

1a5) sentence, decision (of judgment)

1a6) execution (of judgment)

1a7) time (of judgment)

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-mp | Suff — Noun common masculine plural construct · suffix
HNcmpc/Sp2ms
it is crushed self my for longing to judgments your at every time
בְכָל־ve.khol- at every H3605 Preposition · noun common masculine singular construct
5,415× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
The Hebrew word for 'all' or 'everything' is used throughout the Bible, like in Genesis 1:31, where God sees all He has made as very good. It encompasses the entirety of something, whether people, things, or situations.
Amplified meaning
during, throughout, every, each
Tyndale gloss
all
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It can refer to totality, including every person or thing, and is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included. The term can also denote a broader sense of everything in existence or all circumstances of life. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all

with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every

Absolutely:

without the art., all things, all

with the art. הַכֹּל

where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned

in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H3605 כֹּל once כּוֹל the whole, all . with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every

. Absolutely: . without the art., all things, all

. with the art. הַכֹּל . where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned

. in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

3605 kol kole

or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole;

hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a

plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any

(manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as

many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole,

whoso(-ever).

see HEBREW for 03634

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

כֹּל (kol) — all.

1) all, the whole

1a) all, the whole of

1b) any, each, every, anything

1c) totality, everything

Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep | N-ms — Preposition · noun common masculine singular construct
HR/Ncmsc
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
it is crushed self my for longing to judgments your at every time
עֵֽת׃'Et time H6256 Noun common · both singular absolute
296× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Eth means time, especially now or when, and can refer to an event, experience, or occasion. It is often used to describe a specific moment or period.
Amplified meaning
moments, occasions, seasons
Tyndale gloss
time
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

עֵת (eth) means 'time,' covering various aspects such as the time of an event, a usual time, or an appointed time. It can also refer to experiences or occurrences. The entries suggest it can denote both specific and uncertain times, but they do not indicate any significant disagreement among lexicons.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

עֵת 297 n.f. time

time of an event

= usual time

proper, suitable time

appointed time

as uncertain

= experience, fortunes

occurrence, occasion

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H6256 עֵת time . time of an event

. . = usual time

. proper, suitable time

. appointed time

. as uncertain

. = experience, fortunes

. occurrence, occasion

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

6256 `eth ayth

from 5703; time, especially (adverb with preposition) now,

when, etc.:--+ after, (al-)ways, X certain, + continually, +

evening, long, (due) season, so (long) as, (even-, evening-,

noon-)tide, ((meal-)), what) time, when.

see HEBREW for 05703

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

עֵת (et) — time.

1) time

1a) time (of an event)

1b) time (usual)

1c) experiences, fortunes

1d) occurrence, occasion

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-cs — Noun common · both singular absolute
HNcbsa
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

tim: The basis of the Hebrew measurement of time was the day and the lunar month, as with the Semites generally. The division of the day into hours was late, probably not common until after the exile, although the sun-dial of Ahaz (2Ki 20:9; Isa 38:8) would scent to indicate some division of the day into periods of some sort, as we know the night was divided, The word used for "hour" is Aramaic she`a' (sha`ta'), and does not occur in the Old Testament until the Book of Daniel (4:33; 5:5), and even there it stands for an indefinite period for which "time" would answer as well.

1. The Day:

The term "day" (yom) was in use from the earliest times, as is indicated in the story of the Creation (Ge 1). It there doubtless denotes an indefinite period, but is marked off by "evening and…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Besides the ordinary uses of this word, the Bible sometimes employs it to denote a year, as in Da 4:16; or a prophetic year, consisting of three hundred and sixty natural year, a day being taken for a year. Thus in Da 7:25 12:7, the phrase "a time, times, and the dividing of a time" is supposed to mean three and a half prophetic years, or 1,260 natural years. This period is elsewhere paralleled by the expression, "forty-two months," each month including thirty years, Re 11:2-3 12:6,14 13:5.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Beginning of Ge 1:1,14

→ Epochs of

Before the flood Jos 24:2

→ The exodus Ex 19:1; 40:17; 1Ki 6:1

→ Daniel' s reckoning of time, and times, and half times Da 7:25; 12:7

→ Indicated by a sun-dial 2Ki 20:9-11; Isa 38:8

→ Division of, into watches Ex 14:24; 1Sa 11:11; Mt 14:25; Mr 6:48

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- The duration of the world

Job 22:16; Re 10:6

- The measure of the continuance of anything

Jud 18:31

- An appointed season

Ne 2:6; Ec 3:1,17

- COMPUTED BY

. Years

Ge 15:13; 2Sa 21:1; Da 9:2

. Months

Nu 10:10; 1Ch 27:1; Job 3:6

. Weeks

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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