שֶׁקֶר
sheker · lie, falsehood
Hebrew word · Strong’s number H8267 · appears 113 times in the Bible
What is the Strong number?
Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.What it means
sheker (שֶׁקֶר) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “lie, falsehood”.
A lie, deceit; something false or empty. "Falsely" or "in vain" as an adverb.
How to say it
she·ker
Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.
Its senses in the Bible
- What is said against the truth in order to deceive, even before a judge.
- What has no basis or result: an invented deceit, or something done in vain.
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)
Word study
A lie, falsehood: what does not match the truth, whether a word, a testimony or a trust that fails. BDB: an untruth, deceit; also, adverbially, in vain. It comes from the verb שָׁקַר, “to deceive, to be false”.
- False testimony and oaths Exodus 20:16Leviticus 19:12
- Prophets who speak falsehood; “a lying spirit” Jeremiah 14:141 Kings 22:22
- “A lying tongue” that God hates Proverbs 6:17Psalms 119:163
- What deceives trust: “A lie {is} the horse” Psalms 33:17
How we translate it
“Falsehood” 52 times, “lies” 18, “falsely” 12, “lying” 12, “false” 8, “lie” 7… “Falsehood” above all in Jeremiah, for what the false prophets prophesy (Jeremiah 14:14); “false” or “falsely” when it describes a witness or an oath (Exodus 20:16; Leviticus 19:12); “lying” before a noun (“a lying tongue”, Proverbs 6:17; “a lying spirit”, 1 Kings 22:22).
How it is translated
The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.
- falsehood ×52
- lies ×18
- falsely ×12
- lying ×12
- false ×8
- lie ×7
- Deceptive ×1
- falsehoods ×1
- liar ×1
- vain ×1
Related words
Comes from
Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.
Where it appears
- Exodus×3
- Leviticus×3
- Deuteronomy×2
- 1 Samuel×1
- 2 Samuel×1
- 1 Kings×2
- 2 Kings×1
- 2 Chronicles×2
- Job×2
- Psalms×22
- Proverbs×20
- Isaiah×7
- Jeremiah×37
- Ezekiel×1
- Hosea×1
- Micah×2
- Habakkuk×1
- Zechariah×4
- Malachi×1
- Exodus 5:9
Let the work be heavy on the men so that they labor at it and do not pay attention to lying words.”
- Exodus 20:16
You shall not testify against your neighbor as a false witness.
- Exodus 23:7
Keep far from a false matter, and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not declare righteous the wicked.
- Leviticus 6:3
or has found something lost and lied about it and sworn falsely about any one of all the things that a man may do so as to sin by them,
- Leviticus 6:5
or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall repay it in full and add a fifth of it to it; he shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day of his guilt offering.
- Leviticus 19:12
And you shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your Elohim. I am YHWH.
- Deuteronomy 19:18
And the judges shall inquire thoroughly, and look, if the witness is a false witness, if he has testified falsely against his brother,
- 1 Samuel 25:21
Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missing of all that was his; and he has repaid me evil for good.
- 2 Samuel 18:13
Or if I had dealt falsely against my life —and nothing is hidden from the king— you would have stood aloof.”
- 1 Kings 22:22
He said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You will entice him, and you will also succeed; go out and do so.’
- 1 Kings 22:23
Now then, look, YHWH has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and YHWH has spoken evil against you.”
- 2 Kings 9:12
They said, “A lie! Tell us, please.” He said, “Thus and thus he said to me, saying, ‘Thus says YHWH, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’”
- 2 Chronicles 18:21
He said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You will entice him, and you will also succeed; go out and do so.’
- 2 Chronicles 18:22
Now then, look, YHWH has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours; and YHWH has spoken evil against you.”
- Job 13:4
But you are those who plaster over with lies; physicians of no worth are all of you.
- Job 36:4
For truly my words are not a lie; one blameless in knowledge is with you.
- Psalms 7:14
Look, he conceives wickedness, becomes pregnant with suffering, and gives birth to a lie.
- Psalms 27:12
Do not give me over to the desire of my adversaries, for there have risen against me witnesses of lies and one who breathes out violence.
- Psalms 31:18
Let the lips of lies be mute that speak against the righteous with insolence, with pride and contempt.
- Psalms 33:17
A lie is the horse for salvation, and by its great strength it does not let anyone escape.
- Psalms 35:19
Let not my lying enemies be glad over me; nor let those who hate me without cause wink the eye.
- Psalms 38:19
And my enemies are alive, they are strong, and many are those who hate me with lies.
- Psalms 52:3
You love evil more than good, lies more than speaking righteousness. Selah.
- Psalms 63:11
But the king will be glad in Elohim; everyone who swears by him will glory, for the mouth of those who speak lies will be stopped.
- Psalms 69:4
More than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would annihilate me, my enemies with lies; what I did not steal, then I restore.
- Psalms 101:7
He will not dwell within my house who practices deceit; he who speaks lies will not stand firm before my eyes.
- Psalms 109:2
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit they have opened against me; they have spoken with me with a tongue of falsehood.
- Psalms 119:29
The way of lying remove from me, and with your instruction show me favor.
- Psalms 119:69
The insolent have smeared lies against me; I, with all my heart, will guard your precepts.
- Psalms 119:78
Let the insolent be ashamed, for with lies they have wronged me; I will reflect on your precepts.
- Psalms 119:86
All your commandments are faithfulness; with lies they pursue me; help me!
- Psalms 119:104
From your precepts I gain understanding; therefore I hate every path of lying.
- Psalms 119:118
You have rejected all who stray from your statutes, for their deceit is a lie.
- Psalms 119:128
Therefore I count right all your precepts in everything; every path of lying I hate.
- Psalms 119:163
Lying I hate and abhor; your instruction I love.
- Psalms 120:2
YHWH, deliver my soul from the lip of lies, from the deceitful tongue.
- Psalms 144:8
whose mouth speaks falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of lies.
- Psalms 144:11
Set me free and deliver me from the hand of the sons of the foreigner, whose mouth speaks falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of lies;
- Proverbs 6:17
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
- Proverbs 6:19
one who breathes out lies, a false witness, and one who sends out quarrels among brothers.
And 73 more times.