ouai · woe

What it means

ouai (οὐαί) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “woe”.

!: a cry of grief or of warning.

How to say it

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

1. A cry of grief or warning.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Woe!: an exclamation of grief or of threat. With ‘to’, it announces disaster against someone. In Revelation it is also used as a noun: “the first woe”.

• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees!” Matthew 23:13Matthew 23:23
• The woes of Luke 6, set against the happy Luke 6:24Luke 6:25
• “Woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is handed over!” Matthew 26:24Matthew 18:7
• “Woe is to me if I do not proclaim the good news” 1 Corinthians 9:16
• The woes of Revelation Revelation 8:13Revelation 9:12Revelation 18:10

How we translate it

“Woe” 45 times (“Woe to you, Chorazin!”, Matthew 11:21). In Revelation 9:12, where it is a noun, “The first woe has passed” and “two woes”.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• Woe ×45
• woes ×1

Where it appears

• Matthew×13
• Mark×2
• Luke×15
• 1 Corinthians×1
• Jude×1
• Revelation×14

• Matthew 11:21

  “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed their minds long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

• Matthew 18:7

  Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! For it is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes!

• Matthew 23:13

  But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are going in to go in.

• Matthew 23:15

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him a son of Gehenna twice as much as you.

• Matthew 23:16

  Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound.’

• Matthew 23:23

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe the mint and the dill and the cumin, and you have left aside the weightier things of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without leaving aside those.

• Matthew 23:25

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

• Matthew 23:27

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of all uncleanness.

• Matthew 23:29

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,

• Matthew 24:19

  And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days!

• Matthew 26:24

  The Son of Man goes as it is written about him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is handed over! It would have been good for him if that man had not been born.”

• Mark 13:17

  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days!

• Mark 14:21

  For the Son of Man goes as it is written about him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of Man is handed over! It would have been good for him if that man had not been born.”

• Luke 6:24

  But woe to you who are rich, because you have received your comfort.

• Luke 6:25

  Woe to you who are full now, because you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, because you will mourn and weep.

• Luke 6:26

  Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their fathers used to do the same things to the false prophets.

• Luke 10:13

  Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed their minds long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

• Luke 11:42

  But woe to you Pharisees, because you tithe mint and rue and every garden herb, and you pass over justice and the love of God; but these you ought to have done, and not neglected those.

• Luke 11:43

  Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the first seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

• Luke 11:44

  Woe to you, because you are like the unmarked tombs, and the people who walk over them do not know it.”

• Luke 11:46

  But he said, “Woe to you experts in the law also, because you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

• Luke 11:47

  Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

• Luke 11:52

  Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and those who were entering you hindered.”

• Luke 17:1

  And he said to his disciples, “It is impossible that stumbling blocks should not come; but woe to the one through whom they come!

• Luke 21:23

  Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people.

• Luke 22:22

  For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that man through whom he is handed over!”

• 1 Corinthians 9:16

  For if I proclaim the good news, I have nothing to boast about, for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is to me if I do not proclaim the good news.

• Jude 1:11

  Woe to them, because they have walked in the way of Cain, and for wages have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam, and perished in the opposition of Korah.

• Revelation 8:13

  And I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to blow!”

• Revelation 9:12

  The first woe has passed; look, two woes are still coming after these things.

• Revelation 11:14

  The second woe has passed; look, the third woe is coming soon.

• Revelation 12:12

  Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, because the Devil has come down to you with great fury, knowing that he has little time.”

• Revelation 18:10

  standing far off for fear of her torment, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.”

• Revelation 18:16

  saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stone and pearl!

• Revelation 18:19

  And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships on the sea grew rich from her wealth! For in one hour she has been laid waste.”

And 11 more times.