יָשָׁר

yashar · upright, right

Hebrew word · Strong’s number H3477 · appears 119 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

yashar (יָשָׁר) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “upright, right”.

Upright: what is right and just; straight.

How to say it

ya·shar

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

Acting well before YHWH, without bending.
Without bends or lean, like a straight road or a straight foot.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Upright, straight; what is right. BDB: straight, literally or figuratively. It comes from יָשַׁר, “to be straight”.

“Do what is right and good in the eyes of YHWH” Deuteronomy 6:18
“Each man did what was right in his own eyes” Judges 17:6 Judges 21:25
“Good and upright {is} YHWH” Psalms 25:8 Psalms 33:4
“The upright will see his face” Psalms 11:7
“There is a way {that is} right before a man” Proverbs 14:12

Historical and cultural background

Judges closes with the sentence of 17:6 repeated in 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel; each man did what was right in his own eyes.”

How we translate it

“Upright” 64 times, “right” 26, “what was right” 21, “straight” 5… “Upright” of persons and of YHWH, “right” of what is done; in Kings and Chronicles the kings are judged with the formula “did what was right in the eyes of YHWH” (1 Kings 15:11).

How it is translated

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

upright ×64
right ×26
what was right ×21
straight ×5
bring agreements ×1
uprightly ×1
uprightness ×1

Related words

Comes from

יָשַׁר yashar · be right, be straight

Words that come from it

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

Exodus 15:26
He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, and do what is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not put on you any of the diseases that I put on the Egyptians; for I am YHWH, your healer.”
Numbers 23:10
Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”
Deuteronomy 6:18
Do what is right and good in the eyes of YHWH, so that it may go well with you, and you may go in and take possession of the good land that YHWH swore to your fathers,
Deuteronomy 12:8
You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, each one doing all that is right in his eyes,
Deuteronomy 12:25
You shall not eat it, so that it may go well with you and with your sons after you, because you will do what is right in the eyes of YHWH.
Deuteronomy 12:28
Keep and listen to all these words that I am commanding you, so that it may go well with you and with your sons after you forever, because you will do what is good and right in the eyes of YHWH your Elohim.
Deuteronomy 13:18
if you obey the voice of YHWH your Elohim, keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the eyes of YHWH your Elohim.
Deuteronomy 21:9
So you shall remove the innocent blood from among you, for you shall do what is right in the eyes of YHWH.
Deuteronomy 32:4
The Rock: his work is blameless, for all his ways are justice. An El of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is he.
Joshua 9:25
And now, look, we are in your hand; as it seems good and right in your eyes to do to us, do.”
Joshua 10:13
And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Is it not written in the book of the Upright? The sun stopped in the middle of the heavens and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day.
Judges 17:6
In those days there was no king in Israel; each man did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel; each man did what was right in his own eyes.
1 Samuel 12:23
As for me, far be it from me to sin against YHWH by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and right way.
1 Samuel 29:6
Achish called to David and said to him, “As YHWH lives, you are upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp is good in my eyes, for I have not found evil in you from the day you came to me until this day; but in the eyes of the lords you are not good.
2 Samuel 1:18
and he said to teach the sons of Judah the song of the Bow. Look, it is written in the Book of the Upright:
2 Samuel 19:6
by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. For you have made known today that commanders and servants are nothing to you; for I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us dead today, then it would be right in your eyes.
1 Kings 11:33
because they have abandoned me and bowed down to Astarte, the god of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Milcom, the god of the sons of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my eyes, and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did.
1 Kings 11:38
And it shall be, if you listen to all that I command you, and walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, then I will be with you and build you a firm house, as I built for David, and I will give you Israel.
1 Kings 14:8
and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and who followed me with all his heart, to do only what is right in my eyes,
1 Kings 15:5
because David had done what was right in the eyes of YHWH, and had not turned aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
1 Kings 15:11
Asa did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, like David his father.
1 Kings 22:43
He walked in all the way of Asa his father; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH. Only the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and offered up in smoke on the high places.
2 Kings 10:3
choose the best and most upright of the sons of your master and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for the house of your master.”
2 Kings 10:15
He went from there and found Jonadab son of Rechab coming to meet him, and he blessed him and said to him, “Is your heart upright, as my heart is with your heart?” Jonadab said, “It is.” “If it is, give me your hand.” He gave him his hand, and he took him up with him into the chariot.
2 Kings 10:30
YHWH said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in my eyes, and according to all that was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab, sons of the fourth generation will sit for you on the throne of Israel.”
2 Kings 12:2
Joash did what was right in the eyes of YHWH all his days, in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
2 Kings 14:3
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, only not like David his father; he did according to all that Joash his father had done.
2 Kings 15:3
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, according to all that Amaziah his father had done.
2 Kings 15:34
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH; he did according to all that Uzziah his father had done.
2 Kings 16:2
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of YHWH his Elohim like David his father.
2 Kings 18:3
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, according to all that David his father had done.
2 Kings 22:2
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
2 Chronicles 14:2
Asa did what was good and what was right in the eyes of YHWH his Elohim.
2 Chronicles 20:32
He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the eyes of YHWH.
2 Chronicles 24:2
Joash did what was right in the eyes of YHWH all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
2 Chronicles 25:2
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, only not with a whole heart.
2 Chronicles 26:4
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, according to all that Amaziah his father had done.
2 Chronicles 27:2
He did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, according to all that Uzziah his father had done; only he did not enter into the temple of YHWH. But the people were still acting corruptly.
2 Chronicles 28:1
Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not do what was right in the eyes of YHWH, like David his father;

And 79 more times.