Hebrew word · H3576

כָּזַב

kozev

to lie

To lie or deceive. It also means to fail or disappoint, as with a spring whose water 'does not fail' (Isa 58:11). In the passive (Niphal) stem it means to be shown false, proved a liar, or let down (Job 41:9 [Eng 41:1]: hope 'proves false').

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to lie, tell a lie, be a liar, be found a liar, be in vain, fail

1a) (Qal) liar (participle)

1b) (Niphal) to be proven to be lying

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to lie, tell a lie, tell a lie with, deceive

1c2) to disappoint, fail

1d) (Hiphil) to make a liar, prove to be a liar

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Proverbs 30:6

Range of meaning

To lie or deceive. It also means to fail or disappoint, as with a spring whose water 'does not fail' (Isa 58:11). In the passive (Niphal) stem it means to be shown false, proved a liar, or let down (Job 41:9 [Eng 41:1]: hope 'proves false').

Against the English

'Prove you a liar' / 'be found a liar' are fair. The word also carries the idea of something hollow that fails when you lean on it. English 'liar' only suggests intent to deceive.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 116:11 ('every man is a liar,' kōzēv), Num 23:19 ('God is not a man, that he should lie'), Isa 58:11, Hab 2:3 (the vision 'will not lie,' meaning it will not fail to come).

From the study of Isaiah 58:11

Range of meaning

To lie, to deceive, to prove false. It is the ordinary verb for lying speech (Num 23:19, 'God is not a man, that he should lie').

Against the English

Every major version says 'fail' (KJV 'fail not,' BSB 'never fail'). The sense is right, but the personification is lost. Only YLT keeps 'whose waters lie not.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 15:18: 'Will you be to me like a deceptive brook ('akzāb), like waters that cannot be trusted?' Job 6:15–20 compares unreliable friends to wadis that run high with snowmelt and then vanish in summer heat, leaving caravans stranded. The town name Achzib ('Deceptive') is punned on in Mic 1:14.

From the study of Isaiah 57:11

Range of meaning

Verb form (piel): to lie, to speak falsely, to deceive. More broadly, to prove false, to disappoint, to fail. It is used of water that 'fails' (Isa 58:11: 'a spring whose waters do not fail [lōʾ yĕkazzĕbû]'). The noun kāzāb means 'lie, deception', and the prophets often use it for false gods and false oracles (Amos 2:4; Ezek 13).

Against the English

KJV, BSB, WEB and ESV have 'lied'. Some modern versions render it as being false or untrue to God, which is closer to the sense of relational betrayal.

How it drifted

English 'lie' mainly means saying something you know is untrue. The Hebrew can mean that, but here it describes being disloyal, like a dry stream bed that lets travellers down.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 58:11; Mic 2:11; Ps 78:36 ('they flattered him with their mouth and lied to him with their tongue', describing a people unfaithful to God). The Greek here has 'you lied to me' (epseusō me), reading the lie as aimed at God.

Where it appears

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 23:19 וִֽיכַזֵּ֔ב so he may lie

    God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?

    Here: 'And' plus an intensive verb form meaning 'that he should lie'. Humans say what is false and promise what they do not deliver. God is not that kind of being. The verb also covers a spring that runs dry and disappoints.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 4:16 תְּכַזֵּ֖ב you tell a lie

    And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”

    Here: To say something that will prove false. The verb also describes a spring that runs dry. Her meaning is less “don't be dishonest” than “don't give me a hope that will fail me.”

Job · 4

  1. Job 6:28 אֲכַזֵּֽב׃ I will lie

    But now, please look at me. Would I lie to your face?

  2. Job 24:25 יַכְזִיבֵ֑נִי will he prove a liar me

    If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”

  3. Job 34:6 אֲכַזֵּ֑ב will I lie?

    Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

  4. Job 41:9 נִכְזָ֑בָה it is proved a lie

    Surely hope of overcoming him is false. Is not the sight of him overwhelming?

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 78:36 יְכַזְּבוּ־ they lied

    But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.

  2. Psalm 89:35 אֲכַזֵּֽב׃ I will lie

    Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness—I will not lie to David—

    Here: 'I will lie' or 'I will prove false'. It covers deceitful speech and also a promise that fails to deliver, like a stream that runs dry. Under the oath formula it means 'I will never play David false'.

  3. Psalm 116:11 כֹּזֵֽב׃ [is] a liar

    In my alarm I said, “All men are liars!”

    Here: A participle, a verb used to describe ongoing character: "is lying", "is false", "is a liar". The root covers telling lies, but also anything that lets down whoever relies on it, like a stream that dries up. Here the main idea is that no human support can be counted on.

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 14:5 יְכַזֵּ֑ב he tells lies

    An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness pours forth lies.

  2. Proverbs 30:6 וְנִכְזָֽבְתָּ׃ פ and you will be proved a liar

    Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.

    Here: 'And you will stand exposed as false.' The passive form means being shown up as a liar, not just telling a lie. Your added words turn out to be empty. That is the opposite of God's word, which verse 5 calls tested and pure.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 57:11 תְכַזֵּ֔בִי you will lie

    Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?

    Here: 'You should play false.' This means proving untrue to a bond, like a stream that runs dry when it is needed, more than telling one spoken lie. The form (imperfect) presents it as an ongoing or typical behaviour.

  2. Isaiah 58:11 יְכַזְּב֖וּ they will fail

    The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

    Here: The usual verb for telling lies. Used of water, it pictures a seasonal stream that promises water and then dries up in summer (Jer 15:18 'a deceptive brook'). This spring never breaks its promise.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 13:19 בְּכַ֨זֶּבְכֶ֔ם when speak falsehood you

    You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

    Here: 'By your lying.' The preposition gives the means: all this is done through lying speech. The 'your' ending is grammatically masculine plural though women are addressed. Ezekiel often blurs gender endings like this (compare v.20).

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 2:11 כִּזֵּ֔ב he told a lie

    If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!

    Here: Piel perfect, 'he lied' or 'he speaks lies'. Within the hypothetical it means: if such a man should lie and say… The verb often describes something that fails or disappoints, like a stream that dries up (Isa 58:11).

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:3 יְכַזֵּ֑ב it will lie

    For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

    Here: 'It will not lie': it will not turn out false or let down the one who trusts it. The word is used for a witness who lies and for a spring that runs dry.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.