כָּרַע

Genesis 49:9 כָּרַ֨ע he bows down

Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

Here: The lion drops onto bent forelegs. This is not cowering or getting ready to pounce. It is the calm settling of a fed animal.

Numbers 24:9 כָּרַ֨ע it crouched

He crouches, he lies down like a lion, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? Blessed are those who bless you and cursed are those who curse you.”

Here: A lion sinking down on its haunches. The verb form shows a finished action: the lion has already gone down. After verse 8, where Israel 'devours' the nations, this is a predator settling down full and unafraid.

Judges 5:27 כָּרַ֥ע כָּרַ֣ע כָּרַ֔ע he bowed down

At her feet he collapsed, he fell, there he lay still; at her feet he collapsed, he fell; where he collapsed, there he fell dead.

Judges 7:5 יִכְרַ֥ע he will bow down

So Gideon brought the men down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.”

Here: 'Kneels', getting down on bent knees. The word also covers bowing in reverence and collapsing in defeat. Here it plainly means the ordinary posture of drinking from a stream.

Judges 7:6 כָּרְע֥וּ they bowed down

And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.

Judges 11:35 הַכְרֵ֣עַ הִכְרַעְתִּ֔נִי certainly <to bring low>, you have brought low me

As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”

1 Samuel 4:19 וַתִּכְרַ֣ע and she bowed down

Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her.

2 Samuel 22:40 תַּכְרִ֥יעַ you make bow down

You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.

1 Kings 8:54 מִכְּרֹ֣עַ from bowing down

Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.

Here: "From bending/crouching": a low, folded-down posture. The same verb is used of a lion crouching (Genesis 49:9) and of people sinking to the ground.

1 Kings 19:18 כָֽרְעוּ֙ they have bowed down

Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Here: To bend the knees, kneel, sink down. Here it means the physical bow of homage in front of a god or king. The past form describes a settled pattern: they have not done it.

2 Kings 1:13 וַיִּכְרַ֥ע and he bowed down

So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. And the third captain went up, fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, “Man of God, may my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours please be precious in your sight.

2 Kings 9:24 וַיִּכְרַ֖ע and he sank down

Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.

2 Chronicles 7:3 וַיִּכְרְעוּ֩ and they bowed down

When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”

Here: 'And they knelt / sank down'. The first movement of a body going to the ground: bending at the knees.

2 Chronicles 29:29 כָּרְע֗וּ they bowed down

When the offerings were completed, the king and all those present with him bowed down and worshiped.

Ezra 9:5 וָֽאֶכְרְעָה֙ and I bowed down !

At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,

Here: 'I sank down' or 'knelt'. The lengthened first-person ending is a style habit of late biblical Hebrew narrative. Here it does not mean 'let me'.

Esther 3:2 כֹּרְעִ֤ים יִכְרַ֖ע [were] kneeling, he knelt

All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

Esther 3:5 כֹּרֵ֥עַ [was] kneeling

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.

Job 4:4 כֹּרְע֣וֹת bending

Your words have steadied those who stumbled; you have braced the knees that were buckling.

Job 31:10 יִכְרְע֥וּן let them bow down !

then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her.

Job 39:3 תִּ֭כְרַעְנָה they kneel down

They crouch down and bring forth their young; they deliver their newborn.

Psalm 17:13 הַכְרִיעֵ֑הוּ make bow down him

Arise, O LORD, confront them! Bring them to their knees; deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

Here: 'Make him bow / bring him to his knees.' The same verb describes a lion crouching (Genesis 49:9; Numbers 24:9). So the lion-like enemy crouched to pounce (v. 12) should be forced down in defeat instead. This word ends the first half of the verse.

Psalm 18:39 תַּכְרִ֖יעַ you made bow down

You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.

Here: 'You make (them) bow down / sink down.' The word for kneeling, crouching or slumping, here in a causative form: God makes the enemy go down. It covers both collapsing in defeat (like Sisera sinking at Jael's feet, Judges 5:27) and kneeling in surrender.

Psalm 20:8 כָּרְע֣וּ they bow down

They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.

Psalm 22:29 יִ֭כְרְעוּ they will bow down

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.

Here: 'They will kneel.' This is bending the knees in submission. The same verb can mean collapsing in weakness, which suits people who are going down to death. The verb form shifts from past to future.

Psalm 72:9 יִכְרְע֣וּ they will bow down

May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.

Here: To bend the knees and sink down in front of a superior, which is how a vassal paid homage. In this prayer it is best taken as a wish ("may they kneel"). The plural form looks the same whether it states a future or a wish, and the surrounding verses call for a wish.

Psalm 78:31 הִכְרִֽיעַ׃ he made bow down

God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel.

Psalm 95:6 וְנִכְרָ֑עָה and let us kneel down

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

Here: 'And let us sink down onto our knees.' The verb pictures the legs giving way and the body going low. It can be used of someone collapsing or of a lion crouching, and here it is a deliberate lowering in submission.

Isaiah 10:4 כָרַע֙ anyone kneeled down

Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

Here: To sink onto the knees or crouch low. Here it is the forced crouch of a defeated person among bound captives, not the kneeling of worship. The form is singular with no named subject, so it means 'someone, anyone', and the following plural verb widens it to the whole group.

Isaiah 45:23 תִּכְרַ֣ע it will bow down

By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Here: 'Will bend/kneel.' This is the posture of a subject before a sovereign, and of a worshipper before a god. In the ancient Near East the two were the same act.

Isaiah 46:1 כָּרַ֥ע he has bowed down

Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.

Here: Opens the verse, verb first for emphasis: "Down goes Bel!" The verb is used for kneeling in worship and for sinking or collapsing (from a blow, or under a load). The god who received bowing now does the bowing. The past-tense form shows the event as already done.

Isaiah 46:2 כָֽרְעוּ֙ they have bowed down

The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity.

Isaiah 65:12 תִּכְרָ֔עוּ you will bow down

I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen; you did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”

Here: "You will bow down / kneel." This verb is used both for kneeling in worship and for collapsing in death. People who bowed at the tables of Fortune and Destiny will now bow under the knife.