Hebrew word · H3891

לָזוּת

ulezut

perversity

Deviousness or deviation. It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. Most lexicons (BDB, HALOT) connect it with lûz, "to turn aside, depart." The related participle nālôz means "devious, perverse" (Prov 2:15 "devious in their paths"; 3:32 "the devious person is an abomination to the LORD"; 14:2).

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

deviation, perversity, crookedness

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 4:24

Range of meaning

Deviousness or deviation. It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. Most lexicons (BDB, HALOT) connect it with lûz, "to turn aside, depart." The related participle nālôz means "devious, perverse" (Prov 2:15 "devious in their paths"; 3:32 "the devious person is an abomination to the LORD"; 14:2).

Against the English

KJV says "perverse lips," WEB "corrupt lips," ESV and NASB "devious." "Devious" fits the root well: in Latin it is literally "off the road" (de via).

How it drifted

"Corrupt" (WEB, NIV) now suggests bribery or filthy talk. The Hebrew picture is speech that slips off course, not speech that is dirty.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Prov 3:32 the nālôz is set against the yəšārîm, the "straight/upright," who enjoy God's confidence. That is the same contrast between crooked and straight that runs through 4:24–27.

Where it appears

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 4:24 וּלְז֥וּת and deviousness of

    Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.

    Here: "And the deviousness of." It probably comes from lûz, "to turn aside, go off course." It means speech that slips sideways off the straight line, evasive and underhanded.

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