פָּעַל

Exodus 15:17 פָּעַ֖לְתָּ you have made

You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance—the place, O LORD, You have prepared for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands have established.

Here: 'You have made / worked.' This is a poetic word for doing or making, used of craftsmanship and of God's deeds. God himself has prepared the site.

Numbers 23:23 פָּ֖עַל has he done

For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’

Here: A poetic verb for doing or accomplishing, often used of God's great acts. Its form is usually past ('has done', most likely the exodus just mentioned in v. 22), but in poetry it can also mean what God does or plans.

Deuteronomy 32:27 פָּעַ֥ל he did

if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest their adversaries misunderstand and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed; it was not the LORD who did all this.’”

Here: 'Did / brought about'. A poetic verb for doing something. It picks up v.4 of the Song, 'his work (poʿal) is perfect', so the enemy is denying the very 'work' the Song says belongs to God.

Job 7:20 אֶפְעַ֨ל׀ do I do

If I have sinned, what have I done to You, O watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, so that I am a burden to You?

Here: A poetic verb for doing something, often something with an effect on someone. 'What do I do to you' means 'what harm can it do you?' The verb form is open-ended, so 'what can I do' or 'what should I do' are also possible readings.

Job 11:8 תִּפְעָ֑ל will you do

They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

Job 22:17 יִּפְעַ֖ל will he do

They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’

Here: "Will he do" or "can he do". The form points to an action not yet complete, and the sense of ability ("can") is a fair reading of the taunt. This verb is a more poetic word for doing than the everyday Hebrew one.

Job 31:3 לְפֹ֣עֲלֵי to [those who] do

Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?

Job 33:29 יִפְעַל־ he does

Behold, all these things God does to a man, two or even three times,

Job 34:8 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי doers of

He keeps company with evildoers and walks with wicked men.

Job 34:22 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי [those who] do

There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.

Here: A participle (a verb used as a noun): "those who make or practise". It describes people by what they habitually do and produce, not by a single slip.

Job 34:32 פָּ֝עַ֗לְתִּי I have done

Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’

Here: 'I have done' or 'I have committed'. A poetic verb for doing, and it echoes Elihu's phrase 'workers of iniquity' (34:8, 22). The speaker allows that he may have done what such people do.

Job 35:6 תִּפְעָל־ do you do

If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him?

Job 36:3 וּ֝לְפֹעֲלִ֗י and to maker my

I get my knowledge from afar, and I will ascribe justice to my Maker.

Here: 'And to my Maker,' literally 'to the one who works/made me.' The word puts God in the position of the person to whom something is handed over, and it is placed first in its line for emphasis.

Job 36:23 פָּעַ֥לְתָּ you have done

Who has appointed His way for Him, or told Him, ‘You have done wrong’?

Job 37:12 לְפָעֳלָ֑ם to do they

They swirl about, whirling at His direction, accomplishing all that He commands over the face of all the earth.

Psalm 5:5 פֹּ֥עֲלֵי [those who] do

The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.

Here: A participle linked to the next word: "doers of." It describes people who habitually practise and produce something, the way a craftsman produces work. The point is practice and character, not a single slip.

Psalm 6:8 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי [those who] do

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

Here: A participle, 'those who keep doing.' It names people by what they habitually do: they work at harm.

Psalm 7:13 יִפְעָֽל׃ he will make

He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.

Psalm 7:15 יִפְעָֽל׃ [which] he made

He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.

Here: '[Which] he was making / makes.' A short clause with no 'which' word, describing the pit. The unfinished verb form may picture him falling in while still at work on it. 'Pa'al' is also the verb used for 'workers of evil' in the Psalms, so it carries a tone of wrongdoing being done.

Psalm 11:3 פָּעָֽל׃ does he do

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Here: 'Has he done / can he do / has he accomplished'. A poetic verb for 'doing' or 'working', the same root as the Psalms' 'workers of wickedness' (po'alei aven). Its tense is the completed form, so it can mean 'what has he accomplished?' (all his upright living came to nothing) or, used for a hopeless situation, 'what can he do?'

Psalm 14:4 פֹּ֪עֲלֵ֫י [those who] do

Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.

Here: An active participle (a verb used as a noun) bound to the next word: 'the practitioners of'. These people do trouble habitually, as their trade. Their wrongdoing is a way of life, not a single slip.

Psalm 15:2 וּפֹעֵ֥ל and [one who] does

He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart,

Here: 'And one who does / works', again a participle of habitual activity. A poetic verb, set deliberately against the 'workers (po'ale) of evil' of the previous psalm (Ps 14:4).

Psalm 28:3 פֹּ֪עֲלֵ֫י [those who] do

Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.

Here: "Doers of," "those who practise." The verb form describes a habit, almost a trade: these people make a practice of causing trouble. In the Psalms the phrase is a stock label for the psalmist's enemies.

Psalm 31:19 פָּ֭עַלְתָּ [which] you have done

How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!

Here: 'You have worked [it]': the hidden good has now been brought out and carried out as real action. The verb form presents it as something already done.

Psalm 36:12 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי [those who] do

There the evildoers lie fallen, thrown down and unable to rise.

Psalm 44:1 פָּעַ֥לְתָּ [which] you did

For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old.

Here: 'You worked.' The verb comes from the same root as the noun before it: 'the work you worked.' The repeated sound puts all the emphasis on God as the one who acted. 'You' is built into the verb.

Psalm 53:4 פֹּ֤עֲלֵ֫י [those who] do

Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon God.

Psalm 58:2 תִּפְעָ֫ל֥וּן you do !

No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

Here: "You work / you produce." The verb form describes something ongoing or habitual. Injustice is crafted in the mind the way a craftsman works material. The long -ûn ending repeats the sound of verse 1's verbs and of the line's final verb.

Psalm 59:2 מִפֹּ֣עֲלֵי from [those who] do

Deliver me from workers of iniquity, and save me from men of bloodshed.

Here: 'From the doers of…' The form describes people by what they habitually do. They are not people who slipped once. Doing harm is their trade.

Psalm 64:2 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי [those who] do

Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity,

Here: "Doers of / those who practice." A participle of habitual action, the first half of the stock Psalms phrase "workers of ʾāwen."

Psalm 68:28 פָּעַ֥לְתָּ you have acted

Summon Your power, O God; show Your strength, O God, which You have exerted on our behalf.

Here: 'You have worked / accomplished,' a finished act. It points to God's deeds already done in history: the march from Sinai, the victories, the seat he took on his mountain (vv. 7–18).

Psalm 74:12 פֹּעֵ֥ל [who] does

Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.

Here: A participle (a verb form that works like "the one who does"), so it describes God's character and ongoing activity, not a single past event: "the one who keeps doing deliverances." Pa'al is a mostly poetic verb for God's mighty deeds (compare Ps 44:1[2], "the work you worked in their days").

Psalm 92:7 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי [those who] do

that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.

Here: "Doers of / makers of." The participle describes people who habitually work at something and make it their business. It is a fixed phrase in the Psalms for the psalmist's opponents.

Psalm 92:9 פֹּ֥עֲלֵי [those who] do

For surely Your enemies, O LORD, surely Your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.

Here: "Doers of." They are defined by what they habitually produce. The same phrase appears in v. 7.

Psalm 94:4 פֹּ֥עֲלֵי [those who] do

They pour out arrogant words; all workers of iniquity boast.

Here: A participle meaning 'workers of / doers of'. It describes people by their usual activity, like a trade: they work at harm the way a smith works metal.

Psalm 94:16 פֹּ֥עֲלֵי [those who] do

Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?

Psalm 101:8 פֹּ֥עֲלֵי [those who] do

Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.

Here: "Workers of, practitioners of." A participle (a verb used as a noun for an ongoing activity): people who make a habit or trade of something, not people who slipped once.

Psalm 119:3 פָעֲל֣וּ they do

They do no iniquity; they walk in His ways.

Psalm 125:5 פֹּעֲלֵ֣י [those who] do

But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

Here: "Workers of / those who practise": a participle describing habitual activity. It is part of a fixed phrase common in the Psalms for people whose business is doing harm.

Psalm 141:4 פֹּֽעֲלֵי־ [who] do

Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.

Here: 'Workers of', a participle that describes habitual activity. It is the first half of a set phrase the Psalms use for the enemies of the righteous.

Psalm 141:9 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי [those who] do

Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, and from the lures of evildoers.

Here: 'The doers of', meaning those who habitually make or produce something. It is a participle (an '-ing' verb form used as a noun), so it describes people whose ongoing activity defines them.

Proverbs 10:29 לְפֹ֣עֲלֵי for [those who] do

The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright, but destruction awaits those who do evil.

Here: "For those who practise": a participle, so it means people who habitually and actively do something, not someone who slipped once.

Proverbs 16:4 פָּעַ֣ל he makes

The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.

Here: A poetic verb for acting or making. It covers God's deeds in history as well as making things. The Hebrew perfect tense here states a settled, general truth: this is how Yahweh has arranged things.

Proverbs 21:15 לְפֹ֣עֲלֵי to [those who] do

Justice executed is a joy to the righteous, but a terror to the workers of iniquity.

Here: "To those who work…": a participle naming people by their habitual activity. It answers the "doing" of the first half. The righteous do justice, and these people make a practice of something else.

Proverbs 30:20 פָעַ֥לְתִּי I have done

This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

Isaiah 26:12 פָּעַ֥לְתָּ you have done

O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.

Here: A poetic word for 'do, act', often used of God's saving acts. Its form is completed action: 'you have done'. God is the real doer of what the people call 'our works'.

Isaiah 31:2 פֹּ֥עֲלֵי [those who] do

Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers.

Here: "Workers of, doers of". It is part of a fixed phrase, "workers of 'aven", that is common in the Psalms for people who actively practise wrong.

Isaiah 41:4 פָעַ֣ל has he done [it]

Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—the first and the last—I am He.”

Here: A poetic, weighty verb for 'doing' that is often used of God's acts in history. The unstated object is the rise of the conqueror described in verses 2–3.

Isaiah 43:13 אֶפְעַ֖ל I act

Even from eternity I am He, and none can deliver out of My hand. When I act, who can reverse it?”

Here: 'I act / I will act.' The verb form covers present and future. It is a poetic word for decisive, effective action, often God's (cf. Isa 41:4). Here it points to his coming move against Babylon (v.14).

Isaiah 44:12 וּפָעַל֙ וַיִּפְעָלֵ֙הוּ֙ and he works [it], and he worked it

The blacksmith takes a tool and labors over the coals; he fashions an idol with hammers and forges it with his strong arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he fails to drink water and grows faint.

Isaiah 44:15 יִפְעַל־ he makes

It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread. He also fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

Hosea 6:8 פֹּ֣עֲלֵי doers of

Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with footprints of blood.

Hosea 7:1 פָעֲל֖וּ they do

When I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, as well as the crimes of Samaria. For they practice deceit and thieves break in; bandits raid in the streets.

Here: 'They have worked'. A poetic verb for making or doing, used in the stock phrase 'workers of wickedness'. It suggests deception practiced as a craft, not a single slip.

Micah 2:1 וּפֹ֥עֲלֵי and [those who] do

Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.

Here: 'And those who work out.' Lying in bed they are already 'working', building the plan in their heads. It echoes the stock phrase 'workers of ʾāwen' (evildoers) from the Psalms, here split across the two lines.

Habakkuk 1:5 פֹּעֵ֣ל [I am] about to do

“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.

Here: 'Working': a participle (an '-ing' form) of the same root as the noun before it, so the phrase is literally 'a work working'. The participle describes something already under way or about to happen. The 'I' is not written; it is understood from v. 6 ('Behold, I am raising up').

Zephaniah 2:3 פָּעָ֑לוּ they have done

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth who carry out His justice. Seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger.

Here: 'They have done/practised.' The completed form points to an established way of life. These people already live by God's justice.