שָׁוְא

Exodus 20:7 לַשָּׁ֑וְא לַשָּֽׁוְא׃ פ for <the> emptiness

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Here: 'For emptiness / for falsehood.' This is the key word. Shav' covers what is hollow, unreal, deceptive or worthless. The name is not to be put to work for a lie or for nothing.

Exodus 23:1 שָׁ֑וְא falsehood

“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.

Here: "Emptiness": a report with nothing solid behind it, groundless or false. It is the same word as in "you shall not take up (nasa) the name of the LORD in vain (shav)" (Exod 20:7), and the same verb is used here.

Deuteronomy 5:11 לַשָּׁ֑וְא לַשָּֽׁוְא׃ ס for <the> emptiness

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

Here: 'For the emptiness', meaning for something hollow, false or worthless. It covers lying, using the name to make something look solid when it isn't, and using it for no real purpose.

Deuteronomy 5:20 שָֽׁוְא׃ ס falsehood

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Job 7:3 שָׁ֑וְא worthlessness

So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed to me.

Job 11:11 שָׁ֑וְא falsehood

Surely He knows the deceit of men. If He sees iniquity, does He not take note?

Here: 'Men of shav' are hollow, deceitful people whose words and ways have nothing behind them. Zophar is pointing at Job without saying so, since he has just accused Job of empty talk (11:2–3).

Job 15:31 בַּשָּׁ֣יו שָׁ֝֗וְא in <the> worthlessness, worthlessness

Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.

Here: 'In' plus shav', 'emptiness, falsehood, nothingness'. This is what the man leans on: something with nothing inside it. The consonants are written without the final letter, and a scribal note tells the reader to say the full word shav' (see textual notes).

Job 31:5 שָׁ֑וְא falsehood

If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,

Job 35:13 שָׁ֭וְא emptiness

Surely God does not listen to empty pleas, and the Almighty does not take note of it.

Psalm 12:2 שָׁ֤וְא׀ falsehood

They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

Here: Put first for emphasis: what they speak is hollow, without substance or truth behind it. It covers outright lies but also talk that is empty and meant to deceive.

Psalm 24:4 לַשָּׁ֣וְא to <the> falsehood

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.

Here: "To what is empty": anything hollow and false. That covers worthless idols and also false or empty oaths. It is the exact word of Exodus 20:7, "in vain".

Psalm 26:4 שָׁ֑וְא falsehood

I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites.

Here: The thing that describes these men: emptiness, nothing behind the words, falsehood. "Men of shaw'" are hollow, lying, worthless people. The word also carries a hint of the "empty" world of false gods and false oaths.

Psalm 31:6 שָׁ֑וְא falsehood

I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.

Here: "Of emptiness / of falsehood." It describes what is both hollow and deceptive, as in "you shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain." Joined to hevel it doubles the point: "vapors of nothing," "empty lies."

Psalm 41:6 שָׁ֤וְא falsehood

My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.

Here: Words with nothing behind them: hollow get-well wishes and sympathy he does not feel. Placed first in its clause for emphasis: 'emptiness is what he speaks.'

Psalm 60:11 וְ֝שָׁ֗וְא and [is] worthlessness

Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.

Psalm 89:47 שָּׁ֝֗וְא emptiness

Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!

Here: Something with nothing inside it, something that comes to nothing or deceives. The speaker raises the frightening possibility that God made human beings for nothing, that a life of trust ends in empty death with the promise still unkept.

Psalm 108:12 וְ֝שָׁ֗וְא and [is] worthlessness

Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.

Psalm 119:37 שָׁ֑וְא worthlessness

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

Here: Something hollow or false, without real substance: the word used for idols, lies and false witness, and for empty prophetic visions. It covers more than 'trivial things'. It is whatever looks real or valuable and turns out to be nothing, or a lie.

Psalm 127:1 שָׁ֤וְא׀ שָׁ֤וְא׀ vanity

A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.

Here: Placed first in its clause like a verdict: "Emptiness!" The builders' work comes to nothing. It is the word used in "take the name … in vain" (Exod 20:7).

Psalm 127:2 שָׁ֤וְא vanity

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

Here: The third time this word is struck in two verses (twice in v.1). Coming first, it is the verdict before the activity is even described: all of it is empty, achieving nothing.

Psalm 139:20 לַשָּׁ֣וְא to <the> falsehood

who speak of You deceitfully; Your enemies take Your name in vain.

Psalm 144:8 שָׁ֑וְא falsehood

whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful.

Here: Words with nothing behind them, words that come to nothing. It is the word used in the command against taking God's name 'in vain'. Here it marks speech, likely sworn speech, that cannot be relied on.

Psalm 144:11 שָׁ֑וְא falsehood

Set me free and rescue me from the grasp of foreigners, whose mouths speak falsehood, whose right hands are deceitful.

Here: Speech with nothing behind it: hollow, worthless, deceptive. It is the word in the commandment against lifting up God's name 'emptily' and against 'empty/false' testimony (Deut 5:20).

Proverbs 30:8 שָׁ֤וְא׀ deceitfulness

Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.

Here: Hollow, worthless, deceptive things. It comes first in the sentence for emphasis: the first thing Agur wants kept away is what is empty and false.

Isaiah 1:13 שָׁ֔וְא worthlessness

Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.

Here: 'Emptiness.' The offering has nothing behind it. It is hollow and in the end false, a gift that pretends to honour God while the giver's life says otherwise. This is the same word as 'in vain' in the command about the divine name (Exod 20:7).

Isaiah 5:18 הַשָּׁ֑וְא <the> emptiness

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,

Here: What the ropes are made of: hollowness, nothing real, lies. Their means of hauling is self-deception and empty talk. The phrase also sounds very like the idiom for 'worthless idols' (havlê shawʾ, Ps 31:6; Jonah 2:8).

Isaiah 30:28 שָׁ֑וְא worthlessness

His breath is like a rushing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction; He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.

Here: 'A sieve of emptiness': sifting that yields nothing, where nothing worth keeping is left. Translators give the result as 'destruction'.

Isaiah 59:4 שָׁ֔וְא worthlessness

No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

Here: Empty, false speech. The same word is used for 'false witness' in Deuteronomy 5:20 and 'in vain' in the name-commandment (Exod 20:7): words that carry no truth.

Jeremiah 2:30 לַשָּׁוְא֙ for <the> vanity

“I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”

Here: Literally 'for emptiness', meaning 'to no effect'. Coming first in the sentence, it carries the weight: everything God did came to nothing. It is the same word as in 'you shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain' (Exod 20:7).

Jeremiah 4:30 לַשָּׁ֖וְא for <the> vanity

And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life.

Here: 'For nothing', 'to no purpose'. It is placed first in its clause for emphasis: all the effort is wasted. The word also carries the sense of falsehood, the same quality Jeremiah attributes to idols.

Jeremiah 6:29 לַשָּׁוְא֙ for <the> vanity

The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.

Jeremiah 18:15 לַשָּׁ֣וְא to <the> falsehood

Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to worthless idols that make them stumble in their ways, leaving the ancient roads to walk on rutted bypaths instead of on the highway.

Here: 'To the Emptiness / the Nothing.' With the article it works almost as a mocking name for the idol-gods: they are void and unreal and give nothing back.

Jeremiah 46:11 לַשָּׁוְא֙ for <the> vanity

Go up to Gilead for balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt! In vain you try many remedies, but for you there is no healing.

Here: 'For nothing' or 'in vain'. Literally 'for the emptiness'. It is put first for emphasis: all your effort leads to nothing. Jeremiah uses the same phrase to Daughter Zion: 'in vain you beautify yourself' (4:30).

Lamentations 2:14 שָׁ֣וְא שָׁ֖וְא worthlessness

The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.

Here: Something hollow, with no reality or effect behind it. It is both empty and false. It is the same word as in 'you shall not lift up the name of the LORD for shav'' (Exod 20:7).

Ezekiel 12:24 שָׁ֖וְא worthlessness

For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel,

Ezekiel 13:6 שָׁוְא֙ worthlessness

They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.

Here: What they saw was hollow: a vision with nothing behind it and nothing it could deliver. It is the same word as 'in vain' in the command not to lift up Yahweh's name 'for emptiness' (Exod 20:7). That fits here, because these men attach his name to nothing.

Ezekiel 13:7 שָׁוְא֙ worthlessness

Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?

Ezekiel 13:8 שָׁ֔וְא worthlessness

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.

Here: "Emptiness": words with no reality or power behind them, worthless and deceptive. It is the same word as in "you shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain" (Exod 20:7).

Ezekiel 13:9 שָׁוְא֮ worthlessness

My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and speak lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of My people or be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.

Here: What they 'see' is nothing: hollow, empty, deceptive. It is the same word as in the commandment not to 'lift up the name of YHWH to shav'' (Exod 20:7).

Ezekiel 13:23 שָׁ֚וְא worthlessness

therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will deliver My people from your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

Here: Put first for emphasis: "Emptiness, that is what you will no longer see." It names what their visions held: nothing real, nothing God had given. It is the same word as in "you shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain".

Ezekiel 21:23 שָׁוְא֙ falsehood

It will seem like a false omen to the eyes of those who have sworn allegiance to him, but it will draw attention to their guilt and take them captive.

Ezekiel 21:29 שָׁ֔וְא falsehood

while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you—to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.

Here: What the seers 'see' is shaw': something empty, with nothing behind it. It is a hollow vision that cannot come true. This is not 'vanity' in the modern sense of conceit.

Ezekiel 22:28 שָׁ֔וְא falsehood

Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.

Here: What they 'see' is hollow. It has nothing in it and nothing comes of it. This is the same word as in 'you shall not take the name of YHWH for šāwʾ' (Exod 20:7), and it fits here, because they attach God's name to nothing.

Hosea 10:4 שָׁ֖וְא falsehood

They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

Hosea 12:11 שָׁ֣וְא worthlessness

Is there iniquity in Gilead? They will surely come to nothing. Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Indeed, their altars will be heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.

Here: Hollow, false or futile, the same word as in 'you shall not take the name of the LORD *in vain*' (Exod 20:7). In sound it also anticipates *šᵉwārîm*, 'bulls', in the next clause.

Jonah 2:8 שָׁ֑וְא nothingness

Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.

Here: "…of emptiness." It adds a second layer of nothingness, with a shade of deceit: what is empty and false. "Breaths of emptiness" works like "vapour of vapours", nothing twice over.

Zechariah 10:2 הַשָּׁ֣וא <the> worthlessness

For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

Here: The dreams are 'of emptiness': they have nothing real behind them and deceive. It is the same word as 'in vain' in 'take the LORD's name in vain' (Exodus 20:7).

Malachi 3:14 שָׁ֖וְא [is] futility

You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?

Here: The verdict comes first for emphasis: "Empty!" Serving God is called hollow and pointless, with nothing to it. It is the same word used for 'lifting up the Name for nothing' in the third commandment.