לֹא
not
‘not’ is one of 6 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Particle
- A short function word — article, negation, interrogative, the sign of the direct object, and the like.
Noun type
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H3808 appears in the Book of 2 Kings — 152 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
2 Kings
- 2 Kings 1:4 לֹֽא ptcl neg Now therefore thus says Yahweh, You shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die. Elijah departed.
- 2 Kings 1:6 לֹֽא ptcl neg They said to him, There came up a man to meet us, and said to us, Go, turn again to the king who sent you, and tell him, Thus says Yahweh, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die.
- 2 Kings 1:16 לֹֽא ptcl neg He said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die.
- 2 Kings 1:17 לֹֽא ptcl neg So he died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram began to reign in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.
- 2 Kings 1:18 הֲ/לֽוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 2:10 לֹ֥א ptcl neg He said, You have asked a hard thing: [nevertheless], if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so to you; but if not, it shall not be so.
- 2 Kings 2:12 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen of it! He saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
- 2 Kings 2:16 לֹ֥א ptcl neg They said to him, See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up, and cast him on some mountain, or into some valley. He said, You shall not send.
- 2 Kings 2:17 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but didn't find him.
- 2 Kings 2:18 הֲ/לֽוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg They came back to him, while he stayed at Jericho; and he said to them, "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't go?'"
- 2 Kings 2:21 לֹֽא ptcl neg He went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus says Yahweh, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from there any more death or miscarrying.
- 2 Kings 3:2 לֹ֥א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.
- 2 Kings 3:3 לֹא ptcl neg Nevertheless he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; he didn't depart from it.
- 2 Kings 3:9 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the animals that followed them.
- 2 Kings 3:17 לֹֽא וְ/לֹֽא ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg For thus says Yahweh, You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your animals.
- 2 Kings 3:26 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew sword, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.
- 2 Kings 4:23 לֹֽא וְ/לֹ֣א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg He said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, It shall be well.
- 2 Kings 4:27 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her; and Yahweh has hid it from me, and has not told me.
- 2 Kings 4:28 הֲ/לֹ֣א לֹ֥א ptcl inter + ptcl neg ptcl neg Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Didn't I say, Do not deceive me?
- 2 Kings 4:29 לֹ֣א לֹ֣א ptcl neg ptcl neg Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, Don't greet him; and if anyone greets you, don't answer him again: and lay my staff on the face of the child.
- 2 Kings 4:31 לֹ֥א ptcl neg Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child has not awakened.
- 2 Kings 4:39 לֹ֥א ptcl neg One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of stew; for they didn't recognize them.
- 2 Kings 4:40 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg So they poured out for the men to eat. It happened, as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out, and said, man of God, there is death in the pot. They could not eat of it.
- 2 Kings 4:41 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg But he said, Then bring meal. He cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. There was no harm in the pot.
- 2 Kings 5:12 הֲ/לֹ֡א הֲ/לֹֽא ptcl inter + ptcl neg ptcl inter + ptcl neg Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
- 2 Kings 5:13 הֲ/ל֣וֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid you do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? how much rather then, when he says to you, Wash, and be clean?
- 2 Kings 5:17 וָ/לֹ֕א לֽוֹא conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg Naaman said, If not, yet, please let there be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth; for your servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 5:25 לֹֽא ptcl neg But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, Whence come you, Gehazi? He said, Your servant went no where.
- 2 Kings 5:26 לֹא ptcl neg He said to him, Didn't my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and maid-servants?
- 2 Kings 6:10 לֹ֥א וְ/לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice.
- 2 Kings 6:11 הֲ/לוֹא֙ ptcl inter + ptcl neg The heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Won't you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?
- 2 Kings 6:12 ל֖וֹא ptcl neg One of his servants said, No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.
- 2 Kings 6:19 לֹ֣א וְ/לֹ֣א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. He led them to Samaria.
- 2 Kings 6:22 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He answered, You shall not strike them: would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
- 2 Kings 6:23 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg He prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
- 2 Kings 6:32 הֲ/ל֗וֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before him: but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See you how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: isn't the sound of his master's feet behind him?
- 2 Kings 7:2 לֹ֥א ptcl neg Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? He said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it.
- 2 Kings 7:9 לֹֽא ptcl neg Then they said one to another, We aren't doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we hold our peace: if we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household.
- 2 Kings 7:19 לֹ֥א ptcl neg and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? and he said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it:
- 2 Kings 8:10 לא ptcl neg Elisha said to him, Go, tell him, You shall surely recover; however Yahweh has shown me that he shall surely die.
- 2 Kings 8:19 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg However Yahweh would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always.
- 2 Kings 8:23 הֲ/לֽוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg The rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 9:3 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus says Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and don't wait.
- 2 Kings 9:18 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? Jehu said, What have you to do with peace? turn you behind me. The watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back.
- 2 Kings 9:20 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg The watchman told, saying, He came even to them, and isn't coming back: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.
- 2 Kings 9:26 לֹ֡א ptcl neg Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says Yahweh; and I will requite you in this plat, says Yahweh. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat [of ground], according to the word of Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 9:35 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg They went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
- 2 Kings 9:37 לֹֽא ptcl neg and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
- 2 Kings 10:4 לֹ֥א ptcl neg But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings didn't stand before him: how then shall we stand?
- 2 Kings 10:5 לֹֽא ptcl neg He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who brought up [the children], sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and will do all that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king: you do that which is good in your eyes.
- 2 Kings 10:10 לֹ֨א ptcl neg Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for Yahweh has done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah.
- 2 Kings 10:14 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg He said, Take them alive. They took them alive, and killed them at the pit of the shearing-house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.
- 2 Kings 10:19 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
- 2 Kings 10:21 וְ/לֹֽא לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that didn't come. They came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another.
- 2 Kings 10:29 לֹֽא ptcl neg However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu didn't depart from after them, [to wit], the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
- 2 Kings 10:31 לֹ֥א לֹ֣א ptcl neg ptcl neg But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart: he didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kings 10:34 הֲ/לֽוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 11:2 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were slain, even him and his nurse, [and put them] in the bedchamber; and they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not slain;
- 2 Kings 12:3 לֹא ptcl neg However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
- 2 Kings 12:6 לֹֽא ptcl neg But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.
- 2 Kings 12:13 לֹ֨א ptcl neg But there were not made for the house of Yahweh cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh;
- 2 Kings 12:15 וְ/לֹ֧א conj + ptcl neg Moreover they didn't demand an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work; for they dealt faithfully.
- 2 Kings 12:16 לֹ֥א ptcl neg The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Yahweh: it was the priests'.
- 2 Kings 12:19 הֲ/לוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 13:2 לֹא ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; he didn't depart from it.
- 2 Kings 13:6 לֹֽא ptcl neg Nevertheless they didn't depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin, but walked therein: and there remained the Asherah also in Samaria.)
- 2 Kings 13:7 לֹא֩ ptcl neg For he didn't leave to Jehoahaz of the people save fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria destroyed them, and made them like the dust in threshing.
- 2 Kings 13:8 הֲ/לוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 13:11 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh; he didn't depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; but he walked therein.
- 2 Kings 13:12 הֲ/לֽוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 13:23 וְ/לֹ֤א וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg But Yahweh was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had respect to them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.
- 2 Kings 14:3 לֹ֖א ptcl neg He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, yet not like David his father: he did according to all that Joash his father had done.
- 2 Kings 14:4 לֹא ptcl neg However the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
- 2 Kings 14:6 לֹ֣א לֹא לֹא ptcl neg ptcl neg ptcl neg but the children of the murderers he didn't put to death; according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, as Yahweh commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.
- 2 Kings 14:11 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg But Amaziah would not hear. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.
- 2 Kings 14:15 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 14:18 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 14:24 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: he didn't depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kings 14:27 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg Yahweh didn't say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under the sky; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash.
- 2 Kings 14:28 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, [which had belonged] to Judah, for Israel, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 15:4 לֹא ptcl neg However the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
- 2 Kings 15:6 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 15:9 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as his fathers had done: he didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kings 15:16 לֹ֥א ptcl neg Then Menahem struck Tiphsah, and all who were therein, and the borders of it, from Tirzah: because they didn't open to him, therefore he struck it; and all the women therein who were with child he ripped up.
- 2 Kings 15:18 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: he didn't depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kings 15:20 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and didn't stay there in the land.
- 2 Kings 15:21 הֲ/לוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
- 2 Kings 15:24 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: he didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kings 15:28 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: he didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin.
- 2 Kings 15:35 לֹ֣א ptcl neg However the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 15:36 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 16:2 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and he didn't do that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh his God, like David his father.
- 2 Kings 16:5 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him.
- 2 Kings 16:19 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 17:2 לֹ֚א ptcl neg He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him.
- 2 Kings 17:4 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
- 2 Kings 17:9 לֹא ptcl neg The children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Yahweh their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;
- 2 Kings 17:12 לֹ֥א ptcl neg and they served idols, of which Yahweh had said to them, You shall not do this thing.
- 2 Kings 17:14 וְ/לֹ֖א לֹ֣א conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who didn't believe in Yahweh their God.
- 2 Kings 17:18 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Therefore Yahweh was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
- 2 Kings 17:19 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Also Judah didn't keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
- 2 Kings 17:22 לֹא ptcl neg The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they didn't depart from them;
- 2 Kings 17:25 לֹ֥א ptcl neg So it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they didn't fear Yahweh: therefore Yahweh sent lions among them, which killed some of them.
- 2 Kings 17:26 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which you have carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, don't know the law of the god of the land: therefore he has sent lions among them, and, behold, they kill them, because they don't know the law of the god of the land.
- 2 Kings 17:35 לֹ֥א וְ/לֹא וְ/לֹ֣א וְ/לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg with whom Yahweh had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
- 2 Kings 17:37 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg and the statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do forevermore; and you shall not fear other gods:
- 2 Kings 17:38 לֹ֣א וְ/לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg and the covenant that I have made with you you shall not forget; neither shall you fear other gods:
- 2 Kings 17:40 וְ/לֹ֖א conj + ptcl neg However they did not listen, but they did after their former manner.
- 2 Kings 18:5 לֹא ptcl neg He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor [among them] that were before him.
- 2 Kings 18:6 לֹא ptcl neg For he joined with Yahweh; he didn't depart from following him, but kept his commandments, which Yahweh commanded Moses.
- 2 Kings 18:7 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Yahweh was with him; wherever he went forth he prospered: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and didn't serve him.
- 2 Kings 18:12 לֹֽא וְ/לֹ֥א וְ/לֹ֥א ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg because they didn't obey the voice of Yahweh their God, but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded, and would not hear it, nor do it.
- 2 Kings 18:22 הֲ/לוֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg But if you tell me, We trust in Yahweh our God; isn't that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
- 2 Kings 18:27 הֲ/לֹ֣א ptcl inter + ptcl neg But Rabshakeh said to them, Has my master sent me to your master, and to you, to speak these words? Hasn't he sent me to the men who sit on the wall, to eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with you?
- 2 Kings 18:29 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Thus says the king, Don't let Hezekiah deceive you; for he will not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
- 2 Kings 18:30 וְ/לֹ֤א conj + ptcl neg neither let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh, saying, Yahweh will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
- 2 Kings 18:32 וְ/לֹ֣א conj + ptcl neg Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and of honey, that you may live, and not die: and don't listen to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, Yahweh will deliver us.
- 2 Kings 18:36 וְ/לֹֽא לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg ptcl neg But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word; for the king's commandment was, saying, Don't answer him.
- 2 Kings 19:10 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Don't let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
- 2 Kings 19:18 לֹ֨א ptcl neg and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore they have destroyed them.
- 2 Kings 19:25 הֲ/לֹֽא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Haven't you heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times? now have I brought it to pass, that it should be yours to lay waste fortified cities into ruinous heaps.
- 2 Kings 19:32 לֹ֤א וְ/לֹֽא וְ/לֹֽא וְ/לֹֽא ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg conj + ptcl neg Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come to this city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast up a mound against it.
- 2 Kings 19:33 לֹ֥א ptcl neg By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come to this city, says Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 20:1 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg In those days was Hezekiah sick to death. Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Set your house in order: for you shall die, and not live.
- 2 Kings 20:4 לֹ֣א ptcl neg It happened, before Isaiah was gone out into the middle part of the city, that the word of Yahweh came to him, saying,
- 2 Kings 20:10 לֹ֣א ptcl neg Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to decline ten steps: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.
- 2 Kings 20:13 לֹֽא לֹֽא ptcl neg ptcl neg Hezekiah listened to them, and shown them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn't show them.
- 2 Kings 20:15 לֹא לֹֽא ptcl neg ptcl neg He said, What have they seen in your house? Hezekiah answered, All that is in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them.
- 2 Kings 20:17 לֹֽא ptcl neg Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store to this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, says Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 20:19 הֲ/ל֛וֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of Yahweh which you have spoken. He said moreover, Isn't it so, if peace and truth shall be in my days?
- 2 Kings 20:20 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 21:8 וְ/לֹ֣א conj + ptcl neg neither will I cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.
- 2 Kings 21:9 וְ/לֹ֖א conj + ptcl neg But they didn't listen: and Manasseh seduced them to do that which is evil more than did the nations whom Yahweh destroyed before the children of Israel.
- 2 Kings 21:17 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 21:22 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg and he forsook Yahweh, the God of his fathers, and didn't walk in the way of Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 21:25 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 22:2 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and walked in all the way of David his father, and didn't turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
- 2 Kings 22:7 לֹא ptcl neg However there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully.
- 2 Kings 22:13 לֹֽא ptcl neg Go you, inquire of Yahweh for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written concerning us.
- 2 Kings 22:17 וְ/לֹ֥א conj + ptcl neg Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.
- 2 Kings 22:20 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil which I will bring on this place. They brought the king word again.
- 2 Kings 23:9 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Nevertheless the priests of the high places didn't come up to the altar of Yahweh in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers.
- 2 Kings 23:22 לֹ֤א ptcl neg Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;
- 2 Kings 23:25 לֹֽא לֹֽא ptcl neg ptcl neg Like him was there no king before him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
- 2 Kings 23:26 לֹֽא ptcl neg Notwithstanding, Yahweh didn't turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocation with which Manasseh had provoked him.
- 2 Kings 23:28 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 24:4 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Yahweh would not pardon.
- 2 Kings 24:5 הֲ/לֹא ptcl inter + ptcl neg Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 2 Kings 24:7 וְ/לֹֽא conj + ptcl neg The king of Egypt didn't come again out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
- 2 Kings 24:14 לֹ֣א ptcl neg He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
- 2 Kings 25:3 וְ/לֹא conj + ptcl neg On the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
- 2 Kings 25:16 לֹא ptcl neg The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh, the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
At its core, לא (lôʼ) means “not.” Where the King James Version says “not,” newer translations reach for “no” (Berean Standard Bible); the renderings breakdown has the detail. It appears 3,966 verses across 39 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its most common vocabulary. First canonically at Genesis 2:5, it enters the text early. Carrying more than one sense, it rewards its full sense range. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3808 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 3,966
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3,966 distinct verses.
- 39 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 39 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #8
- by frequency
- Top 10 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 8 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 3,966 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Jeremiah 361 verses 9%
- Deuteronomy 305 verses 8%
- Isaiah 275 verses 7%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 3,966 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1,865 verses · 47%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1,052 verses · 27%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1,049 verses · 26%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Not 5×, Except 3×, Without 3×
- American Standard Version: Not 5×, Before 3×, Except 3×
- Berean Standard Bible: No 378×, Not 369×, Will not 207×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Not 4,071×, And 807×, But 248×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3808 across 73 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 42 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 3 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3808 across 72 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 46 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3808 across 4,657 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 377 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 456 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3808 across 6,227 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 138 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
17 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 17 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. in predication:
- a. with a verb; so most freq., and nearly always (a) with the finite tenses, whether pf. (Gn 2:5b; 4:5 etc.) or impf. (3:4; 8:21, 22 etc.); in short circumst. clauses, as Gn 44:4 לא הרחיקו, Is 40:20 לֹא יִמּוֹט, and with a final force 41:7 Ex 28:32 (v. Ges§ 156. 3 R. b, c Dr§ 162). Governing two closely connected verbs (Dr§115, לא) Ex 28:43 וְלֹא יִשְׂאוּ עָוֹן וָמֵתוּ, Lv 19:12, 29 b Dt 7:25, 26; 19:10; 22:1 al.; and two parallel clauses (Ges§ 152. 3) Is 23:4b ψ 9:19; 44:19 Jb 3:11 al. With the impf., especially with 2 ps., לֹא often expresses (not, like אַל, a deprecation, do not …, let not …, but) a prohibition, as Gn 2:17 לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ thou shalt not eat of it, 3:1, 3 Ex 20:3 לֹא־יִהְיֶה לְךָ there shall not be to thee, etc., v 13 לא תגנב, etc. With the coh. and juss. moods (which are negatived regularly by אַל), it occurs only exceptionally (Ges§109. 1 b R. 1), Gn 24:8 1 S 14:36 2 S 17:12; 18:14 1 K 2:6 Ez 48:14. (b) with the inf. (which is negatived by בִּלְתִּי, q.v.), only once, in בְּלֹא (4 a), and with לְ, in the sense of cannot, or must not; †Ju 1:19 כי לא להורושׁ for it was not (possible) to dispossess, etc. Am 6:10 לא להזכיר בשׁם י׳, 1 Ch 5:1; 15:2 (Dr§ 202. 2); cf. Aramaic לָא Dan 6:9 Ezr 6:8. On its use with the ptcp., see b c. (c) לא always negatives properly the word immed. following: hence, in a verbal sentence, where this is not the verb, some special stress rests upon it, Gn 32:29 לֹא יַעֲקֹב יֵאָמֵר עוֹד וג׳ not Jacob shall thy name be called any more, but Israel, 45:8 לֹא אַתֶּם שְׁלַחְתֶּם אֹתִי Not ye (in our idiom: It is not ye who) have sent me hither, but God, Ex 16:8 1 S 8:7 כִּי לֹא אֹתְךָ מָאָסוּ כִּי אֹתִי וג׳, ψ 115:17; without a foll. correcting clause, Gn 38:9 Nu 16:29 לֹא י׳ שְׁלָחָנִי ׃ Not י׳ (but another) hath sent me, Dt 32:27 לֹא י׳ פָּעַל זֹאת, 1 Ch 17:4 Dt 8:9 Is 28:28 לא לנצח … not for ever (but only for a while) … (so 57:16 ψ 9:19; 49:20; 103:9; but Is 13:20 לא תשׁב לנצח is, will not be inhabited for ever), Is 43:22 Jb 13:16; 32:9; hence rhetorically, insinuating something very different, not named, 2 K 6:10 not once, and not twice (but repeatedly), Ezr 10:13 Je 4:11 a wind לֹא לְזָרוֹת וְלוֹא לְהָבַֽר׃ not to winnow, and not to cleanse (but to exterminate), Is 45:13; 48:1b Jos 24:12 Dn 11:20, 29 Jb 34:20 לֹא בְיָד (but by a Divine agency: cf. Dn 2:34; also Jb 20:26 אֵשׁ לֹא נֻפָּ֑ח fire not blown upon [but kindled from heaven], Lam 4:6; and אין Is 47:14). (d) standing alone: (a) אִם־לֹא if not, Gn 18:21 וְאִם־לֹא אֵדָֽעָה׃, 24:49; 42:16 Jb 9:24; 24:25; (β) הֲ … אִם־לֹא, or not, Gn 24:21 waiting to know הַהִצְלִיחַ י׳ דַּדְכּוֹ אִם־לֹא, 27:21; 37:32 Ex 16:4 Nu 11:23 Dt 8:2 Ju 2:22 (cf. אִם אַיִן, אַיִן 2 d β, δ). In answer to a question or request, to deny, or decline, Nay, No: Ju 12:5 ויאמר לא, Hg 2:12; לא אדני Gn 23:11; 42:10 1 S 1:15 +; often sq. כי, No: for … = No: but …, Gn 18:15 ויאמר לֹא כִּי צָחָ֑קְתְּ, 19:2 Jos 5:14; 24:21; 1 S 2:16 Qr (v. Dr), 10:19 (𝔊 MSS), 2 S 16:18; 24:24 1 K 3:22(×2) +; Jb 23:6 (strangely). (Cf., in deprecation, אַל.) (e) with an interrog. force, which however does not lie in לא as such, but (as in other cases) in the contrast with a preceding clause, or in the tone of voice (cf. וְ 1 f; Ew§ 324 a Ges§ 150. 1 Dr 1 S 11:12): Jon 4:11 אַתָּה חַסְתָּ … וַאֲנִי לֹא אָחוּס וג׳, Jb 2:10; 22:11; Ex 8:22; 2 K 5:26 Je 49:9 (‖ Ob 5 הֲלוֹא), Mal 2:15 La 3:38; and in passages, exeg. or text. doubtful (v. Comm.), 1 S 20:14 2 S 23:5 (but v. Bu), Ho 10:9 (Ew We), 11:5 (Ew), Jb 14:16b (but 𝔊 Ew Di תַעֲבֹר), La 1:12 (Ew Ke), 3:36 (Ke Bä). e.g. Genesis 2:5
- b. with adjs. and substs.: (a) Gn 2:18 לֹא טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ not good is man’s being alone, Ex 18:17 + often (b) Ex 4:16 לֹא אִישׁ דְּבָרִים אָנֹכִי, Am 7:14 לא נביא אנכי, Nu 23:19 לֹא אִישׁ אֵל וִיכַזֵּב, Dt 17:15 (v. אשׁר 2 b) 20:20; 32:47 1 S 15:29 2 S 18:20 לֹא אִישׁ בְּשֹׂרָה אַתָּה הַיּוֹם, 21:2 1 K 22:33 2 K 6:19 לא זֹה הדרך, Mi 2:10 Is 27:11 Ho 8:6; והמה לא אלהים Je 2:11; 16:20 2 K 19:18; 1 K 19:11(×2) לֹא בָרַעַשׁ י׳, Dt 30:12, 13 Jb 15:9; 28:14 לֹא בִי הִיא (‖ אֵין עִמָּדִי), ψ 74:9 Je 5:10 לוא לי׳ המה, 10:16; Dt 32:21 בָּנִים לֹא אֵמוּן בָּם, Je 10:14 Hb 1:14 Jb 16:17; 38:26 מִדְבָּר לֹא אָדָם בּוֹ; 1 K 22:17 לֹא אֲדֹנִים לָאֵלֶּה, Je 49:31 ψ 22:3 וְלֹא דוּמִיָּה לִי, Jb 18:17, 19; 29:12 ולא עֹזֵר לו, 30:13; 33:9; Je 2:19 וְלֹא פַחְדָּתִי אֵלַיִךְ and (that) my terror reached not unto thee, Jb 21:9; abs. Gn 29:7 לֹא־עֵת הֵאָסֵף הַמִּקְנֶה (Hg 1:2), Nu 20:5 2 K 4:23 לא חדשׁ ולא שׁבת, Is 44:19 Je 5:12 ויאמרו לוא הוא, Jb 9:32; 22:16; 36:26 (?) 41:2; Pr 19:7 (si vera l.) מְרַדֵּף אֲמָרִים לֹא־הֵמָּה words which are not, which are nought. (c) with the ptcp. לֹא is rare, a finite vb. being usually preferred (Ex 34:7 וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה: Ew§ 320 c Dr§ 162): 2 S 3:34 יָדֶיךָ לֹא אֲסֻרוֹת, Ez 4:14; 22:24 Dt 28:61 ψ 38:15 כְּאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא שֹׁמֵעַ who is not hearing, Jb 12:3; 13:2 לֹא נֹפֵל אָנֹכִי מִכֶּם, Zp 3:5 (very anom.); 1 K 10:21 לא is prob. textual error. In וְהוּא לֹא שֹׂנֵא לוֹ or לא שׂנא הוא לו, Dt 4:42; 19:4, 6 Jos 20:5 (cf. אֹיֵב Nu 35:23), שׂנֵא is best construed as a subst., he being a not-hater to him aforetime.—In most of the cases under b, c, אין could have been employed; but the negation by לֹא is more pointed and forcible. e.g. Genesis 2:18
- 2. Not in predication:
- a. coupled to an adj. to negative it, like the Gk. ἀ—, but usually by way of litotes: Ho 13:13 בן לא־חכם an unwise son, ψ 36:5 דֶּרֶךְ לֹא טוֹב a way not good, 43:1 גוי לא חסיד, Pr 16:29; 30:25, 26 Ez 20:25 2 Ch 30:17: Is 16:14 לוֹא כַבִּיר, cf. 10:7 לֹא מְעַט. e.g. Hosea 13:13
- b. with a ptcp. Je 2:2 ארץ לא זרועה, 18:15 (the finite verb is more common: see Is 62:12 עִיר לֹא נֶעֱזָ֫בָה (cf. 54:11), Je 6:8 אֶרֶץ לוֹא נוֹשָׁ֫בָה, 15:18; 22:6; 31:18 Zp 2:1). e.g. Jeremiah 2:2
- c. †Gn 15:13 בארץ לא להם, Je 5:19 Hab 1:6 מִשְׁכָּנוֹת לֹא־לוֹ, Pr 26:17 רִיב לֹא־לוֹ. e.g. Genesis 15:13
- d. with a subst., in poetry, forming a kind of compound, expressing pointedly its antithesis or negation (Germ. un- is sometimes used similarly): Dt 32:5 (?), 17, 21 a they made me jealous בְּלֹא אֵל with a not-God (with what in no respect deserved the name of God), v b בְּלֹא עָם i.e. with an unorganized horde, Am 6:13 הַשְּׂמֵחִים לְלֹא דָבָר i.e. at a thing wh. is not, an unreality (of their boasted strength), Is 10:15 כְּהָרִים מַטֶּה לֹא עֵץ like a rod’s lifting up what is no wood (but the agent wielding it), 31:8 חרב לא אישׁ, חרב לא אדם, 55:2 בלוא לחם for what is not bread, בלוא לשׂבעה for what is not for satiety, Je 5:7 וַיּשָּֽׁבְעוּ בְּלֹא אֱלֹהִים by not-goods, in late prose 2 Ch 13:9 כֹּהֵן לְלֹא אֱלֹהִים; ψ 44:13 תִּמְכֹּר עַמְּךָ בְּלֹא־הוֹן for no-value (i.e. cheaply), Pr 13:23 Jb 10:22 צלמות וְלֹא סְדָרִים darkness and disorder; so לֹא־עַמִּי Ho 1:9; 2:25: still more pregnantly Jb 26:2a מֶה־עָזַרְתָּ לְלֹא־כֹחַ (poet. for לאשׁר אין לו כח) the powerless, v 2b, 3a (Ew§ 286 g Ges§ 152. 1 n.), 39:16 הִקְשִׁיחַ בָּנֶיהָ לְלֹא לָהּ useth hardly her young ones (making them) into none of hers; and even Hb 2:6 הַמַּרְבֶּה לֹא־לוֹ what is not his own (cf. Jb 18:15 מִבְּלִי לוֹ). Cf. with a verb, and ellipse of אשׁר, Is 65:1 לְלֹא שָׁאָ֑לוּ to those who have not asked, v b Je 2:8 אַחֲרֵי לֹא יוֹעִילוּ, v 11b; also לֹא רֻחָ֫מָה Ho 1:6, 8; 2:25, and prob. Jb 31:31 לֹא נִשְׂבָּ֑ע (pf. in p.) one not satisfied. e.g. Deuteronomy 32:5
- e. in circ. clauses (Dr§ 164), poet. and rare: qualifying a subst., 2 S 23:4 בֹּקֶר לֹא עָבוֹת a morning without clouds, Job 12:24 בְּתֹהוּ לֹא דֶרֶךְ in a pathless waste, 38:26a; and a verb Jb 34:24 יָרֹעַ כַּבִּירִים לֹא חֵקֶר without inquiry, ψ 59:4 לא פשׁעי ולא חטאתי (cf. v 4 בלי עון), in late prose, twice, 1 Ch 2:30, 32 וימת לא בנים (אֵין and בְּלִי, q.v., are more usual in such cases). e.g. 2 Samuel 23:4
- 3. Once (according to many MSS), as a subst., Jb 6:21 כִּי־עַתָּה הֱיִיתֶם לֹא for now are ye become nothing, Hi De Kö (cf. Dn 4:32 (Aramaic) כְּלָה חֲשִׁיבִין; 𝔗 here הֲוֵיתוּן כְּלָא, and אַל Jb 24:25); but reading fluctuates (Orientals לֹא, Qr לו, Westerns, Baer (v. pp. 37, 56) לוֹ [‘now are ye become that,’ viz. the נַחַל אַכְזָב of v 15]; but even לוֹ yields a forced sense; and text is prob. wrong: Mich Ew Ol Sgf Bu כֵּן … לִי (𝔊 𝔖 also read לִי); Bö Di כִּי … לְאָ֑יִן. Cf. Köii. 1. 236 f. e.g. Job 6:21
- 4. With prefixes:—
- a. †בְּלֹא31 (chiefly poet. or late), according to the varying signif. of בְּ: (a) usually with not = without, Je 22:13 בונה ביתו בלא־צדק without justice (‖ בלא משׁפט; so Ez 22:29 Pr 16:8), Is 55:1, 1 Pr 19:2, Jb 8:11 הֲיִגְאֶה־גֹּמֶא בְּלֹא בִצָּה without mire (‖ בלי מים), 30:28 בְּלֹא חַמָּה (= not through the sun), La 1:6 וילכו בלא־כח, Nu 35:22 בְּלֹא אֵיבָה … בְּלֹא צְדִיָּה, v 23 (sq. inf.) בְּלֹא רְאוֹת, 2 Ch 21:20 Ec 10:11; ψ 17:1 תְּפִלָּתִי בְּלֹא שִׂפְתֵי מִרְמָה; used more freely in Chr, 1 Ch 12:18 בְּלֹא חָמָס בְּכַפָּֽי׃, v 34 בְּלֹא לֵב וָלֵב, 2 Ch 30:18 בְּלֹא כַכָּתוּב. With ellipse of rel., La 4:14 בְּלֹא יוּכְלוּ יִגְּעוּ without (that) men are able to touch, etc. (b) of time, in not, i.e. outside of, Lv 15:25 בלא עֶת־נִדָּתָתּ, before Jb 15:32 בלא־יומו, Ec 7:17 בְּלֹא עִתֶּךְ ׃. (c) where לֹא belongs to the foll. word, and is only accidentally preceded by ב (v. supr. 2 d), Dt 32:21(×2) Je 5:7 Pr 13:23 בלא משׁפט through injustice; with בְּ pretii, ψ 44:13 Is 55:2(×2) Je 2:11 בְּלוֹא יוֹעִיל for (that which) profiteth not. e.g. Jeremiah 22:13
- b. הֲלֹא nonne? Gn 4:7 + often Inviting, as it does, an affirmative answer, it is often used, (a) especially in conversation, for pointing to a fact in such a way as to arouse the interest of the person addressed, or to win his assent: Gn 13:9 Is not the whole land before thee? 19:20; 20:5; 27:36; 29:25 Ex 4:11 Who maketh dumb or deaf, etc.? Do not I? 33:16 Ju 4:6, 14; 8:2; 9:28, 38 1 S 9:20, 21; 15:17 etc.; with a vb. in 1 ps., Jos 1:9 הלא צויתיך, Ju 6:14 הלא שׁלחתיך, 1 S 20:30; 2 S 19:23 Ru 2:9: similarly in a poet. or rhet. style, Ju 5:30 הלא ימצאו יחלקו שׁלל, Is 8:19; 10:8, 9, 11; 28:25; 29:17; 40:21, 23; 42:24; 43:19 etc., Jb 4:6, 21; 7:1; 10:10, 20, etc. (β) it has a tendency to become little more than an affirm. particle, declaring with some rhetor. emph. what is, or might be, well known: Dt 3:11 הֲלֹה הִיא בְרַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן, 11:30 1 S 21:12 הלוא זה דוד וג׳ (cf. 29:3, 5 2 S 11:3), 23:19; 26:1 2 S 15:35; it is thus nearly = הִנֵּה (𝔊 sometimes represents it by ἰδού, as Jos 1:9 Ju 6:14 Ru 2:9 2 S 15:35); so especially in the phrase of the compiler of K, And the rest of the acts of … הֲלֹא הֵם (הֵמָּה) כְּתוּבִים are they not written in, etc.? 1 K 11:41; 14:29 + often (with which there interchanges הִנָּם כְּתוּבִים 1 K 14:19 2 K 15:11; 15:26, 31, which is gen. used by the Chr, 2 Ch 16:11; 20:34, etc.), Jos 10:13 (cf. 2 S 1:18 הִנֵּה), 1 K 8:53 𝔊, Est 10:2; ψ 56:14 (strangely: contr. 116:8).—הֲלֹא הִנֵּה †Hb 2:13 2 Ch 25:26 (הִנָּם).—On Ju 14:15, see הֲ 1 end. e.g. Genesis 4:7
- c. †וָלֹ֕א and not = and if not, 2 S 13:26 2 K 5:17. Comp. וָיֵשׁ. e.g. 2 Samuel 13:26
- d. †כְּלוֹא Ob 16 והיו כלוא היו, poet. for כאשׁר, as though they had not been. e.g. Obadiah 1:16
- e. †לְלֹא without, lit. in the condition of no … 2 Ch 15:3 (comp. לְאֵין, also in Chr). Elsewhere לא belongs to the foll. word, Am 6:13 2 Ch 13:9 Is 65:1(×2) Jb 26:2, 3; 39:16 (v. supr. 2 d). e.g. 2 Chronicles 15:3
- —Fifteen times, according to Mas. (v. De ψ 100:3 FrMM 247 Str Prol. Cr. 84), לא is written by error for לוֹ, viz. Ex 21:8 Lv 11:21; 25:30 1 S 2:3 2 S 16:18 2 K 8:10 Is 9:2; 63:9 ψ 100:3; 139:16 Jb 13:15; 41:4 Pr 19:7; 26:2 Ezr 4:2 (always with Qr לוֹ). The passages must be considered each upon its own merits: in some לוֹ yields a preferable sense; but this is not the case in all. There is the same קרי (rightly) on Is 49:5 1 Ch 11:20; but these were not considered to rest upon equal authority, and are hence not reckoned with the fifteen.—In Ju 21:22 (v. GFM), 1 S 13:13; 20:14(×2), and in Jb 9:33 (לֹא יֵשׁ), read prob. לֻא for לֹא. e.g. Psalms 100:3
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
or לוֹא adv. not (Arabic لَا, Aramaic לָא, ܠܴܐ, Sab. לא, Assyrian lâ; not in Ethiopic: cf. Köii. 1. 236 Walker AJSL 1896, 237 ff.)—לוֹא, according to Mass. (FrMM 248), 35 times, besides בְּלוֹא 6 times, and הֲלוֹא, the orthogr. of which varies much (ib.p. 251), e.g. in S always הֲלוֹא, in Chr always הֲלֹא, on the whole הֲלוֹא 141 times, הֲלֹא 128 times; twice, according to Mass, written לו (Qr לֹא), 1 S 2:16; 20:2, once לה Dt 3:11 Kt:—not—denying objectively, like οὐ (not μὴ = אַל):—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive particle
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
לֹא
- v. לַאי) not, no. Ber. I, 1 לא קרינו וכ׳ we have omitted to recite &c. Ib. III, 4 לא … ולא וכ׳ neither before nor after. Nidd. 5ᵃ לא אין להן וכ׳, no; it means &c., v. לַאו; a. v. fr.—וְלֹא indeed not? Ḥull. 4ᵇ ולא והכתיב וכ׳ indeed not (is it so that the verb הֵסִית never refers to persuasion by speech)? Do we not read &c.?; a. v. fr.—(מִצְוַת) לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה a prohibitory law, opp. עֲשֵׂה, a positive command; v. לַאו. Kidd. I, 7. Macc. 14ᵇ bot.; a. v. fr.—בְּלֹא without. Ber. 35ᵃ bot. ב׳ ברכה without pronouncing a benediction; a. v. fr.—והוא שלא, v. הוּא.
לָא I
- Targ. Gen. II, 5; a. v. fr.—Pes. 10ᵇ מקמיה … אין בתר … לא before the time when it is forbidden, yes (he must search after leavened bread); after the time, no (he must not search). Ib. לא שנא there is no difference; a. v. fr.
לָא II
- (preced. wds.) particle, mote. Yoma 20ᵇ, v. חִרְגָּא. Midr. Till. to Ps. LXVIII, 3 כלא חשיבי they are like a mote.
לָא III
- La, abbrev. of אִילָא, הִילָא; v. Fr. M’bo, p. 75ᵇ.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 120 distinct written forms H3808 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | Amos 1:3 | 824 |
| לֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 2:14 | 725 |
| לֹֽא | Particle, Negative | Amos 4:7 | 674 |
| לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Amos 2:15 | 666 |
| וְ/לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Amos 1:9 | 416 |
| וְ/לֹֽא | Particle, Negative | Amos 3:10 | 353 |
| וְ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | Amos 4:8 | 351 |
| וְ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 5:11 | 278 |
| לֹ֤א | Particle, Negative | Amos 7:16 | 195 |
| וְ/לֹ֤א | Particle, Negative | Daniel 1:19 | 90 |
| לֹ֖א | Particle, Negative | Amos 2:12 | 36 |
| הֲ/ל֣וֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 6:13 | 32 |
| וְֽ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 1:29 | 32 |
| הֲ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Amos 5:20 | 30 |
| לֹ֨א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 22:2 | 28 |
| וְ/לֹ֖א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 5:18 | 26 |
| לֹ֧א | Particle, Negative | Amos 3:7 | 22 |
| הֲ/לוֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 32:6 | 18 |
| הֲ/לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Exodus 4:11 | 17 |
| הֲ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 26:15 | 16 |
| הֲ/ל֤וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 13:7 | 15 |
| הֲ/לֽוֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 37:18 | 15 |
| לא | Particle, Negative | Exodus 21:8 | 15 |
| הֲ/לֹֽא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 24:19 | 14 |
| וְ/לֹ֨א | Particle, Negative | Amos 9:15 | 14 |
| הֲ/ל֥וֹא | Particle, Negative | Genesis 34:23 | 11 |
| הֲ/ל֨וֹא | Particle, Negative | 1 Samuel 9:21 | 11 |
| הֲ/לֹ֤א | Particle, Negative | Genesis 13:9 | 11 |
| בְּ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | 2 Chronicles 21:20 | 10 |
| הֲ/לֹ֨א | Particle, Negative | Exodus 4:14 | 10 |
| וְ/לֹ֧א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 16:16 | 10 |
| לֹא֩ | Particle, Negative | Ecclesiastes 9:11 | 9 |
| הֲ/ל֖וֹא | Particle, Negative | Exodus 33:16 | 8 |
| הֲ/ל֛וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 18:23 | 8 |
| הֲ/ל֧וֹא | Particle, Negative | Genesis 31:15 | 8 |
| לֹ֕א | Particle, Negative | Genesis 24:49 | 8 |
| הֲ/לוֹא֙ | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 13:12 | 7 |
| ל֥וֹא | Particle, Negative | Isaiah 16:14 | 7 |
| לֹ֗א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 5:11 | 7 |
| לֹ֚א | Particle, Negative | 1 Kings 22:31 | 7 |
| הֲ/ל֗וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 24:25 | 6 |
| לֽוֹא | Particle, Negative | 1 Kings 22:18 | 6 |
| הֲ/לֹ֗א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 31:17 | 5 |
| ו/לא | Particle, Negative | Ezra 4:2 | 5 |
| וְ/ל֥וֹא | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 24:16 | 5 |
| ל֣וֹא | Particle, Negative | Jeremiah 3:3 | 5 |
| לְ/לֹ֣א | Particle, Negative | 2 Chronicles 15:3 | 4 |
| בְּ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 32:21 | 4 |
| הֲ/לוֹא֩ | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 17:9 | 4 |
| לֹ֠א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 20:33 | 4 |
| לֹֽ֣א | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 5:8 | 4 |
| בְ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 32:21 | 3 |
| בְּ/לֹ֥א | Particle, Negative | Ecclesiastes 7:17 | 3 |
| הֲ/לֹא֙ | Particle, Negative | 1 Chronicles 21:3 | 3 |
| הֲֽ/לֹא | Particle, Negative | Job 22:12 | 3 |
| וְ/לֹא֙ | Particle, Negative | Deuteronomy 1:42 | 3 |
| לֹ֘א | Particle, Negative | Job 18:19 | 3 |
| לֹ֞א | Particle, Negative | Ezekiel 33:27 | 3 |
| לֹ֦א | Particle, Negative | 1 Kings 10:3 | 3 |
| לֹ֪א | Particle, Negative | Psalms 44:3 | 3 |
The 60 most common forms are shown; 60 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3808, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- לא דבר Lôʼ Dᵉbar H3810 Lo-debar
- לא עמי Lôʼ ʻAmmîy H3818 Lo-ammi
- לא רחמה Lôʼ Ruchâmâh H3819 Lo-ruhamah
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
Most of the 3,966 Hebrew verses this word occurs in also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), so the same passages can be read in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 2:5
- Exodus 1:8
- Leviticus 1:17
- Numbers 1:47
- Deuteronomy 1:9
- Joshua 1:5
- Judges 1:19
- Ruth 2:8
- 1 Samuel 1:7
- 2 Samuel 1:10
- 1 Kings 1:1
- 2 Kings 1:4
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.