צָעַר
to become small
‘to become small’ is one of 2 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
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”).
Form
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Every verse where H6819 appears in the Book of Jeremiah — 1 distinct verse. 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.
Jeremiah
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.
צער — transliterated tsâʻar — is a Hebrew verb carrying the sense “to become small.” A scarce word — 3 verses in all of the Hebrew Bible. Its uses concentrate in Job (33% of all occurrences). Debuting at Job 14:21, it then recurs through the corpus. Its lexical range runs to 2 senses. 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 H6819 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
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3 distinct verses.
- 3 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 3 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #4,179
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 4,179 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 3 occurrences in the concordance →
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 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 2 verses · 67%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1 verse · 33%
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: Little ones 1×, They are brought low 1×, They shall not be small 1×
- American Standard Version: Little ones 1×, Not 1×, Them 1×
- Berean Standard Bible: Be belittled 1×, Little ones 1×, They are brought low 1×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Little ones 1×, Or they become insignificant 1×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6819 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6819 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6819 across 3 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6819 across 2 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Senses in BDB
The 2 senses BDB distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- to be or grow insignificant, grow small
- (Qal) to ge insignificant
Word origin
[ צָעַר ] vb. be, or grow, insignificant
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
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.
צָעַר
- (b. h.)
- 1. to be narrow, slender, young, v. צוֹעֵר, צׇעִיר.
- 2. to be restrained, suffer privation, pain. Taan. 11ᵃ, v. infra.
- to lessen; to subordinate. Gen. R. s. 6 (ref. to הצעיר, Gen. XLVIII, 14) על ידי שהיה מַצְעִיר את עסקיו וכ׳ because he subordinated his affairs (was contented with lesser services), he was privileged to be invested with the rights of the firstborn; הגדול שהוא מצעיר וכ׳ if a great man applies himself to minor services, how much more (is he praiseworthy)!—Part. pass. מוּצְעָר, q. v. e.g. Genesis 48:14
- 1. to narrow, restrain; to inflict pain, annoy. Naz. 19ᵃ; 22ᵃ, a. e. (ref. to Num. VI, 11) ומה זה שלא צי׳ עצמו … המְצַעֵר עצמו וכ׳ if this (Nazarite) who denied himself only the enjoyment of wine is called a sinner, how much more so he who denies himself all enjoyments of life! Taan. 11ᵃ יִצְעַר … במשה רבינו שצי׳ עצמו וכ׳ man must suffer (deny himself enjoyments), when the community suffers; for thus we find that Moses afflicted himself (by sitting on a stone, Ex. XVII, 12) &c.; ib. וכל המצער עצמו עם וכ׳ (Ms. M. וכל המצער עם, insert עצמו, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) and he who afflicts himself in sympathy with the community, will be allowed to see the comfort of the community; Yalk. Gen. 148, a. e. המִצְטַעֵר. Snh. 11ᵃ אתה הוא שצִיעַרְתָּ לאבא wast thou the one who annoyed my father (with the smell of garlic)? Ab. Zar. 40ᵇ ואתה מְצַעֲרֵינִי and thou didst let me be in pain (without telling me of the remedy)?; a. fr.—2) *to suffer. Yalk. Is. 333, v. צָרַר. e.g. Numbers 6:11
- to feel pain; to suffer privation; to grieve, trouble one’s self. Yalk. Gen. l. c., a. e., v. supra. Ḥag. 15ᵇ בזמן שאדם מִצְטַעֵר וכ׳ when a man suffers (the penalty of the law), what does the Shekhinah say?; אם כך הקב"ה מצטער וכ׳ if the Lord thus grieves over the blood of the wicked (convict), how much more does he grieve over the blood of the righteous that is shed!; Ms. M. 1 אם כן מצטער אני וכ׳; Ms. M. 2 מִצְטַעֲרֵנִי if thus I (the Lord) grieve &c. Snh. 46ᵃ; Yalk. Deut. 930. Succ. 26ᵃ, a. e. מצטער פטור וכ׳ he that feels uncomfortable (cold) is exempt from sitting in the Succah (contrad. fr. חולה). Meg. 16ᵃ sq. אפשר דבר שנצ׳ בו … יכשל בו is it possible that this righteous man (Joseph) should commit the same wrong from which he himself had suffered (to make distinctions between brothers)? Yoma 74ᵇ; Y. ib. VIII, 44ᵈ top (ref. to Lev. XVI, 29) יכול ישב … ויִצְטַעֵר you may think, one must sit in the sun or in the cold in order to afflict one’s self. Bab. ib. 19ᵇ כל ימי הייתי מצט׳ על וכ׳ all my life-time have I been troubling myself about this verse (Lev. XVI, 2) thinking, when shall I have an opportunity to carry it into practice (in accordance with the Sadducean interpretation of it) &c. Sifré Deut. 354 הואיל ונִצְטַעַרְנוּ וכ׳ since we have gone to the trouble of coming here &c.; a. fr. e.g. Leviticus 16:29
צְעֵר
- ; (act. verb) צְעַר [to diminish,] disregard, shame, curse (cmp. גדף, חסד). Targ. II Esth. II, 5 (transl. of תקלל, Ex. XXII, 27). Targ. Prov. XXX, 11 נִיצְעֵיר ed. Lag. (oth. ed. נִצְעַר; ed. Wil. נְצַעֵר Pa.; h. text קלל). Ib. 10 נִיצְעֲרִיךְ ed. Lag. (oth. ed. נְצַעֲרִינָךְ, Pa.). e.g. Exodus 22:27
- 1. same, v. supra.—Meg. 28 same, v. supra.—Meg. 28ᵃ when going to bed he used to pray, שרא … לכל מאן דצַעֲרָן the Lord forgive every one that may have insulted me.
- 2. to afflict, grieve, trouble. Targ. Y. Deut. XXVI, 6 (not צעד׳). Targ. Job XVIII, 4; a. fr.—Ber. 10ᵃ הוו קא מְצַעֲרֵי ליה טובא they annoyed him exceedingly. Ib. 27ᵇ עד כמה נצַעֲרִיה וניזיל how long shall he go on vexing him? Naz. 23ᵇ; Hor. 10ᵇ sq. (ref. to Deut. II, 9) מלחמה הוא דלא הא צַעוּרֵי צֵעֲרִינְהוּ war you must not wage (against Moab), but you may afflict them (put them under tribute); אפי׳ צַעוּרֵי לא you must not even afflict them (the Ammonites); (B. Kam. 38ᵇ עביד בהו אנגריא). Y. Snh. I, 18ᶜ bot. כן … לצעורי וכ׳ is that your custom, to trouble your teacher? Ḥull. 95ᵃ לצַעוּרֵיה, v. כּוּן ch.; a. fr. e.g. Deuteronomy 2:9
- 3. to grieve, take pains. Ber. 18ᵇ הוו מְצַעֲרֵי לאדכוריה they took pains (in vain) to recall (what they had learned; Ms. M. הוו יתבי ומִצְטַעֲרֵי they sat and grieved; v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note).
- to suffer, grieve, be vexed, troubled. Targ. Y. Num. XI, 1 (h. text מתאננ׳). Targ. Ps. VII, 15; a. fr.—Keth. 104ᵃ חלץ … וקמִצְטַעֵר he put his T’fillin off and put them on again, and was in pain. Sabb. 140ᵇ עד דמִיצְטַעֲרָן until they were vexed (by curiosity). Succ. 52ᵃ. Ber. 18ᵇ Ms. M, v. supra; a. fr.
צַעַר
- (preced.) pain, grief, trouble. B. Kam. VIII, 1, v. נֵזֶק. Ib. 84ᵃ; 26ᵇ (ref. to Ex. XXI, 25) ליתן צ׳ במקום נזק this intimates that you must decree indemnity for pain even where injury has been inflicted (in addition to damages for mayhem). Snh. 19ᵇ, a. e. צ׳ גידול בנים, v. גִּידּוּל. Taan. 11ᵃ בזמן … שרוי בצ׳ when the community is in trouble (and holds a fast). Ib. הואיל וישראל שרויין בצ׳ … עמהם בצ׳ as Israel is in trouble (suffering the privations of warfare), I (Moses), too, will suffer privations with them, v. צָעַר. Ib. 10ᵇ בדבר של צ׳ עושה … צ׳ הוא לו in a matter of affliction, one may act (as if he were a distinguished person) …, for his motive is not self-elevation but affliction (sympathy with public sufferings). Gen. R. s. 52, end צַעֲרוֹ של איש וכ׳ the privation (abstinence from sexual contact) is felt more intensely by the man than by the woman. B. Mets. 31ᵃ משום דאיכא צ׳ בעלי חיים because there is suffering of animals connected with the case (which must be relieved). Ib. 32ᵇ; Sabb. 128ᵇ צ׳ בעלי חיים דאורייתא the duty of relieving the suffering of beasts is a Biblical law; a. v. fr. e.g. Exodus 21:25
צַעַר ²
- 1. (v. צְעֵר) degradation, disregard, shame. Targ. Prov. III, 35 (h. text קלון); a. fr.—Ib. XIV, 3 זקתא דצ׳ rod of humiliation (h. text חטר גאוה).—Pl. צַעֲרֵי. Ib. VI 33.
- 2. pain, grief, privation. Targ. Gen. III, 16. Targ. I Chr. IV, 9; a. fr.—Gen. R. s. 82 (transl. בן אוני, Gen. XXXV, 18) בר צַעֲרִי child of my pain. Ber. 28ᵃ מאי משמע דהאי נוגי לישנא דצ׳ הוא what evidence is there that nugé (Zeph. III, 18) has the meaning of grief? B. Mets. 31ᵃ דצ׳ דמרה איתא וצ׳ דידה איתא where both the owner and the animal suffer; a. fr.—Pl. צַעֲרִין, צַעֲרֵי. Targ. O. Gen. III, 16. Targ. Job IX, 28. Targ. Ps. CXLVII, 3; a. fr. e.g. Genesis 35:18
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 3 distinct written forms H6819 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| הַ/צֹּעֲרִֽים | Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute | Zechariah 13:7 | 1 |
| וְ֝/יִצְעֲר֗וּ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Job 14:21 | 1 |
| יִצְעָֽרוּ | Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Jeremiah 30:19 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6819, 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.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 7 — 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
This word appears in 3 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 3 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
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.
