What does אַכְזָרִי (akzari) mean in the Bible?
אַכְזָרִי (akzari): Describes cruelty marked by relentless severity and mercilessness, often of oppressive rulers or divine judgment
Hebrew · H394
אַכְזָרִי
Terrible
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אַכְזָרִי H394
Pronunciation akzari
What does אַכְזָרִי (akzari) mean in the Bible?
אַכְזָרִי (akzari): Describes cruelty marked by relentless severity and mercilessness, often of oppressive rulers or divine judgment
Full entry for אַכְזָרִי (H394) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H394?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include cruel (3), a cruel (1), are only cruelty (1), but a cruel man (1), of someone cruel (1).
Where does אַכְזָרִי (akzari) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Proverbs 5:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Proverbs (4), Jeremiah (3), Isaiah (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It cruel 3× Isaiah 13:9, Jeremiah 6:23, Jeremiah 50:42
a cruel 1× Proverbs 17:11
are only cruelty 1× Proverbs 12:10
but a cruel man 1× Proverbs 11:17
of someone cruel 1× Jeremiah 30:14
to one who is cruel 1× Proverbs 5:9
Show sample aligned rows
Proverbs 5:9 לְאַכְזָרִֽי׃ to to one who is cruel Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 11:17 אַכְזָרִֽי׃ to but a cruel man Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 12:10 אַכְזָרִֽי׃ to are only cruelty Adjective - masculine singular Proverbs 17:11 אַ֝כְזָרִ֗י to a cruel Adjective - masculine singular Isaiah 13:9 אַכְזָרִ֥י to cruel Adjective - masculine singular Jeremiah 6:23 אַכְזָרִ֥י to cruel Adjective - masculine singular Jeremiah 30:14 אַכְזָרִ֔י to of someone cruel Adjective - masculine singular Jeremiah 50:42 אַכְזָרִ֥י to cruel Adjective - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Proverbs 5:9
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 3
Proverbs 4 Isaiah 1 Jeremiah 3
Source forms
אַכְזָרִ֥י 3x ’aḵ·zā·rî Isaiah 13:9, Jeremiah 6:23, Jeremiah 50:42
אַכְזָרִֽי׃ 2x ’aḵ·zā·rî Proverbs 11:17, Proverbs 12:10
אַ֝כְזָרִ֗י 1x ’aḵ·zā·rî Proverbs 17:11
אַכְזָרִ֔י 1x ’aḵ·zā·rî Jeremiah 30:14
לְאַכְזָרִֽי׃ 1x lə·’aḵ·zā·rî Proverbs 5:9
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular 7x Proverbs 11:17, Proverbs 12:10, Proverbs 17:11, Isaiah 13:9
Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular 1x Proverbs 5:9
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Describes cruelty marked by relentless severity and mercilessness, often of oppressive rulers or divine judgment
Source Gloss
terrible
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Describes cruelty marked by relentless severity and mercilessness, often of oppressive rulers or divine judgment
terrible BDB: cruel Usage: cruel (one).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Harsh or severe in judgment.
harsh, cruel, or merciless
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אַכְזָרִי is built from this root:
אַכְזָר H393
Why This Word Matters
Cruelty reflects a hardened heart that opposes God's character. Isaiah 13:9-16
The term emphasizes the unrelenting nature of divine wrath against persistent evil. Proverbs 11:17
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain