Hebrew · H7561

רָשַׁע

Doing wrong or condemning must be distinguished through the sentence's actor and object. Daniel voices communal confession of wrongdoing, and Solomon's prayer anticipates captives confessing wrong and asking for mercy.

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רָשַׁעH7561
Pronunciationrāšaʿ

What does רָשַׁע (rāšaʿ) mean in the Bible?

Reader summary

Full entry for רָשַׁע (H7561) · Open the biblical lexicon

Questions this entry answers

What does רָשַׁע (rāšaʿ) mean in the Bible?

Doing wrong or condemning must be distinguished through the sentence's actor and object. Daniel voices communal confession of wrongdoing, and Solomon's prayer anticipates captives confessing wrong and asking for mercy.

How does the BSB render H7561?

The BSB source-word alignment has 34 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include we have acted wickedly (4), wickedly departed (2), [and] acted wickedly (1), act wickedly (1), already found guilty (1).

Where does רָשַׁע (rāšaʿ) appear in Scripture?

The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 22:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Job (11), Daniel (4), Psalms (4), 2 Chronicles (3).

What This Word Actually Means

Doing wrong or condemning must be distinguished through the sentence's actor and object. Daniel voices communal confession of wrongdoing, and Solomon's prayer anticipates captives confessing wrong and asking for mercy. Deuteronomy directs courts to acquit the innocent and condemn the guilty, with the following punishment limit preventing unlimited degradation.

Proverbs rejects both acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous. Job asks not to be condemned and requests an explanation within his anguished speech, while Isaiah's speaker expresses confidence in the Lord's help against condemnation. These contexts do not make every accused person guilty or every confident person immune from scrutiny. Read whether the text names conduct, a judicial decision, a confession or a plea.

Preserve true accountability and warnings against false verdicts without using another person's distress as proof of wrongdoing or assigning a private legal or eternal-state judgment from the verb.

Sources