Bad
רַעStrong’s H7451ra
Appears in 621 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Ra is the Hebrew word usually translated “evil”, “calamity” and “harm”. It appears in 621 verses of the Old Testament.
“And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.”
Meaning
- Bad, evilbad, disagreeable, malignant · bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness, misery) · evil, displeasing · bad (of its kind-land, water, etc) · bad (of value) · worse than, worst (comparison) · sad, unhappy · evil (hurtful) · bad, unkind (vicious in disposition) · bad, evil, wicked (ethically)
- Evil, distress, misery, injury, calamityevil, distress, adversity · evil, injury, wrong · evil (ethical)
- Evil, misery, distress, injuryevil, misery, distress · evil, injury, wrong · evil (ethical)
How it's translated
- evil 177
- the evil 91
- calamity 41
- harm 28
- bad 27
- the calamity 25
- from evil 17
- wicked 13
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Jeremiah 109
- Psalms 64
- Proverbs 64
- Genesis 34
- Deuteronomy 33
- 2 Kings 32
36 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Daniel 9:13In contextAs it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
- Daniel 9:14In contextTherefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
- Zechariah 1:4In contextBe ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
- Zechariah 1:15In contextAnd I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
- Zechariah 7:10In contextAnd oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
- Zechariah 8:17In contextAnd let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
All 621 verses, by book
- Genesis 34
- 2:92:173:53:226:58:2113:1319:1924:5026:2928:831:2431:2931:5237:237:2037:3338:739:940:741:341:441:1941:2041:2141:2744:444:2944:3447:948:1650:1550:1750:20
- Deuteronomy 33
- 1:351:394:256:227:159:1813:513:1115:2117:117:217:517:717:1219:1919:2021:2122:1422:1922:2122:2222:2423:924:728:3528:5929:2130:1531:1731:1831:2131:2932:23
- Joshua 1
- 23:15
- 1 Samuel 30
- 2:236:910:1912:1712:1912:2015:1916:1416:1516:1616:2318:1019:920:720:920:1323:924:924:1124:1725:325:1725:2125:2625:2825:3926:1829:629:730:22
- 1 Kings 25
- 1:522:443:95:49:911:611:2513:3314:1014:2215:2615:3416:716:1916:2516:3020:721:2021:2121:2521:2922:822:1822:2322:52
- 2 Kings 32
- 2:193:24:416:338:128:188:2713:213:1114:1014:2415:915:1815:2415:2817:217:1117:1317:1721:221:621:921:1221:1521:1621:2022:1622:2023:3223:3724:924:19
- 2 Chronicles 21
- 7:147:2212:1418:718:1718:2220:921:621:1922:425:1929:633:233:633:933:2234:2434:2836:536:936:12
- Ezra 1
- 9:13
- Psalms 64
- 5:47:47:910:610:1515:321:1123:427:528:334:1334:1434:1634:1934:2135:435:1235:2636:437:1937:2738:1238:2040:1240:1441:141:541:749:550:1951:452:152:354:555:1556:564:570:271:1371:2071:2473:878:4988:390:1591:1094:1394:2397:10101:4107:26107:34107:39109:5109:20112:7119:101121:7140:1140:2140:11141:4141:5144:10
- Proverbs 64
- 1:161:332:122:143:73:293:304:144:275:146:146:186:248:1311:1511:1911:2111:2712:1212:1312:2012:2113:1713:1913:2114:1614:1914:2214:3215:315:1015:1515:2615:2816:416:616:1716:2716:3017:1117:1317:2019:2320:820:1420:2220:3021:1021:1222:323:624:124:1624:2025:2026:2326:2627:1228:528:1028:1428:2229:631:12
- Ecclesiastes 28
- 1:132:172:214:34:85:15:135:145:166:16:27:147:158:38:58:68:98:118:129:29:39:1210:510:1311:211:1012:112:14
- Jeremiah 109
- 1:141:162:32:132:192:272:282:333:23:53:174:64:144:185:125:286:16:76:196:297:67:127:247:308:38:69:311:811:1111:1211:1411:1511:1711:2312:412:1413:1014:1615:1115:2116:1016:1217:1717:1818:818:1018:1118:1218:2019:319:1521:1022:2223:1023:1123:1223:1423:1723:2224:224:324:824:925:525:725:3226:326:1326:1928:829:1132:2332:3032:3232:4233:535:1535:1736:336:736:3138:439:1239:1640:241:1142:642:1042:1744:244:344:544:744:944:1144:1744:2344:2744:2945:548:248:1649:2349:3751:251:2451:6051:6452:2
- Ezekiel 22
- 5:165:176:96:106:117:57:248:911:213:2214:1514:2114:2216:2316:5720:4320:4430:1233:1134:2536:3138:10
- Obadiah 1
- 1:13
- Zephaniah 1
- 3:15
Hebrew dictionary
רַע ra · bad
: harmful adj 1) bad, evil 1a) bad, disagreeable, malignant 1b) bad, unpleasant, evil (giving pain, unhappiness, misery) 1c) evil, displeasing 1d) bad (of its kind-land, water, etc) 1e) bad (of value) 1f) worse than, worst (comparison) 1g) sad, unhappy 1h) evil (hurtful) 1i) bad, unkind (vicious in disposition) 1j) bad, evil, wicked (ethically) 1j1) in general, of persons, of thoughts 1j2) deeds, actions
רַע ra · bad
1) evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity 1a) evil, distress, adversity 1b) evil, injury, wrong 1c) evil (ethical)
רָעָה raah · distress
: harm 1) evil, misery, distress, injury 1a) evil, misery, distress 1b) evil, injury, wrong 1c) evil (ethical)
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “bad” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
BAD, adjective
[Heb. to perish or destroy]
- Ill; evil; opposed to good; a word of general use, denoting physical defects and moral faults, in men and things; as a bad man, a bad heart, a bad design, bad air, bad water, bad books.
- Vicious; corrupt; depraved, in a moral sense; as a bad life; a bad action.
- Unwholesome; as bad provisions.
- Unfortunate; unprosperous; as a bad state of affairs.
All definitions
- Unskillful; as a bad player.
- Small; poor; as a bad crop.
- Infirm; as a bad state of health.
- Feeble, corrupt, or oppressive; as a bad government.
- Hurtful; pernicious; as, fine print is bad for the eyes.
- Unfavorable; as a bad season.
- Poor; sterile; as a bad soil.
- Rough or muddy; as a bad road.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.