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Hebrew

To ruin

שָׁדַדStrong’s H7703

shadad (sha-dad)

Appears in 47 verses of the Old Testament

In short

Shadad is the Hebrew word usually translated “it has been devastated”, “destroyer” and “it will be devastated”. It appears in 47 verses of the Old Testament.

“Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.”
Zechariah 11:2 KJV
Meaning
  1. To deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil(Qal) · (Niphal) to be utterly ruined · (Piel) · (Pual) to be devastated · (Poel) to violently destroy · (Hophal) to be devastated
How it's translated
  • it has been devastated 8
  • a destroyer 5
  • it will be devastated 4
  • destroying 3
  • it is devastated 3
  • destroyed 2
  • it was devastated 2
  • destroyer 2

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most
  • Jeremiah 24
  • Isaiah 6
  • Proverbs 3
  • Job 2
  • Psalms 2
  • Hosea 2

13 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 47 verses, by book
Judges 1
5:27
Psalms 2
17:9137:8
Proverbs 3
11:319:2624:15
Ezekiel 1
32:12
Hosea 2
10:210:14
Joel 1
1:10
Obadiah 1
1:5
Micah 1
2:4
Nahum 1
3:7
Zechariah 2
11:211:3
Hebrew dictionary

שָׁדַד shadad · to ruin

1) to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to violently destroy, devastate, despoil, assail 1a2) devastator, despoiler (participle) (subst) 1b) (Niphal) to be utterly ruined 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to assault 1c2) to devastate 1d) (Pual) to be devastated 1e) (Poel) to violently destroy 1f) (Hophal) to be devastated Also means: shud (שׁוּד "to waste" H7736)

From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “ruin” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

RU'IN, noun

[Latin ruo, to fall, to rush down.]

  1. Destruction; fall; overthrow; defeat; that change of any thing which destroys it, or entirely defeats its object, or unfits it for use; as the ruin of a house; the ruin of a ship or an army; the ruin of a constitution of government; the ruin of health; the ruin of commerce; the ruin of public or private happiness; the ruin of a project.
  2. Mischief; bane; that which destroys.
  3. ruin more generally ruins, the remains of a decayed or demolished city, house, fortress, or any work of art or other thing; as the ruins of Balbec, Palmyra or Persepolis; the ruins of a wall; a castle in ruins.
  4. The decayed or enfeebled remains of a natural object; as, the venerable old man presents a great mind in ruins.
All definitions and other forms of “ruin”
  1. The cause of destruction.“They were the ruin of him and of all Israel” 2 Chronicles 28:23
  2. To demolish; to pull down, burn, or otherwise destroy; as, to ruin a city or an edifice.
  3. To subvert; to destroy; as, to ruin a state or government.
  4. To destroy; to bring to an end; as, to ruin commerce or manufactures.
  5. To destroy in any manner; as, to ruin health or happiness; to ruin reputation.
  6. To counteract; to defeat; as, to ruin a plan or project.
  7. To deprive of felicity or fortune.
  8. To impoverish; as, to be ruined by speculation.
  9. To bring to everlasting misery; as, to ruin the soul.

RU'IN, verb intransitive

  1. To fall into ruins.
  2. To run to ruin; to fall into decay or be dilapidated.
  3. To be reduced; to be brought to poverty or misery.

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.