שָׁמַע

hebrewOld TestamentVerb1,159 occurrences39 books1,072 verses

Definition

a primitive root; to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
Traditional renderings: × attentively, call (gather) together, × carefully, × certainly, consent, consider, be content, declare, × diligently, discern, give ear, (cause to, let, make to) hear(-ken, tell), × indeed, listen, make (a) noise, (be) obedient, obey, perceive, (make a) proclaim(-ation), publish, regard, report, shew (forth), (make a) sound, × surely, tell, understand, whosoever (heareth), witness.

In the Greek Old Testament

How the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders שָׁמַע:

ἀκούωakouō“to hear”76%
εἰσακούωeisakouō“to listen to”14%
ὑπακούωhupakouō“to obey”2%
ἐπακούωepakouō“to listen to”1%
ἀκοήakoē“hearing”1%

Usage patterns

LawHistoryPoetryProphetsGospelsEpistles

Old TestamentNew Testament

Occurrences

1,159 total

Song of Solomon 2:14הַשְׁמִיעִ֖ינִי · let me hear
O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.
Song of Solomon 8:13הַשְׁמִיעִֽינִי׃ · Let me hear it
You who dwell in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice. Let me hear it!
Isaiah 1:2שִׁמְע֤וּ · Listen
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.
Isaiah 1:10שִׁמְע֥וּ · Hear
Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
Isaiah 1:15שֹׁמֵ֑עַ · listen
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
Isaiah 1:19וּשְׁמַעְתֶּ֑ם · and obedient
If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.
Isaiah 6:8וָאֶשְׁמַ֞ע · Then I heard
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:9שִׁמְע֤וּ · Be ever hearing; שָׁמ֙וֹעַ֙
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Isaiah 6:10יִשְׁמָ֗ע · hear
Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
Isaiah 7:13שִׁמְעוּ־ · Hear
Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
Isaiah 15:4נִשְׁמַ֣ע · are heard
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voices are heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out; their souls tremble within.
Isaiah 16:6שָׁמַ֥עְנוּ · We have heard
We have heard of Moab’s pomposity, his exceeding pride and conceit, his overflowing arrogance. But his boasting is empty.
Isaiah 18:3תִּשְׁמָֽעוּ׃ס · you will hear it
All you people of the world and dwellers of the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it; when a ram’s horn sounds, you will hear it.
Isaiah 21:3מִשְּׁמֹ֔עַ · to hear
Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.
Isaiah 21:10שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי · I have heard
O my people, crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel.
Isaiah 24:16שָׁמַ֙עְנוּ֙ · we hear
From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.
Isaiah 28:12שְׁמֽוֹעַ׃ · listen
…to whom He has said: “This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.
Isaiah 28:14שִׁמְע֥וּ · hear
Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 28:22שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי · I have heard
So now, do not mock, or your shackles will become heavier. Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts a decree of destruction against the whole land.
Isaiah 28:23וְשִׁמְע֖וּ · and hear; וְשִׁמְע֖וּ · and hear
Listen and hear my voice. Pay attention and hear what I say.
Isaiah 29:18וְשָׁמְע֧וּ · will hear
On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Isaiah 30:9שְׁמ֖וֹעַ · to obey
These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.
Isaiah 30:19כְּשָׁמְעָת֖וֹ · when He hears
O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.
Isaiah 30:21תִּשְׁמַ֣עְנָה · will hear
And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:30וְהִשְׁמִ֨יעַ · to be heard
And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
Isaiah 32:3שֹׁמְעִ֖ים · of those who hear
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
Isaiah 32:9שְׁמַ֣עְנָה · listen to me
Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Give ear to my word, you overconfident daughters.
Isaiah 33:13שִׁמְע֥וּ · hear
You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
Isaiah 33:15מִשְּׁמֹ֣עַ · against
He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
Isaiah 33:19מִשְּׁמ֔וֹעַ
You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.
Isaiah 34:1לִשְׁמֹ֔עַ · to listen; תִּשְׁמַ֤ע · hear
Come near, O nations, to listen; pay attention, O peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that springs from it.
Isaiah 36:11שֹׁמְעִ֖ים · understand it
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
Isaiah 36:13שִׁמְע֗וּ · Hear
Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!
Isaiah 36:16תִּשְׁמְע֖וּ · listen
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and drink water from his own cistern,
Isaiah 37:1כִּשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ · hearing [this report]
On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
Isaiah 37:4יִשְׁמַע֩ · will hear; שָׁמַ֖ע · has heard
Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”
Isaiah 37:6שָׁמַ֔עְתָּ · you have heard
…who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
Isaiah 37:7וְשָׁמַ֥ע · so that he will hear
Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
Isaiah 37:8שָׁמַ֔ע · heard
When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
Isaiah 37:9וַיִּשְׁמַ֗ע · Now Sennacherib had been warned; וַיִּשְׁמַע֙ · On hearing this
Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.” On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
Isaiah 37:11שָׁמַ֗עְתָּ · have heard
Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?
Isaiah 37:17וּֽשְׁמָ֔ע · and hear; וּשְׁמַ֗ע · Listen to
Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.
Isaiah 37:26שָׁמַ֤עְתָּ · heard
Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.
Isaiah 38:5שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ · I have heard
“Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.