שָׁמַר
sha.marto keep: obeyHow to read Hebrew
hebrewOld TestamentVerb469 occurrences31 books440 verses
Definition
a primitive root; properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.
Traditional renderings: beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).
Traditional renderings: beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).
In the Greek Old Testament
How the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders שָׁמַר:
- φυλάσσωphulassō“to keep/guard: observe”81%
- προσέχωprosechō“to watch out”5%
- διαφυλάσσωdiaphulassō“to protect”4%
- τηρέωtēreō“to keep: observe”3%
- διατηρέωdiatēreō“to keep”2%
Usage patterns
Occurrences
469 total
- Daniel 9:4וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י · and keepAnd I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments,
- Hosea 4:10לִשְׁמֹֽר׃ · to give themselvesThey will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves
- Hosea 12:6שְׁמֹ֔ר · maintainBut you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and always wait on your God.
- Hosea 12:12שָׁמָֽר׃ · he tended [sheep]Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.
- Hosea 12:13נִשְׁמָֽר׃ · he was preservedBut by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.
- Amos 1:11שְׁמָ֥רָה · flamedThis is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.
- Amos 2:4שָׁמָ֔רוּ · to keepThis is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they reject the Law of the LORD and fail to keep His statutes; they are led astray by the lies in which their fathers walked.
- Jonah 2:8מְשַׁמְּרִ֖ים · Those who cling toThose who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
- Micah 6:16וְיִשְׁתַּמֵּ֞ר · You have keptYou have kept the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their counsel. Therefore I will make you a desolation, and your inhabitants an object of contempt; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”
- Micah 7:5שְׁמֹ֖ר · SealDo not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
- Zechariah 3:7תִשְׁמֹ֔ר · and keep; תִּשְׁמֹ֣ר · have charge“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, then you will govern My house and will also have charge of My courts; and I will give you a place among these who are standing here.
- Zechariah 11:11הַשֹּׁמְרִ֣ים · who were watchingIt was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
- Malachi 2:7יִשְׁמְרוּ־ · should preserveFor the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
- Malachi 2:9שֹׁמְרִ֣ים · kept“So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
- Malachi 2:15וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙ · So guard yourselvesHas not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
- Malachi 2:16וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּ֥ם · So guard yourselves“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.
- Malachi 3:7שְׁמַרְתֶּ֔ם · kept themYet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’
- Malachi 3:14שָׁמַ֙רְנוּ֙ · by keepingYou have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?