3576. kazab
Lexical Summary
kazab: To lie, to deceive, to fail

Original Word: כָּזַב
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: kazab
Pronunciation: kah-ZAB
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-zab')
KJV: fail, (be found a, make a) liar, lie, lying, be in vain
NASB: lie, fail, lied, liars, lying, prove me a liar, proved a liar
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to lie (i.e. deceive), literally or figuratively

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
fail, be found a, make a liar, lie, lying, be in vain

A primitive root; to lie (i.e. Deceive), literally or figuratively -- fail, (be found a, make a) liar, lie, lying, be in vain.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to lie, be a liar
NASB Translation
fail (2), false (1), liars (1), lie (6), lied (2), lying (1), prove me a liar (1), proved a liar (1), told lies (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[כָּזַב] verb lie, be a liar (Arabic ; Aramaic כְּדַב, id. chiefly Pa`el; Late Hebrew כָּזַב) —

Qal Participle כָּלהָֿאָדָם כֹּזֵב Psalm 116:11 (compare כָּזָּב Psalm 62:10).

Niph`al Perfect3feminine singular תֹּחַלְתּוֺ נִכְזָ֑בָה Job 41:1 his hope has been made deceptive, i.e. been shewn to be so; 2 masculine singular consecutive וְנִכְזָ֑בְתָּ Proverbs 30:6 lest he convict thee and thou be proven a liar.

Pi`el Perfect3masculine singular כִּזֵּב Micah 2:11; Imperfect3masculine singular יְכַזֵּב Habakkuk 2:3; Proverbs 14:5; וִיכַזֵּב Numbers 23:19, etc.; Infinitive construct suffix כַזֶּבְכֶם (בְּ) Ezekiel 13:19; —

1 lie, tell a lie, absolute, Numbers 23:19 (JE), Micah 2:11; Job 6:28; Job 34:6; Proverbs 14:5; Isaiah 57:11; followed by לְ person lie to Ezekiel 13:9; Psalm 78:36; Psalm 89:36; followed by בְּ person tell a lie with, i.e. in intercourse, conversation with 2 Kings 4:16.

2 disappoint, fail, of a divine revelation Habakkuk 2:3; waters of a spring Isaiah 58:11.

Hiph`il Imperfect3masculine singular suffix יַכְזִיבֵנִי Job 24:25 who will make me a liar? i.e. prove me to be so (compare Niph`al)

Topical Lexicon
Scope and Frequency

The verb appears eighteen times across ten Old Testament books. Its contexts range from declarations of God’s absolute reliability to denunciations of human deceit, forming a thread that contrasts divine truth with human falsehood.

Divine Veracity and Immutability

The earliest occurrence sets the keynote: “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). Balaam’s oracle roots Israel’s hope in a God whose word is unfailing. The same assurance resounds in Psalm 89:35, where the covenant with David is guaranteed: “I will not lie to David.” Habakkuk 2:3 extends the theme to eschatology: the vision “will not lie,” anchoring future hope in God’s unbreakable promise.

Human Deception and Covenantal Breach

Judges 16 highlights the relational cost of deceit. Delilah presses Samson, “You have mocked me and told me lies” (Judges 16:10, 13). In 2 Kings 4:16 the Shunammite, distrustful of shattered hopes, pleads, “Do not deceive your servant.” These narratives expose deception as a fracture of trust among God’s people.

Poetic Reflections on Falsehood

Job wrestles with accusations of lying (Job 6:28; 24:25; 34:6), illustrating the pain of being mislabeled and the difficulty of proving integrity amid suffering. Job 41:9 widens the sense: any confidence in mastering Leviathan is “false,” reminding readers that human pretension is as deceptive as spoken lies.

Psalms broaden the horizon. Israel “lied to Him with their tongues” in Psalm 78:36, revealing how worship without fidelity grieves God. Conversely, Psalm 116:11 captures the despairing cry, “All men are liars!”, directing the sufferer back to the only trustworthy refuge.

Wisdom Teaching on Truthfulness

Proverbs distills the moral lesson. “An honest witness does not deceive, but a dishonest witness pours out lies” (Proverbs 14:5). Proverbs 30:6 warns against doctrinal tampering: “Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar.” Truthfulness is not merely social virtue; it guards revelation itself.

Prophetic Rebukes and Eschatological Assurance

Isaiah confronts religious duplicity: despite prolonged silence, the people “have neither remembered Me nor taken Me to heart” (Isaiah 57:11). Ezekiel 13:19 condemns prophets who barter lies “for handfuls of barley,” turning ministry into commerce. Micah 2:11 sarcastically notes that a wind-filled preacher of “wine and beer” would fit the audience’s taste for pleasant illusions. Yet the prophets also lift eyes to a future without falsehood; Habakkuk’s vision will not deceive, ensuring that divine promises outlast human perjury.

Isaiah 58:11 offers a striking reversal: the LORD’s guidance and provision “never fail.” The same root that describes human lying is here denied to God’s sustaining care, reinforcing His dependability.

Theological Synthesis

A consistent pattern emerges:

1. God’s nature is antithetical to falsehood.
2. Human deceit disrupts covenantal relationships and invites judgment.
3. Prophetic hope stands on the certainty that God’s word cannot betray expectation.

Thus every occurrence presses the reader toward trust in God and repentance from deceit.

Ministerial and Ethical Ramifications

• Preaching: Faithful exposition must avoid embellishment that risks being “proved…a liar” (Proverbs 30:6).
• Pastoral care: Like Elisha with the Shunammite, promises to suffering saints must be made with utmost integrity.
• Corporate worship: Psalm 78 warns congregations against singing loyalty while living dishonestly.
• Social justice: Ezekiel 13 challenges leaders who manipulate truth for gain; ministry cannot be monetized at the cost of souls.

Canonical Trajectory Toward the Gospel

The Old Testament insistence that God “cannot lie” anticipates the New Testament proclamation that in Jesus Christ “grace and truth came” (John 1:17) and that in Him all God’s promises are “Yes.” The vocabulary may shift, but the theme remains: the God who never deceives calls His people to embody the same steadfast truth.

Forms and Transliterations
אֲכַזֵּ֑ב אֲכַזֵּֽב׃ אכזב אכזב׃ בְּכַ֨זֶּבְכֶ֔ם בכזבכם וְנִכְזָֽבְתָּ׃ וִֽיכַזֵּ֔ב ויכזב ונכזבת׃ יְכַזְּב֖וּ יְכַזְּבוּ־ יְכַזֵּ֑ב יַכְזִיבֵ֑נִי יכזב יכזבו יכזבו־ יכזיבני כְּזָבִ֑ים כְּזָבִ֔ים כִּזֵּ֔ב כֹּזֵֽב׃ כזב כזב׃ כזבים נִכְזָ֑בָה נכזבה תְּכַזֵּ֖ב תְכַזֵּ֔בִי תכזב תכזבי ’ă·ḵaz·zêḇ ’ăḵazzêḇ achazZev bə·ḵaz·zeḇ·ḵem beChazzevChem bəḵazzeḇḵem kə·zā·ḇîm kəzāḇîm kezaVim kiz·zêḇ kizzêḇ kizZev kō·zêḇ kōzêḇ koZev nichZavah niḵ·zā·ḇāh niḵzāḇāh ṯə·ḵaz·zê·ḇî tə·ḵaz·zêḇ techazZev techazZevi təḵazzêḇ ṯəḵazzêḇî venichZaveta vichazZev wə·niḵ·zā·ḇə·tā wəniḵzāḇətā wî·ḵaz·zêḇ wîḵazzêḇ yachziVeni yaḵ·zî·ḇê·nî yaḵzîḇênî yə·ḵaz·zə·ḇū yə·ḵaz·zə·ḇū- yə·ḵaz·zêḇ yechazZev yechazzevu yəḵazzêḇ yəḵazzəḇū yəḵazzəḇū-
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Numbers 23:19
HEB: אִ֥ישׁ אֵל֙ וִֽיכַזֵּ֔ב וּבֶן־ אָדָ֖ם
NAS: is not a man, that He should lie, Nor
KJV: [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son
INT: A man God lie A son of man

Judges 16:10
HEB: וַתְּדַבֵּ֥ר אֵלַ֖י כְּזָבִ֑ים עַתָּה֙ הַגִּֽידָה־
INT: and told about fail now tell

Judges 16:13
HEB: וַתְּדַבֵּ֤ר אֵלַי֙ כְּזָבִ֔ים הַגִּ֣ידָה לִּ֔י
INT: and told about fail tell how

2 Kings 4:16
HEB: הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים אַל־ תְּכַזֵּ֖ב בְּשִׁפְחָתֶֽךָ׃
NAS: of God, do not lie to your maidservant.
KJV: of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
INT: of God No lie to your maidservant

Job 6:28
HEB: פְּ֝נֵיכֶ֗ם אִם־ אֲכַזֵּֽב׃
NAS: at me, And [see] if I lie to your face.
KJV: upon me; for [it is] evident unto you if I lie.
INT: your face and if lie

Job 24:25
HEB: אֵ֭פוֹ מִ֣י יַכְזִיבֵ֑נִי וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְ֝אַ֗ל
NAS: who can prove me a liar, And make
KJV: who will make me a liar, and make
INT: so who prove and make nay

Job 34:6
HEB: עַל־ מִשְׁפָּטִ֥י אֲכַזֵּ֑ב אָנ֖וּשׁ חִצִּ֣י
NAS: Should I lie concerning my right?
KJV: Should I lie against my right?
INT: concerning adversary lie is incurable archer

Job 41:9
HEB: הֵן־ תֹּחַלְתּ֥וֹ נִכְזָ֑בָה הֲגַ֖ם אֶל־
NAS: your expectation is FALSE; Will you be laid low
KJV: Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not [one] be cast down
INT: Behold your expectation is false even nay

Psalm 78:36
HEB: בְּפִיהֶ֑ם וּ֝בִלְשׁוֹנָ֗ם יְכַזְּבוּ־ לֽוֹ׃
NAS: Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue.
KJV: him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
INT: their mouth their tongue and lied

Psalm 89:35
HEB: אִֽם־ לְדָוִ֥ד אֲכַזֵּֽב׃
NAS: by My holiness; I will not lie to David.
KJV: by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
INT: lo to David lie

Psalm 116:11
HEB: כָּֽל־ הָאָדָ֥ם כֹּזֵֽב׃
NAS: All men are liars.
KJV: in my haste, All men [are] liars.
INT: All men are liars

Proverbs 14:5
HEB: אֱ֭מוּנִים לֹ֣א יְכַזֵּ֑ב וְיָפִ֥יחַ כְּ֝זָבִ֗ים
NAS: witness will not lie, But a false
KJV: witness will utter lies.
INT: A trustworthy will not lie utters lies

Proverbs 30:6
HEB: יוֹכִ֖יחַ בְּךָ֣ וְנִכְזָֽבְתָּ׃ פ
NAS: He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.
KJV: lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
INT: Or will reprove will be proved

Isaiah 57:11
HEB: וַתִּֽירְאִי֙ כִּ֣י תְכַזֵּ֔בִי וְאוֹתִי֙ לֹ֣א
NAS: When you lied, and did not remember
KJV: or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered
INT: and fearful When lied Nor remember

Isaiah 58:11
HEB: אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־ יְכַזְּב֖וּ מֵימָֽיו׃
NAS: whose waters do not fail.
KJV: of water, whose waters fail not.
INT: whose not fail waters

Ezekiel 13:19
HEB: לֹא־ תִֽחְיֶ֑ינָה בְּכַ֨זֶּבְכֶ֔ם לְעַמִּ֖י שֹׁמְעֵ֥י
NAS: should not live, by your lying to My people
KJV: that should not live, by your lying to my people
INT: not alive your lying to my people listen

Micah 2:11
HEB: ר֙וּחַ֙ וָשֶׁ֣קֶר כִּזֵּ֔ב אַטִּ֣ף לְךָ֔
NAS: and falsehood Had told lies [and said], 'I will speak
KJV: and falsehood do lie, [saying], I will prophesy
INT: wind and falsehood had told will speak wine

Habakkuk 2:3
HEB: לַקֵּ֖ץ וְלֹ֣א יְכַזֵּ֑ב אִם־ יִתְמַהְמָהּ֙
NAS: toward the goal and it will not fail. Though
KJV: it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry,
INT: the goal and it will not fail Though tarries

18 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3576
18 Occurrences


’ă·ḵaz·zêḇ — 3 Occ.
bə·ḵaz·zeḇ·ḵem — 1 Occ.
kə·zā·ḇîm — 2 Occ.
kiz·zêḇ — 1 Occ.
kō·zêḇ — 1 Occ.
niḵ·zā·ḇāh — 1 Occ.
tə·ḵaz·zêḇ — 1 Occ.
ṯə·ḵaz·zê·ḇî — 1 Occ.
wə·niḵ·zā·ḇə·tā — 1 Occ.
wî·ḵaz·zêḇ — 1 Occ.
yaḵ·zî·ḇê·nî — 1 Occ.
yə·ḵaz·zêḇ — 2 Occ.
yə·ḵaz·zə·ḇū- — 2 Occ.

3575
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