What does מִרְמָה (mirmah) mean in the Bible?
Deceit places a false appearance before another person. This Hebrew noun can describe deception in speech or conduct, including the dishonest scales condemned in Proverbs 11:1.
Hebrew · H4820
מִרְמָה
Fraud
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מִרְמָהH4820
Pronunciationmirmah
What does מִרְמָה (mirmah) mean in the Bible?
Deceit places a false appearance before another person. This Hebrew noun can describe deception in speech or conduct, including the dishonest scales condemned in Proverbs 11:1.
Reader summary
Full entry for מִרְמָה (H4820) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4820?
The BSB source-word alignment has 39 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include deceit (8), and deceit (4), deceitfully (4), and deceitful (2), from deceitful (2).
Where does מִרְמָה (mirmah) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 27:35. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (14), Proverbs (8), Jeremiah (4), Daniel (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Deceit places a false appearance before another person. This Hebrew noun can describe deception in speech or conduct, including the dishonest scales condemned in Proverbs 11:1. Jeremiah 9:8 gives a particularly sharp contrast: a person speaks peace to a neighbor while inwardly setting a trap. The wrong is not merely that the words are unpleasant or imperfectly expressed, but that they misrepresent what is being done.
Genesis 27:35 names the deceit by which Jacob obtained Isaac's blessing. The narrative reports that action without turning it into a model for getting what one wants. Isaiah 53:9 takes a different direction, declaring that no deceit was in the suffering Servant's mouth. His innocence matters to the passage's account of suffering and is expressly taken up concerning Jesus in First Peter 2:22. These witnesses invite truthful dealing and careful judgment. They do not justify treating every mistake, incomplete explanation, or difficult disclosure as proof of a deliberately deceptive heart.
source_lexiconPassage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
False weights, a deceptively obtained blessing, peaceful words hiding a trap, and the Servant's freedom from deceit show deception's reach and the importance of truthful speech and conduct.
- Prov.11.1
Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but an accurate weight is His delight.
The proverb contrasts dishonest scales with an accurate weight and gives the Lord's judgment of each. Deception here operates through the means of exchange, not only through a spoken falsehood.
- Gen.27.35
But Isaac replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
Isaac tells Esau that his brother came deceitfully and took the blessing. The description names what happened in the troubled family narrative; its success does not make deception an approved way to obtain blessing.
- Jer.9.8
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
The contrast between spoken peace and an inward trap exposes words used to conceal harmful intent. The prophetic accusation supplies that knowledge of the heart; readers should not invent equivalent certainty from someone's tone alone.
- Isa.53.9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
The Servant's death and burial are described alongside the absence of violence and deceit. First Peter 2:22 explicitly applies the statement about sinless and truthful speech to Jesus.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itdeceit8×Job 15:35, Job 31:5, Psalms 10:7, Psalms 17:1
and deceit4×Psalms 5:6, Psalms 55:11, Psalms 55:23, Zephaniah 1:9
deceitfully4×Genesis 27:35, Genesis 34:13, Psalms 24:4, Daniel 11:23
and deceitful2×Psalms 36:3, Psalms 109:2
from deceitful2×Psalms 34:13, Psalms 43:1
with dishonest2×Hosea 12:7, Amos 8:5
[speaks] deceit1×Proverbs 12:17
and dishonest1×Proverbs 20:23
deceitful1×Psalms 35:20
deceives them1×Proverbs 14:8
deception1×Jeremiah 9:8
Dishonest1×Proverbs 11:1
he will cause deceit1×Daniel 8:25
in their deceit1×Jeremiah 9:6
is deceitful1×Proverbs 14:25
leads to deceit1×Proverbs 12:5
O deceitful1×Psalms 52:4
of deception1×Jeremiah 9:6
of false1×Micah 6:11
to deceit1×Psalms 50:19
Treachery1×2 Kings 9:23
was any deceit1×Isaiah 53:9
with deceit1×Hosea 11:12
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 27:35בְּמִרְמָ֑הtodeceitfullyPreposition-b | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 34:13בְּמִרְמָ֖הtodeceitfullyPreposition-b | Noun - feminine singular2 Kings 9:23מִרְמָ֥הtoTreacheryNoun - feminine singularJob 15:35מִרְמָֽה׃סtodeceitNoun - feminine singularJob 31:5מִרְמָ֣הtodeceitNoun - feminine singularPsalms 5:6וּמִרְמָ֗הtoand deceitConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singularPsalms 10:7וּמִרְמ֣וֹתtodeceitConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine pluralPsalms 17:1מִרְמָֽה׃todeceitNoun - feminine singularPsalms 24:4לְמִרְמָֽה׃todeceitfullyPreposition-l | Noun - feminine singularPsalms 34:13מִרְמָֽה׃tofrom deceitfulNoun - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 27:35
Aligned rows39
Books represented12
Genesis22 Kings1Job2Psalms14Proverbs8Isaiah1Jeremiah4Daniel2Hosea2Amos1Micah1Zephaniah1
Source forms
מִרְמָֽה׃11xmir·māhPsalms 17:1, Psalms 34:13, Psalms 50:19, Psalms 52:4
מִרְמָ֣ה3xmir·māhJob 31:5, Proverbs 20:23, Jeremiah 9:8
מִרְמָ֖ה3xmir·māhPsalms 43:1, Isaiah 53:9, Hosea 12:7
מִ֭רְמָה3xmir·māhPsalms 109:2, Proverbs 11:1, Proverbs 12:20
מִרְמָ֑ה3xmir·māhJeremiah 5:27, Jeremiah 9:6, Daniel 11:23
בְּמִרְמָ֑ה1xbə·mir·māhGenesis 27:35
בְּמִרְמָ֖ה1xbə·mir·māhGenesis 34:13
בְּמִרְמָ֛ה1xbə·mir·māhJeremiah 9:6
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular26x2 Kings 9:23, Job 15:35, Job 31:5, Psalms 17:1
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular5xPsalms 5:6, Psalms 36:3, Psalms 55:11, Psalms 55:23
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular3xGenesis 27:35, Genesis 34:13, Jeremiah 9:6
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural2xPsalms 10:7, Psalms 38:12
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular1xHosea 11:12
Noun - feminine plural1xPsalms 35:20
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular1xPsalms 24:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Examine the substance and evidence of an account instead of equating confident delivery with truthfulness.
- Practice truthful dealing while respecting legitimate privacy and protective boundaries in difficult conversations.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that God approves deception simply because the person using it receives a desired outcome.
- Do not claim that this word gives a listener certainty about hidden motives from hesitation, tone, or an imperfectly told story.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Deception that conceals true intent; often used of false speech or hidden treachery against covenant relationships
Source Gloss
fraud
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Deception that conceals true intent; often used of false speech or hidden treachery against covenant relationships
fraud BDB: deceit Usage: craft, deceit(-ful, -fully), false, feigned, guile, subtilly, treachery.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
fraud, deceit
Showing 1 selected witness from 39 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
מִרְמָה is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Describes unjust economic behavior.Hosea 12:7-14
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
A scale can deceive without speaking. Proverbs 11:1 therefore broadens a lesson about truth beyond the words a person chooses: the procedure, measurement, or transaction can also present a false account. Jeremiah 9:8 shows the corresponding danger in speech, where a peaceful greeting covers a trap. In both cases, the passage identifies a mismatch that harms the neighbor.
Isaiah 53:9 and First Peter 2:22 bring the study to the truthful, innocent suffering of Jesus. First Peter does not stop at His example; it also declares that He bore our sins so that we might live to righteousness. Teaching against deceit should therefore call for honest conduct without making accusation, suspicion, or polished self-presentation the center. Truthful reports of harm deserve to be heard, and an awkward or incomplete account should be examined carefully rather than condemned merely for lacking polish.
Anchor passage
Prov.11.1
Doctrinal connections
- Proverbs 11:1 places accurate dealing under the Lord's approval and condemns dishonest means of exchange.
- Genesis 27:33-37 names deception within the contested blessing narrative without commending it as a faithful method.
- Jeremiah 9:6-9 exposes deceit that conceals hostility and accompanies refusal to know the Lord.
- Isaiah 53:7-11 holds the Servant's innocence together with suffering and the bearing of others' iniquities.
- First Peter 2:22-24 identifies Jesus' freedom from deceit and His sin-bearing work as the ground for living to righteousness.
- Ephesians 4:24-25 connects the new self with putting away falsehood and speaking truthfully as members of one another.
The noun can name deceptive conduct as well as deceptive speech. The selected passages supply concrete evidence of the deception, such as dishonest measurement or words concealing a trap. The label should not be expanded to include every error or limit in knowledge.
From Old to New Testament
First Peter 2:22 expressly uses Isaiah's statement that no deceit was found in the Servant's mouth when speaking of Christ. The next verses describe His refusal to retaliate and His bearing of sins. Ephesians 4:25 gives a related call to truthful speech, grounded in belonging to one another rather than in maintaining an impressive appearance.
Passage contextPastoral applicationCanonical parallel