Lexicon
עָוֺן
a.van
H5771
H:N-M Hebrew

iniquity: crime

232
Occurrences
26
Books
Hebrew
Language

a.van denotes wrongdoing attributed to persons or communities, including the guilt borne, punished, forgiven, or atoned for.

The supplied verses most often use the term for wrongdoing identified as a person's, a family's, or a community's own; they also portray that wrongdoing as liability borne in judgment and as something for which forgiveness, cleansing, or atonement is sought.

Senses in use

  1. Wrongdoing attributed to a person or group · dominant

    Construct singular and plural forms identify wrongdoing as belonging to particular people or communities: the men in Ezekiel 14:3 place its stumbling block before their faces, Sodom's is specified by pride and neglect of the needy in Ezekiel 16:49, and Ezra 9:6 depicts communal wrongs as risen above their heads. In Job 13:23, the plural is absolute while Job asks how many such wrongs and sins are his.

  2. Guilt or liability borne under judgment · common

    The term occurs where culpability is assigned, carried, or met with judgment. In Ezekiel 18:20, the APB renders the contrast that neither son nor father shall bear the other's iniquity; in Ezekiel 33:8, the unwarned wicked person dies in his own iniquity, while Ezekiel 14:10 says that inquirer and prophet shall bear theirs.

  3. Wrongdoing sought to be removed or dealt with · occasional

    In prayer and cultic settings, the term names wrongdoing for which relief is requested or provided. In Exodus 34:9 the APB renders Moses' request to forgive the people's iniquity and sin; Exodus 28:38 says Aaron shall bear the iniquity connected with consecrated holy things, and Daniel 9:24 includes atonement for iniquity among the decreed acts.

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly uses “iniquity,” but also uses “guilt” in contexts of responsibility, as in 1 Samuel 25:24 and 2 Samuel 14:9. Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, these renderings confirm the clauses' broad treatment of wrongdoing and liability rather than fixing a separate English equivalent for every token.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture