qa.lah describes being held low or brought into disgrace, and actively treating parents with contempt.

The attested use most often describes a person regarded as lowly or dishonored; it also marks the disgrace brought on a punished brother or on Moab's glory, and in an active form identifies one who dishonors a parent.

1. Being regarded as lowly or dishonored · dominant

   The Niphal participle describes a status of low esteem in 1 Samuel 18:23, where the APB renders David as “only a poor and lightly esteemed man,” and in Proverbs 12:9, where it contrasts such a person with one who honors himself. In Isaiah 3:5, the same participial form stands in the contrast “the dishonored against the honored.”

   1 Samuel 18:23Proverbs 12:9Isaiah 3:5
2. Being brought into disgrace · common

   The Niphal sequential perfect marks a resulting degradation in Deuteronomy 25:3, where excessive flogging would leave a brother “degraded in your sight.” In Isaiah 16:14, the same form is used of Moab's glory, which the APB renders as being “dishonored” alongside the reduction of its multitude and remnant.

   Deuteronomy 25:3Isaiah 16:14
3. Treating a parent dishonorably · rare

   The Hiphil active participle identifies the person under a curse in Deuteronomy 27:16; the APB renders the clause, “Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.”

   Deuteronomy 27:16

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB uses “lightly esteemed,” “degraded,” and “dishonored,” while also describing David as poor. These renderings show the clauses' presentation rather than fixed English equivalents for the term.