ra describes wrongdoing and harmful or adverse persons, spirits, conditions, and things.

The term most often characterizes conduct, ways, and acts judged negatively in relation to the LORD; it also describes a distressing spirit, severe afflictions, unsuitable water, and negatively characterized words, abominations, or nations.

1. Wrongdoing in actions and ways · dominant

   The masculine singular absolute form repeatedly occurs in clauses about doing what is negatively judged “in the eyes of the LORD.” In 1 Kings 21:20 the APB renders Ahab as having sold himself “to do what is bad in the eyes of the LORD,” while 2 Kings 17:13 speaks of turning from a “bad way.”

   1 Kings 11:61 Kings 21:201 Samuel 15:192 Chronicles 33:62 Kings 17:132 Chronicles 7:14
2. Harmful or distressing conditions · common

   The feminine singular absolute form describes the spirit that terrifies Saul in 1 Samuel 16:14; the APB renders the clause “a harmful spirit from the LORD terrified him.” The term also qualifies the waters in 2 Kings 2:19 and severe plagues and sicknesses in Deuteronomy 28:59.

   1 Samuel 16:141 Samuel 16:161 Samuel 16:231 Samuel 18:102 Kings 2:19Deuteronomy 28:59
3. Negatively characterized words, abominations, and peoples · occasional

   In 1 Samuel 2:23 the masculine plural form qualifies words reported to Eli, which the APB renders “your harmful words.” In Ezekiel 6:11 and Ezekiel 8:9, feminine plural forms characterize abominations connected with the house of Israel; Ezekiel 7:24 uses a masculine plural construct form in a clause about nations possessing houses.

   1 Samuel 2:23Ecclesiastes 10:13Ezekiel 6:11Ezekiel 8:9Ezekiel 7:241 Samuel 30:22

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses the APB variously uses “bad,” “evil,” and “harmful,” especially for conduct, spirits, and ways. Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, these variations should not be treated as separate fixed renderings of the term.