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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Hard; Hardiness; Harddiness; Hardly
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hard, har´di-nes, hard´nes, hard´li (קש××”, kÌ£aÌ„sheh, פל×, paÌ„laÌ„'; σκληÏοÌÏ‚, skleÌ„roÌs) : The senses in which hard is used may be distinguished as:
(1) “Firm,†“stiff,†opposite to soft: , yaÌ„cakÌ£, “to be firm,†“his heart ... as hard as a piece of the nether millstone,†the Revised Version (British and American) “firmâ€; , kÌ£aÌ„sheh, “sharp,†“hard of heartâ€; hÌ£aÌ„zaÌ„kÌ£, “firm,†“As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy foreheadâ€; , “They have made their faces harder than a rockâ€; , ‛aÌ„zaz, “to make strong,†“hard,†“impudent,†“a wicked man hardeneth his faceâ€; probably belongs here also where 'eÌ„thaÌ„n is translated “hardâ€: “The way of the transgressor is hard,†the English Revised Version “The way of the treacherous is ruggedâ€; the Hebrew word means, “lasting,†“firm,†poet. “rocks†(the earth's foundations, ), and the meaning seems to be, not that the way (path) of transgressors, or the treacherous (Delitzsch has “uncultivatedâ€), is hard (rocky) to them, but that their way, or mode of acting, is hard, unsympathetic, unkind, “destitute of feeling in things which, as we say, would soften a stone†(Delitzsch on passage); also , skleÌ„ros, “stiff,†“thou art a hard manâ€; The Wisdom of Solomon 11:4, skleÌ„ros, “hard stone,†the Revised Version (British and American) “flinty rock,†margin “the steep rock.â€
(2) “Sore,†“trying,†“painful,†kÌ£aÌ„sheh (, “hard serviceâ€; Deuteronomy, ; ; ; ); kÌ£aÌ„shaÌ„h “to have it hard†(, ; ); ‛aÌ„thaÌ„kÌ£, “stiff†( the King James Version, “They utter and speak hard thingsâ€); skleÌ„ros (, “This is a hard saying†- hard to accept, hard in its nature; the King James Version; ; , “hard speechesâ€; The Wisdom of Solomon 19:13).
(3) “Heavy,†“pressing hard,†kaÌ„bheÌ„dh, “weighty†(, , “a people of a strange speech and of a hard language,†the Revised Version margin (Hebrew) “deep of lip and heavy of tongueâ€); sÌ£aÌ„makh, “to lay†(, “Thy wrath lieth hard upon meâ€).
(4) “Difficult,†“hard to do,†“know,†etc., paÌ„laÌ„', “difficult to be done†(, “Is anything too hard for Yahweh?â€; , ; ; ); kÌ£aÌ„sheh (, “hard causesâ€); kÌ£aÌ„shaÌ„h (; ); ḥı̄dhaÌ„h, “something twisted,†“involved,†“an enigmaâ€; compare (; , “to prove Solomon with hard questionsâ€); 'ăhı̄dhaÌ„n, Aramaic (); duÌskolos, literally, “difficult about food,†“hard to please,†hence, “difficult to accomplish†(, “How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of Godâ€); dusnoÌeÌ„tos, “hard to be understood†(; ; compare Ecclesiasticus 3:21, “things too hard for thee,†chalepoÌs).
(5) “Close,†or “near to†(hard by), naÌ„ghash, “to come nigh†(, the American Standard Revised Version “nearâ€); daÌ„bhaÌ„kÌ£ and daÌ„bheÌ„kÌ£, “to follow hard after†(; , etc.); 'eÌ„cel, “near†(); le'ummath, “over against†(); ‛adh, “to†“even to†(, the King James Version “hard by,†the Revised Version (British and American) “even toâ€).
Hardiness occurs in Judith 16:10 thraÌsos, the Revised Version (British and American) “boldness.â€
Hardness is the translation of muÌ„caÌ„kÌ£, “something poured out,†“dust wetted,†“running into clods†(), the Revised Version (British and American) “runneth into a massâ€; “hardness of heart†occurs in the Gospels; in , it is pō̇roÌ„sis, “hardness,†“callousnessâ€; ; ; , skleÌ„rokardia, “dryness,†“stiffness of heartâ€; compare Ecclesiasticus 16:10; in , it is skleÌ„roÌteÌ„s; in the King James Version we have, “Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,†the Revised Version (British and American) “Suffer hardship with me†(corrected text), margin “Take thy part in suffering hardship†(kakopatheÌoÌ„, “to suffer evilâ€).
Hardly occurs in the Old Testament (), “Pharaoh would hardly let us go,†kÌ£aÌ„shaÌ„h, literally, “hardened to let us go,†the Revised Version margin “hardened himself against letting us goâ€; “hardly bestead†() is the translation of kÌ£aÌ„shaÌ„h, the American Standard Revised Version “sore distressed.†In the New Testament “hardly†is the translation of duskoÌloÌ„s, “hard to please,†“difficult,†meaning not scarcely or barely, but with difficulty (, “A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven,†the Revised Version (British and American) “it is hard forâ€; ; , “how hardly†(“with what difficultyâ€)); of moÌgis, “with labor,†“pain,†“trouble†(, “hardly departeth from him†(“painfullyâ€)); of moÌlis “with toil and fatigue†(, the Revised Version (British and American) “with difficultyâ€; The Wisdom of Solomon 9:16, “Hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earthâ€; Ecclesiasticus 26:29, “A merchant shall hardly keep himself from wrong doingâ€; 29:6, “He shall hardly receive the half,†in each instance the word is moÌlis, but in the last two instances we seem to see the transition to “scarcelyâ€; compare also ).
The Revised Version has “too hard†for “hidden†(, margin “wonderfulâ€); “hardness†for “boldness†(of face) (); for “sorrow†(); “deal hardly with me†for “make yourselves strong to me†(); omits “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks†(, corrected text); “hardship†for “trouble†().