עוון
The Hebrew word avon means ‘guilt.’
According to the New American Standard Bible, iniquity is found 192 times in the Hebrew Scriptures; guilt 172 time in the Complete Jewish Bible. It is iniquity in the heart that causes sinful behavior. After King David sinned with Bat Sheva, he was so grieved with his guilt and the iniquity in his heart that he asked Adonai not to take His Holy Spirit from him. Yeshua taught that lust (iniquity in the heart) births the sin of adultery; anger (iniquity in the heart) births the sin of murder. There is double punishment for iniquity that not only includes guilt, but also the punishment that comes from being guilty.
“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity [guilt] And cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2).
“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity [guilt] of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me …” (Deuteronomy 5:9).
“We all, like sheep, went astray; we turned, each one, to his own way; yet Adonai laid on him the guilt [iniquity] of all of us” (Isaiah 53:6).
“But he repays them as their guilt [iniquity] deserves; he will cut them off with their own evil; Adonai our God will cut them off” (Psalm 94:23).
Hebrew Word Pictures
א Ayin – An Eye and means ‘see’ or ‘understand.’
ו Vav – A Nail and means ‘binding.’
ו Vav – A Nail and means ‘binding.’
ן Nun – A Fish and means ‘life.’
The Hebrew Word Picture for avon: understand the binding bondage in life.
In Greek, the word for iniquity is anomia, the same word for ‘lawless’ or without the commands of God. The commands of God are found in Torah, the first five books of the Bible.
“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you! you taught in our streets!’ and he will tell you, ‘I don’t know where you’re from. Get away from me, all you workers of wickedness [anomia, lawlessness]!’ You will cry and grind your teeth when you see Avraham, Yitz’chak, Ya‘akov and all the prophets inside the Kingdom of God, but yourselves thrown outside. (Luke 13:27) Complete Jewish Bible
“And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity [lawless]; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell” (James 3:6) New American Standard Version
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