עָוַת (a.vat)
a.vat
to pervert
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 10 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb avat describes something that is bent, crooked, or twisted out of its proper shape. In Scripture, it moves beyond physical distortion to describe moral and legal corruption. When judges or leaders are said to pervert justice, the image is one of twisting a straight path into a crooked one, making right wrong and wrong right.
This word appears ten times in the Old Testament, with significant weight in Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes. In Psalm 10:2, for instance, the wicked are described as boasting because God hides His face while they devour the poor, implying a systemic bending of fairness. The sources highlight that this is not merely an error but an active subversion of what is upright.
Its root conveys the idea of deviation from a standard. Unlike words for simple ignorance, avat implies a willful distortion. Translators often render it as "pervert" or "twist," capturing the sense of something originally straight being deliberately bent to serve a selfish end. The word serves as a stark contrast to the "straight" path of righteousness valued in wisdom literature.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word avat paints a vivid picture of something straight being deliberately bent or twisted out of shape. In the Old Testament, it is most often used to describe the perversion of justice, where leaders twist fairness to serve their own interests. It reminds us that God sees when systems are rigged and when the vulnerable are crushed by dishonest scales.
Yet this word also carries a profound comfort. While human institutions may become crooked and unreliable, Scripture affirms that God does not pervert justice (Job 8:3). He stands as the ultimate standard of what is right. Even when life feels unfair or broken, we can trust that our Creator remains perfectly upright.
This truth invites us to rest in His character rather than demanding immediate correction from a flawed world. We are called to pursue integrity ourselves, knowing that God preserves the cause of those who suffer under injustice (Lamentations 3:36). His justice is not easily twisted, and He remains faithful to defend the weak.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 10 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- does he pervert2×
- to/ subvert1×
- they have subverted/ me1×
- he perverts1×
- he makes crooked1×
- he has wronged/ me1×
- he has bent/ it1×
- and/ to/ falsify1×
- and/ they will bend themselves1×
- [something] bent1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- עִוְּתֽ/וֹ\׃1×
- עִוְּתָ֑/נִי1×
- עִוְּת֑וּ/נִי1×
- מְעֻוָּ֖ת1×
- לְ/עַוֵּ֤ת1×
- יְעַוֵּֽת\׃1×
- יְעַוֵּֽת\־1×
- יְעַוֵּ֥ת1×
- יְעַוֵּ֣ת1×
- וּ/לְ/עַוֵּ֖ת1×
- וְ/הִֽתְעַוְּת֖וּ1×
Key Verses
-
Job 8:3
Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
This verse uses the word to affirm that God’s nature is fundamentally upright, contrasting human corruption with divine perfection.
-
Amos 8:5
saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel large, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;
Here the term describes economic dishonesty, showing how the word applies to twisting measurements and scales for personal gain.
-
Lamentations 3:36
to subvert a man in his cause, the Lord doesn’t approve.
The text states that God does not approve of subverting a person in their cause, highlighting His role as the protector of legal fairness.
-
Ecclesiastes 12:3
in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened,
This occurrence uses the word metaphorically to describe the physical crookedness and decline associated with old age.