שׁוּד (shud)
shud
to waste
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew word shud means to ruin or devastate, appearing only once in the Psalms as a variant form of the more common verb shadad (H7703). In that single instance, it describes the violent destruction of a place or people, conveying a sense of thorough spoiling and waste.
Its root carries a heavy weight of physical devastation rather than abstract loss. The sources link it directly to actions like slaying or assaulting dwellings, emphasizing concrete harm. Translators typically render this intense imagery as "waste" or "ruin," capturing the finality of the damage described in the text.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word shud describes a sudden and total devastation, often occurring in the open or during the day when one might feel most exposed. In Psalm 91:6, it appears alongside pestilence and darkness to list the terrors that can strike without warning. This imagery highlights the fragility of human security and the reality of chaos in a fallen world.
Yet this verse does not leave us in fear. It sets the stage for the promise that follows: those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will not be overcome by such waste. The word reminds us that while destruction is real, it is not the final word for those who trust in God's protection.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [which] it will devastate1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- יָשׁ֥וּד1×
Key Verses
-
Psalms 91:6
nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
This verse uses shud to describe a specific type of daytime destruction that walks openly, contrasting the visible terror with the invisible safety of God's shelter.