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Hebrew noun (feminine) · H2723

חׇרְבָּה

chorbahkhor-baw'

desolation

42 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: chorbâh

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H2723is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 9 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 34
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H2723

properly, drought, i.e. (by implication) a desolation

The King James renders it: decayed place, desolate (place, -tion), destruction, (laid) waste (place).

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

chorbah is rendered "desolation". It stands 42 times in the Hebrew text, across nine books.

  • Fourteen of the uses stand in Ezekiel, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Leviticus 26:31I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.
  • The Greek text spells it thirty-four different ways.

The first use

I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.

Leviticus 26:31חָרְבָּ֔ה

The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.

Where the word stands

Fourteen of the word's forty-two uses are in Ezekiel.

The other 30 Old Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • into a ruin5
  • into a desolation4
  • a ruin3
  • ruins3
  • a waste place2
  • into ruins of2
  • ruins of2
  • the waste places2
  • waste places2
  • a desolation1
  • among ruins1
  • and a ruin1

and 14 more, 42 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

All 42, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

34 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • לְחָרְבָּ֖ה3
  • חָרְבָּה֙2
  • חָרְבָּֽה׃2
  • חֳרָב֣וֹת2
  • חָרְב֣וֹת2
  • לְחָרְבָּ֥ה2
  • לְחָרְב֥וֹת2
  • בֶּֽחֳרָבוֹת֙1
  • בָּחֳרָבוֹת֙1
  • בָּחֳרָב֑וֹת1
  • הֶחֳרָב֨וֹת1
  • הֶחֳרָבֽוֹת׃1

and 22 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • preposition + noun · feminine singular9HR/Ncfsa
  • noun · feminine singular6HNcfsa
  • noun · feminine plural5HNcfpa
  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)3HNcfpc
  • preposition + noun · feminine plural3HR/Ncfpa
  • preposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)3HR/Ncfpc
  • the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine plural2HTd/Ncfpa
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)1HC/Ncfpc
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singular1HC/Ncfpc/Sp3fs
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singular1HC/Ncfsa
  • conjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)1HC/R/Ncfpc
  • conjunction (“and”) + preposition with the article + noun · feminine plural1HC/Rd/Ncfpa

Leviticus

two uses
  • I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.

    Leviticus 26:31

    • חָרְבָּ֔הcharbahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a waste place
  • But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.

    Leviticus 26:33

    • חָרְבָּֽה׃charbahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a waste place

Ezra

one use
  • Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

    Ezra 9:9

    • חָרְבֹתָ֔יוcharevotavnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: ruins its

Job

one use
  • with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves cities now in ruins,

    Job 3:14

    • חֳרָב֣וֹתchoravotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: ruins

Psalms

three uses
  • The enemy has come to eternal ruin, and You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has vanished.

    Psalms 9:6

    • חֳרָב֗וֹתchoravotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: ruins
  • I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.

    Psalms 102:6

    • חֳרָבֽוֹת׃choravotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: waste places
  • May his children wander as beggars, seeking sustenance far from their ruined homes.

    Psalms 109:10

    • מֵחָרְבוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃mecharevoteihempreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: away from ruins their

Isaiah

nine uses
  • Lambs will graze as in their own pastures, and strangers will feed in the ruins of the wealthy.

    Isaiah 5:17

    • וְחָרְב֥וֹתvecharevotconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and ruins of
  • who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’

    Isaiah 44:26

    • וְחָרְבוֹתֶ֖יהָvecharevoteihaconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: and ruins its
  • They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out.

    Isaiah 48:21

    • בָּחֳרָבוֹת֙bochoravotpreposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: in waste places
  • For your ruined and desolate places and your ravaged land will now indeed be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.

    Isaiah 49:19

    • חָרְבֹתַ֙יִךְ֙charevotayikhnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: waste places your
  • For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.

    Isaiah 51:3

    • חָרְבֹתֶ֔יהָcharevoteihanoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person feminine singulartagged: waste places its
  • Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.

    Isaiah 52:9

    • חָרְב֖וֹתcharevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: O waste places of
  • Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.

    Isaiah 58:12

    • חָרְב֣וֹתcharevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: ruins of
  • They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

    Isaiah 61:4

    • חָרְב֣וֹתcharevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: ruins of
  • Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.

    Isaiah 64:11

    • לְחָרְבָּֽה׃lecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a ruin

Jeremiah

ten uses
  • I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”

    Jeremiah 7:34

    • לְחָרְבָּ֖הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a desolation
  • But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”

    Jeremiah 22:5

    • לְחָרְבָּ֥הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a ruin
  • behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.

    Jeremiah 25:9

    • וּלְחָרְב֖וֹתulecharevotconjunction (“and”) + preposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: and into ruins of
  • And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

    Jeremiah 25:11

    • לְחָרְבָּ֖הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a desolation
  • to make them a ruin, an object of horror and contempt and cursing, as they are to this day—Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials;

    Jeremiah 25:18

    • לְחָרְבָּ֧הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a ruin
  • Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?

    Jeremiah 27:17

    • חָרְבָּֽה׃charebahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a ruin
  • “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You have seen all the disaster that I brought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, they lie today in ruins and desolation

    Jeremiah 44:2

    • חָרְבָּה֙charebahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a ruin
  • Therefore My wrath and anger poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so that they have become the desolate ruin they are today.

    Jeremiah 44:6

    • לְחָרְבָּ֥הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a ruin
  • So the LORD could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

    Jeremiah 44:22

    • לְחָרְבָּ֨הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a desolation
  • For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.”

    Jeremiah 49:13

    • לְחָרְב֥וֹתlecharevotpreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: into ruins of

Ezekiel

fourteen uses
  • I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.

    Ezekiel 5:14

    • לְחָרְבָּ֣הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a ruin
  • Your prophets, O Israel, are like foxes among the ruins.

    Ezekiel 13:4

    • בָּחֳרָב֑וֹתbochoravotpreposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: among ruins
  • therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

    Ezekiel 25:13

    • חָרְבָּה֙charebahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a desolation
  • then I will bring you down with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the earth below like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or set in splendor in the land of the living.

    Ezekiel 26:20

    • כָּחֳרָב֤וֹתkochoravotpreposition + noun · feminine pluraltagged: like waste places
  • The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’

    Ezekiel 29:9

    • וְחָרְבָּ֔הvecharebahconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine singulartagged: and a ruin
  • therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.

    Ezekiel 29:10

    • לְחָרְבוֹת֙lecharevotpreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: into ruins of
  • “Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’

    Ezekiel 33:24

    • הֶחֳרָב֨וֹתhechoravotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the waste places
  • Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.

    Ezekiel 33:27

    • בֶּֽחֳרָבוֹת֙bechoravotpreposition with the article + noun · feminine pluraltagged: in the waste places
  • I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become a desolation. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

    Ezekiel 35:4

    • חָרְבָּ֣הcharebahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a ruin
  • therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become a spoil and a mockery to the rest of the nations around you.

    Ezekiel 36:4

    • וְלֶחֳרָב֤וֹתvelechoravotconjunction (“and”) + preposition with the article + noun · feminine pluraltagged: and to the waste places
  • I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.

    Ezekiel 36:10

    • וְהֶחֳרָב֖וֹתvehechoravotconjunction (“and”) + the definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: and the waste places
  • This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be resettled and the ruins to be rebuilt.

    Ezekiel 36:33

    • הֶחֳרָבֽוֹת׃hechoravotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the waste places
  • After a long time you will be summoned. In the latter years you will enter a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and all now dwell securely.

    Ezekiel 38:8

    • לְחָרְבָּ֖הlecharebahpreposition + noun · feminine singulartagged: into a desolation
  • in order to seize the spoil and carry off the plunder, to turn a hand against the desolate places now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and possessions and who live at the center of the land.’

    Ezekiel 38:12

    • חֳרָב֣וֹתchoravotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: waste places

Daniel

one use
  • in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

    Daniel 9:2

    • לְחָרְב֥וֹתlecharevotpreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: to ruins of

Malachi

one use
  • Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.

    Malachi 1:4

    • חֳרָב֔וֹתchoravotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: ruins

The letters

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESH gloss (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →