Bible Dictionary: Decay

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (v. i.) To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state, to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay.

2. (v. t.) To cause to decay; to impair.

3. (v. t.) To destroy.

4. (n.) Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection; tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption; rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire; a castle in decay.

5. (n.) Destruction; death.

6. (n.) Cause of decay.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

DECAY

de-ka': Although this word is still in good use in both its literal sense, of the putrefaction of either animal or vegetable matter, and its derived sense, denoting any deterioration, decline or gradual failure, the Revised Version (British and American) has replaced it by other expressions in Leviticus 25:35 Ecclesiastes 10:18 Isaiah 44:26 Hebrews 8:13; in some of these cases with a gain in accuracy of translation. In Nehemiah 4:10 (kashal, "to be feeble," "stumble") the Revised Version (British and American) retains "is decayed"; in Job 14:11 (charebh, "to be dried up") the American Standard Revised Version substitutes "wasteth," and in John 11:39 the American Standard Revised Version has "the body decayeth" instead of the more literal translation offensive to modern ears (ozei, "emits a smell").

F. K. Farr

Greek

1312. diaphthora -- destruction, corruption
... Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: diaphthora Phonetic Spelling:
(dee-af-thor-ah') Short Definition: destruction, decay, corruption Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1312.htm - 6k

5356. phthora -- destruction, corruption
... Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: phthora Phonetic Spelling:
(fthor-ah') Short Definition: corruption, destruction, decay Definition: corruption ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5356.htm - 7k

3822. palaioo -- to make or declare old
... decay, make obsolete. From palaios; to make (passively, become) worn out, or
declare obsolete -- decay, make (wax) old. see GREEK palaios. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3822.htm - 6k

1311. diaphtheiro -- to destroy utterly, to spoil, corrupt
... Unger, White (, 130), "1311 () comes from , 'through,' 'intensive,' to corrupt utterly,
through and through." The noun form, 1312 (), likewise means " decay."]. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1311.htm - 8k

861. aphtharsia -- incorruptibility
... Cognate: 861 -- properly, no-corruption (unable to experience deterioration); (not
perishable), ie lacking the to decay or break down. See 862a (). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/861.htm - 7k

599. apothnesko -- to die
... apothnesko Phonetic Spelling: (ap-oth-nace'-ko) Short Definition: I am dying, am
about to die Definition: I am dying, am about to die, wither, decay. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/599.htm - 9k

5355. phthonos -- envy
... 5355 (a primitive word, perhaps akin to 5351 , "decay, break-down, corrupt") --
properly, strong feeling (desire) that , due to the influence of sin ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5355.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

7538. raqab -- rottenness, decay
... rottenness, decay. Transliteration: raqab Phonetic Spelling: (raw-kawb') Short
Definition: rottenness. ... From raqab; decay (by caries) -- rottenness (thing). ...
/hebrew/7538.htm - 6k

7539. riqqabon -- rottenness, decay
... rottenness, decay. Transliteration: riqqabon Phonetic Spelling: (rik-kaw-bone')
Short Definition: rotten. ... rotten. From raqab; decay (by caries) -- rotten. ...
/hebrew/7539.htm - 6k

4743. maqaq -- to decay, rot, fester, pine away
... 4742, 4743. maqaq. 4744 . to decay, rot, fester, pine away. Transliteration:
maqaq Phonetic Spelling: (maw-kak') Short Definition: rot. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/4743.htm - 6k

4716. maq -- decay, rottenness
... 4715, 4716. maq. 4717 . decay, rottenness. Transliteration: maq Phonetic
Spelling: (mak) Short Definition: putrefaction. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/4716.htm - 6k

2717. charab -- to be dry or dried up
... 2716, 2717. charab. 2717a . to be dry or dried up. Transliteration: charab
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-rab') Short Definition: decay. ...
/hebrew/2717.htm - 5k

3589. kid -- probably misfortune
... 3588, 3589. kid. 3590 . probably misfortune. Transliteration: kid Phonetic
Spelling: (keed) Short Definition: decay. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/3589.htm - 5k

4355. makak -- to be low or humiliated
... be brought low, decay. A primitive root; to tumble (in ruins); figuratively, to
perish -- be brought low, decay. 4354, 4355. makak. 4356 . Strong's Numbers
/hebrew/4355.htm - 6k

4131. mot -- to totter, shake, slip
... be carried, cast, be out of course, be fallen in decay, exceedingly, falling
down. A primitive root; to waver; by implication, to ...
/hebrew/4131.htm - 6k

1086. balah -- to become old, wear out
... A primitive root; to fail; by implication to wear out, decay (causatively, consume,
spend) -- consume, enjoy long, become (make, wax) old, spend, waste. ...
/hebrew/1086.htm - 6k

7843. shachath -- perhaps to go to ruin
... A primitive root; to decay, ie (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively) --
batter, cast off, corrupt(-er, thing), destroy(-er, -uction), lose, mar, perish ...
/hebrew/7843.htm - 6k

Library

The Swift Decay of Love
... THE BOOK OF EXODUS THE SWIFT DECAY OF LOVE. 'And Moses turned, and went
down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/the swift decay of love.htm

The Case of Spiritual Decay and Languor in Religion
... THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF RELIGION IN THE SOUL. CHAPTER XXII. THE CASE OF
SPIRITUAL DECAY AND LANGUOR IN RELIGION. 1. Declension in ...
/.../the rise and progress of religion in the soul/chapter xxii the case of.htm

Decay of Charles the Great's Empire (Ad 814-887)
... PART II CHAPTER V: DECAY OF CHARLES THE GREAT'S EMPIRE (AD 814-887). Lewis,
the son of Charles the Great, was a prince who had very ...
/.../chapter v decay of charles.htm

Spanish Conquest-The Propagation, Decay, and Downfall of Spanish ...
... A HISTORY OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY. CHAPTER II. SPANISH CONQUEST-THE
PROPAGATION, DECAY, AND DOWNFALL OF SPANISH CHRISTIANITY. IT ...
/.../chapter ii spanish conquest-the propagation.htm

The Body Dies; the Soul Suffers no Decay.
... ORIGINAL HYMNS HYMN CCXXIII. The Body dies; the Soul suffers no Decay. 8.8.8.8
James Montgomery. The Body dies; the Soul suffers no Decay. ...
/.../montgomery/sacred poems and hymns/hymn ccxxiii the body dies.htm

That the Sole Cause of the Decay and Cooling of Charity is in the ...
... BOOK IV. OF THE DECAY AND RUIN OF CHARITY. CHAPTER V. THAT THE SOLE CAUSE OF
THE DECAY AND COOLING OF CHARITY IS IN THE CREATURE'S WILL. ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter v that the sole.htm

The Secret of Immortal Youth
... So, then, my object is simply to deal with these two forecasts which my text presents;
the one a dreary certainty of weariness and decay, the other a blessed ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the secret of immortal youth.htm

The Grave in a Garden
... I. A symbol of death and decay as interwoven with all nature and every
joy. We think of Eden and the first coming of death. The ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture st john chaps xv to xxi/the grave in a garden.htm

Wesley's Reasons for his Long Life
... I find likewise some decay in my memory, with regard to names and things lately
past; but not at all with regard to what I have read or heard twenty, forty, or ...
/.../wesley/the journal of john wesley/wesleys reasons for his long.htm

Hymn for the Burial of the Dead
... Then shall the body, that hath lain And turned to dust in slow decay, On
airy wings be borne away And join its ancient soul again. ...
/.../prudentius/the hymns of prudentius/x hymn for the burial.htm

Thesaurus

Decay (18 Occurrences)
... or dissolution; to waste away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or
disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay...
/d/decay.htm - 13k

Rot (15 Occurrences)
... chemical changes, giving off usually in some stages of the process more or less
offensive odors; to become decomposed by a natural process; to putrefy; to decay...
/r/rot.htm - 13k

Undergo (91 Occurrences)
... you? (BBE). Acts 2:27 For Thou wilt not leave me in the Unseen World forsaken,
nor give up Thy holy One to undergo decay. (WEY NAS). ...
/u/undergo.htm - 34k

Decayed (7 Occurrences)
... & pp) of Decay. ... Acts 13:36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the
counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay. ...
/d/decayed.htm - 8k

Leaf (20 Occurrences)
... There are numerous allusions to leaves, their flourishing, their decay, and their
restoration (Leviticus 26:36; Isaiah 34:4; Jeremiah 8:13; Dan. ...
/l/leaf.htm - 16k

Ruin (135 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) That which is fallen down and become worthless from injury or decay; as,
his mind is a ruin; especially, in the plural, the remains of a destroyed ...
/r/ruin.htm - 37k

Unseen (18 Occurrences)
... them. (YLT). Acts 2:27 For Thou wilt not leave me in the Unseen World forsaken,
nor give up Thy holy One to undergo decay. (WEY). ...
/u/unseen.htm - 11k

Underwent (22 Occurrences)
... (WEY). Acts 13:36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel
of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay. (See NAS). ...
/u/underwent.htm - 12k

Waste (668 Occurrences)
... injury. 7. (v.) To damage, impair, or injure, as an estate, voluntarily, or
by suffering the buildings, fences, etc., to go to decay. 8 ...
/w/waste.htm - 37k

Fail (130 Occurrences)
... unprovided; -- used with of. 3. (vi) To fall away; to become diminished;
to decline; to decay; to sink. 4. (vi) To deteriorate in ...
/f/fail.htm - 43k

Bible Concordance

Decay (18 Occurrences)

Acts 2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
(WEB WEY NAS NIV)

Acts 2:31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his flesh see decay.
(WEB WEY NAS NIV)

Acts 13:34 And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, never again to be in the position of one soon to return to decay, He speaks thus: 'I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.'
(WEY NAS NIV)

Acts 13:35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,'You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.'
(WEB WEY NAS NIV)

Acts 13:36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.
(WEB WEY NAS NIV)

Acts 13:37 But he whom God raised up saw no decay.
(WEB WEY NAS NIV)

Romans 8:21 that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.
(WEB WEY RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 15:42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in a state of decay, it is raised free from decay;
(WEY)

1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sounding of the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incapable of decay, and *we* shall be changed.
(WEY)

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we don't faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.
(Root in WEB ASV YLT NAS)

Leviticus 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
(KJV DBY WBS)

Job 21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction. Let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
(See NAS)

Psalms 16:10 For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.
(See NAS NIV)

Psalms 49:9 That he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption.
(See NAS NIV)

Psalms 49:14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion.
(WEB NIV)

Proverbs 12:4 A woman of virtue is a crown to her husband; but she whose behaviour is a cause of shame is like a wasting disease in his bones.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 5:24 For this cause, as the waste of the grain is burned up by tongues of fire, and as the dry grass goes down before the flame, so their root will be like the dry stems of grain, and their flower will go up in dust: because they have gone against the law of the Lord of armies, and have given no honour to the word of the Holy One of Israel.
(See NIV)

Habakkuk 3:16 I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the coming up of the people who invade us.
(See NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Decay

Related Terms

Rot (15 Occurrences)

Undergo (91 Occurrences)

Decayed (7 Occurrences)

Leaf (20 Occurrences)

Ruin (135 Occurrences)

Unseen (18 Occurrences)

Underwent (22 Occurrences)

Waste (668 Occurrences)

Fail (130 Occurrences)