H7423b H7423b
slackness, negligence, laxity — idle carelessness in work or duty
Drawn from the root meaning 'to be slack,' this noun appears in Proverbs and once in Jeremiah to describe the moral failing of laziness and negligence. In Proverbs it characterizes a 'slack hand' that produces poverty (10:4), a negligent person destined for forced labor (12:24), and a torpid appetite (19:15). Jeremiah 48:10 uses it in its most severe context: performing the Lord's work 'with slackness' invites a curse. The Spanish split between 'negligencia' and 'engano' reflects the word's range from mere laziness to culpable dereliction, while French 'tromperie' hints at how negligence shades into deceit.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Slackness, negligence, and idle laxity in the execution of work or responsibility. In Proverbs, it appears as the defining trait of the sluggard — the 'slack hand' (kaf remiyyah, Prov 10:4) contrasted with diligent hands, and the negligent soul sinking into deep sleep (19:15). Jeremiah 48:10 elevates the stakes dramatically: doing God's work remiyyah merits a curse. Spanish oscillates between 'negligencia' and 'engano,' and French uses 'tromperie,' suggesting that in Hebrew moral imagination, habitual slackness becomes a form of self-deception or even fraud. 5×
AR["بِتَرَاخٍ", "رَخاوَةٍ", "رَخْوَةٍ", "كَسولٌ", "وَ-رَخاوَةٌ"]·ben["অলসতা", "অলসভাবে", "অলসের", "এবং-অলসতা", "প্রতারক"]·DE["[ורמיה]", "[רמיה]"]·EN["but-the-slothful", "idle", "negligently", "slack", "the-slothful"]·FR["[רמיה]", "et-tromperie", "tromperie"]·heb["ו-רמייה", "רמיה", "רמייה"]·HI["आलसी", "और-आलसी", "धोखे-का", "धोखे-से", "धोखेबाज"]·ID["dengan-lalai", "kemalasan", "pemalas", "tetapi-kemalasan", "yang-malas"]·IT["[רמיה]", "e-ma-il-slothful", "idle", "il-slothful", "slack"]·jav["kang-kèsèd", "kesèd", "lan-kang-kèsèd", "mawi-sembrana", "tiyang-kèsèd"]·KO["게으르게-", "그러나-속이는-것-은", "나태한", "속이는", "속이는-것-이"]·PT["de-enganosa", "e-enganosa", "engano", "negligentemente"]·RU["а-нерадивость", "небрежно", "нерадивая", "нерадивый", "обманчивую"]·ES["con-negligencia", "engaño", "negligente", "perezoso", "y-pereza"]·SW["kwa-uzembe", "lakini-wavivu", "mvivu", "wa-udanganyifu", "ya-ulegevu"]·TR["gevşeklikle", "tembel", "tembellik", "ve-tembellik"]·urd["اور-سست", "دھوکے-باز", "سست", "سستی-سے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. רְמִיָּה n.f. laxness, slackness;—always abs. ר׳;—כַּף ר׳ Pr 10:4 slack (negligent, idle) hand (opp. יַד חָרוּצִים); ר׳ alone = slackness (abstr. for concr. = one who is slack) 12:24 (‖ id.), v 27 (v. חרך); נֶפֶשׁ ר׳ 19:15 (‖ עַצְלָה); as adv. עֹשֶׁה מְלֶאכֶת י׳ רְמִיָּה Je 48:10.