Word Study for H4712 (מֵצַר) | Strong's Concordance

mêtsar /may-tsar'/ Ask about this word

Meaningsomething tight, i.e. (figuratively) trouble

KJV usagedistress, pain, strait.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of mêtsar — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word mêtsar, represented by H4712, conveys a state of being in a tight place. It is defined as distress, pain, or a strait, and appears 3 times across 3 unique verses. The term figuratively and literally describes a condition of severe constriction, trouble, and anguish from which escape seems impossible.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its biblical usage, H4712 illustrates moments of extreme crisis. The psalmist uses it to describe the feeling of being cornered before calling out to God, testifying, "I called upon the LORD in distress" Psalms 118:5. In Lamentations, it depicts the inescapable plight of Judah during its fall, where "all her persecutors overtook her between the straits" Lamentations 1:3. The term is also linked to the finality of mortality, where the "pains of hell gat hold upon me" Psalms 116:3, associating it with the sorrows of death and the grave.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help clarify the scope of H4712:

H6869 tsârâh (trouble): This word, from a related root, also means tightness or adversity and appears alongside H4712 to describe a state of being beset by "trouble and sorrow" Psalms 116:3.
H4800 merchâb (large place): This term for enlargement or an open space is used as a direct contrast to the confinement of H4712. Deliverance is described as being set in a large place Psalms 118:5.
H2256 chebel (sorrow): Often translated as a cord, pang, or sorrow, this word is paired with H4712 to describe the "sorrows of death" that have compassed the psalmist Psalms 116:3.
H7585 shᵉʼôwl (hell): This term for the grave or world of the dead is the location of the "pains" described by H4712, highlighting a state of ultimate constriction Psalms 116:3.

Theological Significance

The theological significance of H4712 is focused on the human condition of distress and the nature of divine rescue.

The Catalyst for Prayer: Distress, as described by H4712, is consistently shown to be a state that provokes a cry to God. It is from this "tight place" that the psalmist calls upon the Lord Psalms 118:5.
The Reality of Anguish: The word powerfully illustrates the reality of suffering, whether it is the desolation of a nation in exile Lamentations 1:3 or the personal agony of facing death Psalms 116:3.
Deliverance into Liberty: The use of H4712 in Psalms 118:5 is immediately followed by God's response: He answered and set the psalmist in a "large place" H4800. This establishes a clear theological pattern of deliverance from constriction to freedom.

Summary

In summary, H4712 is a concise and potent term for severe distress. Though used sparingly, it effectively paints a picture of being trapped, whether by enemies, circumstances, or the finality of the grave. Its primary function in scripture is to establish the dire situation from which God's deliverance provides a path to a "large place" of freedom and rest, demonstrating a foundational theme of rescue from trouble.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 3 occurrences, inflected in 3 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

מְּצָרִים
מְצָרֵי
מֵּצַר

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 3 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Psalms (2 verses); never once in the other 37.

Psalms

Lamentations

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.