Topic
Sure; Surely
21 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 2:17ISBE
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
- Genesis 9:5ISBE
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
- Genesis 15:13ISBE
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
- Genesis 22:17ISBE
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- Genesis 28:16ISBE
¶ And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
- Exodus 3:19ISBE
¶ And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
- Deuteronomy 12:23ISBE
Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
- 1 Samuel 2:35ISBE
And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
- Proverbs 6:3ISBE
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
- Proverbs 10:9ISBE
He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
- Proverbs 11:15ISBE
He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure.
- Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 40:25ISBE
Gold and silver make the foot stand sure: but counsel is esteemed above them both.
Show 9 more
- Matthew 26:73 ISBE
- Luke 1:1 ISBE
- Luke 4:23 ISBE
- Luke 10:11 ISBE
- Acts 13:34 ISBE
- Acts 17:9 ISBE
- Romans 2:2 ISBE
- Hebrews 7:22 ISBE
- Revelation 22:20 ISBE
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 22 references
shoor, shoor'-li: In modern English is used chiefly in the phrases "to be sure" or "to make sure," and as a simple adjective it is usually either archaic or exceedingly colloquial. The adjectival use, however, is common (chiefly for 'aman, "to confirm," and its derivatives) in English Versions of the Bible, where modern English would prefer "secure" or "certain" (1Sa 2:35; /RAPC Sir 40:25; Ac 13:34, etc.). "To be sure that" is also fairly common in the King James Version, and occasionally (as in De 12:23, "Be sure that thou eat not the blood," for chazaq, "to be firm") it has rather more emphasis than in modern English. But usually the phrase is a mere periphrasis for some word meaning "to know" (compare the Revised Version (British and American) Ex 3:19; Lu 10:11; Ro 2:2, etc.). In Pr 6:3, the King James Version has "Make sure thy friend" for rahabh, "be boisterous" "beset" the Revised Version (British and American) "importune." The sense is "Force him to pay his debt."
Surely in English Versions of the Bible is used almost always to qualify an entire phrase, as in Ge 28:16, "Surely Yahweh is in this place." In modern English "surely" used in this way suggests that the statement is being argued and is therefore slightly doubtful, but in Elizabethan English the purpose is to exclude all doubt ("beyond question"). With this force the King James Version uses "surely" to translate almost any emphatic form, and the Revised Version (British and American) has conformed to AV's use, and such changes as have been made by the Revised Version (British and American) (Mt 26:73; Lu 4:23; Re 22:20, etc.) are merely to preserve uniformity of rendition. The most common use of "surely" in this sense is to translate a verb when emphasized by its own part. (absolute inf. in Hebrew), as "Thou shalt, surely die" (Ge 2:17) for "dying thou shalt die" (compare Ge 22:17 for the Hebrew construction). In this sense "surely" is sometimes varied by "of a surety" (Ge 15:13, etc.) without the slightest difference in meaning (compare Ge 9:5 and 26:9). In addition "surely" is used occasionally as a simple adverb where modern English would prefer "securely" or "certainly" (compare Pr 10:9 and the King James Version Lu 1:1, "surely believed," the Revised Version (British and American) "fulfilled," the Revised Version margin "fully established").
Surety, besides its use in "of a surety" appears, in the Old Testament to translate `arabh, "to be surety," and in Heb 7:22 for egguos, "guarantor," "giver of security." Modern English prefers "security," as does even the King James Version in Ac 17:9. "Suretiship" (the American Standard Revised Version "suretyship") in Proverbs 11:15 for taqa`, "to strike (hands)."
Burton Scott Easton
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.