Original Word: סוּג
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: cuwg
Pronunciation: soog
Phonetic Spelling: (soog)
KJV: backslider, drive, go back, turn (away, back)
NASB: turned, move, turned back, turn, backslider, drawing, moves
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to flinch
2. (by implication) to go back, literally (to retreat) or figuratively (to apostatize)

backslider, drive, go back, turn away, back

A primitive root; properly, to flinch, i.e. (by implication) to go back, literally (to retreat) or figuratively (to apostatize) -- backslider, drive, go back, turn (away, back).

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to move away, backslide
NASB Translation
backslider (1), drawing (1), move (4), moves (1), remove (1), turn (2), turn back (1), turned (8), turned aside (1), turned back (3), turning away (1).

Semantic Scope

סוּג portrays the deliberate action of turning back, retreating, withdrawing, or apostatizing. Whether applied to hostile armies, fickle friends, or covenant-breaking worshipers, the verb always signals motion away from God’s intended direction.

Old Testament Distribution

The fourteen occurrences span Psalms (9), Proverbs (1), Isaiah (2), Jeremiah (2), and Zephaniah (1). Poetry, wisdom, and prophecy thus unite in warning against every form of retreat—military, relational, or spiritual.

Moral and Spiritual Dimensions

Psalm 53:3 equates the act with universal depravity: “All have turned away, all alike have become corrupt”. Proverbs 14:14 personalizes it: “The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his own ways.” Both texts expose סוּג as chiefly a heart issue whose visible manifestations merely reveal an inner rupture of loyalty.

National Implications for Israel

Psalm 78:57 diagnoses Israel’s wilderness generation: “They turned back and were faithless like their fathers, twisted like a faulty bow.” The nation’s later exile proves the same pattern (Zephaniah 1:6). Yet hope remains: “Then we will not turn away from You; revive us” (Psalm 80:18). Restoration is possible when God’s reviving grace arrests the drift.

Personal Warfare and the Enemies of the Psalmist

David’s imprecatory petitions leverage סוּג against persecutors:
• “May those who seek my life be disgraced… may those who plan to harm me be driven back” (Psalm 35:4).
• “May those who wish me harm be driven back and humiliated” (Psalm 70:2).

The term thus functions as a covenantal reversal—enemies who force the righteous to retreat are themselves made to retreat by divine intervention.

Prophetic Calls to Fidelity

Isaiah 42:17 condemns idolaters: “They will be turned back and utterly put to shame—those who trust in idols.” Conversely, the Servant of the Lord declares, “I have not been rebellious, nor have I turned back” (Isaiah 50:5), modeling steadfast obedience amid suffering.

Wisdom Literature Insight

Proverbs 14:14 compresses the theology of סוּג into a maxim: departure from God fills a person with his own “fruit.” Apostasy is its own punishment long before external judgment falls.

Ministry Implications for Today

1. Shepherding: Pastors guard against subtle drift by constant exhortation (Hebrews 3:12–13 echoes the motif).
2. Discipleship: Believers are urged to emulate Christ’s unwavering forward march (Luke 9:62).
3. Corporate Liturgy: Confessional prayers may invoke Psalm 80:18, pairing repentance with plea for revival.
4. Evangelism: Humanity’s universal “turning away” (Psalm 53:3) underscores the necessity of the gospel.

Christological Perspective and Covenant Faithfulness

Where Israel retreated, Jesus advanced. His resolve in Isaiah 50:5 finds narrative fulfillment as He “set His face toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). At the cross He absorbed the curse reserved for covenant breakers and secured grace that empowers perseverance (Philippians 3:12–14).

Intertextual Echoes in the New Testament

Greek verbs ἀναχωρέω (Matthew 2:14), ὑποστρέφω (Acts 13:13), and ἀποστρέφω (2 Timothy 4:4) mirror סוּג. Hebrews 10:38 reverses the threat by faith: “My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”

In sum, סוּג warns, judges, and yet invites. The God who exposes every retreat also grants reviving grace, securing a people who will “never turn back” from following the Lord.

הַנְּסוֹגִ֖ים הנסוגים וְיִסֹּ֣גוּ וַיִּסֹּ֣גוּ ויסגו יִסֹּ֣גוּ יסגו נְסֹגִ֣ים נְסוּגֹֽתִי׃ נָס֣וֹג נָס֥וֹג נָסֹ֤גוּ נָסֹ֥גוּ נסגו נסגים נסוג נסוגתי׃ ס֣וּג סָג֮ סג סוג han·nə·sō·w·ḡîm hannesoGim hannəsōwḡîm nā·sō·ḡū nā·sō·wḡ naSog naSogu nāsōḡū nāsōwḡ nə·sō·ḡîm nə·sū·ḡō·ṯî nesoGim nəsōḡîm nesuGoti nəsūḡōṯî sag sāḡ sug sūḡ vaiyisSogu veyisSogu way·yis·sō·ḡū wayyissōḡū wə·yis·sō·ḡū wəyissōḡū yis·sō·ḡū yisSogu yissōḡūInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts