Shâv' (שַׁו, Strong's #7723), “deceit; deception; malice; falsity; vanity; emptiness.” The 53 occurrences of shâv' are primarily in poetry. The basic meaning of this word is “deceit” or “deception,” “malice,” and “falsehood.” This meaning emerges when shâv' is used in a legal context: “Put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness” (Exod. 23:1). Used in cultic contexts, the word bears these same overtones but may be rendered variously. For example, in Ps. 31:6 the word may be rendered “vain” (KJV, “lying”), in the sense of “deceitful” (cf. Ezek. 12:24). Eliphaz described the ungodly as those who trust in “emptiness” or “deception,” though they gain nothing but emptiness as a reward for that trust (Job 15:31).