BURDEN

A weight or load, on body or soul; often used figuratively, to denote afflictions, failings, sins, Ps 38:4 55:22 Ga 6:2; services under law, Mt 23:4; official responsibilities, Ex 18:22 De 1:12; and especially prophetic messages, not always of a threatening character, Isa 19:1. In this last sense the Hebrew word may be rendered "oracle," "divine declaration," or "prophecy," as in Pr 31:31,1.

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Burden. Burden
(1.) A load of any kind (Ex. 23:5). (2.) A severe task (Ex. 2:11). (3.) A difficult duty, requiring effort (Ex. 18:22). (4.) A prophecy of a calamitous or disastrous nature (Isa. 13:1; 17:1; Hab. 1:1, etc.).

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BURDEN. → FIGURATIVE
* Of oppressions Isa 58:6; Mt 23:4; Lu 11:46; Ga 6:2
* Of the prophetic message Isa 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1

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of prophecy 2Ki 9:25, Isa 13:1; 14:28; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 23:1; Zec 12:1; Mal 1:1 --SEE Prophetic Vision, REVELATIONS

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burden. Burden, v.t. to load, encumber, lay upon, oppress

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Bur″den (bû″d'n), n. [Written also burthen.] [[OE. burden, burthen, birthen, birden, AS. byrðen; akin to Icel. byrði, Dan. byrde, Sw. börda, G. bürde, OHG. burdi, Goth. baúrþei, fr. the root of E. bear, AS. beran, Goth. bairan. √92. See 1st Bear.]] 1. 1. That which is borne or carried; a load.
Plants with goodly burden bowing. Shak. 2. 2. That which is borne with labor or difficulty; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.
Deaf, giddy, helpless, left alone, To all my friends a burden grown. Swift. 3. 3. The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry; as, a ship of a hundred tons burden.
4. 4. (Mining) The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
5. 5. (Metal.) The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace. Raymond.
6. 6. A fixed quantity of certain commodities; as, a burden of gad steel, 120 pounds.
7. 7. A birth. Shak.
Beast of burden, an animal employed in carrying burdens. — Burden of proof [[L. onus probandi]] (Law), the duty of proving a particular position in a court of law, a failure in the performance of which duty calls for judgment against the party on whom the duty is imposed. Syn. — Burden, Load. A burden is, in the literal sense, a weight to be borne; a load is something laid upon us to be carried. Hence, when used figuratively, there is usually a difference between the two words. Our burdens may be of such a nature that we feel bound to bear them cheerfully or without complaint. They may arise from the nature of our situation; they may be allotments of Providence; they may be the consequences of our errors. What is upon us, as a load, we commonly carry with greater reluctance or sense of oppression. Men often find the charge of their own families to be a burden; but if to this be added a load of care for others, the pressure is usually serve and irksome.