Do you hear what I hear?

We can hear in so many ways if we look to the original Greek translation of the word each time it is applied in the bible. As I've said before - so much is lost in translation.

Akoe - the act of hearing, the sense of hearing, the thing heard, give audience to, give fame to, that which you heard or are hearing being preached, reported or rumored. (Eg. used in Romans 10:17)

Akouo - to come and hear, to be reported to, to understand (Eg. used in Mark 7:16, Matthew 13:18)

Shama - to hear and be given knowledge to (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.) (Eg. used in Isaiah 42:18, Psalm 115:6, Prov 23:19, Psalm 143:8)

When you know which term for hearing was used, you come to understand what sort of hearing was being described to you or demanded of you in each passage. =)

I will usually use bible.cc and its Lexicon to check the original meanings of words in the bible. =) I find it most helpful to read in the context of the actual Scriptures instead of the translation and bible.cc allows you to do this for free, and with ease, on their website.