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1 Corinthians 9:6 — Word Study

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N1904 μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

BSAOrē [as a matter of choice] onlymonos [alone, solitary] I myselfegō [as apostles] andkai BarnabasBarnabas [son of prophecy] notou haveechō permissionexousia <the>ho not to work?ergazomai [labor, toil, to support ourselves, earn our keep]

Word
Listen & take away1 Corinthians 9
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 6 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (ergazomai) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
1 Corinthians 9:6quick helps
In a sentencePaul questions whether he and Barnabas are the only apostles required to earn a living through work.
Who is speakingThe apostle Paul, addressing the Corinthian church.
Where we areIn a section where Paul discusses the rights of apostles and their need to support themselves.
The hard wordἐξουσία
Take awayPaul emphasizes the expectation for apostles to work for their livelihood.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectμόνος verbἔχω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — , the commonest word in the Greek New Testament, stands 19,867 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — 1 Corinthians 9:6

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — Paul's Rights as an Apostlegenerated

5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
6Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?
7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?
8Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?

1 Corinthians 9:6 is part of a larger discourse where Paul defends his rights as an apostle. He argues that just as other apostles have the right to support themselves through their ministry, he and Barnabas should also be afforded the same privilege. This section highlights the balance between spiritual leadership and practical needs, reflecting a broader theme in Paul's letters about the relationship between faith and everyday life.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Acts 4:36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement),
2Acts 11:22When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
3Acts 13:1–2Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.
4Acts 14:12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
5Acts 15:36–37Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 10 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word ἐξουσία, exousiagenerated

The word ἐξουσίαν (i.e., *exousian*) means 'authority' or 'permission' and is derived from a root meaning 'to be permitted.' It encompasses various forms of power, including the right to act or make decisions. In this context, Paul is questioning whether he and Barnabas have the authority to refrain from working for their living.

This word is significant in the New Testament, often relating to the authority of Jesus and the apostles. It highlights the rights of those in ministry to be supported by their work, which is a recurring theme in Paul's letters.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the phrase used is must work for a living, which aligns with the translations of the KJV and ASV that emphasize the necessity of work. The Young's Literal Translation uses not to work, highlighting the authority aspect.

Where translations diverge is in the rendering of ἐξουσίαν. The KJV and GNV use power, while the ASV and WEB opt for right, showing a difference in interpreting the authority implied in the text.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main clause is governed by the verb ἔχομεν, we have, which establishes the subject of the sentence as Paul and Barnabas. This clause is followed by a noun phrase that serves as the object, ἐξουσίαν, authority, and an infinitive phrase that describes what they are questioning: ἐργάζεσθαι, to work.

The structure emphasizes the relationship between the subject and their authority regarding their work. The presence of the negative particles οὐκ and μὴ further clarifies the question of whether they have the right to not work.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The word ἐξουσίαν appears in contexts related to authority in the Septuagint, often translating Hebrew terms that convey power or permission. This connection enriches our understanding of Paul's argument about the rights of apostles.

The LXX usage of ἐργάζεσθαι aligns with the Hebrew term for work, emphasizing the labor aspect that Paul discusses in relation to supporting oneself through ministry.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

1 Corinthians 9:6 shows Paul asking if he and Barnabas are the only apostles who have to work for their living. He is making a point about the rights of apostles to be supported for their ministry, just like other leaders in the church.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Paul mean by saying he and Barnabas must work for a living?

Paul is emphasizing that as apostles, they have the right to be supported by their ministry, similar to other apostles who have believing wives and do not need to work for their livelihood.

Why does Paul question their need to work?

Paul is defending his rights as an apostle and questioning whether he and Barnabas should be treated differently from other apostles who are supported in their ministry.

What is the significance of the word 'authority' in this context?

The word 'authority' highlights the rights of apostles to receive support for their work, which is a key aspect of Paul's argument regarding the legitimacy of their ministry.

How does this verse relate to the broader themes in Paul's letters?

This verse reflects Paul's ongoing discussion about the relationship between spiritual leadership and practical needs, emphasizing that those who preach the gospel should be supported by the community.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What does it mean for someone in ministry to have the right to support themselves?
  2. How can I apply Paul's teaching about authority and work in my own life?
  3. In what ways can I support those who are in ministry and share the gospel?
  4. How does understanding the context of this verse change my perception of church leadership?

The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it

Early church Fathers reference this verse to discuss the rights of apostles and the nature of ministry, highlighting Paul's humility and authority.

TertullianOn Modesty c. 155–220
For there is extant withal an Epistle to the Hebrews under the name of Barnabas-a man sufficiently accredited by God, as being one whom Paul has stationed next to himself in the uninterrupted observance of abstinence: "Or else,
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 9 →
John ChrysostomHomily on 1 Corinthians 21 c. 347–407
"Or I only and Barnabas, have we not a right to forbear working?" See his humility of mind and his soul pure from envy, how he takes care not to conceal him whom he knew to be a partaker with himself in this perfection.
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 9 →
Augustine of Hippo 354–430
The Lord directed those who preach the gospel to live by the gospel, that is, to maintain at the expense of the faithful that life for which food and clothing are essential.
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 9 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 1 Corinthians 9:6 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Or I only and Barnabas,.... Who were for a great while companions and fellow travellers; are we alone? are we exempted from those rights and privileges, common to others? have not we power to forbear working?

Read John Gill on 1 Corinthians 9 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? Barnabas - long the associate of Paul. He, too, forbore to claim the minister's right of maintenance.

Read Robert Jamieson on 1 Corinthians 9 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Are I and Barnabas the only apostles who are obliged for our livelihood to work with our hands? As Paul did, , making tents. We certainly, as well as the rest of the apostles, if we would run out to the utmost end of the line of our liberty in things, without having any regard to the circumstances of our brethren, might forbear working with our hands, and expect that those amongst whom we labour should maintain us.

Read Matthew Poole on 1 Corinthians 9 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

6 Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? Ver. 6. To forbear working] At our trade? Yes, or else I should easily be of Melancthon’ s mind, who when one had said of the ministry, that it was the art of arts, and the science of sciences; if he had added (said Melancthon) that it is the misery of miseries, he had hit the nail on the head. (Joh. Manl. loc. com. 471.)

Read John Trapp on 1 Corinthians 9 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Or I only and Barnabas.—“Or” here does not introduce a question which implies a new right in addition to the rights already claimed, but it completes the argument. Granting the existence of the rights established by the previous questions, the Apostle now says—still preserving the interrogative form—“These things being so, the only way you can possibly do away with this right is by making exceptions of myself and Barnabas.” The form in which the question is put shows the impossibility of any such arbitrary exception being made. They as well as the others had the right to abstain from working for their living. Barnabas’ early association with St. Paul (Acts 11:30; Acts 12:25; Acts 15:38)…

Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Corinthians 9 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 6. Or I only and Barnabas] Have we alone of all the apostles no right to be supported by our converts? It appears from this, 1. That the apostles did not generally support themselves by their own labour. 2. That Paul and Barnabas did thus support themselves. Some of the others probably had not a business at which they could conveniently work; but Paul and Barnabas had a trade at which they could conveniently labour wherever they came.

Read AdamClarke on 1 Corinthians 9 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. Or I only and Barnabas] St Paul and St Barnabas (1) resigned their claim to support on the part of the Church, (2) they were not of the number of the twelve, (3) they were left by the Apostles to undertake the sole charge of the missions to the heathen (Galatians 2:9). On these grounds a charge was brought against them that they were no true Apostles of Christ. For Barnabas, see Acts 4:36; Acts 11:22; Acts 11:25; Acts 11:29; Acts 12:25; Acts 13:1-2; Acts 13:50; Acts 14:12; Acts 15:2; Acts 15:12; Acts 15:37; Galatians 2:1; Galatians 2:9; Galatians 2:13.

Read Cambridge on 1 Corinthians 9 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Or I only and Barnabas - Paul and Barnabas had worked together as tent-makers at Corinth; Acts 18:3. From this fact it had been inferred that they “knew” that they had no claim to a support.

Read Albert Barnes on 1 Corinthians 9 →

The verse in English, compared — 16 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Or have only Barnabas and I no right to not work?

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?

NETBNew English Translation2006

Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not to work?

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Or I only and Barnabas, have we not a right to forbear working?

RVARevised Version, American1894

Or I only and Barnabas, have we not a right to forbear working?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Or I only and Barnabas, have we not power to forbear working?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Or I only and Barnabas, haue not we power not to worke?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Or I alone and Barnabas, have we not a right not to work?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

or only I and Barnabas, have we not authority — not to work?

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Or do only Barnabas and I have no authority not to work?

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Or is it only Barnabas and I who must work?

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to do this?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Is it only Barnabas and myself who have to work to support ourselves?

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Or I only and Barnabas, have we no right to take a rest from work?

Word by word, the decisions they made

μόνοςmonos only G3441 2 different renderings
onlyASV BBE BSB DRA FBV GNV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
aloneDBY
ἔχομενechō have G2192 2 different renderings
haveASV BBE DBY DRA FBV KJV NWB RVA WEB YLT
i haveLSV
ἐξουσίανexousia permission G1849 3 different renderings
rightASV BBE DBY NETB RVA WEB
powerDRA GNV KJV NWB
authorityLSV YLT
ἐργάζεσθαι;ergazomai to work? G2038 3 different renderings
workBBE BSB DBY LSV MSB NETB ULB WEB YLT
workingASV KJV NWB RVA
to support ourselvesFBV

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the Nestle 1904 treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clauseOrclauseadverbialμόνοςonlynoun phrase · subjectἐγὼIκαὶandΒαρνάβαςBarnabasadverbialοὐκnotverbἔχομενhave weobjectἐξουσίανauthorityclause · adverbialadverbialμὴnotverbἐργάζεσθαιto work

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The earliest translations — Latin and Syriac

Every translation is an argument about meaning made by someone who had to commit to one. These two were made while the Greek was still a living language, and they are the oldest opinions we have about what this verse says.

Latin VulgateAD 382–405

aut ego solus, et Barnabas, non habemus potestatem hoc operandi ?

Jerome revised the Old Latin against the Greek from AD 382; the Latin west read this text for a thousand years.

Syriac Peshittaby AD 400

ܐܘ ܐܢܐ ܒܠܚܘܕ ܘܒܪܢܒܐ ܠܝܬ ܠܢ ܫܘܠܛܢܐ ܕܠܐ ܢܦܠܘܚ

The Bible of the Syriac-speaking church, in the language nearest to the Aramaic Jesus spoke.

Shown verse by verse rather than word by word: aligning a Greek word to its Latin or Syriac counterpart automatically would be guesswork, and a wrong alignment is worse than none.


The Greek editions compared — what the manuscripts actually say

Eight printed editions of the Greek New Testament, side by side. Where they agree the wording is settled; where a word is missing from an edition it is marked, so you can see the difference rather than take it on trust.

Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

An independent critical text built from the oldest witnesses then known.

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι;

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

Every witness on this verse they differ
Critical editions
Nestle-Aland 28th edition2012Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993SBL Greek New Testament2010Westcott–Hort1881Tregelles1857–1879Tyndale House Greek NT2017
Byzantine / Majority
Byzantine majority text2018
Received Text
Textus Receptus1550/1894

A witness that read differently would show its variant word here, marked.

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
τοῦ <the>TR, ByzNA28, NA27, SBL, WH, Treg, Tyn

The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Greek New Testament — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

1 Corinthians 9:6OrOrμόνοςonlyonlyμόνοςἐγώI myselfI myselfἐγώκαίandandκαίΒαρναβᾶςBarnabasBarnabasΒαρναβᾶςοὐnotnotοὐἔχωhavehaveἔχωἐξουσίαpermissionpermissionἐξουσία<the><the>μήnotnotμήἐργάζομαιto work?to work?ἐργάζομαιμένωv. I remaiv. I remain, abμένωἔργονn.n. work,n.n. work, laboἔργονἤδηAdv now, aAdv now, alreadἤδηἤπερDisj.prt. Disj.prt. thanἤπερμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐἔξεστι(ν)v. it is pv. it is permitἔξεστι(ν)ἀδελφήn.f. a sisn.f. a sisterἀδελφήκαταλείπωv. I leavev. I leave behiκαταλείπωλατρεύωv. I servev. I serve, worλατρεύωπέμπωv. I sendv. I sendπέμπωἀγαπητόςAdj loved,Adj loved, beloἀγαπητόςσυμπαραλαμβάνωv. I take v. I take alongσυμπαραλαμβάνωδήDisj.prt. Disj.prt. so, tδήμόνοςAdv alone,Adv alone, but,μόνοςχρείαn.f. need,n.f. need, neceχρείακακῶςAdv badly,Adv badly, evilκακῶςποῖοςIrg.pr. ofIrg.pr. of whatποῖος
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in 1 Corinthians 9:6

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Greek lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. Imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, the full Liddell-Scott-Jones, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate LSJ, Robinson and Packard on the Greek, Webster and Cawdrey on the English the translators were using. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
ē Or G2228 Particle
343× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Or is a word used to show a choice between two things, like in Matthew 5:17 where it's either obey God's law or not. It's also used to compare things, like in Romans 1:21 where it's one thing or another.
Amplified meaning
as a matter of choice
Tyndale gloss
or
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word (ē) is a particle used to indicate distinction, functioning as a disjunctive 'or' and a comparative 'than.' It appears frequently in the New Testament, often in phrases like 'either...or' and in disjunctive questions. Notably, it can also express comparisons after comparative terms, such as in Matthew 10:15. The entries do not show any significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἤ, disjunctive and comparative particle (Bl., §36, 12; 77, 11);

disjunctive, or;

between single words: Mt 5:17, Mk 6:56, Lk 2:24, Jo 6:19, Ro 1:21, al.;

before a sentence expressing a variation, denial or refutation of a previous statement, freq. in interrog. form: Mt 7:4, 9, Mk 12:14, Lk 13:4, Ro 3:29 6:3 9:21, I Co 6:9, 16 9:6, II Co 11:7; ἢ . . . ἤ…

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Χριστοῦ (NVWT ΒΗ Targ. Jonath. ad ᾿ς lili. 10), the kingdom of the Messiah, which will be founded by God through the Messiah and over which the Messiah will preside as God’s vicegerent; ἡ Bac. τῶν οὐρανῶν, only in Matthew, but very frequently [some 33 times], the kingdom of heaven, i. e. the kingdom which is of heavenly or divine origin and nature (in rabbin. writ. nown mao is the rule of God, the theocracy viewed universally, not the Messianic kingdom); sometimes simply ἡ βασιλεία : Mt. iv. 23, ete.; Jas. ii. 5; once ἡ Bac. τοῦ Δαυείδ, because it was supposed the Messiah would be one of David’s descendants and a king very like David, Mk. xi. 10; once also ἡ Bac. τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ, Eph. ν. 5. Relying principally on the prophecies of Daniel — who had declared it to be the purpose of God that, after four vast and mighty kingdoms had succeeded one another and the last of…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ἢ μή. The general distinction between οὐ and μή is that οὐ is objective, dealing only with facts, while μή is sudjectize, involving will and thought. But in late Greek μή has encroached very largely upon οὐ, with the result that in the NT οὐ is almost entirely confined to the indicative, while μή monopolizes the other moods (but see I. 5). A few exx. of some of the many uses of μή will make this clear. I. Μή negatives (1) the conjunctive (a) after ἐάν (4v)—P Oxy II. 294%? (A.D. 22) (= Selections, p. 36), where certain men are confined to prison, ἐὰν μή τι πίσωσι τὸν ἀρχιστάτορα δο[ῦν]αι etk(= ἱκ)ανόν, ‘* unless indeed they shall persuade the chief usher to give security,’’ BGU II. 5301” \i/a.D.) (= Selections, p. 61) alav (/. ἐὰν) μὴ ἔλθῃς, κινδυνεύω ἐκστῆvat od ἔχω [κλή]ρου, “if you do not come I run the risk of losing the lot (of land) which I possess ”—a father writes to Selections…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἤ (ē) — or.

ἤ,

Epic dialect also ἠέ (in signification [Refs 4th c.BC+], conjunction with two chief senses, Disj. (or) and comparative (than).

__A DISJUNCTIVE, or, ἐγὼ.. ἢ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; θεόσυτος ἢ βρότειος ἢ κεκραμένη [Refs 4th c.BC+]

__A.2 ἢ.. ἤ either.. or, ἢ νῦν δηθύνοντ᾽ ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα [Refs 8th c.BC+], etc.; so ἢ.. ἤτοι.. [Refs 5th c.BC+] is emphasized, later no distinction is implied, [NT+2nd c.BC+]; ἤ repeated any number of times, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι ἢ τεὸν ἢ Αἴαντος ἰὼν γέρας ἢ Ὀδυσῆος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἤ is probably wrongly accented in codices of [Refs 8th c.BC+] adverb [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

e

a primary particle of distinction between two connected terms;

disjunctive, or; comparative, than:--and, but (either), (n-)either,

except it be, (n-)or (else), rather, save, than, that, what, yea.

Often used in connection with other particles. Compare especially

2235, 2260, 2273.

see GREEK for 2235

see GREEK for 2260

see GREEK for 2273

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Disj.prt.

or, than

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἤ ē 343x

can function as a conj (298x), either, or, Mt. 6:24; after comparatives, and ἄλλος, ἕτερος, expressed or implied, than, Mt. 10:15; 18:8; Acts 17:21; 24:21; intensive after ἀλλά and πρίν, Lk. 12:51; Mt. 1:18; it also serves to point an interrogation, Rom. 3:29

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Particle — Particle
particle — a small word colouring the clause; it does not decline.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PRT PaRTicle, disjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

or: The word is used once for either (1Sa 26:10), and is still in poetic use in this sense; as in, "Without or wave or wind" (Coleridge); "Or the bakke or some bone he breketh in his dzouthe" (Piers Plowman (B), VII, 93; compare Merchant of Venice, III, ii, 65). It is also used with "ever" for before (Ps 90:2; Ecclesiasticus 18:19), which the American Standard Revised Version substitutes in Ec 12:6 (compare 12:1,2); So 6:12; Da 6:24.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
84%or
or84% · 304×than13% · 47×other renderings4% · 13×

364 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 9 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial20%object18%subject12%predicate7%verb4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 343 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
πρόςχείρa handἁμαρτίαa sin
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theκακολογέωI speak evil of,Disj
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaἀνεκτόςendurable, tolerθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenβοῦςan ox
ἀδελφόςa brother
DisjArticle theἐάνCond
Or343×
what comes after →
Article the
μήτηρa motherπόλιςa cityδύο
τίςIrg
πίνωI drink, imbibeεἰμίI am, existλαλέωI speak, say
οὐNeg
οἶδαI know, rememberἀναγινώσκωI readδίδωμιI offer, give
ἐν
φυλακήa watching, guarτίςIrgποῖοςIrg
καίand, even, also, nam
ἰχθύςa fishαἰτέωI ask, request, πρός

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordance · 343× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Acts Mark Romans 2 Corinthians John 1 Peter Galatians James Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament24 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 457 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
μόνοςmonos only G3441 Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
47× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for alone or solitary, used to describe someone or something that is the only one. In Mark 9:2, Jesus takes only three disciples up a mountain.
Amplified meaning
alone, solitary
Tyndale gloss
alone
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word μόνος (i.e., *monos*) means 'alone' or 'only.' It can describe someone who is solitary or forsaken, and it is used in various grammatical forms, including as an adjective and adverb. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts emphasizing solitude or exclusivity, such as in Matthew 12:4 and John 5:44. The word can also imply being the sole example of something, as seen in references to God as the 'only God'.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μόνος, -η, -ον,

[in LXX chiefly for לְבַד;]

adj., alone, solitary, forsaken: c. verb., Mt 14:23, Mk 6:47, Lk 9:36, al.; c. pron., Mt 18:15, Mk 9:2, al.; c. subst., Mk 9:8, Lk 4:8, al.; pleonast., οὐκ . . . εἰ μὴ μ., Mt 12:4, Lk 6:4, al.; attrib., only, (ὁ) μ. θεός, Jo 5:44 17:3, Ro 16:27, I Ti…

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

μόνος, -η,-ον, Sept. chiefly for 739, [fr. Hom.down]; 1. an adjective, alone (without a companion) ; a. with verbs: εἶναι, εὑρίσκεσθαι, καταλείπεσθαι, etc., Mt. xiv. 23; Mk. vi. 47; Lk. ix. 36; Jn. viii. 9; 1 Th. iii. 1; added to the pronouns ἐγώ, αὐτός, ov, etc.: Mt. xviii. 15; Mk. ix. 2; Lk. xxiv. 18; Ro. xi. 3; xvi. 4, ete. b. it is joined with its noun to other verbs also, so that what is predicated may be declared to apply to some one person alone [ef. W. 131 (124) note]: Mt. iv. 10; Lk. iv. 8; xxiv. 12 [Τ᾿ om. L Tr br. WH reject the vs.]; Jn. vi. 22; Heb. ix. 7; 2 Tim. iv. 11; with a neg. foll. by ἀλλά, Mt. iv. 4. ὁ μόνος θεός, he who alone is God: Jn. v.44; xvii. 3; Ro. Xvi. 27; ὁ μόνος δεσπότης, Jude 4. οὐκ... εἰ μὴ μόνος: Mt. xii. 4; xvii. 8; xxiv. 36; Lk. vi.4; οὐδεὶς - -. εἰ μὴ μόνος, Phil. iv. 15. i. q. forsaken, destitute of help, Lk. x. 40; Jn. viii. 16; xvi. 32, (Sap. x.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

μόνος genitus), and is common in the LXX in this sense (e.g. | Judg 11", Ps 21 (22)*1, 24 (25)'*, Tob 315}. It is similarly used in the NT of ‘‘only” sons and daughters (Lk γ13, 3%, 9**), and is so applied in a special sense to Christ in Jn 1414, 3% 12, τ Jn 4°, where the emphasis is on the thought that, as the “ only ” Son of God, He has no equal and is able fully to reveal the Father. We cannot enter here into the doctrinal aspects of the word, or into a discussion on the sources, Orphic or Gnostic, from which John is sometimes supposed | to have drawn his use of it, but reference may be made to the art. by Kattenbusch ‘Only Begotten” in Hastings’ DCG ii. p. 281f. where the relative literature is given. A few exx. of the title from non-Biblical sources will, however, be of interest. In an imprecatory tablet from Carthage of iii/A.D., Witnsch AF p. 1857, we find—dpxitw σε τὸν θεὸν - +…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μόνος (monos) — alone.

μόνος, η, ον,

Epic dialect and Ionic dialect μοῦνος, the only form used by [Refs 8th c.BC+] both in iambic and Lyric poetry, by [Refs 5th c.BC+]: Doric dialect μῶνος [Refs 3rd c.BC+]:— alone, solitary, μοῦνος ἐὼν πολέσιν μετὰ Καδμείοισιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; φυγὴ μόνου πρὸς μόνον [Refs 3rd c.AD+]

2. with genitive, σοῦ μόνος bereft of thee, without thee, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. only, μοῦνον Λαέρτην Ἀρκείσιος υἱὸν ἔτικτε, μοῦνον δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ Ὀδυσῆα πατὴρ τέκεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; χοίνικος μόνας ἁλῶν for a gallon of salt only, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; single, οὐκ ἄρα μοῦνον ἔην Ἐρίδων γένος, ἀλλὰ.. δύω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; εἷς μοῦνος or μόνος, [Refs 8th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μόνος

monos

probably from 3306; remaining, i.e. sole or single; by implication,

mere:--alone, only, by themselves.

see GREEK for 3306

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μόνος, η, ον

Adj

only, solitary, desolate

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μόνος μόνος, epic and ionic μοῦνος, η, ον alone, left alone, forsaken solitary, Lat. solus, Hom., etc.; μοῦνος ἐών id. Hom.; μούνω ἄνευθ᾽ ἄλλων Od.

c. gen., μόνος σοῦ without thee, Soph.; also, μοῦνος ἀπό τινος Hhymn., Soph.

alone, only, μοῦνος παῖς υἱός an only son. Hom.; εἷς μόνος, μόνος εἷς Hdt., Soph.

c. gen., μοῦνος πάντων ἀνθρώπων alone of all men, Hdt.; μόνος ἀνδρῶν Soph., etc.

Sup. μονώτατος, the one only person, one above all others, Ar., Theocr.

adv. μόνως, only, Thuc., Xen.

the common adv. is μόνον, alone, only, Lat. solum, Hdt., attic; οὐχ ἅπαξ μ. Aesch.

only, Lat. modo, with an imperat., ἀποκρίνου μ. Plat.; μή με καταπίῃς μ. Eur.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-NSM — Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-NSM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
63%only
only63% · 70×alone32% · 36×other renderings4% · 4×other renderings2% · 2×

112 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 7 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial40%subject19%object15%predicate15%second object4%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 47 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὄροςa mountainἀποθνῄσκωI am dying, am a
ἐγώ
οὐNegἀδελφήa sisterἀφίημιI send away, rel
Article the
παράσύκαίand, even, also,
σύ
αὐτόςεἰςμήNeg
ἄρτοςbread, a loaf, food
ἐπί
μόνοςonly47×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἱερεύςa priestμαθητήςa learner, disci
καίand, even, also, nam
μεταμορφόωI change the forαὐτόςἀπέρχομαιI come or go awa
θεόςGod, a god
οὐNegτιμήa price, honorσωτήρa savior, delive
ζάωI live
Article the
λατρεύωI serve, worship

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceμόνος · 47× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew 1 Timothy Mark Romans 1 Corinthians Jude Philippians 1 Thessalonians 2 John 2 Timothy
Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 61 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 13c. AD 40

Ἓξ δὲ ἡμέραις δημιουργηθῆναί φησι τὸν κόσμον, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ προσεδεῖτο χρόνων μήκους ὁ ποιῶν — ἅμα γὰρ πάντα δρᾶν εἰκὸς θεόν, οὐ προστάττοντα μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ διανοούμενον —, ἀλλ’ ἐπειδὴ τοῖς γινομένοις ἔδει τάξεως.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.12c. AD 75–95

οὐδὲ γὰρ πᾶσαν ἐκεῖνος ἔφθη λαβεῖν τὴν ἀναγραφήν, ἀλλὰ μόνα τὰ τοῦ νόμου παρέδοσαν οἱ πεμφθέντες ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξήγησιν εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.4c. AD 100

προσέχετε ἀκριβῶς: Καὶ φαγέτωσαν οἱ ἱερεῖς μόνοι πάντες τὸ ἔντερον ἄπλυτον μετὰ ὄξους.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. AD 5th c. AD
P.Col. 4 90Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)245 BC

παρακομιζομένων εἰς Φιλαδέλφειαν συνέφη διαφωνῆσαι δικέλλας ιε. Εὐκλῆς δέ με ὁ οἰκονόμος ἀναγκάζει ἀποκαταστῆσαι μόνον. ἐμοὶ δὲ προσοφείλεται ὀψώνιον τοῦ β ἔτους μηνῶν δ καὶ τοῦ γ ἔτους μηνῶν

P.Grenf. 1 42Diospolis Parva170 BC–169 BC

ἀγορὰς καὶ τοῦ … ἐνιαυτοῦ εἰς τὴν κράστιν τῶν ἵππων … ἐλαττουμένων ἡμῶν οὐ μόνον παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐν τῶι ἐν Πτολεμαΐδι ὑπαίθρωι ἱππεῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς τεταγμένους ἐν

P.Lond. 2 p. 307-309 no. 249Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)AD 340

σπάθια δ ὁ αὐτὸς σπάθια β ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ Καμπὸλ σπάθια β ὁ αὐτὸς μόνος κεράμια β ζήτει ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ Ἁτρῆς εἰς λόγον ἀποχῆς σπάθια β καὶ δέλφακα

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
ἐγὼegō I myself G1473 Personal pronoun · first person · nominative · singular
2,567× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a pronoun meaning I or me, used by the speaker to refer to themselves. It is often used in the Bible to emphasize the speaker's identity.
Amplified meaning
as apostles
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The first-person pronoun. A Greek verb already carries its person in the ending, so the pronoun is usually present for emphasis. Luke puts himself inside the “us” among whom these things were fulfilled: he writes as one of the people the events happened to, not as an observer standing outside them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐγώ, gen, etc., ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ (enclitic μου, μοι, με), pl. ἡμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς,

pers. pron.

I.

The nom. is usually emphatic, when expressed as subjc, as in Mt 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16, al. But often there is no apparent emphasis, as Mt 10:16, Jo 10:17; ἰδοὺ ἐ. (= Heb. הִנֵּנִי, cf. I Ki 3:8), Ac 9:10; ἐ. (like Heb. אֲנִי), I am, Jo 1:23 (LXX), Ac 7:32 (LXX).

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ἐγώ, gen. ἐμοῦ, enclitic pod; dat. ἐμοί, enclitic μοί; acc. ἐμέ, enclitic μέ; plur. ἡμεῖς, ete.; personal pronoun, J. 1. The nominatives ἐγώ and ἡμεῖς, when joined to a verb, generally have force and emphasis, or indicate antithesis, as Mt. iii. 11; Mk.i. 8; Lk. iii. 16 (ἐγὼ pev... ὁ δέ); Mt. iii. 14 (ἐγὼ... ἔχω, καὶ σύν ; V. 22, 28, 39, and often; ἡμεῖς, contrasted with God, Mt. vi. 12; ἡμεῖς x. of Φαρισαῖοι, Mt. ix. 14; cf. W. § 22,6. But sometimes they are used where there is no emphasis or antithesis in them, as Mt. x. 16; Jn. x. 17; and in many edd. in Mk. i. 2; Lk. vii. 27; οἵ. B. §129, 12. ἰδοὺ ἐγώ, 1397, behold me, hereamT: Acts ix.10 (1S. iii. 8). ἐγώ, like 38, Jam: Jn. i. 23; Acts vii. 32, [ef. W.585 (544); B. 125 (109)]. 2. The enclitic (and monosyllabic) gen., dat., and ace. are connected with nouns, verbs, adverbs, but not with prepositions: ἔμπροσθέν pov, Jn. i. 15; ὀπίσω…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ἐγώ. Deissmann (ZAZ p. 134 ff.) has drawn attention to the parallels to the solemn use of the first personal pronoun in the Fourth Gospel that may be adduced from inscriptions and magical texts. Thus in an inscr. in honour of Isis from Ios, written in ii/iii A.p., the contents of which are preChristian, we find —Elows ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ τ[ύρανν]ος πάσης χόρας.. ἐγὼ νόμους ἀνθρώποις ἐθέμην . . ἐγώ εἰμι Kpdvov θυγάτηρ πρεσβυτάτη α΄. And similarly in the magical papyrus P Lond 4645 (iv/a.p.) (=I. p. 69) ἐγώ εἰμι ὃ ἀκέφαλος δαίμων . . ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια ὁ μεισῶν ἀδικήματα γείνεσθαι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ α΄. With the construction of the phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί ; in Jn 24 we may compare BGU IV. 1141°8 (n.c. 14) ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ διαστολὰς μηδὲν αὐτῶι καὶ ἐκείνωι εἶναι : for its meaning see Ε΄. C. Burkitt in 77:5 xiii. p- 594f., where it is rendered, ‘‘ What have I and thou to do with that ?” On the difficult…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐγώ (egō) — I/we.

ἐγώ,

I: pronoun of the first person:—Epic dialect mostly ἐγών before vowels (so in Doric dialect, before consonants, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἱών [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:— strengthened ἔγωγε, I at least, for my part, indeed, for myself (more frequently in Attic dialect than in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Doric dialect ἐγώνγα [Refs 7th c.BC+]: Boeotian dialect ἱώνγα [Refs 6th c.BC+]; ἱώνει [Refs]; ἰώγα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: Laconian dialect and Tarentum dialect ἐγώνη, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

II. oblique cases from a different root, genitive ἐμοῦ, enclitic μο; Ionic dialect and Epic dialect ἐμέο, ἐμεῦ, μευ, also ἐμέθεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect ἔμεθεν [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Doric dialect ἐμέος, ἐμεῦς, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἐμοῦς [Refs 6th c.BC+] — _dative_ ἐμοί, enclitic μοι (which may be compared with…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

ego

a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when

emphatic):--I, me. For the other cases and the plural see 1691, 1698,

1700, 2248, 2249, 2254, 2257, etc.

see GREEK for 1691

see GREEK for 1698

see GREEK for 1700

see GREEK for 2248

see GREEK for 2249

see GREEK for 2254

see GREEK for 2257

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐγώ

Pers.pr.

I

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

I, gen., ἐμοῦ [μου], dat., ἐμοί [μοι], acc., ἐμέ [με]

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐγώ

pron. of the first person, Lat ego

epic ἐγών before vowels

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-1NS — Personal pronoun · first person · nominative · singular
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-1NS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Nominative Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
47%i myself
i myself47% · 406×me myself21% · 180×me13% · 114×myself4% · 36×mine4% · 36×my3% · 26×i myself also3% · 26×other renderings5% · 42×

866 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 25 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject30%object26%adverbial26%indirect object10%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,567 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theθεόςGod, a godκαίand, even, also,
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
Article theναίDisjδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
μένωI remain, abideεἰμίI am, existπατήρfather, Father,
καίand, even, also, nam
ὡςas, like as, howαὐτόςοὕτωthus, so, in thi
δίδωμιI offer, give
ὅςArticle theαὐτός
ἐγώI myself2567×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godπατήρfather, Father, ἐν
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theσύοὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,σύ
ἐν
Article theΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
οὐNegλέγωI say, speakArticle the

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceἐγώ · 2,567× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Matthew 2 Corinthians Romans Mark 1 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews Galatians Philippians

18 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 853 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 17c. AD 40

ᾗ δὲ συνέστηκεν, εἰσόμεθα παρακολουθήσαντες εἰκόνι τινὶ τῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

ὅπως Ἅβραμος ὁ πρόγονος ἡμῶν ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Χαλδαίων γῆς κατέσχε τὴν τότε μὲν Χαναναίαν νῦν δὲ Ἰουδαίαν λεγομένην.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.1c. AD 100

Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

συνγενόμενοι Ὥρωι Ψεν … λειτουργῶι μέχρι τοῦ ἀποδοθῆι τὸν ἐπεσταλμένον ἡμῖν κατὰ μῆνα πυρὸν τοῖς παρʼ ἡμῶν. διʼ ἄλλων γεγράφαμεν ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν βουλόμεθα μηδεμιᾶς

P.Adl. 14Pathyris101 BC

σφραγίδων, ἧς ἐτελειώθη ὠνῆς ἀποστασίου ἐν τῷ ιδ ἔτει Φαῶφι ι εἰς τὸ ἐνλιπὸν μοι ἄπρατον γῆς ἀρουρῶν γ, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι μήτʼ αὐτὸν Κολλούθην μήδʼ ἄλλον μηδένα ὑπὲρ

P.Cair. Goodspeed 9Pathyris100 BC–99 BC

παρὰ Πατῆτος τοῦ Πανεβχώνιος. ἐκμισθωθείσης μοι τῆς νήσου καλουμένης Περχμασσινηιτ εἰς τὸ ιϛ ἔτος πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τεσσαράκοντα πέντε γίνονται πυροῦ

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

καί (kai) is a conjunction meaning 'and,' used to connect words, phrases, and clauses. It serves various functions, including copulative and adjunctive uses, and can express cumulative ideas like 'also' or 'even.' The New Testament frequently employs it to link terms and sentences, as seen in verses like Matthew 2:18 and John 10:3. Abbott-Smith notes its use in both simple and complex structures, while Thayer emphasizes its role as the most common particle in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

in general: Mt 2:18 16:1, Mk 2:15, Lk 8:15, He 1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mt 23:23, Lk 14:21, Ro 7:12 9:4, al.;

connecting numerals (WM, § 37, 4): Jo 2:20, Ac 13:20;

joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mt 8:33 26:59, Mk 16:17,

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

καί, a conj., and; the most freq. by far of all the particles in the N. T. [On its uses see W. § 53, 3sqq.; B. 361 (310) sqq., and ef. Ellicott on Phil. iv. 12; on the difference between it and τέ see 8. v. τέ ad init. ] I. It serves as a copulative i.e. to connect (Lat. et, atque, Germ. und) ; 1. it connects single words or terms: a. univ., as of Φαρισαῖοι καὶ Σαδδουκαῖοι, Mt. xvi. 1; ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατήρ, he who is God and Father (see θεός, 3); ἐν καρδίᾳ καλῇ καὶ ἀγαθῇ, Lk. viii. 15; πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως, ΗΘ}. 1. 1; it is repeated before single terms, to each of which its own force and weight is thus given: ἡ υἱοθεσία καὶ ἡ δόξα καὶ ai διαθῆκαι καὶ ἡ νομοθεσία καὶ ἡ λατρεία καὶ αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι, Ro. ix. 4 ; ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή, Ro. vii. 12; add, Mt. xxiii. 23; Lk. xiv. 21; Jn. xvi. 8; Acts xv. 20, 29; xxi. 25; Heb. ix. 10; Rey. v. 12; xviii. 12 sq.; ef. W. 519 sq. (484). b. it…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

και. In LAE p. 129 ff. Deissmann discusses the thoroughly popular character of the Johannine style with its short paratactic sentences, introduced by kal. . . καί. To illustrate this, he cites amongst other exx. a Dream from the Serapeum, P Par 51 (B.C. 160) (= Selections, p. 18 ff. : see especially the amended readings in Archiv vi. p. 204), which runs—** ὦμ[ην] βατί -- δ)ίζειν pe [ἀπ]ὸ λειβὸς ἕως ἀ[ πηλι]ώτου, καὶ ἀναπίπτομαι ἐπ᾿ ἄχυρον" καὶ [ἄν]θρωπ[ος9] ἀπὸ λιβός μου, ἐχόμενός μου’ ἀναπίπτει καὶ αὐτός, καὶ ὥσπερ κεκλειμμ[évot] μου ἦσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, καὶ ἐξαί[φνης] ἀνύγω τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς pov, καὶ ὁρῶ kTA., “ I dreamed that I was going from West to East, and I lie down upon chaff. And there | αὐτὸ (deleted in the original) Σεμφθεῖ. | ἐκ καινῆς ἐν Σομολ(ῶ)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

__A and; also adverb, even, also, just, frequently expressing emphatic assertion or assent, corresponding as positive to the negative οὐ (μή) or οὐδέ (μηδέ). copulative, and,

__A.I joining words or sentences to those preceding, ἦ, καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ᾽ ὀφρύσινεῦσε Κρονίων [Refs 8th c.BC+]: repeated with two or more Nouns, αἱ δὲ ἔλαφοι κ. δορκάδες κ. οἱ ἄγριοι οἶες κ. οἱ ὄνοι οἱ ἄγριοι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; joining only the last pair, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; ὁ ὄχλος πλείων κ. πλείων ἐπέρρει more and more, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; to add epithets after πολύς, πολλὰ κ. ἐσθλά [Refs 8th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also

a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in

connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and,

also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when,

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

(1) and, Mt. 2:2, 3, 11; 4:22; (2) καί ... καί, both ... and; (3) as a cumulative particle, also, too, Mt. 5:39; Jn. 8:19; 1 Cor. 11:6; (4) emphatic, even, also, Mt. 10:30; 1 Cor. 2:10; in NT adversative, but, Mt. 11:19; also introductory of the apodosis of a sentence, Gal. 3:28; Jas. 2:4

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Conj — Conjunction
conjunction — it joins clauses, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
89%and
and89% · 8448×also8% · 714×other renderings2% · 191×other renderings1% · 124×

9,477 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 42 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial16%subject13%object10%predicate3%verb2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 8,978 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
ἐνἐπίπρός
σύ
χάριςgrace, favor, kiπρόςπατήρfather, Father,
ἐγώ
πατήρfather, Father, πρόςθεόςGod, a god
εἰμίI am, exist
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
θεόςGod, a god
Article theθέλημαwill, wish, desiδέbut, on the othe
καίand8978×
what comes after →
Article the
ἀδελφόςa brotherπατήρfather, Father, μήτηρa mother
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theπρός
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existμήNegδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
Article theαὐτόςἀνήρa male human bei
ἐν
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ὅλοςall, the whole,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceκαί · 8,978× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Revelation Acts Mark John 1 Corinthians Romans Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

3 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.1c. AD 100

Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

r βασιλεύοντος Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

1 ἔτους ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
ΒαρναβᾶςBarnabas Barnabas G921 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
28× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Barnabas was an Israelite who helped the early Christian church, and his name means 'son of prophecy' in Aramaic. The KJV translates it simply as 'Barnabas'. He is mentioned in Acts 4:36.
Amplified meaning
son of prophecy
Tyndale gloss
[father of Barnabus]
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The name Βαρναβᾶς (Barnabas) is derived from Aramaic, meaning 'son of encouragement' or possibly 'son of prophecy.' It appears frequently in the New Testament, notably in Acts and the letters of Paul. Some sources suggest it may be a variation of another name, but this is debated. Key references include Acts 4:36 and Galatians 2:1.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Βαρ-ναβᾶς, -α, ὁ

(Aram. בַּר, son, as prefix to another word interpreted in Ac 4:36, τῆς παρακλήσεως, perh. נְבוּאָה, wh., however, should be rendered by προφητεία as in II Es 6:14, LXX. Deiss., BS, 309 f., thinks Β. may be a variant of the name Βαρνεβοῦς, son of Nebo, found in a Syrian Inscr., altered with a view to disguising its origin; v. also Milligan, NTD, iii; Dalman, Gr., 142),

Barnabas: Ac 4:36 9:27 11:22, 30 12:25 13-15, I Co 9:6, Ga 2:1, 9, 13, Col 4:10.†

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Βαρνάβας (Barnabas) — Barnabas.

Βαρναβᾶς, -α, ὁ (Aram. בַּר, son, as prefix to another word interpreted in Act.4:36, τῆς παρακλήσεως, perh. נְבוּאָה, wh., however, should be rendered by προφητεία as in II Est.6:14, LXX. Deiss., BS, 309f., thinks Β. may be a variant of the name Βαρνεβοῦς, son of Nebo, found in a Syrian Inscr., altered with a view to disguising its origin; see also Milligan, NTD, iii; Dalman, Gr., 142),

Barnabas: Act.4:36 9:27 11:22, 30 12:25 13-15, 1Co.9:6, Gal.2:1, 9 13, Col.4:10.†

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

Βαρναβᾶς

Barnabas

of Chaldee origin (1247 and 5029); son of Nabas (i.e. prophecy);

Barnabas, an Israelite:--Barnabas.

see HEBREW for 01247

see HEBREW for 05029

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Βαρνάβας, α, ὁ

n.m.

Barnabas

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Βαρναβᾶς Barnabas 28x

Barnabas, pr. name, Acts 4:36; 13:1f.; 14:12; 15:2f.; 1 Cor. 9:6; Gal. 2:1, 9, 13; Col. 4:10

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-NSM — Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-NSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bar'-na-bas (Barnabas, "son of exhortation," or possibly "son of Nebo"): This name was applied to the associate of Paul, who was originally called Joses or Joseph (Ac 4:36), as a testimony to his eloquence. Its literal meaning is "son of prophecy" (bar, "son"; nebhu'ah, "prophecy"). Compare word for prophet in Ge 20:7; De 18:15,18, etc. This is interpreted in Ac 4:36 as "son of exhortation" the Revised Version (British and American), or "son of consolation" the King James Version, expressing two sides of the Greek paraklesis, that are not exclusive. The office of a prophet being more than to foretell, all these interpretations are admissible in estimating Barnabas as a…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Barnabas

Son of consolation, the surname of Joses, a Levite (Acts 4:36). His name stands first on the list of prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch (13:1). Luke speaks of him as a “good man” (11:24). He was born of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi. He was a native of Cyprus, where he had a possession of land (Acts 4:36, 37), which he sold. His personal appearance is supposed to have been dignified and commanding (Acts 14:11, 12). When Paul returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, Barnabas took him and introduced him to the apostles (9:27). They had probably been companions as students in the school of Gamaliel.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(son of consolation or comfort) a name given by the apostles, (Acts 4:36) to Joseph (or Jose), a Levite of the island of Cyprus, who was early a disciple of Christ. In (Acts 9:27) we find him introducing the newly-converted Saul to the apostles at Jerusalem. Barnabas was sent to Jerusalem, (Acts 11:19-26) and went to Tarsus to seek Saul, as one specially raised up to preach to the Gentiles. (Acts 26:17) He brought him to Antioch, and was sent with him to Jerusalem. (Acts 11:30) On their return, they were ordained by the church for the missionary work, (Acts 13:2)…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Son of consolation, or JOSES, a disciple of Jesus, and a companion of the apostle Paul. He was a Levite, and a native of the isle of Cyprus, and is said to have sold all his property, and laid the price of it at the apostles’ feet, Ac 4:36,37. When Paul came to Jerusalem, three years after his conversion, about A. D. 38, Barnabas introduced him to the other apostles, Ac 9:26,27. Five years afterwards, the church at Jerusalem, being informed of the progress of the gospel at Antioch, sent Barnabas thither, who beheld with great joy the wonders of the grace of God, Ac 11:20-24. He afterwards went to Tarsus, to seek Paul and bring him to Antioch, where they dwelt together two years, and great numbers were converted. They left…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
97%barnabas
barnabas97% · 28×after barnabas3% · 1×

29 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 2 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject46%adverbial29%object18%predicate4%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 28 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
ΠαῦλοςPaulἐγώδέbut, on the othe
Article the
καίand, even, also,ἐγώτέDisj
τέDisj
Article the
ἐπικαλέωI call by an additio
Article the
ἐξαποστέλλωI send forth
καίand, even, also,
ΒαρναβᾶςBarnabas28×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
ΣαῦλοςSaul, the apostlΠαῦλοςPaulΣυμεώνProp
δέbut, on the other ha
ἐπιλαμβάνομαιI seize, take hoκαίand, even, also,βούλομαιI will, intend,
ἀπό
Article the
ἕωςuntil, as far as
ἈντιόχειαAntioch
ὅστις
προσλαλέωI speak to

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

ConcordanceΒαρναβᾶς · 28× in the New Testament
Acts Galatians 1 Corinthians Colossians
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
οὐκou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a strong 'no', used to deny something completely. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:21. It is a negative answer to a question.
Tyndale gloss
no
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὐ (transliterated as ou) is a primary negative particle meaning 'not' or 'no.' It is used to negate verbs or statements, often appearing in various forms depending on the following sound. In the New Testament, it frequently serves to deny facts and is distinct from another negative particle, μή (transliterated as ), which is used for prohibitions or wishes.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὐ, before a vowel with smooth breathing οὐκ, before one with rough breathing οὐχ (but improperly οὐχ ἰδού, Ac 2:7, WH, mg.; cf. WH, Intr., § 409; M, Pr., 44, 244),

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

not, no, used generally c. indic. and for a denial of fact (cf . μή);

absol. (accented), οὔ, no: Mt 13:29, Jo 1:21 21:5; οὒ οὔ, Mt 5:37, Ja 5:12.

Most freq. negativing a verb or other word, Mt 1:25 10:26, 38, Mk 3:25 9:37, Jo 8:29, Ac 7:5, Ro 1:16, Phl 3:3, al.; in…

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

οὐ before a consonant, οὐκ before a vowel with a smooth breathing, and ody before an aspirated vowel ; but sometimes in the best codd. οὐχ occurs even before a smooth breathing; accordingly LT WH mrg. have adopted οὐχ ἰδού, Acts ii. 7; LT οὐχ ᾿Ιουδαϊκῶς, Gal. ii. 14 (see WH. Introd. § 409); L οὐχ ὀλίγος, Acts xix. 23; οὐχ ἠγάπησαν, Rev. xii. 11; and contrariwise οὐκ before an aspirate, as οὐκ ἕστηκεν, Jn. viii. 44 T; [οὐκ ἕνεκεν, 2 Co. vii. 12 T]; (οὐκ εὗρον, Lk. xxiv. 3; [οὐκ ὑπάρχει, Acts iii. 6] in cod. x [alsoC*; ef. cod. Alex. in 1 ἔβαν. iv. 2,12; Job xix. 16; xxxviiil. 11, 26]); cf. W. $5, 14d. 14; Β. τ; [A. v. Schiitz, Hist. Alphab. Att., Berol. 1875, pp: 54-58 ; Sophocles, Hist. of Grk. Alphab., 1st ed. 1848, p- 64 sq. (on the breathing); Tdf Sept., ed. 4, Proleg. pp: Xxxiii. xxxiv.; Scrivener, Collation ete., 2d ed., p. lv. no. 9; id. cod. Bezae p. xlvii. no. 11 (ef. p. xlii.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ου to make the voyage” (Edd.), and P Amh II. 78?! (a.p. 184) τοιαύτης ο[ὖ]ν αὐθαδίας ἐν αὐτῷ οὔσης οὐ δυνάμενος [ἐν]καρτερεῖν ἐπιδίδωμι, ‘“ his audacity having reached this pitch I can endure no longer and present this petition.” See further Proleg. p. 231 f. In support of the translation ‘‘ I determined not to know” in 1 Cor 2, we may cite P Par 2657 (B.c. 163) (= UPZi. Ρ-. 248) οὐκ ἐκρίναμεν καταχωρῆσαι, ‘we determined not to record,” P Tebt I. 124° (c. B.c. 118) οὐκ (ἐκδρίναμεν ἐξαρ[ιθ]μεῖ[σθαι, “we determined not to be counted,” and the classical formula in P Hamb I. 27° (B.c. 250 (249)) οὐκ ἔφη εἰδέναι, ‘he said that he did not know.” The origin of the double negative οὐ μή is fully discussed by Moulton Pro/eg. p. 187 ff. When we pass to its actual occurrences in the NT, we find that these for the most part are found in passages derived from the OT and in the Sayings of our Lord…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

the negative of fact and statement, as μή of will and thought; οὐ denies, μή rejects; οὐ is absolute, μή relative; οὐ objective, μή subjective. —The same differences hold for all compounds of οὐ and μή, and some examples of οὐδέ and οὐδείς are included below.—As to the Form, see infr. G. USAG[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

I. οὐ adhering to single words so as to form a quasi-compound with them:—with Verbs: οὐ δίδωμι withhold, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐκ εἰῶ prevent, [Refs]; οὐκ ἐθέλω refuse, [Refs]; οὔ φημι deny, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; but sometimes οὐ is retained, εἰ δ᾽ ἂν.. οὐκ ἐθέλωσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐάντε.. οὐ (variant{μή}) φῆτε ἐάντε φῆτε [Refs 8th c.BC+] —On the use of οὐ in contrasts, see below [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or

not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, +

nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but. See also

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

negative adverb, originally the gen. of ὅς, spelled οὐκ if followed by a word beginning with a vowel and a smooth breathing, οὐχ if followed by a vowel and rough breathing, not, no, Mt. 5:37; 12:43; 23:37; for the peculiarities of its usage (especially as distinct from μή) consult a grammar

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Particle-N — Particle · negative
particle — a small word colouring the clause; it does not decline.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
82%not
not82% · 1383×certainly6% · 96×surely4% · 70×no longer3% · 50×no2% · 39×other renderings3% · 51×

1,689 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 17 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial82%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,622 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existἐγώαὐτός
ὅς
ἐγώθερίζωI reap, gatherδέbut, on the othe
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐνἐπί
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforὅς
οὐnot1622×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐκArticle theἐγώ
μήNeg
παρέρχομαιI pass byεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inπίνωI drink, imbibe
οἶδαI know, remember
ὅτιthat, since, becArticle theτίςIrg
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existθέλωI will, wish, deArticle the
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
ἔρχομαιI come, goσῴζωI save, healArticle the

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceοὐ · 1,622× in the New Testament
John Matthew Luke 1 Corinthians Romans Mark Acts 2 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews 1 John Galatians

8 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 6c. AD 40

ὡς γὰρ τῶν κολοσσιαίων μεγεθῶν τὰς ἐμφάσεις καὶ ἡ βραχυτάτη σφραγὶς τυπωθεῖσα δέχεται, οὕτως τάχα που καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀναγραφείσης ἐν τοῖς νόμοις κοσμοποιίας ὑπερβάλλοντα κάλλη καὶ ταῖς μαρμαρυγαῖς τὰς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ψυχὰς ἐπισκιάζοντα βραχυτέροις…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν ἀρχιερέων οὐδενὸς ἀρετῇ δεύτερος Ἐλεάζαρος τῷ προειρημένῳ βασιλεῖ ταύτης ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς ὠφελείας οὐκ ἐφθόνησε πάντως ἀντειπὼν ἄν, εἰ μὴ πάτριον ἦν ἡμῖν τὸ μηδὲν ἔχειν τῶν καλῶν ἀπόρρητον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.8c. AD 100

ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος, ἀλλ̓ ὧς εἰς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑποδείξω ὀλίγα, δἰ ὧν ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν εὐφρανθήσεσθε.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 6th c. AD

δὲ γενόμεναι κατὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον κληρονομήσασαι ταξάμεναι τὰ καθήκοντα τέλη θεᾶι Βερενίκηι κυριεύομεν. ὅθεν οὐκ ἀποδιδόντων τὰ ἡμέτερα ἐπεδώκαμεν ἐν τῶι λ ἔτει προσανγελίαν Ἡρακλείδει γενομένωι ἀρχιφυλακίτηι τοῦ Παθυρίτου

C.Erbstreit16Diospolis Magna (Theben)135 BC

ι ἀρουρῶν πρόκτησιν … ένου αὐτὸν ἐν συνεδρίωι καὶ συγχώρησιν … ειν, ἐν ἧι οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ὁ πατήρ. ὅθεν καταβεβραβευμένοι … ήρου συνεριου ἀξιοῦμεν, ἐὰν φαίνηται, συντάξαι γράψαι, οἷς

P.Adl. 2Pathyris125 BC

ὠνῆς ἐν πίστει διὰ τῶν περὶ τὸν Πανεβχοῦνιν ἐκτελειωθεῖσαν τῶι … ἔτει ἀντὶ ὀφειλημάτων, οὐκ ἐπελευσομένους τὸν Πανερέα καὶ τὴν Σενενοῦπιν περὶ ὀφειλημάτων μηδὲ περὶ ἄλλου μηδενός. ταῦτα δὲ

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
ἔχομενechō have G2192 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · plural
709× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means to have or hold something, like a possession or ability. It is used in many ways, such as having power or being with someone. The Bible uses it in Revelation 5:8 and 14:6.
Tyndale gloss
to have/be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἔχω, transliterated as echō, means 'to have' or 'to hold' and is used in various contexts, including possession, ability, and condition. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often relating to physical possession or metaphorical concepts like keeping faith or emotions. Notably, it can also refer to being pregnant, as seen in Matthew 1:18. The entries do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἔχω,

[in LXX for אָצֵל (ἐχόμενος), בַּעַל, יֵשׁ, etc., 59 words in all;]

(on the Aktionsart of the various tenses, v. M, Pr., 110, 145, 150, 183),

to have, as in cl., in various senses and constructions.

Trans.;

to have, hold, hold fast, etc.;

to hold, as, in the hand: Re 5:8 14:6, al.; ἐν τ. χειρί, Re 1:16 10:2, al.;

of arms and clothing, = φέρω, φορέω, to bear, wear: Mt 3:4 22:12, al.; so freq. pres. ptcp. (LS, s.v., A, I, 6; Bl., § 74, 2), Mk 11:13, Jo 18:10, Re 9:17, al.;

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ἔχω ; fut. ἕξω ; impf. εἶχον, [1 pers. plur. εἴχαμεν, 2 Jn. ἔχω 266 5 T Tr WH], 8 pers. plur. εἶχαν (Mk. viii. 7 L T Tr WH; Rey. ix. 8 LT Tr WH; but ef. [ Soph. Lex., Intr. p. 38; Tdf. Proleg. p. 123; WH. App. p. 165]; B. 40 (35)) and εἴχοσαν (LT Tr WH in Jn. xv. 22, 24; but ef. Bitm. in Theol. Stud. u. Krit. 1858, pp. 485 sqq. 491; see his N. T. Gr. p. 43 (37); [Soph. Lex., Intr. p. 39; Τὰ Proleg. p. 124; WH. App. p. 165; ef. δολεόω ]) ; pres. mid. ptep. ἐχόμενος ; to have,—with 2 aor. act. ἔσχον; pf. ἔσχηκα; I. Transitively. have (hold) in the hand: τὶ ἐν τῇ χειρί, Rev. i. 16; vi. 5; x. 2; xvii. 4; and simply, Rev. v. 8; viii. 3, 6; xiv. 6, ete.; Heb. viii. 3. Ὁ. in the sense of wearing (Lat. gestare) ; of garments, arms and the like: τὸ ἔνδυμα, Mt. iii. 4; xxii. 12; κατὰ κεφαλῆς ἔχων, sc. τί, having a covering hanging down from the head, i.e. having the head covered [B. $130, 5; W. §…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ἔχω. It may be well to illustrate some of the less usual forms of this common verb. The future σχήσω (cf. Kithner-Blass Gr. 1. ii. p. 112 n.8) is restored by the editor in OGZS 751° (ii/ B.C.) ἐπεὶ θλιβέντες ἐμ πλείοσιν ἀσθενῶς [σχή]σετε. For the 2 aor. with 1 aor. termination (cf. Ac 757 D συνἐσχαν) see BGU 11. 4518 (i/ii A.D.) ἀναγκαίως ἔσχαμεν δ[ι7᾽ ἐπιστολῆς σε ἀσπάσεσθαι, and for ἔσχοσαν cf. OG/S 315°" (B.C. 164-159) ὑφοψίαν μοχθηράν, ἣν Kal περὶ Tod ἀδελφοῦ ἔσχοσαν. In 20. 2237 (iii/B.c.) we have αὐτοὶ ἀπολογισάμενοι περί τε τῆς εὐνοίας ἣν διὰ παντὸς εἰσχήκατε εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν οἰκίαν, and for similar forms see the editor's note ® to 2b. 323. For the trans. use of the verb see such passages as P Oxy IV. 743!® (B.c. 2) εἰ καὶ m[p]ds ἄλλους εἶχον πρᾶγμα, βοηθὸν αὐτοῦ γ[εἸνέσθαι διὰ ἣν ἔχομε(ν) πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς φιλίαν, BGU I. 228(a.p. 114) (= «ϑελδείζογις, p. 74), which illustrate 1 Cor…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἔχω (echō) — to have/be.

ἔχω,

__A2nd pers. singular ἔχεισθα conjecture in [Refs 7th c.BC+]; 2nd pers. singular subjunctive ἔχῃσθα [Refs 8th c.BC+]imperfect εἶχον, Epic dialect ἔχον [Refs 8th c.BC+], Ionic dialect and poetry ἔχεσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]future ἕξω, Epic dialect infinitive ἑξέμεναι [Refs 3rd c.BC+] (of momentary action, especially in sense check, see below [Refs 4th c.BC+], not found in Attic dialect Inscrr. or [Refs]; 2nd pers. singular σχήσησθα [Refs]aorist 1 ἔσχης α falsa lectio in [Refs 3rd c.AD+]aorist 2 ἔσχον, imperative σχές [Refs 5th c.BC+] only in Oracle texts cited in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive σχῶ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural σχοίησαν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; infinitive σχεῖν [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect σχέμεν [Refs] (in Alexandr. Gr. 3rd.pers. plural imperfect and aorist 2 εἴχοσαν [NT+3rd c.BC+], see at {Σχέθω}: perfect ἔσχηκα [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἔχω

echo

scheo skheh'-o; (used in certain tenses only)

a primary verb; to hold (used in very various applications, literally

or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possession; ability,

contiuity, relation, or condition):--be (able, X hold, possessed

with), accompany, + begin to amend, can(+ -not), X conceive, count,

diseased, do + eat, + enjoy, + fear, following, have, hold, keep, +

lack, + go to law, lie, + must needs, + of necessity, + need, next, +

recover, + reign, + rest, + return, X sick, take for, + tremble, +

uncircumcised, use.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἔχω

v.

I have, hold, possess

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἔχω echō 708x

pluperfect., ἐσχήκειν, to hold, Rev. 1:16; to seize, possess a person, Mk. 16:8; to have, possess, Mt. 7:29, et al. freq.; to have, have ready, be furnished with, Mt. 5:23; Jn. 5:36; 6:68; to have as a matter of crimination, Mt. 5:23; Mk. 11:25; to have at command, Mt. 27:65; to have the power, be able, Mt. 18:25; Lk. 14:14; Read the full entry →

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-1P — Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · plural
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-1P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: first Number: Plural

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hav: "To have" is to own or possess; its various uses may be resolved into this, its proper meaning.

A few of the many changes in the Revised Version (British and American) are, for "a man that hath friends" (Pr 18:24), "maketh many friends," margin (Hebrew) "a man of friends"; for "all that I have" (Lu 15:31), "all that is mine"; for "we have peace with God" (Ro 5:1) the English Revised Version has "let us have," margin "some authorities read we have," the American Standard Revised Version as the King James Version margin "many ancient authorities read let us have"; for "what great conflict I have" (Col 2:1), "how greatly I strive"; for "will have" (

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 11c. AD 40

ἀπεριμάχητον δὲ δόγμα καὶ ἀνωφελὲς ἀναρχίαν ὡς ἐν πόλει κατασκευάζον τῷδε τῷ κόσμῳ τὸν ἔφορον ἢ βραβευτὴν ἢ δικαστὴν οὐκ ἔχοντι, ὑφ’ οὗ πάντ’ οἰκονομεῖσθαι καὶ πρυτανεύεσθαι θέμις.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν ἀρχιερέων οὐδενὸς ἀρετῇ δεύτερος Ἐλεάζαρος τῷ προειρημένῳ βασιλεῖ ταύτης ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς ὠφελείας οὐκ ἐφθόνησε πάντως ἀντειπὼν ἄν, εἰ μὴ πάτριον ἦν ἡμῖν τὸ μηδὲν ἔχειν τῶν καλῶν ἀπόρρητον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.5c. AD 100

λογισάμενος οὖν τοῦτο, ὅτι ἐὰν μελήσῃ μοι περὶ ὑμῶν τοῦ μέρος τι μεταδοῦναι ἀφ̓ οὗ ἔλαβον, ὅτι ἔσται μοι τοιούτοις πνεύμασιν ὑπηρετήσαντι εἰς μισθόν, ἐσπούδασα κατὰ μικρὸν ὑμῖν πέμπειν, ἵνα μετὰ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν τελείαν ἔχητε τὴν γνῶσιν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Gen. 1 20Pathyris110 BC

ἔτους η Μεχεὶρ β, ἐπὶ Σώσου ἀγορανόμου. ὁμολογεῖ Ἁρκοννῆσις Φιγήριος Πέρσης τῶν μισθοφόρων ἱππέων ἔχειν παρὰ Ναομσήσιος τῆς Σπεμμίνιος εἰς λύτρα τετάρτης μερίδος γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἐν τῆι κάτω

P.Bad. 2 3Pathyris110 BC

Μεχεὶρ β ἐν Παθύρει ἐπὶ Σώσου ἀγορανόμου. ὁμολογεῖ Ἁρκοννῆσις Φιγήριος Πέρσης τῶν μισθοφόρων ἱππέων ἔχειν παρὰ Ναομσήσιος τῆς Σπεμμίνιος εἰς λύτρα τετάρτης μερίδος γῆς ἠπείρου σιτοφόρου ἐν τῇ κάτω

P.Adl. 4Ptolemais (Oberägypten)110 BC

Ψεμμῖνις … ου Ὥρωι Νεχούτου χαίρειν. ὁμολογῶ ἔχειν παρὰ σοῦ χαλκοῦ νομίσματος τάλαντα τρῖα ἄτοκα ?. ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν ἃ προσωφείλετό σοι

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
ἐξουσίανexousia permission G1849 Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
102× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Authority refers to the power or freedom to act, like the authority given to Jesus in John 10:18 or the freedom to exercise a gift in 1 Corinthians 9:12.
Tyndale gloss
authority
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐξουσία (i.e., *exousia*) refers to power or authority, derived from the root meaning 'to be permitted.' It encompasses various forms of authority, including legal, governmental, and personal power, as well as the ability to act freely. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts related to Jesus' authority, apostolic power, and judicial authority, notably in Matthew and Luke.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐξουσία, -ας, ἡ

(< ἔξεστι),

[in LXX: IV Ki 20:13, Ps 113 (114):2 135 (136)8, 9, Is 39:2, Je 28 (51):28 (מֶמְשָׁלָה), freq. in Da for Aram. שָׁלְטָן, etc., Wi 10:14, Si 9:13, al. ;]

prop., liberty or power to act, freedom to exercise the inward force or faculty expressed by δύναμις (q.v.): I Co 9:12; ἐ. ἔχειν, II Th 3:9; id. seq. inf., Jo 10:18, I Co 9:4, 5; c. gen. obj., Ro 9:21; seq. ἐπί, c. acc., Re 22:14; περί, I Co 7:37.

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ἐξουσία, -as, 7, (fr. ἔξεστι, ἐξόν, q. v-), fr. Eur., Xen., Plato down; Sept. for mw and Chald. Ow; power. 1. power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; leave or permission: 1 Co. ix. 12, 18; ἔχειν ἐξουσίαν, 2 Th. iii. 9; with an inf. added indicating the thing to be done, Jn. x. 18; 1 Co. ix. 4 sq.; Heb. xiii. 10 [WH br. €&.]; foll. by an inf. with τοῦ, 1 Co. ix. 6 (LT Tr ΝῊ οπι. τοῦ) ; with a gen. of the thing or the pers. with regard to which one has the power to decide: Ro. ix. 21 (where an explanatory infin. is added [B. 260 (224)]); 1 Co. ix. 12; ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς, permission to use the tree of life, Rev. xxii. 14 [see ἐπί, C. I. 2e.]; ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν περὶ τοῦ ἰδίου θελήματος (opp. to ἀνάγκην ἔχειν [οἵ. W. § 30, 3 N.5]), 1 Co. vii. 37; ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ, [appointed, see τίθημι. 1 a. sub fin.] according to his own choice, Actsi. 7; ἐν τῇ σῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ὑπῆρχεν. i.e. at thy…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ἐξουσία. For the primary meaning of this important word ‘‘ power of choice,” ‘‘liberty of action,” cf. BGU IV. 11581 (8.6. 9), where it is joined with ἐγλογή--μένε(ιν) περὶ ἑατ(ὴν) Kopν(ηλίαν) τὴν ἐξουσία(ν) Kal ἐγλογὴ(ν) ἑαυτὸν πράσσειν τὸ κεφά[λ]αιοί(ν). Hence the common usage in wills, contracts, and other legal documents, to denote the ‘‘claim,’’ or “‘right,”’ or ‘‘control,’’ one has over anything, e.g. P Oxy II. 27215 (A.D. 66) ὁμολογ[ο]ῦμεν ἔχειν σε ἐξουσίζαν σε]αυτῆι τὴν ἀπία(τησΊ]ιν ποιεῖσθαι παρὰ τοῦ Ἡ ρακλήου τῶν προκειμένων ἀργ(υρίου) (δραχμῶν), BGU I. 183? (a.p. 85) ἔχειν αὐτὴν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῶν ἰδίων πάντων, P Tebt II. 3105} (A.D. 248) ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὑπαρχόντων : see also Milligan ad 2 Thess 3°. For the definite idea of right given by law, see P Oxy II. 237%17 (a.p. 186) ἀξιῶ τοῦ νόμου διδόντος μοι ἐξουσίαν KTA. and 16. V2, ὙΠ]. ἀν of, also 26, 259138 (A.D. 23)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐξουσία (exousia) — authority.

ἐξουσ-ία, ἡ,

(ἔξεστι) power, authority to do a thing, with infinitive, χαίρειν καὶ νοσεῖν ἐ. πάρεστι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐξουσίαν ὁ νόμος δέδωκε permission to do.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐ. with the freedom permitted by peace, [Refs 4th c.BC+] power of life and death, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; πρᾶγμα οὗ τὴν ἐ. ἔχουσιν ἄλλοι control over.., [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; ἐ. τινός power over, licence in a thing, τοῦ λέγειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν μεγάλῃ ἐ. τοῦ ἀδικεῖν[Refs]; κατὰ τὴν οὐκ ἐ. τῆς ἀγωνίσεως from want of qualification for.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, power, authority, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐξουσία

exousia

from 1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subjectively)

force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery

(concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control),

delegated influence:--authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right,

strength.

see GREEK for 1832

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐξουσία, ας, ἡ

n.f.

power, authority, weight

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐξουσία exousia 102x

power, ability, faculty, Mt. 9:8; 10:1; efficiency, energy, Lk. 4:32; liberty, licence, Jn. 10:18; Acts 5:4; authority, rule, dominion, jurisdiction, Mt. 8:9; 28:18; meton. pl. authorities, potentates, powers, Lk. 12:11; 1 Cor. 15:24; Eph. 1:21; right, authority, full power, Mt. 9:6; 21:23; privilege, prerogative, Jn. 1:12

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐξουσία ἐξουσία, ἡ, ἔξεστι power or authority to do a thing, c. inf., Thuc., Xen.; c. gen. power over, licence in a thing, Thuc., Plat.

absol. power, authority, might, as opp. to right, Thuc.: also licence, Dem.

an office, magistracy, Lat. potestas, Plat.

as concrete, also like Lat. potestas, the body of the magistrates, in pl., the authorities, NTest.

abundance of means, resources, Thuc.

pomp, Plut.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-ASF — Noun · accusative · singular · feminine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-ASF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
72%authority
authority72% · 74×power9% · 9×authorities8% · 8×right6% · 6×other renderings6% · 6×

103 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 10 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object56%adverbial19%subject14%predicate8%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 102 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,δίδωμιI offer, giveαὐτός
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἀποκτείνωI put to death,
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςδύναμιςmight, power, maἀρχήruler, beginning
αὐτός
δίδωμιI offer, give
ποῖοςIrg
ἐν
ἐξουσίαpermission102×
what comes after →
Article the
σκότοςdarknessArticle theπνεῦμαwind, breath, sp
οὗτος
ποιέωI do, makeἵναin order that, sἅπαςall, the whole
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
ἐπίκαίand, even, also,Article the
καίand, even, also, nam
δύναμιςmight, power, maArticle theἐπιτροπήcommission, full
ἐπί
Article theπᾶςall, the whole,

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceἐξουσία · 102× in the New Testament
Revelation Luke 1 Corinthians Matthew Mark John Acts Romans Colossians Ephesians 2 Corinthians 1 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 18 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.95c. AD 40

ἡ δὲ παραίνεσις γίνεται δι’ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν κλήσεων καὶ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, „ἐνετείλατο“ γὰρ „κύριος ὁ θεός“, ἵνα, εἰ μὲν πείθοιτο ταῖς παραινέσεσιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εὐεργεσιῶν ἀξιωθείη, εἰ δὲ ἀφηνιάζοι, ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ὡς δεσπότου καὶ ἐξουσίαν…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.156c. AD 75–95

δυνάμεως γὰρ αὐτοῖς παρούσης καὶ προνοῆσαι τῆς κατʼ αὐτοὺς εὐταξίας, ταύτης δʼ ὑστεροῦντας φανεροὺς γίνεσθαι μηδʼ ὅσα πρὸς τὸ χρησιμώτερον ἡμῖν συνεργοῦσι κατὰ τὴν αὐτῶν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κελεύοντος ἰσχὺν ὑπουργεῖν, ᾧ καλῶς ἔχει μόνῳ τὴν…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.1c. AD 100

Ἡμερῶν οὖν οὐσῶν πονηρῶν καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος ἔχοντος τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ὀφείλομεν ἑαυτοῖς προσέχοντες ἐκζητεῖν τὰ δικαιώματα κυρίου,

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
4th c. AD 2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 5th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 41Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 46

προκειμένοις πᾶσι. εὐτύχει. … ἐπὶ ταῖς προκειμέναις ἀργυρίου διακοσίαις ὀγδοήκοντα ὀκτώ, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ἐξουσίας οὔσης σοι ἑτέροις μεταμισθοῦν καμιτ … γ παντὶ χρόνωι. ἔτους ζ Τιβερίου Κλαυδίου Καίσαρος

APF 6 (1920), p. 85Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 120–AD 121

ἔτους Ἁδριανοῦ τοῦ κυρίου Ἐπὶφ ὑπομνηματισμοὶ περιέχουσι, διʼ ὧνπερ πράγματος ὑπερτεθέντος εἰς τὴν μείζονα ἐξουσίαν συνέβη, καθὼς ἅπαντες προφέρονται, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ παιδίον, εἴτε ἦν τῆς Ἀπίας τῆς καὶ

P.Bodl. 1 34Philadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 158–AD 159

πρὸς ἐμὲ τὸν μεμισθωμένον. οὐχ ἕξω δὲ κοινωνὸν οὐδὲ μίσθιον γενόμενον τῆς ὠνῆς ὑποτελῆ, ἐξουσίας σοι οὔσης ἑτέροις μεταμισθοῦν, ὁπότε ἐὰν αἱρῇ, ἐὰν φαίνηται ἐπιχωρῆσαι.

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
τοῦho <the> G3588 Article · genitive · singular · neuter
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The definite article — the commonest word in the Greek New Testament at 19,867 occurrences. Greek uses it more freely than English does and can drop it deliberately, so its presence and its absence both carry weight for a translator; but no single occurrence carries a message of its own. Here it simply gathers “the things” into one definite bundle.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.

As demonstr. pron.

As freq. in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Ac 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).

Distributive, ὁ μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, the one . . . the other: I Co 7:7, Ga 4:22; pl., Ac 14:4, 17:32, Phl 1:16, al.; οἱ μὲν . . . ἄλλοι δέ, Mt 16:14, Jo 7:12; οἱ μεν̀ . . . ὁ δέ, He 7:21, 23.

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ὁ 435 ὁ tives of quantity, ὅλος, πᾶς, πολύς, see each in its own place. d. What has been said concerning adjectives holds true also of all other limitations added to substantives, as ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Ro. ix. 11; ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, Ro. xi. 27; 6 λόγος 6 τοῦ σταυροῦ, 1 Co. i. 18; ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις, Col. ii. 5; on the other hand, ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 1 Th. i. 8; τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 2 Co. viii. 4; see many other exx. of each usage in W. 131 (124) sqq.; [B. 91 (80) sqq.]. e. The noun has the article before it when a demonstrative pronoun (υὗτος, ἐκεῖνος) belonging to it either precedes or follows [W. § 18, 4; B. § 127, 29-31]; as, ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, Jn. ix. 24 [οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρ. 1, Tr mrg. WH); Acts vi. 13; xxii. 26; ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, Mt. xv. 8; 6 vids σου οὗτος, Lk. xv. 30; plur. Lk. xxiv. 17, and numberless other exx.; οὗτος 6 ἄνθρωπος, Lk. xiv. 30; οὗτος ὁ…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ὃ, ἡ τό. (1) Apart from connexion with μέν or δέ (see below) the demonstrative use of the art. in the NT is confined to a poetical quotation Ac 1778, but it is not uncommon in the papyri, e.g. P Par 45® (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski®, p. 85) τὰ (for ἃ) πράσεις (Δ πράσσεις), P Oxy VIII. 1160! (iii/iv A.D.) Ta (for ἃ) σεσύλληχα (for συνείληχα) δὲ κέρμα {ταν τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “1 am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.). For the distributive Opéev.. - 6 8€, as in 1 Cor7’, cf. P Lond 535 (B.c. 161) (=I. p. 19, U.P.Z. i. p. 239) kal τὰ μὲν ἡμῶν ἐληφότων εἰς τὴν γινομένην ἡμῖν συντάξειν, τὰ δ᾽ ἔτι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων {(.. ... > παρελκομένων. (2) The use of the art. as a relative, of which there is no trace in the NT, may again be illustrated by the following papyrus citations from ¢c. A.D. 346—P Lond 414® (= II. Ῥ. 292) γεινῴσκιν oe θέλω περὶ τοῦ βρεουίου…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

__C in Epic dialect, the so-called postpositive Article, = relative Pronoun, ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.—The nominative masculine and feminine singular and plural, ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, have no accent in codices and most printed books, except when used as the relative; but ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ differ only in writing from ὃ, ἣ, οἳ, α; the nominative forms of the article are said by Hdn.Gr.1.474 to be oxytone, and by [Refs 2nd c.AD+] in Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] genitive and dative dual τοῖιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]— In Doric dialect and all other dialects except Attic dialect and Ionic dialect the feminine forms preserve the old ᾱ instead of changing it to η, hence Doric dialect etc. ἁ, τάν, τᾶ; the genitive plural τάων contracts in many dialects to τᾶ; the genitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be

supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one,

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

the prepositive article, answering, to a considerable extent, to the English definite article; but, for the principle and facts of its usage, consult a grammar; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; Heb. 7:5, 6, 20, 21, 23, 24; pl. some ... others, Mt. 13:23; 22:5, 6; ὁ δέ, but he, Mt. 4:4; 12:48; οἱ δέ, but others, Mt. 28:17; used, in a poetic quotation, for a personal pronoun, Acts 17:28

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

in epic, the relative Pronoun, when it is written with the accent ὅ, ἥ, τό ῀ ὅς, ἥ, ὅ. Besides the common forms, note epic gen. sg. τοῖο for τοῦ; pl. nom. τοί, ταί; gen. fem. τάων [α^], dat. τοῖσι, τῇς and τῇσι; dual gen, and dat. τοῖιν:— in Trag. we find τοὶ μέν . . , τοὶ δέ . . , for οἱ μέν . . , οἱ δέ . . ; dat. pl. also τοῖσι, ταῖσι: the dual has commonly but one gender, τώ for τά, τοῖν for ταῖν.

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

joined with a Subst., not as the Art., but like Lat. ille, ὁ Τυδείδης Tydeus's famous son, Il.; Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων Nestor— that aged man, id. Il.; τιμῆς τῆς Πριάμου for honour, namely that of Priam, id. Il.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Art-GSN — Article · genitive · singular · neuter
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-GSN Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.

3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%the
the64% · 13160×<the>28% · 5846×those3% · 597×other renderings4% · 788×other renderings1% · 294×

20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject34%adverbial32%object24%predicate5%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
<the>19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordance · 19,783× in the New Testament
Matthew Acts Luke John Revelation Mark Romans 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

40 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.argc. AD 75–95

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.1c. AD 100

Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

r βασιλεύοντος Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος Νεχούτου.

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
μὴ not G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Not is a word used to show that something is not true or is not happening, like in phrases that say 'lest' or 'God forbid', as seen in various parts of the New Testament.
Tyndale gloss
not
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μή () is a Greek negative particle used to express subjective negation, often in conditional or hypothetical contexts. It contrasts with οὐ (ou), which indicates absolute denial. μή can function as an adverb meaning 'not' or as a conjunction meaning 'lest.' It appears in various grammatical constructions, including prohibitions and deliberative questions, and is referenced in verses like Matthew 5:29 and John 3:18.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή,

subjective negative particle,

used where the negation depends on a condition or hypothesis, expressed or understood, as distinct from οὐ, which denies absolutely. μή is used where one thinks a thing is not, as distinct from an absolute negation. As a general rule, οὐ negatives the indic., μή the other moods, incl, ptcp. [In LXX for אֵין, אַיִן, אַל.]

As a neg. adv., not;

with ref. to thought or opinion: Jo 3:18, Tit 1:11, II Pe 1:9.

In delib. questions, c. subjc. (M, Pr., 185): Mk 12:14, Ro 3:8.

In conditional and final sentences, after εἰ, ἐάν, ἄν, ἵνα, ὅπως: Mt 10:14,

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

μή, Sept. for Ox, |X, PN, ἃ particle of negation, which differs from οὐ (which is always an adverb) in that ov denies the thing itself (orto speak technically, denies simply, absolutely, categorically, directly, objectively). but μή denies the thought of the thing, or the thing according to the judgment, opinion, will, purpose, preference, of some one (hence, as we say technically, indirectly, hypothetically, subjectively). This distinction holds also of the compounds οὐδείς, μηδείς, οὐκέτι, μηκέτι, ete. But pris either an ad verb of negation, not (Lat. non, ne); or aconjunction, that... not, lest, (Lat. ne); or an interrogative particle, (Lat. num) [i. e. (generally) implying aneg. ans.; in indir. quest. whether nol (suggesting apprehension) ]. Cf. Herm. ad Vig. § 267 p- 802 sqq-; Matthiae § 608; Bitm. Gram. § 148 (cf. Alex. Bttm. N. T. Gr. p. 344 (296) sqq.); Kiihner ii. §§ 512 sq. p.…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

μή Grenf II. 384 (mid. 1.8.6.) καλῶς οὖ]ν ποιήσις μὴ ἀμελήσ[α]ς α[. . ἀγο]ράσαι. .. , P Oxy I. 3815 (a.p. 49--50) (= Selections, p. 53) τοῦ δὲ Σύρου μὴ βουλομένου ἐνμεῖναι τοῖς κεκριμένοις, “45 Syrus does not wish to abide by what has been decided,” 2d. II. 2755 (A.D. 66) (= Selections, p. 58) ἔγραψα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μὴ ἰδότος γράμματα, “1 wrote for him seeing that he was unlettered,” BGU I. 22° (a.p. 114) (= Selections, p. 74) TappovOios . . . τὸ παρὸν μὴ ἔχουσα κύριον, ‘ Tarmuthis at present without a guardian,’ and P Grenf II. 779 (iii/iv A.D.) (= Sedections, p. 120) θαυμάζω πάνυ [ὅτι] ἀλόγως ἀπέστητε μὴ ἄραντες [τὸ σ]ῶμα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ὑμῶν, “1 wonder exceedingly that you went off so unreasonably, without taking the body of your brother”; cf. P Tor 1. 1¥8-4 (νον 116) εἰ δὲ kal τις θείηι τὸ μὴ ὄν (cf. 1 Cor 1°8)—acc. and inf. follow, P Ryl II. 144°? (Α.Ὁ. 38) ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ μὴ ὄντος, ‘‘…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μή (mē) — not.

μή,

Elean μά [ᾱ] [Refs 6th c.BC+]. (Cf. Sanskrit mā´, Armenian mi [from I.-[Refs 5th c.BC+] mē´], negative used in prohibitions):—not, the negative of the will and thought, as οὐ of fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. (A few examples of μηδέ and μηδείς have been included.)

__A in INDEPENDENT sentences, used in expressions of will or wish, command, entreaty, warning,

__A.1 with present imperative, 2 person, μή μ᾽ ἐρέθιζε [Refs 8th c.BC+]: rarely with aorist imperative, μὴ.. ἔνθεο τιμῇ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Attic dialect, μὴ ψεῦσον, ὦ Ζεῦ, τῆς.. ἐλπίδος [Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect imperative [Refs 8th c.BC+] person when perfect = present, μὴ κεκράγετε [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μή

me

a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an

absolute denial); (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an

interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas 3756 expects an

affirmative one)) whether:--any but (that), X forbear, + God forbid, +

lack, lest, neither, never, no (X wise in), none, nor, (can-)not,

nothing, that not, un(-taken), without. Often used in compounds in

substantially the same relations. See also 3362, 3363, 3364, 3372,

3373, 3375, 3378.

see GREEK for 3756

see GREEK for 3362

see GREEK for 3363

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

see GREEK for 3373

see GREEK for 3375

see GREEK for 3378

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μή

Neg.prt.

not, lest

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μή mē 1x

a negative particle, can function as a conj, not, for the particulars of its usage, especially as distinguished from that of οὐ, consult a grammar; as a conj., lest, that not, Mt. 5:29, 30; 18:10; 24:6; Mk. 13:36; μή, or μήτι, or μήποτε, when prefixed to an interrogative clause, it expresses an intimation either of the reality of the matters respecting which the question is asked, Mt. 12:23; or the contrary, Jn. 4:12

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Particle-N — Particle · negative
particle — a small word colouring the clause; it does not decline.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
71%not
not71% · 772×except9% · 95×unless5% · 58×surely not4% · 41×lest3% · 32×otherwise2% · 23×other renderings4% · 48×other renderings1% · 16×

1,085 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 23 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial84%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,060 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,σύἐγώ
ἵναin order that, so th
αὐτόςσύπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώαὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
εἰCond
αὐτόςυἱόςa son, descendenκαίand, even, also,
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰςδιά
μήnot1060×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenσημεῖονa sign, miracle,
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
καίand, even, also,ποιμήνa shepherdβάθοςdepth, a depth,
εἰμίI am, exist
δίδωμιI offer, giveἐνμετά
τὶς
σύὑστερέωI am lacking, faγεννάωI beget, bring f
φοβέωI fear, am terrified
ἀπόArticle theμόνοςalone, but, only

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceμή · 1,060× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John 1 Corinthians Romans Mark Acts Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews 1 Timothy Galatians

2 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 1,321 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Or only I myself and Barnabas not have permission <the> not to work?
ἐργάζεσθαι;ergazomai to work? G2038 Verb · present · no voice stated · infinitive
41× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to work or labor, often implying physical or mental effort. In the Bible, it is used to describe various tasks, such as working for pay or trading. Jesus used it to teach about working for spiritual rewards.
Amplified meaning
labor, toil, to support ourselves, earn our keep
Tyndale gloss
to work
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐργάζομαι (i.e., *ergazomai*) means 'to work' or 'to labor.' It encompasses a range of activities, including manual labor, trade, and performing tasks for pay or reward. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as working in a vineyard (Mt 21:28) and doing good works (Col 3:23). The lexicons do not present any significant disagreement regarding its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐργάζομαι

(< ἔργον),

[in LXX for עָבַד, פָּעַל, עָשָׂה, etc. ;]

intrans.,

to work, labour: Mt 21:28, Lk 13:14, Jo 5:17 9:4b, Ac 18:3, I Co 9:6, II Th 3:10-12; τ. χερσίν, I Co 4:12, I Th 4:11; νυκτὸς κ. ἡαέρας, I Th 2:9, II Th 3:8; of working for pay, Mt 21:28; for reward, Ro 4:4, 5;

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Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

ἐργάζομαι; depon. mid.; impf. εἰργαζόμην (ἠργαζόμην, Acts xviii. 3 LT Tr WH; [so elsewh. at times; this var. in augm. is found in the aor. also]; cf. W. § 12, 8; B. 33 (29 sq.); Steph. Thesaur. iii. 1970 e.; [Curtius, Das Verbum, i. 124; Cramer, Anecd. 4,412; Veitch s. v.]); 1 aor. εἰργασάμην (npyac. Mt. xxv. 16; [xxvi. 10]; Mk. Arey: ἑπτά, xiv. 6, in T WH, [add, 2 Jn. 8 WH and Hebr. xi. 33 T Tr WH; cf. reff. as above]); pf. εἴργασμαι, in a pass. sense [cf. W. § 38, 7e.], Jn. iii. 21, as often in Grk. writ. [ef. Veitch 5. v.]; (ἔργον) ; Sept. for oy3, ἽΞ»» sometimes for TW} ; 1. absol. a. to work, labor, do work: it is opp. to inactivity or idleness, Lk. xiii. 14; Jn. v.17; ix.4; 2 Th. iii. 10; with addition of ταῖς χερσί, 1 Co. iv. 12; 1 Th. iv. 11; with acc. of time: νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, 2 Th. iii. 8 [but Ltxt.T Tr WH the gen., as in 1 Th. ii. 9 (see ἡμέρα, 1 a.); cf. W. § 30, 11 and…

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Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ἐργάζομαι. P Petr II. 4(8)8 (B.c. 255-4) οὐδενὶ τρόπωι ἐργάζονται, P Tebt IE, 3844 (contract of apprenticeship—a.D. 10) παρε[ξόμεθά σοι τὸν] ἀδελφὸν. . .. ἐργαζόμενον κατὰ τὴν] γερδίιακὴν τέχνην, “we will produce our brother to work at the weaver’s trade” (Edd.), P Ryl II. 233? (ii/a.p.) ἡ ἔξοδος τῶν ἐργαζομένων πάντων, ‘the exit for all the | work-folk” (Edd.), P Lond 117779 (A.D. 113) (=TIII. p. 183) τῶν διὰ νυκτὸς ἐργασαμένων, P Meyer 207" (ist half iii/A.D.) ἐργαζέσθω Λουκιᾶς καὶ ζώτω ἐκ Tod μισθάρον (4—(ov) αὐτῆς (cf. 2 Th 315. Ἐἴργασται, ‘“‘ work has been done,” is very common in certificates granted for work done on embankments, as P Ryl II. 210% (A.D. 131) εἴργίασται) ὑπὲρ χωματικῶν ἔργων, so 70. 211°, 212° (both ii/A.p.), and P Fay 79° (A.D. 197). With the use of the verb = “‘perform” sacred rites, as in 1 Cor 93%, cf. the related ὀργιάζω = ‘‘celebrate mysteries” : see Boisacq…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐργάζομαι (ergazomai) — to work.

ἐργάζομαι,

[Refs 8th c.BC+], etc., Cretan dialect ϝεργάδδομαι [Refs]: future -άσομαι [Refs 6th c.BC+], etc., Doric dialect [LXX+3rd c.BC+]: aorist εἰργασάμην, Ionic dialect [Refs 6th c.BC+]: perfect εἴργασμαι, Ionic dialect[Refs 5th c.BC+] —These tenses are used both in middle and passive significations: for other passive tenses, see below[Refs 4th c.BC+]; but this rule is often broken in later Papyrus, Inscrr., and codices:—work, labour, especially of husbandry, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of quarrymen, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐ. ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις in the mines, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of birds working to get food, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; of bees, [Refs]; of Hephaestus' self-acting bellows, [Refs 8th c.BC+] the matter works, i.e. goes on, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὁ ἀὴρ ἐργάζεται produces an effect [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐργάσεται τὸ θερμόν…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐργάζομαι

ergazomai

middle voice from 2041; to toil (as a task, occupation, etc.), (by

implication) effect, be engaged in or with, etc.:--commit, do, labor

for, minister about, trade (by), work.

see GREEK for 2041

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐργάζομαι

v.

I word, trade, do

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐργάζομαι ergazomai 41x

intrans. to work, labor, Mt. 21:28; Lk. 13:14; to trade, traffic, do business, Mt. 25:16; Rev. 18:17; to act, exert one’s power, be active, Jn. 5:17; trans. to do, perform, commit, Mt. 26:10; Jn. 6:28; to be engaged in, occupied upon, 1 Cor. 9:13; Rev. 18:17; to acquire, gain by one’s labor, Jn. 6:27

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐργάζομαι ἔργον to work, labour, properly of husbandry, Hes., Thuc., etc.; but also of all manual labour, Od., Hdt.:—also of things, as Vulcan's bellows, Il.

trans. to work at, make, build, Od., attic

to do, perform, accomplish, Hom., attic:—c. dupl. acc. to do something to another, Hdt., etc.; κακὰ ἐργάζεσθαί τινα Soph., Thuc.

to work a material, χρυσὸν εἰργάζετο Od.; ἐργ. γῆν to work the land, Hdt.

to earn by working, χρήματα id. Hdt., attic

to work at, practise, Lat. exercere, τέχνην Plat.

absol. to work at a trade or business, to traffic, trade, Dem.

the perf. pass. εἴργασμαι is used in act. sense, as Hdt., Soph.; but also in pass. sense,

to be made or built, ἔργαστο τὸ τεῖχος Hdt.; ἐκ πέτρας εἰργασμένος Aesch., etc.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PNN — Verb · present · no voice stated · infinitive
present no voice stated infinitive — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PNN Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: middle or passive depoNent Mood: iNfinitive TVM equivalent: G5738

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Nave's Topical Bible

→ See INDUSTRY

→ See LABOR

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
29%working
working29% · 12×work10% · 4×do work7% · 3×am working5% · 2×she did5% · 2×he was working2% · 1×doing2% · 1×does do2% · 1×other renderings37% · 15×

41 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 23 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb93%object5%subject2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 41 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἴδιοςone’s own, priva
Article the
ἐγώπᾶςall, the whole,
ἔργονwork, labor, action,
καλόςbeautiful, good,ὅτιthat, since, bec
δεῖit is necessary, ine
ὅςἐγώ
μήNeg
δέbut, on the otheἐξουσίαpower, authority
ἐργάζομαιto work?41×
what comes after →
Article the
ἔργονwork, labor, actἀγαθόςgoodἴδιοςone’s own, priva
ἐν
αὐτόςArticle theἐγώ
εἰς
ἐγώArticle the
δικαιοσύνηjustice, justness, r
δεκτόςacceptable, acceἐπιτυγχάνωI attain, obtain
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
κἀγώArticle the

branches are dictionary forms, so endings do not split one phrase into five; the number on a branch is how many times the New Testament takes that path

Concordanceἐργάζομαι · 41× in the New Testament
John 1 Corinthians 2 Thessalonians Matthew Romans Acts 1 Thessalonians James 2 Corinthians 2 John 3 John Colossians
Across the New Testament18 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 73 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Josephus The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 113c. AD 40

καὶ πελαγῶν ἐργάζονται τροπὰς ἐξαναχωρούντων ἢ παλιρροίαις χρωμένων·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 5.129c. AD 75–95

καὶ οὕτως παυσάμενοι πάντες οἱ μὲν τοῦ κτείνειν οἱ δὲ κινδυνεύειν, ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν γῆν εὐσχόλουν.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 19.10c. AD 100

μνησθήσῃ ἡμέραν κρίσεως νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας, καὶ ἐκζητήσεις καθ̓ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τὰ πρόσωπα τῶν ἁγίων, ἢ διὰ λόγου κοπιῶν καὶ πορευόμενος εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι καὶ μελετῶν εἰς τὸ σῶσαι ψυχὴν τῷ λόγῳ, ἢ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν σου ἐργάσῃ εἰς λύτρωσιν ἁμαρτιῶν σου.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD

ἐρίων μνᾶς τρεισήμισυ , καθαρὸν δὲ ὅσον ἄν ποτε ἀποβῆι. τοῦτο ἀνοίσουσίν σοι οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι. ἀπέσταλκα δέ σοι καὶ τὸ καταλειφθὲν στρούθειον ἔρρωσο. ἔτους δ, Τῦβι ιδ.

P.Lond. 7 2063257 BC–229 BC

Πᾶις … ἀπέστειλάς μοι ἵνα ἐργ … ἀπολλύμενοί εἰσιν ἐργαζόμενοι … ων πᾶσαν χρείαν τοῖς ναυπηγοῖς … ἡμῖν Σπονδάτης ἀλλʼ ἢ … χρείαν οὐθέν

P.Athen.. 35Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 154

καὶ πωλεῖν καὶ Πετεσοῦχον ὡσαύτως δὲ παραστήσειν σὺν τοῖς προγεγραμμένοις τοὺς λοιποὺς ἁλιεῖς τοὺς ἐργαζομένους ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ δρυμῷ· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ οὕτω ἐργασώμεθα σὺν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἁλιεῦσιν, ἀποδώσομεν

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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