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1 John 4:19 — Word Study

Depth

N1904ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτόν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

BSAWe ourselvesegō loveagapaō [show esteem and goodwill] himautos [the Father] becausehoti He himselfautos firstprōtos lovedagapaō [showed esteem and goodwill towards] us.egō

Word
Listen & take away1 John 4
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 19 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 (egō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
1 John 4:19quick helps
In a sentenceWe love because God first showed His love for us.
Who is speakingThe Apostle John, addressing believers.
Where we areThis verse is part of a passage discussing the nature of love among believers.
The hard wordἀγαπῶμεν
Take awayOur ability to love is rooted in God's prior love for us.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectημεις verbἀγαπάω 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 John 4:19

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 — The Nature of Lovegenerated

18There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.
19We love because He first loved us.
20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
21And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.

1 John 4:19 is situated in a broader discussion about love, emphasizing that love is perfected in the absence of fear. John explains that our love for one another stems from God's initial act of love towards us. This establishes a foundational principle for Christian relationships, as seen in the surrounding verses that stress the importance of loving others as a reflection of God's love.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
11 John 4:10And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
2Luke 7:47Therefore I tell you, because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
3John 3:16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
4John 15:16You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
52 Corinthians 5:14–15For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 8 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word ἀγαπῶμεν, agapaōgenerated

The verb ἀγαπῶμεν is the present active indicative form of ἀγαπάω, meaning 'we love'. This indicates an ongoing action, highlighting that love is a continuous choice and action among believers.

This word conveys a moral and social sense of love, suggesting an active expression of goodwill and esteem towards others. In the New Testament, it often describes the love Christians should have for one another, mirroring the divine love God has for humanity.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In this study, the verse is read in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses the term love. The KJV translates it as love him, while the ASV simply states love, reflecting a similar meaning.

The translations diverge primarily on the rendering of ἀγαπῶμεν. The BSB, ASV, and others opt for love, while the KJV includes love him, and the BBE uses having the power of loving, which emphasizes the ability to love.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The verse consists of two main clauses: the first clause is ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν, meaning we love, and the second is ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, meaning because He loved us. The structure shows a cause-and-effect relationship between God's love and our response.

The subject of the first clause is ἡμεῖς (we), and the verb is ἀγαπῶμεν (love). In the second clause, αὐτὸς (He) is the subject, ἠγάπησεν (loved) is the verb, and ἡμᾶς (us) is the object.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In 1 John 4:19, the Greek word ἀγαπῶμεν (agapaō) is used to denote 'love.' This term corresponds to the Hebrew word אָהֵב (ahav), which also means 'love' and is found in the Septuagint in various contexts, emphasizing the depth and commitment of affection.

The word πρῶτος (prōtos), meaning 'first,' aligns with the Hebrew רִאשׁוֹן (ri'shon), indicating priority or precedence. In this verse, it highlights that God's love precedes our own, establishing a foundational relationship between divine and human love.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

1 John 4:19 tells us that we love others because God first loved us. This verse highlights the source of our love, which is rooted in God's prior love for us, and serves as a reminder of how we should express love to one another.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that we love because He first loved us?

It means our ability to love others comes from the love God has shown us first, establishing a model for how we should love.

How can we demonstrate love to others?

We can show love through our actions, kindness, and support, reflecting the love God has for us.

Is love just a feeling according to this verse?

No, love is portrayed as an action and a choice, not merely an emotion.

What is the significance of God's love in this context?

God's love serves as the foundation for our love towards others, indicating that true love is derived from His example.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How can I better reflect God's love in my relationships with others?
  2. In what ways can I actively show love to those around me?
  3. What does it mean for me to love others as God loves me?
  4. How does understanding God's love for me change the way I view my ability to love?

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

Early church Fathers, particularly Augustine, reflect on the implications of this verse regarding God's love and our response to it.

Augustine of HippoLETTERS 186 354–430
By God's grace we love him who first loved us, in order to believe in him, and by loving him we perform good works, but we have not performed the good works in order to love him.
Early Church Fathers on 1 John 4 →
Augustine of HippoTen Homilies on 1 John 9 354–430
"Let us love, because He first loved us." For how should we love, except He had first loved us? By loving we became friends: but He loved us as enemies, that we might be made friends. He first loved us, and gave us the gift of loving Him.
Early Church Fathers on 1 John 4 →
Augustine of HippoTen Homilies on 1 John 9 354–430
But our soul, my brethren, is unlovely by reason of iniquity: by loving God it becomes lovely. What a love must that be that makes the lover beautiful! But God is always lovely, never unlovely, never changeable.
Early Church Fathers on 1 John 4 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 1 John 4:19 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

We love him, because he first loved us. Lest love to God, and so to one another, should be thought to be of ourselves, and too much be ascribed unto it, the apostle observes, that God's love to us is

Read John Gill on 1 John 4 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

We love him, because he first loved us. Him. Omitted in A B: 'Aleph (') has 'God.' 'We (emphatic, on our part) love (in general, Him, the brethren, and our fellowmen), because He (emphatic: answering

Read Robert Jamieson on 1 John 4 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

His is the fountain love, ours but the stream: his love the inducement, the pattern, and the effective cause of ours. He that is first in love, loves freely; the other therefore loves under obligation.

Read Matthew Poole on 1 John 4 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

19 We love him, because he first loved us. Ver. 19. Because he first loved us] Mary answers not Rabboni till Christ first said unto her, Mary. Our love is but the reflex of his. And as the reflected beams of the sun are weaker than the direct, so are our affections weaker than God’ s. That is a memorable saying of a modern writer, As a great brightness of the air at midnight argueth the shining of the moon, and that presumeth an illumination of the sun, because these depend one upon another; so the diffusing of our charity on our neighbours proveth our love to God; and our love to God presumeth his love to us first, for the inseparable dependence they have on each other.

Read John Trapp on 1 John 4 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) THE PERFECT LOVE THE SUREST TEST (1 John 4:7-21). (a) Fraternal love the necessary product of the true knowledge of God, because God is love (1 John 4:7-8). (b) The grand recent historical exhibition of God’s love (1 John 4:9-10). (c) Our consequent duty (1 John 4:11). (d) God’s abode in us, the perfecting of His love in us, and the proof of His presence through the Spirit, are the equivalent for seeing Him (1 John 4:12-13). (e) All this is grounded on the strong, undeniable truth of the Apostolic witness to Christ (1 John 4:14-16). (f) The fearlessness which is the result of perfect love (1 John 4:17-18). (g) The cause of our love to God, and the necessary connection of that love with…

Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 John 4 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 19. We love him because he first loved us.] This is the foundation of our love to God. 1. We love him because we find he has loved us. 2. We love him from a sense of obligation and gratitude. 3. We love him from the influence of his own love; from his love shed abroad in our hearts, our love to him proceeds. It is the seed whence our love springs. The verse might be rendered, Let us therefore love him, because he first loved us: thus the Syriac and Vulgate.

Read AdamClarke on 1 John 4 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19. We love him] Omit ‘Him’, which is a later addition to the true text: some authorities for ‘Him’ add ‘God’, and some have ‘God’ for ‘He’ in the next clause. No accusative is expressed, and none, whether ‘God’ or ‘one another’, is to be understood: Christian love of every kind is meant. Authorities are much divided between ‘we love’ and ‘let us love’; for the Greek (ἀγαπῶμεν) may be either indicative or hortative subjunctive. The former is better. The Peschito and Vulgate render ‘let us love’ and with Codex A insert ‘therefore’: nos ergo diligamus.because he first loved us] We shall narrow the Apostle’s meaning if we limit this to the idea of gratitude evoking love. The ‘first’, which is…

Read Cambridge on 1 John 4 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

We love him, because he first loved us - This passage is susceptible of two explanations; either. (1)That the fact that he first loved us is the “ground” or “reason” why we love him, or.

Read Albert Barnes on 1 John 4 →

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

We love because He first loved us.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

We love him, because he first loved us.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

We love Him because He first loved us.

NETBNew English Translation2006

We love because he loved us first.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

We love him, because he first loved us.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

We love, because he first loved us.

RVARevised Version, American1894

We love, because he first loved us.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

We love him, because he first loved us.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

We loue him, because he loued vs first.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

We love because he has first loved us.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

we — we love him, because He — He first loved us;

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

we love Him, because He first loved us;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

We love because God first loved us.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

We love because he loved us first.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

We have the power of loving, because he first had love for us.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἀγαπῶμενagapaō love G25 3 different renderings
lovedASV BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
he lovedFBV NETB
lovingBBE
ἠγάπησενagapaō loved G25 3 different renderings
lovedASV BSB DBY DRA KJV LSV MSB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
he lovedFBV NETB
lovingBBE

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.

clauseclausesubjectἨμεῖςWeverbἀγαπῶμενloveclauseὅτιbecauseclausesubjectαὐτὸςHeadverbialπρῶτοςfirstverbἠγάπησενlovedobjectἡμᾶςus

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

Nos ergo diligamus Deum, quoniam Deus prior dilexit nos.

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

ܚܢܢ ܗܟܝܠ ܢܚܒ ܠܐܠܗܐ ܡܛܠ ܕܗܘ ܩܕܡܝܬ ܐܚܒܢ

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

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτόν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτόν, ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

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
αὐτόν, himTR, 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 John 4:19ημειςWe ourselveWe ourselvesημειςἀγαπάωloveloveἀγαπάωαὐτόςhimhimαὐτόςὅτιbecausebecauseὅτιαὐτόςHe himselfHe himselfαὐτόςπρῶτοςfirstfirstπρῶτοςἀγαπάωlovedlovedἀγαπάωημαςus.us.ημαςφιλέωv. I love,v. I love, kissφιλέωἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦὅστιςRel.pr. whRel.pr. whosoevὅστιςπρόPrep. befoPrep. beforeπρόπλησίονAdv near, Adv near, nearbπλησίονἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωοἶδαv. I know,v. I know, remeοἶδαγινώσκωv. I come v. I come to knγινώσκωχείρωνAdj worseAdj worseχείρωνἔσχατοςAdj last, Adj last, at thἔσχατος
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 John 4:19

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.

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
ἡμεῖςegō We ourselves G3165 Personal pronoun · first person · nominative · plural
1,872× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
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

μέ (me) — me.

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 Sanskrit…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

me

a shorter (and probably originally) from of 1691; me:--I, me, my.

see GREEK for 1691

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

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

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

P-1NP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Nominative Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
35%us
us35% · 717×me32% · 644×mine20% · 402×we ourselves6% · 124×my2% · 45×other renderings5% · 97×

2,029 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 27 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
ἀγαπῶμενagapaō love G25 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · plural
143× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To love means to show esteem and goodwill towards someone, as seen in Matthew 5:43 and John 8:42. This love is not just a feeling, but an action that is demonstrated towards others. It is a key concept in the Bible.
Amplified meaning
show esteem and goodwill
Tyndale gloss
to love
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀγαπάω (i.e., *agapao*) means to love in a moral or social sense, often implying esteem and goodwill toward others. It is used in the New Testament to describe both human affection and divine love, such as God's love for humanity and the love Christians should have for one another. Lexicons note a distinction between ἀγαπάω and φιλέω (i.e., *phileo*), with the former suggesting a more deliberate, willful love.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — ἀγαπάω, φιλέω from a scan

We have made no attempt to discriminate between these words in our English Version. And yet there is often a difference between them, well worthy to have been noted and reproduced, if this had lain within the compass of our language; being very nearly equivalent to that between ‘diligo’ and ‘amo’ in the Latin. To understand the exact distinction between these, will help us to understand that between those other which are the more immediate object of our inquiry. For this we possess abundant material in Cicero, who often sets the words in instructive antithesis to one another. Thus, writing to one friend of the affection in which he holds another (Hp. Fam. xiii. 47) : *Ut scires illum a-me non diligt solum, verum etiam amart;? and again (Ad Brut. 1): ‘L. Clodius valde me diligit, vel, ut ἐμφατικώτερον dicam, valde me amat.’? From these and other like passages (there is an ample…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀγαπάω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for אהב;]

to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing. Of human affection, to men: τ. πλησίον, Mt 5:43; τ. ἐχθρούς, ib. 44; to Christ, Jo 8:42; to God, Mt 22:37; c. acc. rei, Lk 11:43, Jo 12:43, Eph 5:25, II Tim 4:8, 10, He 1:9, I Pe 2:17, 3:10, II Pe 2:15, I Jo 2:15, Re 12:11.

Of divine love;

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

ἀγαπάω, -&; [impf. ἠγάπων] ; fut.dyarjow; 1 aor. ἦγάmoa; pé. act. [1 pers. plur. 7yampxapev 1 Jn. iv. 10 WH txt.], ptep. ἠγαπηκώς (2 Tim. iv. 8); Pass., [pres. dyaπῶμαι]; pf. ptep. ἤγαπημένος ; 1 fut. ἀγαπηθήσομαι; (akin to ἄγαμαι [Fick, Pt. iv. 12; see ἀγαθός, init.]); to love, to be full of good-will and exhibit the same: LK. vii. 47; 1 Jn. iv. 7 sq.; with ace. of the person, to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of: Mt. ν. 43 sqq-; xix. 19; Lk. vii. 5; Jn. xi. 5; Ro. xiii. 8; 2 Co. xi. 11; xii.15; Gal. v.14; Eph. v. 25, 28; 1 Pet. i. 22, and elsewhere; often in 1 Ep. of Jn. of the love of Christians towards one another; of the benevolence which God, in providing salvation for men, has exhibited by sending his Son to them and giving him up to death, dn. iii. 16; Ro. viii. 87; 2 Th. ii. 16; 1 Jn. iv. 11, 19; [noteworthy is Jude 1 L T Tr WH τοῖς ἐν θεῷ πατρὶ…

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

ἀγαπάω. The Pauline phrase in 1 Th 14 ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ [rod] θεοῦ, which in this exact form is not found elsewhere in the NT (cf. in the LXX Sir 45! ἠγαπημένον ὑπὸ (ἀπὸ N) θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων), is well illustrated by a similar

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀγαπάω (agapaō) — to love.

ἀγαπάω

(Doric dialect ἀγαπ-έω [Refs 4th c.BC+], Epic dialect aorist ἀγάπησα[Refs 8th c.BC+]: perfect ἠγάπηκα[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. greet with affection (compare {ἀγαπάζω}), once in [Refs 8th c.BC+], Od.[same place]:—in Trag. only show affection for the dead, ὅτ᾽ ἠγάπα νεκρούς[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, to be regarded with affection, ξένων εὐεργεσίαις ἀγαπᾶται[Refs 5th c.BC+]:— generally, love, ὥσπερ.. οἱ ποιηταὶ τὰ αὑτῶν ποιήματα καὶ οἱ πατέρες τοὺς παῖδας ἀγαπῶσι[Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὡς λύκοι ἄρν᾽ ἀγαπῶσ᾽ poetical cited in [Refs]; ἐπιστήμην, τὰ χρήματα, etc., [Refs 4th c.BC+]; especially of children, αὐτὸν ἐτιθηνούμην ἀγαπῶσα[Refs]:—passive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in LXX of the love of God for man and of man for God, [LXX+NT] implying regard rather than affection, but the two are interchanged,[Refs 5th c.BC+]; φιλεῖσθαι defined…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀγαπάω

agapao

perhaps from agan (much) (or compare 5689); to love (in a social or

moral sense):--(be-)love(-ed). Compare 5368.

see GREEK for 5689

see GREEK for 5368

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀγαπάω

v.

I love

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀγαπάω agapaō 143x

to love, value, esteem, feel or manifest generous concern for, be faithful towards; to delight in, to set store upon, Rev. 12:11

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀγαπάω ἀγάπη of persons, to treat with affection, to caress, love, be fond of, c. acc., attic for ἀγαπάζω, Plat., etc.; Pass. to be beloved, id. Plat., Dem.

in NTest. to regard with brotherly love, v. ἀγαπή.

of things, to be well pleased or contented at or with a thing, c. dat., Dem., etc.; also c. acc. rei, id. Dem.; absol. to be content, Luc.: —ἀγ. ὅτι.., εἰ.., ἐὰν.., to be well pleased that . . ., Thuc., etc.

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

luv ('ahebh, 'ahabhah, noun; phileo, agapao, verb; agape, noun): Love to both God and man is fundamental to true religion, whether as expressed in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Jesus Himself declared that all the law and the prophets hang upon love (Mt 22:40; Mr 12:28-34). Paul, in his matchless ode on love (1Co 13), makes it the greatest of the graces of the Christian life--greater than speaking with tongues, or the gift of prophecy, or the possession of a faith of superior excellence; for without love all these gifts and graces, desirable and useful as they are in themselves, are as nothing, certainly of no permanent value in the sight of God. Not that either Jesus or Paul underestimates the faith from which all the graces proceed, for this grace is recognized as…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Love

This word seems to require explanation only in the case of its use by our Lord in his interview with “Simon, the son of Jonas,” after his resurrection (John 21:16, 17). When our Lord says, “Lovest thou me?” he uses the Greek word agapas; and when Simon answers, he uses the Greek word philo, i.e., “I love.” This is the usage in the first and second questions put by our Lord; but in the third our Lord uses Simon’s word. The distinction between these two Greek words is thus fitly described by Trench:, ”Agapan has more of judgment and deliberate choice; philein has more of attachment and peculiar personal affection. Thus the ‘Lovest thou’ (Gr. agapas) on the lips of the Lord seems to Peter at this moment too cold a word, as though his Lord were keeping him at a distance, or at least not inviting him to draw near, as in the…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

GOD IS LOVE; AND HE THAT DWELLETH IN LOVE DWELLETH IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM, 1Jo 4:16. Love is a chief attribute of Jehovah, the length and breadth and height and depth of which are beyond comprehension, for they are infinite, Eph 3:18,19. Between the three Persons of the Godhead, love is unutterable full, perfect, and blissful; towards holy angels and Christians, God’s love is an infinite fatherly complacency and affection; towards sinners, it is immeasurable compassion. It is shown in all his works and ways, and dictated his holy law, but is most signally displayed in the gospel, Joh 3:16. "Herein is love."

Holy love in man would make the whole heart and soul supremely delight in and obey God, and cordially and practically love all beings according to their character-the good…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ OF CHILDREN FOR PARENTS

See CHILDREN

→ OF GOD, LOVE OF

→ OF MAN FOR GOD Ex 20:6; De 5:10; 6:5; 7:9; 10:12; 11:1,13,22; 13:3; 30:6,16,20; Jos 22:5; 23:11; Ps 18:1; 31:23; 37:4; 45:10,11; 63:5,6; 69:35,36; 73:25,26; 91:14; 97:10; 116:1; 145:20; Pr 8:17; 23:26; Isa 56:6,7; Jer 2:2,3; Mt 22:37,38; Mr 12:29,30,32,33; Lu 11:42;

Across the New Testament22 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 123 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.129c. AD 40

ἀλλ’ οὗτος μέν, ὡς ἔφην, ἔχων τὸ πάθος ἰᾶσθαι αὐτὸ πειρᾶται τοῖς λεχθεῖσι σωτηρίοις φαρμάκοις, Μωυσῆς δὲ ὅλον τὸν θυμὸν ἐκτέμνειν καὶ ἀποκόπτειν οἴεται δεῖν τῆς ψυχῆς, οὐ μετριοπάθειαν ἀλλὰ συνόλως ἀπάθειαν ἀγαπῶν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.64c. AD 75–95

τούτων Ἰώβηλος μὲν ἐξ Ἄδας γεγονὼς σκηνὰς ἐπήξατο καὶ προβατείαν ἠγάπησεν, Ἰούβαλος δέ, ὁμομήτριος δʼ ἦν αὐτῷ, μουσικὴν ἤσκησε καὶ ψαλτήρια καὶ κιθάρας ἐπενόησεν, Ἰουβῆλος δὲ τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρας γεγονότων ἰσχύι πάντας ὑπερβαλὼν τὰ πολεμικὰ διαπρεπῶς…

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
4th c. AD 6th c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Oxy. 50 3555OxyrhynchosAD 1–AD 200

Θερμουθίου τῆς Πλουτάρχου τῶν ἀπʼ Ὀξυρύγχων πόλεως. θεραπαινίδιόν μου οἰκογενές, οὗ ἔστιν ὄνομα Πεῖνα, ἠγάπησα καὶ ἐτημέλησα ὡς θυγάτριον ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι τοῦ ἡλικίας γενόμενον ἔχειν με γηροβοσκόν, γυναῖκα ἀβοήθητον

P.Oxy. 46 3313OxyrhynchosAD 101–AD 200

καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν τὰ παιδία ὡς ἴδια τέκνα καὶ πλέον τῶν ἡμῶν τιμῶμεν καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτὰ καὶ οὕτως χαίρομεν ἴσα σοι καὶ τῷ πατρὶ αὐτῶν. περὶ ὧν ἄλλων θέλεις

P.Lond. 6 1918Herakleopolites bzw. KynopolitesAD 330–AD 340

r τῷ τιμιωτάτῳ καὶ ἠγαπημένῳ πατρὶ ἄπα Παιηοῦτι Χαρίσιος πλεῖστα χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν πάντων ἀσπάζομαί σε πολλὰ ἐν κυρίῳ,

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
αὐτόν,autos him G846 Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Amplified meaning
the Father
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

αὐτός is a pronoun meaning 'self' or 'the same,' used to emphasize distinction or opposition. It can function as a reflexive pronoun and appears frequently in the New Testament, often in contexts that highlight contrast or identity, such as in Luke 5:37 and John 2:25. The entries indicate that it can also be used in various grammatical constructions, including with articles to denote sameness.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

determinative pron., in late Gk. much more freq. than in cl. (WM, 178 f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399).

Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., v. infr., iii);

self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Lk 5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jo 2:25; αὐ. ὑμεῖς, Jo 3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Ro 15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jo 2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ, Mk 2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mk 6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mt 3:4, Mk 6:17, Jo 16:27, I Th 3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes…

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

αὐτός, -7, -d, pron. (“derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be .upplied.” Klotz ad Devar. ii. p. 219; [see Vaniéek p. 268]). It is used by the bibl. writ. both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from prof. auth.; cf. B. § 127, 9. [On classic usage ef. Hermann, Opusce. i. 308 sqq., of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger pp- 732-736.] I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence. ik When used to express Opposition or Distinction, it is…

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

αὐτός. The weakening of the old distinction between αὐτὸς 6 and ὁ αὐτός, especially in Luke, is noted in Proleg. p. 91, and paralleled from Hellenistic. We may add (cf. Linleitung p. 145f.) Sy// 8071 (ii/A.D.) αὐταῖς ταῖς ἡμέραις, where Dittenberger remarks ‘‘expectaveris ταῖς αὐταῖς," OG/S 383! (Antiochus of Commagene, i/8.c.) τὴν αὐτήν τε κρίσιν, for which Ditt. desiderates ταύτην τὴν κρίσιν, P Iib I. 30° (B.c. 265) αὐτὸς Ὧρος “the said H.,’’ P Lille I. 238 (B.C, 221) οὗ μ[ισ]θωτὴς Ἡρώδ[ης] ὁ αὐτός “ce méme L.,”’ P Oxy VI. 892% (A.D. 338) τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως, 26. VIII. 1105 (A.D. 254) τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφοδογραμματέως “the said a.’’: all these seem to be practically identical, with αὐτός differing little from ἐκεῖνος. The combination αὐτὸ τοῦτο may be illustrated by P Grenf I. 114 (literary, ii/B.c.) “ for this reason ” (Ed.) as in 2 Pet 1°, P Ryl 11. 77°9 (a.p. 192) καὶ αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀσφαλίσομαι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

(Cretan dialect ἀϝτός [Refs] (also αὐτόν[Refs], reflexive pronoun, self:—in oblique cases used for the personal pronoun, him, her, it:—with Article, ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (also ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

I. self, myself, thyself, etc., accusative to the person of the Verb: frequently joined with ἐγώ, σύ, etc. (see. below 10),

I.1. one's true self, the soul, not the body, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; reversely, body, not soul, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; oneself, as opposed to others who are less prominent, as king to subject, [Refs]; man to wife and children, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; warrior to horses, [Refs 8th c.BC+], or to weapons, [Refs]; shepherd to herd, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; seamen to ships, [Refs]: generally, whole to parts,[Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, the Master, as in the [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea

of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used

(alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the

proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one,

the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy-

)self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at,

- by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man),

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

self, very; alone, Mk. 6:31; 2 Cor. 12:13; of one’s self, of one’s own motion, Jn. 16:27; used also in the oblique cases independently as a personal pron. of the third person; ὁ αὐτός, the same; unchangeable, Heb. 1:12; κατὰ τὸ αὐτό, at the same time, together, Acts 14:1; ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, in one and the same place, Mt. 22:34; at the same time, together, Acts 3:1

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

αὐτός self, Lat. ipse:— in the oblique cases simply for the personal Pron., him, her, it:— with the Artic. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (or ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

self, myself, thyself, etc., acc. to the person of the Verb., Hom., etc.:

oneself, one's true self, the soul, not the body, Od.; or opp. to others, as king to subjects, parent to children, man to wife, etc., Hom.; hence absol. for the master, τίς οὗτος;—Αὐτός, i. e. Socrates, Ar.; similarly in neut. αὐτὸ δείξει the result will shew, Eur.

of oneself, of one's own accord, Lat. sponte, Hom., Soph.

by oneself, alone, αὐτός περ ἐών although alone, Il.; αὐτοί ἐσμεν we are by ourselves, i. e. among friends, Ar.

in Plat., τὸ δίκαιον αὐτό right in itself, the idea of right, etc.; cf. αὐτοάνθρωπος.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-ASM — Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-ASM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
52%him
him52% · 3025×them25% · 1488×it6% · 323×her4% · 250×other renderings10% · 587×other renderings3% · 188×

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 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
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 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
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςhim5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

Concordanceαὐτός · 5,550× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 John 1 Corinthians Ephesians 2 Corinthians

19 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
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

περὶ τοῦ γένους Ἀδάμου καὶ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ δέκα γενεῶν τῶν μέχρι τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.4c. AD 100

πεπεισμένος οὖν τοῦτο καὶ συνειδὼς ἐμαυτῷ, ὅτι ἐν ὑμῖν λαλήσας πολλὰ ἐπίσταμαι, ὅτι ἐμοὶ συνώδευσεν ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης κύριος, καὶ πάντως ἀναγκάζομαι κἀγὼ εἰς τοῦτο, ἀγαπᾶν ὑμᾶς ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι μεγάλη πίστις καὶ ἀγάπη ἐγκατοικεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐπ’…

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 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Πακοίβιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς

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 Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
ὅτιhoti because G3754 Conjunction
1,293× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'that' or 'because', used to introduce a reason or explanation. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:9 and Romans 8:38. It helps to show cause and effect in sentences.
Tyndale gloss
that/since: that
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὅτι (hoti) is a conjunction primarily meaning 'that' or 'because.' It introduces objective clauses, often following verbs of perception or declaration, and can also serve as a causal particle. The New Testament frequently employs it in this way, such as in Matthew 5:4-12. There is some variation in how lexicons describe its usage, particularly regarding its pleonastic function in direct discourse.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅτι,

conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις).

As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that;

after verbs of seeing, knowing, thinking, saying, feeling: Mt 3:9 6:32 11:25, Mk 3:28, Lk 2:49, Jo 2:22, Ac 4:13, Ro 1:13 8:38 10:9, Phl 4:15, Ja 2:24, al.; elliptically, Jo 6:46, Phl 3:12, al.

After εἶναι (γίνεσθαι): defining a demonstr. or pers. pron., Jo 3:19 16:19, Ro 9:6, I Jo 3:16 al.; c. pron. interrog., Mt 8:27, Mk 4:41,

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

ὅτι [properly neut. of ὅστις], a conjunction [fr. Hom. down], (Lat. quod [ef. W. § 53,8 b.; B. § 139, 51; § 149, 87), marking I. the substance or contents (of a statement), that; 1. joined to verbs of saying and declaring (where the ace. and infin. is used in Lat.) : ἀναγγέλλειν, Acts xiv. 27; διηγεῖσθαι, Acts ix. 273; εἰπεῖν, Mt. xvi. 20; xxviii. 7,13; Jn. vii. 42; xvi. 15; 1Co.i.15; λέγειν, Mt. iii. 9; vill. 11; Mk. iii. 28; Lk. xv.7; Jn. xvi. 20; Ro. iv. 9 [T Tr WH om. L br. ὅτι}; ix. 2, and very often; προεἰρηκέναι, 2 Co. vii. 3; before the ὅτι in Acts xiv. 22 supply λέγοντες, contained in the preceding παρακαλοῦντες [ef. B. §151, 11]; ὅτι after γράφειν, 1 Co. ix.10; 1 Jn. 11. 12-14; μαρτυρεῖν, Mt. xxiii. 31; Jn. i. 34; iii. 28; iv. 44; ὁμολογεῖν, Heb. xi. 13; δεικνύειν, Mt. xvi. 21; δηλοῦν, 1 Co. i. 11; διδάσκειν, 1 Co. xi. 14. after ἐμφανίζειν. Heb. xi. 14; δῆλον (ἐστίν), 1 Co.…

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

οτι. (1) For ὅτι, ‘‘that,” introducing an objective clause after verbs of knowing, saying, etc., cf. P Tebt II. 4098 (A.D. 5) εἰδὼ[ς ὅ]τι ἐξίι)ουσίαν αὐτῶν ἔχει kal Λυσίμαχος kal σύ, ΚΕ knew that both you and Lysimachus had plenty of them” (Edd.), P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) νομίσας ὅτι (cf. Mt 517) κιχρᾷς por αὐτούς, ““ consider that you are lending them (sc. staters) to me’’ (Edd.), BGU III. 8464* (ii/a.p.) (= Selections, p. 93) γεινώσκειν σαι θέλω, ὅτι οὐχ [HA] Lov, ὅτι ἀναβένις (1. ἀναβαίνεις) els τὴν μητρόπολιν, “1 wish you to know that I had no hope that you were coming up to the metropolis,” 74.9 αἴγραψά σοι, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμει, “1 wrote you that I am naked,” and P Tebt II. 420+ (iii/A.D.) οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπὸ ζημίας ἠμί, ‘‘ You know that I am blameless.” Ὅτι, however, is frequently omitted, e.g. BGU IIL. 8153(ii/a.p.) γεινόσκιν σε θέλω [τὴ]ν ἐπιστολήν σου ἔλαβε (corrected by another hand…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅτι (hoti) — that/since: that.

ὅτῐ,

Epic dialect ὅττῐ (both in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: conjunction, to introduce an objective clause, that, after Verbs of seeing or knowing, thinking or saying; in [Refs 8th c.BC+] —Usage:

I. when ὅτι introduces a statement of fact:

I. a in [Refs 8th c.BC+] always with indicative, the tense following the same rules as in English, ἤγγειλ᾽ ὅττι ῥά οἱ πόσις ἔκτοθι μίμνε πυλάων [Refs 8th c.BC+]

I. b in Attic dialect, ὅτι takes indicative after primary tenses, indicative or optative after secondary tenses, e.g. ἐνδείκνυμαι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σοφός [Refs 5th c.BC+] news came that Megara had (literal has) revolted, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: sometimes optative and indicative are found in the same sentence, ἔλεγον, ὅτι Κῦρος μὲν τέθνηκεν, Ἀριαῖος δὲ πεφευγὼς.. εἴη [Refs 5th c.BC+].. and the accusative with infinitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅτι

hoti

neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes

redundant); causative, because:--as concerning that, as though,

because (that), for (that), how (that), (in) that, though, why.

see GREEK for 3748

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅτι

Cj.

that, since, because

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅτι hoti 1x

originally was the neuter of ὅστις, that, Mt. 2:16, 22, 23; 6:5, 16; often used pleonastically in reciting another’s words, Mt. 9:18; Lk. 19:42; Acts 5:23; as a causal particle, for that, for, because, Mt. 2:18; 5:3, 4, 5; 13:13; because, seeing that, since, Lk. 23:40; Acts 1:17

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-kos' (hina, "in order that"): "The multitude rebuked them, because (AV; the Revised Version (British and American) "that") they should hold their peace" (Mt 20:31).

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%that
that64% · 856×because19% · 252×for16% · 209×other renderings1% · 12×

1,329 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 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%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,293 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
λέγωI say, speakγάρforδέbut, on the othe
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςσύδέbut, on the othe
οἶδαI know, remember
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakμαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
γινώσκωI come to know, lear
οὗτοςκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
ὅτιbecause1293×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατήρfather, Father,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existοἶδαI know, rememberδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegArticle the
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, existArticle theποιέωI do, make
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theῥῆμαa thing spokenζητέωI seek, search f

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

Concordanceὅτι · 1,293× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 John Revelation 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Galatians Philippians

2 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
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 8c. AD 40

Μωυσῆς δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐπ’ αὐτὴν φθάσας ἀκρότητα καὶ χρησμοῖς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ συνεκτικώτατα τῶν τῆς φύσεως ἀναδιδαχθεὶς ἔγνω δή, ὅτι ἀναγκαιότατόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τὸ μὲν εἶναι δραστήριον αἴτιον, τὸ δὲ παθητόν, καὶ ὅτι τὸ μὲν δραστήριον ὁ τῶν ὅλων…

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

ὅτι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκισάντων προσηγορεύθη.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.3c. AD 100

ὅτι ἀληθῶς βλέπω ἐν ὑμῖν ἐκκεχυμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλουσίου τῆς πηγῆς κυρίου πνεῦμα ἐφ̓ ὑμᾶς.

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 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
C.Erbstreit14Diospolis Magna (Theben)187 BC

καὶ τὴν εἰκοστὴν τοῦ ἐγκυκλίου καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ καθήκοντα. … ται Προῖτος, καθʼ ὅτι πρόκειται … ἑξήκοντα ἓξ τετρωβόλου καὶ τῆς … … τοπογραμματέως τοῦ Παθυρίτου … ἀρουρῶν

P.Grenf. 1 10 p. 24Hermonthis149 BC

ι τοῖς ἐνκαλουμένοις τὸ ἀντίγραφον τῆς ἐντεύξεως λαβεῖν παρ … τ … … πίστιν ὅτι ἀπαντησα … ἐπὶ τὸ ἐν τῆι αὐλῆι κριτήριον ἐν ἡμέραις λ οὐκ ο

P.Bour. 10Pathyris89 BC

δʼ ἐπιχειροῦντας μὴ ὑπακούειν σου … υτέραι στάσει ἐχομένους ἀσφαλισάμενος μέχρι τοῦ καὶ ἡμᾶς ὅτι τάχος ἐπιβαλεῖν πρὸς σέ. ἔρρωσοἔρρωσο ἔτους κϛ Φαμενὼθ ιϛ

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
αὐτὸςautos He himself G846 Personal pronoun · nominative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

αὐτός is a pronoun meaning 'self' or 'the same,' used to emphasize distinction or opposition. It can function as a reflexive pronoun and appears frequently in the New Testament, often in contexts that highlight contrast or identity, such as in Luke 5:37 and John 2:25. The entries indicate that it can also be used in various grammatical constructions, including with articles to denote sameness.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

determinative pron., in late Gk. much more freq. than in cl. (WM, 178 f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399).

Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., v. infr., iii);

self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Lk 5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jo 2:25; αὐ. ὑμεῖς, Jo 3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Ro 15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jo 2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ, Mk 2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mk 6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mt 3:4, Mk 6:17, Jo 16:27, I Th 3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes…

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

αὐτός, -7, -d, pron. (“derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be .upplied.” Klotz ad Devar. ii. p. 219; [see Vaniéek p. 268]). It is used by the bibl. writ. both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from prof. auth.; cf. B. § 127, 9. [On classic usage ef. Hermann, Opusce. i. 308 sqq., of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger pp- 732-736.] I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence. ik When used to express Opposition or Distinction, it is…

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

αὐτός. The weakening of the old distinction between αὐτὸς 6 and ὁ αὐτός, especially in Luke, is noted in Proleg. p. 91, and paralleled from Hellenistic. We may add (cf. Linleitung p. 145f.) Sy// 8071 (ii/A.D.) αὐταῖς ταῖς ἡμέραις, where Dittenberger remarks ‘‘expectaveris ταῖς αὐταῖς," OG/S 383! (Antiochus of Commagene, i/8.c.) τὴν αὐτήν τε κρίσιν, for which Ditt. desiderates ταύτην τὴν κρίσιν, P Iib I. 30° (B.c. 265) αὐτὸς Ὧρος “the said H.,’’ P Lille I. 238 (B.C, 221) οὗ μ[ισ]θωτὴς Ἡρώδ[ης] ὁ αὐτός “ce méme L.,”’ P Oxy VI. 892% (A.D. 338) τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως, 26. VIII. 1105 (A.D. 254) τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφοδογραμματέως “the said a.’’: all these seem to be practically identical, with αὐτός differing little from ἐκεῖνος. The combination αὐτὸ τοῦτο may be illustrated by P Grenf I. 114 (literary, ii/B.c.) “ for this reason ” (Ed.) as in 2 Pet 1°, P Ryl 11. 77°9 (a.p. 192) καὶ αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀσφαλίσομαι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

(Cretan dialect ἀϝτός [Refs] (also αὐτόν[Refs], reflexive pronoun, self:—in oblique cases used for the personal pronoun, him, her, it:—with Article, ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (also ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

I. self, myself, thyself, etc., accusative to the person of the Verb: frequently joined with ἐγώ, σύ, etc. (see. below 10),

I.1. one's true self, the soul, not the body, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; reversely, body, not soul, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; oneself, as opposed to others who are less prominent, as king to subject, [Refs]; man to wife and children, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; warrior to horses, [Refs 8th c.BC+], or to weapons, [Refs]; shepherd to herd, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; seamen to ships, [Refs]: generally, whole to parts,[Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, the Master, as in the [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea

of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used

(alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the

proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one,

the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy-

)self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at,

- by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man),

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

self, very; alone, Mk. 6:31; 2 Cor. 12:13; of one’s self, of one’s own motion, Jn. 16:27; used also in the oblique cases independently as a personal pron. of the third person; ὁ αὐτός, the same; unchangeable, Heb. 1:12; κατὰ τὸ αὐτό, at the same time, together, Acts 14:1; ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, in one and the same place, Mt. 22:34; at the same time, together, Acts 3:1

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

αὐτός self, Lat. ipse:— in the oblique cases simply for the personal Pron., him, her, it:— with the Artic. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (or ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

self, myself, thyself, etc., acc. to the person of the Verb., Hom., etc.:

oneself, one's true self, the soul, not the body, Od.; or opp. to others, as king to subjects, parent to children, man to wife, etc., Hom.; hence absol. for the master, τίς οὗτος;—Αὐτός, i. e. Socrates, Ar.; similarly in neut. αὐτὸ δείξει the result will shew, Eur.

of oneself, of one's own accord, Lat. sponte, Hom., Soph.

by oneself, alone, αὐτός περ ἐών although alone, Il.; αὐτοί ἐσμεν we are by ourselves, i. e. among friends, Ar.

in Plat., τὸ δίκαιον αὐτό right in itself, the idea of right, etc.; cf. αὐτοάνθρωπος.

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

P-NSM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
52%him
him52% · 3025×them25% · 1488×it6% · 323×her4% · 250×other renderings10% · 587×other renderings3% · 188×

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 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
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 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
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςHe himself5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

Concordanceαὐτός · 5,550× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 John 1 Corinthians Ephesians 2 Corinthians

19 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
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

περὶ τοῦ γένους Ἀδάμου καὶ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ δέκα γενεῶν τῶν μέχρι τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.4c. AD 100

πεπεισμένος οὖν τοῦτο καὶ συνειδὼς ἐμαυτῷ, ὅτι ἐν ὑμῖν λαλήσας πολλὰ ἐπίσταμαι, ὅτι ἐμοὶ συνώδευσεν ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης κύριος, καὶ πάντως ἀναγκάζομαι κἀγὼ εἰς τοῦτο, ἀγαπᾶν ὑμᾶς ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι μεγάλη πίστις καὶ ἀγάπη ἐγκατοικεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐπ’…

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 6th c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Πακοίβιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς

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 Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
πρῶτοςprōtos first G4413 Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
98× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for first or foremost, used in Luke 14:18 and 1 Corinthians 14:30. It can refer to the first in a sequence, like the first day of the week, or the most important thing, like the first commandment.
Tyndale gloss
first
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πρῶτος (protos) is an adjective meaning 'first' in terms of time, order, or importance. It appears in various contexts in the New Testament, often denoting rank or precedence, such as in Matthew 20:27 and Luke 14:18. The word can also function adverbially, as seen in John 1:42. Notably, it is sometimes used interchangeably with the comparative form πρότερος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

B. Superl., πρῶτος, -η, -ον,

[in LXX chiefly for רִאשׁוֹן, also for אֶחַד, etc.;]

first,

of Time or Place;

absol., as subst., ὁ π.., Lk 14:18, Jo 19:32, I Co 14:30; ὁ π. καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος, Re 1:17 2:8 22:13; neut., τὸ π., opp. to τ. δεύτερον, He 10:9; τὰ π., opp. to τ. ἔσχατα, Mt 12:45, Lk 11:26, II Pe 2:20; anarth., Mt 10:2; pl., Mt 19:30,

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

πρῶτος, -7, -ov, (super. of πρό, contr. fr. πρόατος, whence the Doric πρᾶτος ; the compar. πρότερος see in its place), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. for }}W8 and often for ἽΝ and wer, first; 1. either in time or place, in any succession of things or of persons; a. absolutely (i. e. without a noun) and substantively ; a. with the article: ὁ πρῶτος καὶ 6 ἔσχατος, i. 6. the eternal One, Rev. i. 17; ii. 8; xxii. 13; ὁ πρῶτος, sc. τῶν κεκλημένων, Lk. xiv. 18; the first of two (cf. W. § 35, 4 Ν. 1: [B. 32 (28}7), Jn. xix. 32; 1 Co. xiv. 30; plur. opp. to οἱ ἔσχαtot, Mt. xx. 16, on which see ἔσχατος. 3 ἃ. Neut. τὸ πρῶτον, opp. to τὸ δεύτερον, Heb. x. 9; τὰ πρῶτα, opp. to τὰ ἔσχατα, one’s first state, Mt. xii. 45; Lk. xi. 26; 2 Pet. ii. 20; the first order of things, Rey. xxi. 4. B. without the article: Mt. x. 2 (πρῶτος, sc. of the apostles to be mentioned); plur., Mt. xix. 80; Mk. x. 31; Lk. xiii.…

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

πρῶτος. In the LXX regularly (Thackeray Gr. i. p. 183) and in the Kow7y frequently, especially in the Ptolemaic period, πρῶτος stands for πρότερος, so reversing the usual Hellenistic rule that the comparative does duty for both degrees of comparison. For an ex. almost contemporary with the NT we may cite P Oxy II. 2979 (A.D. 54), where a man asks for information for a supplementary return of lambs born since the first or former return for the year had been made— παρὰ τὴν πρώτην ἀπογραφήν. No stress can, therefore, be laid on the use of πρῶτος in Ac 1, as if Luke meant to write a third treatise (cf. Ramsay Paz/, p. 28). To illustrate Jn 125, 1518, we may quote P Leid W*# 49 τερον ἀντέστη αὐτῷ, λέγων᾽ σοῦ πρῶτός εἶμι, “‘ prior sum quam tu.” Abbott (ολ. Gr. p. 510f.) suggests that the Leiden papyrus may have been dependent on Jn 1, and translates the latter passage ‘‘my Chief” (76. p. 11…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first: previous.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first: chief.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first: best.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

πρῶτος

protos

contracted superlative of 4253; foremost (in time, place, order or

importance):--before, beginning, best, chief(-est), first (of all),

former.

see GREEK for 4253

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πρῶτος, η, ον

Adj

first, before

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πρῶτος prōtos 95x

first in time, order, etc., Mt. 10:2; 26:17; first in dignity, importance, etc., chief, principal, most important, Mk. 6:21; Lk. 19:47; Acts 13:50; 16:12; as an equivalent to the compar. πρότερος (G4754), prior, Jn. 1:5, 30; 15:18; Mt. 27:64; adverbially, first, Jn. 1:42; 5:4; 8:7

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-NSM-S — 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-S Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine Degree: Superlative

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

furst ('echadh, ri'shon; proton, to proton, protos):

Of these words, which are those most frequently used for "first," ri'shon is from rosh, "the head, and is used for the highest, chief, etc.; also of time, the beginning, e.g. Ge 8:13, in the first month"; in Isa 44:6; 48:12, it is used of Yahweh as Eternal and solely Supreme--the First and the Last (compare Isa 41:4). Special usages are in connection with "firstborn," "first- fruit," etc.; proton is used of that which is first in order; but also of that which is first or chief in importance, etc. (Mt 6:33; Jas 3:17). In

Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 121 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 AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 13c. AD 40

τῶν τε γὰρ ἀπὸ μονάδος πρῶτος τέλειός ἐστιν ἰσούμενος τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μέρεσι καὶ συμπληρούμενος ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἡμίσους μὲν τριάδος, τρίτου δὲ δυάδος, ἕκτου δὲ μονάδος, καὶ ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἄρρην τε καὶ θῆλυς εἶναι πέφυκε κἀκ τῆς ἑκατέρου δυνάμεως ἥρμοσται·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.19c. AD 75–95

ἰστέον οὖν, ὅτι πάντων ἐκεῖνος ἀναγκαιότατον ἡγήσατο τῷ καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μέλλοντι βίον οἰκονομήσειν καλῶς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις νομοθετεῖν θεοῦ πρῶτον φύσιν κατανοῆσαι καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν ἐκείνου θεατὴν τῷ νῷ γενόμενον οὕτως παράδειγμα τὸ πάντων ἄριστον…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.13c. AD 100

λέγει δὲ κύριος: Ἰδού, ποιῶ τὰ ἔσχατα ὡς τὰ πρῶτα.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Cair. Zen. 3 59346Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)247 BC

Ἐφάρμοστος δέλφακας β οὓς Ἰναρῶς ἀπήγαγεν αὐτῶι εἰς Φιλάδελφον καὶ τούτων α ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης λογείας καὶ ἄλλος τῆς ἐσχάτης … δέλφακες β οὓς ἀπήνεγκε παρʼ Ἰμούθου εἰς Φιλάδελφον

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πρώτου λεπτοῦ χ … καὶ … σοῦχος ἡγεμὼν καὶ … υχος οὐραγὸς καὶ Πανεχῶτις

P.Amh. 2 112Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 128

Νήσῳ τῆς Ἡρακλείδου μερίδος τοῦ Ἀρσινοείτου νομοῦ. ὁμολογεῖ Πακῦσις Στοτοήτεως πρεσβυτέρου τοῦ Πανεφρίμεως ἱερεὺς πρώτης φυλῆς Σοκνοπαίου θεοῦ μεγάλου μεγάλου ὡς ἐτῶν μα οὐλὴ βραχίωνι ἀριστερῶι τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ὁμοπατρίωι

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
ἠγάπησενagapaō loved G25 Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
143× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To love means to show esteem and goodwill towards someone, as seen in Matthew 5:43 and John 8:42. This love is not just a feeling, but an action that is demonstrated towards others. It is a key concept in the Bible.
Amplified meaning
showed esteem and goodwill towards
Tyndale gloss
to love
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀγαπάω (i.e., *agapao*) means to love in a moral or social sense, often implying esteem and goodwill toward others. It is used in the New Testament to describe both human affection and divine love, such as God's love for humanity and the love Christians should have for one another. Lexicons note a distinction between ἀγαπάω and φιλέω (i.e., *phileo*), with the former suggesting a more deliberate, willful love.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — ἀγαπάω, φιλέω from a scan

We have made no attempt to discriminate between these words in our English Version. And yet there is often a difference between them, well worthy to have been noted and reproduced, if this had lain within the compass of our language; being very nearly equivalent to that between ‘diligo’ and ‘amo’ in the Latin. To understand the exact distinction between these, will help us to understand that between those other which are the more immediate object of our inquiry. For this we possess abundant material in Cicero, who often sets the words in instructive antithesis to one another. Thus, writing to one friend of the affection in which he holds another (Hp. Fam. xiii. 47) : *Ut scires illum a-me non diligt solum, verum etiam amart;? and again (Ad Brut. 1): ‘L. Clodius valde me diligit, vel, ut ἐμφατικώτερον dicam, valde me amat.’? From these and other like passages (there is an ample…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀγαπάω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for אהב;]

to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing. Of human affection, to men: τ. πλησίον, Mt 5:43; τ. ἐχθρούς, ib. 44; to Christ, Jo 8:42; to God, Mt 22:37; c. acc. rei, Lk 11:43, Jo 12:43, Eph 5:25, II Tim 4:8, 10, He 1:9, I Pe 2:17, 3:10, II Pe 2:15, I Jo 2:15, Re 12:11.

Of divine love;

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

ἀγαπάω, -&; [impf. ἠγάπων] ; fut.dyarjow; 1 aor. ἦγάmoa; pé. act. [1 pers. plur. 7yampxapev 1 Jn. iv. 10 WH txt.], ptep. ἠγαπηκώς (2 Tim. iv. 8); Pass., [pres. dyaπῶμαι]; pf. ptep. ἤγαπημένος ; 1 fut. ἀγαπηθήσομαι; (akin to ἄγαμαι [Fick, Pt. iv. 12; see ἀγαθός, init.]); to love, to be full of good-will and exhibit the same: LK. vii. 47; 1 Jn. iv. 7 sq.; with ace. of the person, to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of: Mt. ν. 43 sqq-; xix. 19; Lk. vii. 5; Jn. xi. 5; Ro. xiii. 8; 2 Co. xi. 11; xii.15; Gal. v.14; Eph. v. 25, 28; 1 Pet. i. 22, and elsewhere; often in 1 Ep. of Jn. of the love of Christians towards one another; of the benevolence which God, in providing salvation for men, has exhibited by sending his Son to them and giving him up to death, dn. iii. 16; Ro. viii. 87; 2 Th. ii. 16; 1 Jn. iv. 11, 19; [noteworthy is Jude 1 L T Tr WH τοῖς ἐν θεῷ πατρὶ…

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

ἀγαπάω. The Pauline phrase in 1 Th 14 ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ [rod] θεοῦ, which in this exact form is not found elsewhere in the NT (cf. in the LXX Sir 45! ἠγαπημένον ὑπὸ (ἀπὸ N) θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων), is well illustrated by a similar

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀγαπάω (agapaō) — to love.

ἀγαπάω

(Doric dialect ἀγαπ-έω [Refs 4th c.BC+], Epic dialect aorist ἀγάπησα[Refs 8th c.BC+]: perfect ἠγάπηκα[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I. greet with affection (compare {ἀγαπάζω}), once in [Refs 8th c.BC+], Od.[same place]:—in Trag. only show affection for the dead, ὅτ᾽ ἠγάπα νεκρούς[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, to be regarded with affection, ξένων εὐεργεσίαις ἀγαπᾶται[Refs 5th c.BC+]:— generally, love, ὥσπερ.. οἱ ποιηταὶ τὰ αὑτῶν ποιήματα καὶ οἱ πατέρες τοὺς παῖδας ἀγαπῶσι[Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὡς λύκοι ἄρν᾽ ἀγαπῶσ᾽ poetical cited in [Refs]; ἐπιστήμην, τὰ χρήματα, etc., [Refs 4th c.BC+]; especially of children, αὐτὸν ἐτιθηνούμην ἀγαπῶσα[Refs]:—passive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in LXX of the love of God for man and of man for God, [LXX+NT] implying regard rather than affection, but the two are interchanged,[Refs 5th c.BC+]; φιλεῖσθαι defined…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀγαπάω

agapao

perhaps from agan (much) (or compare 5689); to love (in a social or

moral sense):--(be-)love(-ed). Compare 5368.

see GREEK for 5689

see GREEK for 5368

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀγαπάω

v.

I love

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀγαπάω agapaō 143x

to love, value, esteem, feel or manifest generous concern for, be faithful towards; to delight in, to set store upon, Rev. 12:11

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀγαπάω ἀγάπη of persons, to treat with affection, to caress, love, be fond of, c. acc., attic for ἀγαπάζω, Plat., etc.; Pass. to be beloved, id. Plat., Dem.

in NTest. to regard with brotherly love, v. ἀγαπή.

of things, to be well pleased or contented at or with a thing, c. dat., Dem., etc.; also c. acc. rei, id. Dem.; absol. to be content, Luc.: —ἀγ. ὅτι.., εἰ.., ἐὰν.., to be well pleased that . . ., Thuc., etc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-AAI-3S — Verb · aorist · active · indicative · third person · singular
aorist active indicative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-AAI-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
19%loving
loving19% · 27×loved9% · 13×love8% · 12×you will love6% · 9×do love6% · 8×loves4% · 6×we may love4% · 6×having loved4% · 5×other renderings40% · 57×

143 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 39 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
verb99%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 143 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
πᾶςall, the whole, ἐνἀγαπάωI love
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becὅςἀγαπάωI love
ὅτιthat, since, because
πολύςmuch, many, ofteΦαρισαῖοςa Phariseeκόσμοςthe world, unive
μήNeg
Article theτεκνίονa little childγάρfor
καίand, even, also, nam
μήτηρa motherκόσμοςthe world, univeἀποστέλλωI send forth, se
ἀγαπάωloved143×
what comes after →
Article the
πλησίονnear, nearby, a θεόςGod, a godἀδελφόςa brother
ἐγώ
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἀγαπάωI love
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ἐκἀγαπάωI love
ἀλλήλων
καθώςjust as, asὅτιthat, since, becArticle the
σύ
τίςIrgποῖοςIrgἵναin order that, s

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

Concordanceἀγαπάω · 143× in the New Testament
John 1 John Luke Ephesians Matthew Romans Mark 1 Peter 2 Corinthians Revelation James 1 Corinthians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament22 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 123 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.129c. AD 40

ἀλλ’ οὗτος μέν, ὡς ἔφην, ἔχων τὸ πάθος ἰᾶσθαι αὐτὸ πειρᾶται τοῖς λεχθεῖσι σωτηρίοις φαρμάκοις, Μωυσῆς δὲ ὅλον τὸν θυμὸν ἐκτέμνειν καὶ ἀποκόπτειν οἴεται δεῖν τῆς ψυχῆς, οὐ μετριοπάθειαν ἀλλὰ συνόλως ἀπάθειαν ἀγαπῶν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.64c. AD 75–95

τούτων Ἰώβηλος μὲν ἐξ Ἄδας γεγονὼς σκηνὰς ἐπήξατο καὶ προβατείαν ἠγάπησεν, Ἰούβαλος δέ, ὁμομήτριος δʼ ἦν αὐτῷ, μουσικὴν ἤσκησε καὶ ψαλτήρια καὶ κιθάρας ἐπενόησεν, Ἰουβῆλος δὲ τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρας γεγονότων ἰσχύι πάντας ὑπερβαλὼν τὰ πολεμικὰ διαπρεπῶς…

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
4th c. AD 6th c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Oxy. 50 3555OxyrhynchosAD 1–AD 200

Θερμουθίου τῆς Πλουτάρχου τῶν ἀπʼ Ὀξυρύγχων πόλεως. θεραπαινίδιόν μου οἰκογενές, οὗ ἔστιν ὄνομα Πεῖνα, ἠγάπησα καὶ ἐτημέλησα ὡς θυγάτριον ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι τοῦ ἡλικίας γενόμενον ἔχειν με γηροβοσκόν, γυναῖκα ἀβοήθητον

P.Oxy. 46 3313OxyrhynchosAD 101–AD 200

καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν τὰ παιδία ὡς ἴδια τέκνα καὶ πλέον τῶν ἡμῶν τιμῶμεν καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτὰ καὶ οὕτως χαίρομεν ἴσα σοι καὶ τῷ πατρὶ αὐτῶν. περὶ ὧν ἄλλων θέλεις

P.Lond. 6 1918Herakleopolites bzw. KynopolitesAD 330–AD 340

r τῷ τιμιωτάτῳ καὶ ἠγαπημένῳ πατρὶ ἄπα Παιηοῦτι Χαρίσιος πλεῖστα χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν πάντων ἀσπάζομαί σε πολλὰ ἐν κυρίῳ,

We ourselves love him because He himself first loved us.
ἡμᾶς.egō us. G3165 Personal pronoun · first person · accusative · plural
1,872× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
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

μέ (me) — me.

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 Sanskrit…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

me

a shorter (and probably originally) from of 1691; me:--I, me, my.

see GREEK for 1691

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-1AP — Personal pronoun · first person · accusative · plural
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-1AP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Accusative Number: Plural

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

US, pronoun objective case of we.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Us , pron. [OE. us, AS. s; akin to OFries. & OS. s, D. ons, G. uns, Icel. & Sw. oss, Dan. os, Goth. uns, L. nos we, us, Gr. we, Skr. nas us. . Cf. Nostrum, Our.] The persons speaking, regarded as an object; ourselves; — the objective case of we. See We. “Tell us a tale.” Chaucer.

Give us this day our daily bread. Matt. vi. 11.

Us, pron. oblique case of we

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
35%us
us35% · 717×me32% · 644×mine20% · 402×we ourselves6% · 124×my2% · 45×other renderings5% · 97×

2,029 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 27 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

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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