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1 Timothy 1:7 — Word Study

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N1904θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

BSAdesiringthelō [desire, have ambitions] to beeimi teachers of the Law,nomodidaskalos [instructors, rabbis, Jewish law, Torah] not understandingnoeō [comprehend, perceive] neithermēte whathos, hē they are sayinglegō [speaking, affirming] normēte [that] aboutperi whichtis [the things, the matters] they confidently assert.diabebaioō [strongly, boldly, affirm, insist]

Word
Listen & take away1 Timothy 1
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 7 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (diabebaioō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
1 Timothy 1:7quick helps
In a sentenceSome people want to be teachers of the law, but they lack understanding of what they are saying.
Who is speakingThe Apostle Paul, addressing issues in the early church.
Where we areIn a letter to Timothy, discussing false teachings and the proper use of the law.
The hard wordθέλοντες
Take awayDesiring to teach does not guarantee understanding.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectθέλω verbθέλω 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 Timothy 1:7

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 — Instructions on the Law and False Teachersgenerated

6Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk.
7They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.
8Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately.
9We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers,

1 Timothy 1:7 highlights the desire of some individuals to teach the law while lacking comprehension of its true meaning. Paul emphasizes that this ambition can lead to misinterpretation and false assertions, which is a significant concern for the early church. The context of this passage serves as a warning against those who speak confidently without understanding, paralleling the issues faced in other letters, such as Romans 2:19-21.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Acts 15:1Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
2Romans 2:19–21if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those in darkness,
3Galatians 3:2–5I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?
4Galatians 4:21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand what the law says?
5Galatians 5:3–4Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

The Key Word θέλοντες, thelōgenerated

The word θέλω (thelō) is a present active participle meaning 'to will' or 'to desire.' It expresses a conscious choice or intention, as seen in other New Testament passages like Romans 9:16.

In this verse, it describes the ambition of some to be teachers of the law, indicating a desire that may not align with true understanding or capability.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The Berean Standard Bible (BSB) states, "They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert." This is echoed in the KJV and ASV, which also highlight the lack of understanding.

Other translations, like the YLT and WEB, similarly convey the idea of wanting to teach without comprehension, though they vary slightly in phrasing.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main clause is governed by the verb θέλοντες, desiring, which leads into a noun phrase identifying the subject as νομοδιδάσκαλοι, teachers of the law. The structure highlights a contrast between desire and understanding.

The sentence includes additional clauses that elaborate on what these teachers do not understand, connecting their ambitions to their lack of comprehension.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The term νομοδιδάσκαλος is not found in the Septuagint but is derived from νόμος (law) and διδάσκαλος (teacher), indicating a role that interprets and teaches Jewish law.

The word θέλω has a presence in the Septuagint, corresponding to Hebrew terms like חָפֵץ (to delight in) and אָבָה (to be willing), reinforcing the concept of desire.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

1 Timothy 1:7 explains that some people want to be teachers of the law, but they do not truly understand what they are saying or the things they confidently assert. This highlights the importance of genuine comprehension in teaching.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to desire to be a teacher of the law?

It indicates an ambition to instruct others in the Jewish law, but without the necessary understanding, it can lead to misleading teachings.

Why is understanding important for teachers?

Understanding is crucial for teachers to convey accurate information and avoid leading others astray with false assertions.

How does this verse relate to other teachings in the New Testament?

It parallels other warnings about false teachings and the importance of sound doctrine, as seen in Titus 1:10.

What can we learn from this verse about ambition in teaching?

We learn that ambition alone is insufficient; it must be accompanied by understanding and knowledge to be effective.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what areas of my life do I desire to teach or lead, and do I fully understand the subjects I wish to address?
  2. How can I ensure that my ambitions align with a genuine understanding of the topics I present to others?
  3. What steps can I take to deepen my understanding of the teachings I wish to share?
  4. How can I support others in their learning without leading them into misunderstanding?

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

The early church Fathers provide insights into this verse, discussing the implications of desiring to teach the law without understanding.

Clement of AlexandriaThe Stromata Book 1 c. 150–215
"And we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully." "Desiring to be teachers of the law, they understand," says the apostle, "neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."
Early Church Fathers on 1 Timothy 1 →
Athanasius of AlexandriaDiscourses Against the Arians 1.9.30 c. 296–373
It is encouraging to the faithful but distressing to the heretical to see these heresies overthrown. Moreover, their further question, “whether the Unoriginated be one or two,” shows how false are their views,
Early Church Fathers on 1 Timothy 1 →
John ChrysostomHomily on 1 Timothy 2 c. 347–407
"Desiring to be teachers of the law." Here we see another cause of evil, the love of power. Wherefore Christ said, "Be not ye called Rabbi" (Matt. xxiii.
Early Church Fathers on 1 Timothy 1 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 1 Timothy 1:7 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Desiring to be teachers of the law,.... They were very fond of being called Rabbi, Rabbi, and styled doctors of the law, and of being thought to have skill in interpreting the law, and good talents

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

Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. Sample of their 'vain talk.' Desiring - would-be teachers; not really so. The law - the Jewish law (Titus 1:14; Titus 3:9).

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

Desiring to be teachers of the law; Nomodidaskaloi. This term lets us know, that the apostle reflecteth upon some who were or had been Jews, who either pressed the observance of the law in order to justification, or spent their time in pressing the traditions of the elders, and constitutions of the scribes, as sepimenta legis, hedges (as they called them) to the Divine law, though not of the letter of it; upon which there arose a great many questions as insignificant as their traditions themselves, which these vain preachers spent their time in speaking to. Understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm; neither understanding the Divine law, nor the questions themselves…

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

7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. Ver. 7. Understanding neither what] Non curo illos, saith Augustine, qui vel non intelligendo reprehendunt, vel reprehendendo non intelligunt. I pass not for the censures of such as dare to reprehend what they do not comprehend. Nor whereof they affirm] And are therefore to be slighted. Galatinus (saith Mr Sarson), as he affirmeth without reason, so he may be dismissed without refutation.

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

(7) Desiring to be teachers of the law.—“Desiring,” though they really were not. They coveted the respect and influence which was ever paid to the acknowledged teachers of the Law of Moses; but these men utterly failed to understand the real spiritual meaning of that Law which they pretended to teach. Similar pretenders in a neighbouring Church, some years later, received from another Apostle—St. John—a stern rebuke for such pretensions. “I know,” wrote St. John to the Christians of Smyrna, “the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9). Understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.—A wise teacher must understand…

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

Verse 7. Teachers of the law] To be esteemed or celebrated as rabbins; to be reputed cunning in solving knotty questions and enigmas, which answered no end to true religion. Of such the rabbinical teaching was full. Understanding neither what they say] This is evident from almost all the Jewish comments which yet remain. Things are asserted which are either false or dubious; words, the import of which they did not understand, were brought to illustrate them: so that it may be said, They understand not what they say, nor whereof they affirm. I will give one instance from the Jerusalem Targum, on Genesis 1:15: And God made two great lights, and they were equal in splendour twenty-one years…

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

7. understanding] More exactly, though they understand; the negative particle used shews that the clause is subordinate to, not parallel with ‘setting themselves up,’ or ‘desiring,’ and expresses their thoughts. ‘We choose to teach, without understanding.’ Winer, § 55. 5 b, p. 607.neither what they say, nor whereof] They neither understand the statements they make nor even what the questions are about which they make such confident assertions. Confidently affirm gives the force of the preposition in the compound verb; it occurs in Titus 3:8; but not elsewhere in N. T. The middle voice expresses the secondary kind of making firm, by speech, instead of act, as commonly in Class. Gr. Compare…

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

Desiring to be teachers of the law - That is, to have the credit and reputation of being well versed in the law of Moses, and qualified to explain it to others.

Read Albert Barnes on 1 Timothy 1 →

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

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say nor about what they strongly affirm.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

NETBNew English Translation2006

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or the things they insist on so confidently.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor whereof they confidently affirm.

RVARevised Version, American1894

desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor whereof they confidently affirm.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor concerning what they affirm.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

They would be doctours of the Law, and yet vnderstande not what they speake, neither whereof they affirme.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

desiring to be law-teachers, not understanding either what they say or concerning what they [so] strenuously affirm.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

willing to be teachers of law, not understanding either the things they say, nor concerning what they asseverate,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

willing to be teachers of law, not understanding either the things they say, nor concerning what they confidently assert,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or what they so confidently affirm.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither the things they say, nor whereof they affirm.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

They have ambitions to be teachers of the law, but they have no idea what they're talking about or what they're so boldly announcing!

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Desiring to be teachers of the law, though they have no knowledge of what they say or of the statements which they make so certainly.

Word by word, the decisions they made

θέλοντεςthelō desiring G2309 3 different renderings
desiringASV BBE DBY DRA KJV NWB RVA WEB
willingLSV YLT
have ambitionsFBV
νοοῦντεςnoeō understanding G3539 2 different renderings
understandASV BSB MSB NETB RVA ULB WEB
understandingDBY DRA KJV LSV NWB YLT
λέγουσινlegō they are saying G3004 2 different renderings
they sayASV BBE DBY DRA KJV LSV NWB RVA WEB YLT
they are sayingBSB MSB NETB ULB
διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶diabebaioō they confidently assert. G1226 5 different renderings
affirmASV DBY DRA KJV NWB RVA ULB
they confidently assertLSV
stronglyWEB
insistNETB
boldlyFBV

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.

clauseδὲAndclausenoun phrase · subjectτὸ-noun phraseτέλοςthe goalnoun phraseτῆςof [our]παραγγελίαςinstructionlinking verbἐστὶνisnoun phrase · predicateἀγάπηloveprepositional phraseἐκout ofnoun phrasenoun phrasenoun phraseκαθαρᾶςa pureκαρδίαςheartκαὶandnoun phraseσυνειδήσεωςa conscienceἀγαθῆςgoodκαὶandnoun phraseπίστεωςa faithἀνυποκρίτουsincereclauseclause · adverbialadverbialὧνfrom whichverbἀστοχήσαντεςhaving missed the marksubjectτινεςsomeverbἐξετράπησανhave turned asideprepositional phrase · adverbialεἰςtoματαιολογίανmeaningless discourseclause · adverbialclauseverbθέλοντεςdesiringclause · objectlinking verbεἶναιto bepredicateνομοδιδάσκαλοιteachers of the Lawclauseadverbialμὴnotverbνοοῦντεςunderstandingnoun phrase · objectμήτεneithernoun phraseclauseobjectwhatverbλέγουσινthey are sayingμήτεnornoun phraseclauseprepositional phrase · adverbialπερὶ[that] aboutτίνωνwhichverbδιαβεβαιοῦνταιthey confidently assert

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

volentes esse legis doctores, non intelligentes neque quæ loquuntur, neque de quibus affirmant.

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

ܒܕܒܥܘ ܠܡܗܘܐ ܡܠܦܢܐ ܕܢܡܘܣܐ ܟܕ ܠܐ ܡܣܬܟܠܝܢ ܡܕܡ ܕܡܡܠܠܝܢ ܘܠܐ ܡܕܡ ܕܥܠܘܗܝ ܡܬܚܪܝܢ

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

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

θέλοντες εἶναι νομοδιδάσκαλοι, μὴ νοοῦντες μήτε λέγουσιν μήτε περὶ τίνων διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

Every witness on this verse all agree
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

Every edition agrees. All 8 printed editions — Nestle-Aland 28, Nestle-Aland 27, SBLGNT, Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, Tyndale House 2017, Textus Receptus (KJV), Byzantine majority — carry every word of this verse, in the same order, with no difference that any translator would render differently.


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 Timothy 1:7θέλωdesiringdesiringθέλωειναιto beto beειναινομοδιδάσκαλοςteachers ofteachers of theνομοδιδάσκαλοςμήnotnotμήνοέωunderstandiunderstandingνοέωμήτεneitherneitherμήτεὅςwhatwhatὅςλέγωthey are sathey are sayingλέγωμήτεnornorμήτεπερί[that] abou[that] aboutπερίτίςwhichwhichτίςδιαβεβαιόομαιthey confidthey confidentlδιαβεβαιόομαιμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήεἰμίv. I am, ev. I am, existεἰμίνόμοςn.m. a lawn.m. a law, theνόμοςνοῦςn.m. the mn.m. the mind, νοῦςοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐArticle thArticle theοὗAdv where,Adv where, whitοὗφημίv. I sayv. I sayφημίπέρανAdv over, Adv over, beyonπέραντὶςIndef.pr. Indef.pr. any oτὶςδιάPrep. throPrep. through, διάβεβαιόωv. I confiv. I confirm, rβεβαιόωπήραn.f. a sacn.f. a sack, waπήραἀγνοέωv. I do nov. I do not knoἀγνοέωκαθαρίζωv. I make v. I make cleanκαθαρίζωΦαρισαῖοςn.m. a Phan.m. a PhariseeΦαρισαῖοςπότεIrg.prt. wIrg.prt. when, πότεφοβέωv. I fear,v. I fear, am tφοβέω
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 Timothy 1:7

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.

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
θέλοντεςthelō desiring G2309 Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
207× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To will or desire something, as seen in Romans 9:16 and 1 Corinthians 12:6, where it describes a person's intentional choice or preference. This word is about making a conscious decision.
Amplified meaning
desire, have ambitions
Tyndale gloss
to will/desire
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

θέλω (thelō) means to will, wish, or desire. It is a common verb in the New Testament, often expressing intention or resolution, and can appear in various constructions, such as with an infinitive or an accusative. The lexicons note its frequent use compared to similar verbs and highlight its role in expressing personal desire or divine will, but they do not indicate significant disagreements among them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

θέλω (the strengthened form ἐθέλω is found in Hom., and is the more freq. in Attic; v. Rutherford, NPhr., 415 f.),

[in LXX for חפץ ,אבה; c. neg., מאן pi., etc.;]

to will, be willing, wish, desire (more freq. than βούλομαι, q.v., in vernac. and late Gk., also in MGr.; for various views as to its relation to β., v. Thayer, 286; but v. also Bl., §24, s.v.): absol., Ro 9:16, I Co 4:19 12:18, Ja 4:15; τ. θεοῦ θέλοντος, Ac 18:21; c. acc. rei, Mt 20:21, Mk 14:36, Jo 15:7, Ro 7:15, 16, I Co 4:21 7:36, Read the full entry →

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

θέλω (only in this form in the N. T.; in Grk. auth. also ἐθέλω [Veitch 5. v.; Lob. ad Phryn. p. 7; B. 57 (49)]); impf. ἤθελον ; [fut. 3 pers. sing. θελήσει, Rev. xi. 5 WII mrg.]; 1 aor. ἠθέλησα; (derived apparently fr. dey with a fuller aspiration, so that it means prop. to seize with the mind; but Curtius p. 726, ed. 5, regards its root as uncertain [he inclines, however, to the view of Pott, Fick, Vanicek and others, which connects it with a root meaning to hold to]); Sept. for 728 and yan; To WILL, (have in mind,) intend; i. e. 1. to be resolved or determined, to purpose: absol., ὁ θέλων, Ro. ix. 16; τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντος if God will, Acts xviii. 21; ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ (in Attic ἐὰν θεὸς θέλῃ, ἣν οἱ θεοὶ θέλωσιν [ ef. Lob. u.s.]), 1 Co. iv. 19; Jas. ἵν. 15; καθὼς ἠθέλησε, 1 Co. xii. 18; xv. 38; τί, Ro. vii. 15 sq. 19 sq.; 1 Co. vii. 36; Gal. v.17; with the aorist inf., Mt. xx. 14…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

θέλω. For the form ἐθέλω, which is wanting in the NT as in the LXX, Nageli (p. 57) refers to the magic papyri and to the poetic 7J/de 111. 1064: it is common in the Attic inscrr. up to the end of iv/B.c., but from B.C. 250 θέλω occurs, and eventually takes its place as the regular form in the Kow (cf. Meisterhans G7. p. 178). For the verb denoting a personal wish or desire we may cite P Petr I. ταῦ (a Will) τὰ [ἐμαυτοῦ διοικεῖν ὡς ἐ]γὼ θέλω, P Oxy VIT. τοῦτ" (B.c. 22) od BE ypade ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐὰν θέλῃς (ci Mt 85), 726. III. 531° (ii/A.p.) περὶ ὧν θέλεις δήλωσόν μοι, P Cairo Preis 48° (ii/A.D.) τὸ μὲν πλοῖόν σοι, ὡς ἠθέλησας, σκέψομαι, and the constant epistolary phrase γινώσκειν σε θέλω, as in P Oxy IV. 74377 (B.c. 2) ὥστ᾽ ἂν τοῦτό σε θέλω γεινώσκειν ὅτι ἐγὼ αὐτῴ διαστολὰς δεδώκειν τὸ βαδίσαι εἰς Τακόνα, ‘I wish you therefore to know…

Read the full entry →
Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

θέλω (thelō) — to will/desire.

θέλω,

see at {ἐθέλω} and add ὅστις ἂν θέλῃ [Refs]

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

θέλω

v.

I will, wish, desire

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

θέλω thelō 208x

to exercise the will, properly by an unimpassioned operation; to be willing, Mt. 17:4; to be inclined, disposed, Rom. 13:3; to choose, Lk. 1:62; to intend, design, Lk. 14:28; to will, Jn. 5:21; 21:22; ἤθελον, I could wish, Gal. 4:20

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAP-NPM — Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAP-NPM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
9%desiring
desiring9% · 18×i desire5% · 10×wishing4% · 9×willing4% · 8×i want3% · 7×do you desire3% · 7×desires3% · 7×shall desire3% · 7×other renderings65% · 138×

211 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 89 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
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 207 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,ὅςλέγωI say, speak
ἐάνCond
ὅςγάρforκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
καίand, even, also,γραμματεύςa scribe, town-cὅπωςhow, in order th
ὅς
γάρforβασιλεύςa king, ruler, eἐγώ
τίςIrg
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakΠιλᾶτοςPilate
θέλωdesiring207×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
σύπᾶςall, the whole, οὗτος
Article the
ψυχήthe soul, life, θέλημαwill, wish, desiθεόςGod, a god
ποιέωI do, make
Article theὧδεhereἐν
αὐτός
ἀποκτείνωI put to death, δειγματίζωI hold up as an λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐNegἰάομαιI healδίδωμιI offer, give

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

Concordanceθέλω · 207× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Mark John 1 Corinthians Romans Acts Galatians 2 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews 1 Timothy

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 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
Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 104c. AD 40

τῇ δ’ ἕκτῃ περὶ πάντα καταρτύεται νόος ἀνδρός, οὐδ’ ἕρδειν ἔθ’ ὁμῶς ἔργ’ ἀπάλαμνα θέλει·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.9c. AD 75–95

τούτῳ δὴ πειθόμενος ὡς αἰεὶ τοῖς χρήσιμον ἢ καλόν τι πράττειν δυναμένοις συμφιλοκαλοῦντι καὶ ἐμαυτὸν αἰσχυνόμενος, εἰ δόξαιμι ῥαθυμίᾳ πλέον ἢ τῷ περὶ τὰ κάλλιστα χαίρειν πόνῳ, προθυμότερον ἐπερρώσθην, ἔτι κἀκεῖνα πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις λογισάμενος οὐ…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.9c. AD 100

αἰσθάνεσθαι οὖν ὀφείλομεν, μὴ ὄντες ἀσύνετοι, τὴν γνώμην τῆς ἀγαθωσύνης τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν, ὅτ̓ ἡμῖν λέγει, θέλων ἡμᾶς μὴ ὁμοίως πλανωμένους ἐκείνοις ζητεῖν, πῶς προσάγωμεν αὐτῷ.

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 7th c. AD
P.Edg. $1Alexandria (?)252 BC

αὐτός τε ἔρρωσαι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα σοί ἐστιν κατὰ νοῦν, εἴη ἂν ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω· ὑγίαινον δὲ καὶ αὐτός. ἐγραψέν μοι Μαιανδρία ὅτι χλαμύδα αὐτὴν κελεύεις ἐξυφᾶναι. νυνὶ μὲν

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59478276 BC–227 BC

αὐτός τε ἔρρωσαι καὶ τὰ λοιπά σοι κατὰ γνώμην ἐστίν, εἴη ἂν ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω· ὑγίαινον δὲ καὶ αὐτός. ἀπέσταλκά σοι κομίζοντα Πολέμωνα χοιρίδιον τριακονθήμερον α καὶ χαλκῶν δραχμὰς

P.Cair. Zen. 4 59575276 BC–227 BC

σὺ καὶ οὕς βούλει καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ κατὰ νοῦν ἐστιν, γένοιτʼ ἂν ὡς ἡμεῖς θέλομεν. ἱκανῶς δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔχομεν, καί σου μνημονεύομεν ἐν παντὶ καιρῶι, ὥσπερ καὶ προσῆκόν

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
εἶναιeimi to be G1511 Verb · present · active · infinitive
2,123× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

with various uses and significations, like the English verb to be.

As substantive verb.

Of persons and things, to be, exist: Ac 17:28, Jo 1:1 8:58 17:5, al; ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν (for past ptcp.), Re 1:4, 8 4:8 11:17 16:5 (v. Swete, Ap., 5; M, Pr., 228); τὰ (μὴ) ὄντα, Ro 4:17, I Co 1:28.

Of times, events, etc., to be, happen, take place: Mt 24:3, Mk 14:2 15:42, Lk 21:23, Jo 4:6, 23 5:10, al.

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

εἰμί (fr. ἔω, whence ἐμέ in inscriptions [7]; Aeol. ἐμμὲ (Curtius (yet ἔμμε, so G. Meyer) 8 564; Veitch p. 2287), impv. ἴσθι, ἔστω, less usual ἤτω, 1 Co. xvi. 22; Jas. v.12; Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 48,5; [1 Mace. x. 31; Ps. ciii. (civ.) 31]; Plat. rep. 2 p. 361 ¢. [here it has given place to ἔστω (or ἴτω), see Stallb. ad loc.; Veitch p. 200 sq.; 3 pers. plur. ἔστωσαν, Lk. xii. 35; 1 Tim. iii. 12], inf. εἶναι ; impf. —ace. to the more ancient and elegant form, ἦν, 2 pers. ἦσθα (Mt. xxvi. 69; Mk. xiv. 67), rarer form ἧς (Mt. RKV. 1235 dn ΧΙ: 9]. 92); xxI LS. Reyna 15 G@ ΕΣ Tr WH), 3 pers. ἦν, 1 pers. plur. jer, — ace. to the mid. form, com. in later Grk. [ef. Veitch p. 226], ἤμην (Mt. xxv. 35sq.; [on Acts xi. 11 ef. WH. Intr. § 404]; Gal.i.10, etc.), plur. ἤμεθα (Mt. xxiii. 30 G L T Tr WH; Acts xxvii. 37 L T Tr WH; [Gal. iv. 3 TWH Tr mrg.; Eph. ii. 3 T Tr WH; Bar. i. 19]); cf. Lob. ad Phryn.…

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

εἰμί. Middle forms in the flexion of εἰμί other than the present tense (cf. however MGr εἶμαι, -σαι, etc.) begin to appear very early in the dialects and are well established in the papyri. Thus the Ist sing. impf. ἤμην, which always takes the place of the class. ἢ in the NT (but see Ac 2018 D) may be illustrated from PSI IV. 36274 (B.c. 251-0) ἤμην δὲ πρὸς τῶι λαμβάνειν τὸν χαλκόν, P Magd 65 (B.c. 221) ἤμην γυμνός, P Par 57 (B.c. 129) ὧν ἤμην δι᾽ αὐτῶν [π]αραμε[μετ]ρηκ[υῖα, P Oxy IIT. 526% (ii/A.p.) οὐκ ἤμην ἀπαθὴς ἀλόγως σε καταλείπιν. For ist plur. ἤμεθα see P Petr IT. 4 (7)° (B.C. 255-4) τεθλιμμένοι ἤμεθα : cf. Ac 2737, Eph 23, as contrasted with the act. ἦμεν in Ac 111 (NB), 1612, Rom 7° a/.: the two forms are found together in Gal 4% (SDFG). The non-classical ἧς (Lob. Phryx. p. 149) is found sefzes in the NT as compared with ἦσθα (from an old perf. form ἤησθα), which is confined…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἶναι (einai) — to exist.

εἰμί

(sum), Aeolic dialect ἔμμι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Cretan dialect ἠμί [Refs]; 2nd pers. singular εἶ, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰς [Refs 8th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Doric dialect ἐσσί [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἐστί, Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. dual ἐστόν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 1st pers. plural ἐσμέν, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰμέν (also in [Refs 5th c.BC+], Doric dialect εἰμές [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural εἰσί (-ίν), Epic dialect and Ionic dialect ἔασι (-ιν) [Refs 8th c.BC+], Doric dialect ἐντί [Refs 5th c.BC+], Epic dialect and Lyric poetry also in middle form ἔσσο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔστω (ἤτω [LXX+5th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἔστωσαν, but ἔστων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and early Attic dialect Inscrr., [Refs 2nd c.BC+]subjunctive ὦ, ᾖς, ᾖ, Epic dialect ἔω [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. singular ἔῃ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί ἐιμί

einai

present infinitive from 1510; to exist:--am, was. come, is, X lust

after, X please well, there is, to be, was.

see GREEK for 1510

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

to be, to exist, Jn. 1:1; 17:5; Mt. 6:30; Lk. 4:25, freq.; ἐστί[ν], it is possible, proper, Heb. 9:5; a simple linking verb (“copula”) to the subject and predicate, and therefore in itself affecting the force of the sentence only by its tense, mood, etc., Jn. 1:1; 15:1, freq.; it also forms a frequent circumlocution with the participles of the present and perfect of other verbs, Mt. 19:22; Mk. 2:6

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAN — Verb · present · active · infinitive
present active infinitive — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAN Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: iNfinitive TVM equivalent: G5721

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
75%be
be75% · 95×being12% · 15×be?6% · 8×other renderings6% · 7×other renderings2% · 2×

127 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
νομοδιδάσκαλοι,nomodidaskalos teachers of the Law, G3547 Noun · nominative · plural · masculine
3× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A teacher of the Jewish law, also known as a Rabbi, is mentioned in the Bible, such as in Luke 5:17 and Acts 5:34. They were experts in the law and taught it to others. In the New Testament, they are sometimes called doctors of the law.
Amplified meaning
instructors, rabbis, Jewish law, Torah
Tyndale gloss
teacher of the law
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

νομοδιδάσκαλος refers to a teacher or interpreter of the Jewish law, often associated with the role of a Rabbi. It appears in the New Testament in Luke 5:17, Acts 5:34, and 1 Timothy 1:7. The term is built from νόμος (law) and διδάσκαλος (teacher), and is synonymous with γραμματεύς (scribe).

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

*† νομο-διδάσκαλος, -ου, ὁ,

a teacher of the law: Lk 5:17, Ac 5:34, I Ti 1:7 (NT and eccl. only; cf. νομοδείκτης, -διδάκτης, Plut.).†

SYN.: γραμματεύς, q.v.

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

νομο-διδάσκαλος, -ov, 6, (νόμος and διδάσκαλος, οἴ. érepoδιδάσκαλος, ἱεροδιδάσκαλος, χοροδιδάσκαλος), a teacher and interpreter of the law: among the Jews [cf. γραμματεύς, 2], Lk. v. 17; Acts v. 34; of those who among Christians also went about as champions and interpreters of the Mosaic law, 1 Tim.i. 7. (Not found elsewh. [exc. in eccl. writ. ])

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

νομοδιδάσκαλος (nomodidaskalos) — teacher of the law.

νομο-δῐδάσκᾰλος, ὁ,

teacher of the law, [NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

νομοδιδάσκαλος

nomodidaskalos

from 3551 and 1320; an expounder of the (Jewish) law, i.e. a

Rabbi:--doctor (teacher) of the law.

see GREEK for 3551

see GREEK for 1320

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

νομοδιδάσκαλος, ου, ὁ

n.m.

a teacher and interpreter of the Mosaic Law

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

νομοδιδάσκαλος nomodidaskalos 3x

a teacher and interpreter of the Mosaic law, Lk. 5:17; Acts 5:34; 1 Tim. 1:7

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

νομοδιδάσκαλος νομο-δι^δάσκα^λος, ὁ, a teacher of the law, Plut., NTest.

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

N-NPM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Law

A rule of action. (1.) The Law of Nature is the will of God as to human conduct, founded on the moral difference of things, and discoverable by natural light (Rom. 1:20; 2:14, 15). This law binds all men at all times. It is generally designated by the term conscience, or the capacity of being influenced by the moral relations of things.

(2.) The Ceremonial Law prescribes under the Old Testament the rites and ceremonies of worship. This law was obligatory only till Christ, of whom these rites were typical, had finished his work (Heb. 7:9, 11; 10:1; Eph. 2:16). It was fulfilled rather than abrogated by the gospel.

(3.) The Judicial Law, the law which directed the civil policy of the Hebrew nation.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The word is properly used, in Scripture as elsewhere, to express a definite commandment laid down by any recognized authority; but when the word is used with the article, and without any words of limitation, it refers to the expressed will to God, and in nine cases out of ten to the Mosaic law, or to the Pentateuch of which it forms the chief portion. The Hebrew word torah (law) lays more stress on its moral authority, as teaching the truth and guiding in the right way; the Greek nomos (law), on its constraining power as imposed and enforced by a recognized authority. The sense of the word, however, extends its scope and assumes a more abstracts character in the writings of St. Paul. Nomos , when used by him with the article, still refers in general to the law of Moses; but when used without the article, so as to embrace any manifestation of "law," it includes all powers which act on…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In the Bible, signifies sometimes the whole word of God, Ps 19:7-11 119:1-176 Isa 8:20; sometimes the Old Testament, Joh 10:34 15:25, and sometimes the five books of Moses, which formed the first of the three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures, Lu 24:44 Ac 13:15. The Pentateuch was probably "the law," a copy of which every king was to transcribe for himself and study, and which was to be made known to young and old, in public and in private, De 6:7 17:18,19 31:9-19,26. In other places the Mosaic institutions as a whole are intend by "the law," in distinction from the…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ General scriptures concerning Ps 19:7-9; 119:1-8; Pr 28:4,5; Mt 22:21; Lu 16:17; 20:22-25; Ro 2:14,15; 7:7,12,14; 13:10; 1Ti 1:5,8-10; Jas 1:25; 1Jo 3:4; 5:3

→ See LITIGATION

→ See COMMANDMENTS

→ See DUTY TO GOD

→ OF MOSES

→ (Contained in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy)

Given at Sinai Ex 19; De 1:1; 4:10-13; 33:2; Hab 3:3

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
67%teachers of the law
teachers of the law67% · 2×teacher of the law33% · 1×

3 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
subject67%predicate33%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 3 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
Φαρισαῖοςa Pharisee
ΓαμαλιήλProp
ὄνομαname, character,
εἰμίI am, exist
θέλωI will, wish, de
νομοδιδάσκαλοςteachers of the Law,
what comes after →
ὅς
εἰμίI am, exist
τίμιοςof great price, prec
πᾶςall, the whole,
μήNeg
νοέωI understand, co

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

Concordanceνομοδιδάσκαλος · 3× in the New Testament
1 Timothy Acts Luke
Across the New Testament3 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
μὴ not G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy 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.

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
νοοῦντεςnoeō understanding G3539 Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
14× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To understand or comprehend, like perceiving with the mind, as in Matthew 16:9 and Ephesians 3:4. It can also mean to think or consider something, like in John 12:40.
Amplified meaning
comprehend, perceive
Tyndale gloss
to understand
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

νοέω is built from the root νοῦς, meaning 'mind.' It encompasses the ideas of perceiving, understanding, and considering. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as Matthew 16:9 and Ephesians 3:4. The lexicons generally agree on its meanings, with no significant disagreements noted.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

νοέω -ῶ

(< νοῦς),

[in LXX chiefly for בּין, also for שׂכל hi., etc;]

to perceive with the mind, understand (for the phrase νοῶν κ. φρονῶν, in wills, v. MM, xvii): absol., Mt 16:9, Mk 8:17; c. acc., Eph 3:4, I Ti 1:7; c. dat. instr., τ. καρδίᾳ, Jo 12:40; pass., Ro 1:20; seq. ὅτι, Mt 15:17 16:11, Mk 7:18; c. acc. et inf., He 11:8.

Read the full entry →
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from a scan

νοέω, -ῶ ; 1 aor. ἐνόησα ; [pres. pass. ptep. (neut. plur.) νοούμενα] ; (νοῦς) ; fr. Hom. down; Sept. for p29 and yann, and for Sawn; 1. to perceive with the mind, to understand: absol., with the addition τῇ καρδίᾳ, Jn. xii. 40 (Is. xliv. 18); w.an acc. of the thing, Eph. iii. 4, 20; 1 Tim. i. 7; pass.: Ro. i. 20; foll. by ὅτι, Mt. xv. 17; xvi. 11; Mk. vii. 18; foll. by ace. w. inf., Heb. xi. 3; absol. i. q. to have understanding: Mt. xvi. 9; Mk. viii. 17. 2. to think upon, heed, ponder, consider: νοείτω, se. let him attend to the events that occur, which will show the time to flee, Mt. xxiv. 15; Mk. xiii. 14; [similarly νόει ὃ (RG @) λέγω, 2 Tim. ii. 7]. [Comp.: ev-, xara-, μετα-, προ-, Uro-voEew. |

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

νοέω (noeō) — to understand.

νο-έω,

Aeolic dialect νόημι (which see): Epic dialect aorist 1 νόησα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect ἔνωσα (ἐν-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]perfect νενόηκα, Ionic dialect νένωκα (ἐν-) [Refs]; imperative νενόηθι Hilgard Excerpta e libris Herodiani [Refs]:—middle, Epic dialect aorist νοήσατο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; participle νοησάμενος [Refs 7th c.BC+] —passive (mostly in middle sense), future νοηθήσομαι [Refs 2nd c.AD+]: aorist ἐνοήθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]; also Ionic dialect (ἐπ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]perfect νενόημαι, Ionic dialect νένωμαι [Refs 6th c.BC+]singular pluperfect ἐνένωτο (in middle sense) [Refs 5th c.BC+] and perfect passive νένοται. —The compounds with ἀπό, διά, ἐν, ἐπί, μετά, πρό are used chiefly in middle:—perceive by the eyes, observe (οἱ ἀρχαῖοι τὸ ν. σωματικὸν.. ὑπολαμβάνουσιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὀξὺ ν.[Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὀφθαλμοῖσιν, ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖσι ν.…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

νοέω

noeo

from 3563; to exercise the mind (observe), i.e. (figuratively) to

comprehend, heed:--consider, perceive, think, understand.

see GREEK for 3563

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

νοέω

v.

I understand, consider

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

νοέω noeō 14x

to perceive, observe; to mark attentively, Mt. 24:15; Mk. 13:14; 2 Tim. 2:7; to understand, comprehend, Mt. 15:17; to conceive, Eph. 3:20

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAP-NPM — Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAP-NPM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
14%understand you
understand you14% · 2×he should understand14% · 2×being understood7% · 1×understand7% · 1×we think7% · 1×understanding7% · 1×do consider7% · 1×we understand7% · 1×other renderings29% · 4×

14 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 12 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
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 14 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
πῶςεἰμίI am, exist
ἀναγινώσκωI read
Article theδύναμαιI am powerful, a
οὔπωNeg
ἔχωI have, hold, po
καίand, even, also, nam
ὀφθαλμόςthe eye
ποίημαa thing made
Article the
νοέωunderstanding14×
what comes after →
ὅτιthat, since, because
πᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
οὐδέNeg
μνημονεύωI remember, makeσυνίημιI consider, unde
Article the
καρδίαthe heart, innerσύνεσιςunderstanding
τότεthen
Article the
καθοράωI see clearly
Article 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

Concordanceνοέω · 14× in the New Testament
Matthew Mark Ephesians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Hebrews John Romans
Across the New Testament8 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 19 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 The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.91c. AD 40

ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ὁρᾷ, ἑαυτὸν δὲ οὐχ ὁρᾷ, οὕτως καὶ ὁ νοῦς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα νοεῖ, ἑαυτὸν δὲ οὐ καταλαμβάνει·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.167c. AD 75–95

θαυμασθεὶς οὖν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς συνουσίαις ὡς συνετώτατος καὶ δεινὸς ἀνὴρ οὐ νοῆσαι μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ πεῖσαι λέγων περὶ ὧν ἐπιχειρήσειε διδάσκειν, τήν τε ἀριθμητικὴν αὐτοῖς χαρίζεται καὶ τὰ περὶ ἀστρονομίαν παραδίδωσι.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.14c. AD 100

ἔτι δὲ κἀκεῖνο, ἀδελφοί μου, νοεῖτε: ὅταν βλέπετε μετὰ τηλικαῦτα σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα γεγονότα ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὕτως ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι αὐτούς: προσέχωμεν, μήποτε, ὡς γέγραπται, πολλοὶ κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοὶ εὑρεθῶμεν.

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
BGU 1 114Alexandria oder ArsinoitesAD 142

διὰ Φανείου ῥήτορος εἰπούσης ἀπαιτεῖν παρακαταθήκην ἐξ ὑπαρχόντων Ἀντωνίου Γερμανοῦ στρατιώτου τετελευτηκότος Λοῦπος εἶπεν· νοοῦμεν ὅτι αἱ παρακαταθῆκαι προῖκές εἰσιν. ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων αἰτιῶν κριτὴν οὐ δίδωμι. οὐ γὰρ

P.Lond. 5 1727SyeneAD 584

ἐπαναχωρῆσαι πραγμάτων καὶ εὑρεθείη τὸν ζῶντα ὑστερούμενον παρὰ τῶν ἄμφοιν ἡμῶν τέκνων νων, ὅθεν νοοῦντες, φρονοῦντες λογισμούς, ἔχοντες ἐρρωμένας τὰς διανοίας, τὰς φρένας ἀπαθεῖς, τὰς αἰσθήσεις ὑγιεῖς, ἐπὶ ποδῶν

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
μήτεmēte neither G3383 Conjunction · negative
34× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'neither' or 'nor', used to indicate a negative condition, as seen in Matthew 11:18 and Luke 7:33.
Tyndale gloss
neither
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μήτε is a negative particle meaning 'neither' or 'nor,' often used in pairs (e.g., μήτε...μήτε). It appears in various New Testament passages, including Matthew 5:34-36 and Acts 23:8. The word is formed from μή and the enclitic τέ, and it differs from οὔτε in its usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή-τε,

negative particle, differing from οὔτε as μή from οὐ,

neither, nor: μήτε . . . μήτε, neither . . . nor, Mt 11:18, Lk 7:33 9:3, Ac 23:12, 21 27:20, He 7:3; μὴ (μηδὲ) . . . μήτε . . . μήτε, Mt 5:34-36, Mk 3:20 T, Ac 23:8, II Th 2:2, I Ti 1:7, Ja 5:12, Re 7:1, 3.†

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

μήτε, (μή and the enclitic τέ), [fr. Hom. down], a copulative conjunction of negation, neither, nor, (differing fr. οὔτε as μή does fr. ov. It differs fr. μηδέ in that μηδέ separates different things, but μήτε those which are of the same kind or which are parts of one whole; cf. W. § 55, 6; [Β. 8 149,13 b.]): pyre... μήτε, neither... nor, Lk. vii. 33 [T py... μηδέ]; ix. 3 (five times); Acts xxiii 12, 21; xxvii. 20; Heb. vii. 3 ; (but in Eph. iv. 27 for μὴ .-- μήτε we must with L T Tr WH substitute py... μηδέ). py... pyre... μήτε, Mt. v. 34-36 (four times); 1 Tim.i. 7; Jas. v.12; Rev. vii.3; ἵνα py... pyre... μήτε, Rev. vii. 1; pydé..- pyre... μήτε, 2 ΤῊ. ἢ. 2 LT Tr WH; μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν, μηδὲ ἄγγελον (for that is something other than ἀνάστασις). μήτε πνεῦμα (because angels belong to the genus πνεύματα), Acts xxiii. 8 RG; ef. W. 493 (459) ; [B. 367 (314)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μήτε (mēte) — neither.

μήτε,

and not, mostly doubled, μήτε.. μήτε.. neither.. nor.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; μήτε.., μήτ᾽ οὖν.. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; μήτε.., μηδέ, see at {μηδέ}; μήτε..,{τε}.. both not.., and.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; also μήτε.., δέ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μή.., μήτε.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. μήτε is perhaps sometimes omitted in the former of two clauses, ἑκόντα μήτ᾽ ἄκοντα [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

μήτε

mete

from 3361 and 5037; not too, i.e. (in continued negation) neither or

nor; also, not even:--neither, (n-)or, so as much.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 5037

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μήτε

Neg.cj.

nor, neither, not even

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μήτε mēte 34x

neither; μήτε ... μήτε, or μὴ ... μήτε, or μηδὲ ... μητέ, neither ... nor, Mt. 5:34, 35, 36; Acts 23:8; 2 Thess. 2:2; in NT also equivalent to μηδέ, not even, not so much as, Mk. 3:20

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μήτε and not, mostly doubled, μήτε . . μήτε . . , neither . . nor, Hom., etc.

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

CONJ-N CONJunction or conjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
68%nor
nor68% · 23×neither32% · 11×

34 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
adverbial27%verb18%object18%subject12%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 34 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
γῆthe earth, soil, lan
Article the
ἄρτοςbread, a loaf, food
ἐσθίωI eatμήτεNeg
λέγωI say, speak
ἑαυτοῦὅς
ἐσθίωI eat
μήτεNeg
θάλασσαthe sea, lake
Article the
μήτεneither34×
what comes after →
πίνωI drink, imbibe
ἕωςuntil, as far asκαίand, even, also,οἶνοςwine
Article the
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaγῆthe earth, soil,θάλασσαthe sea, lake
ἐν
Article the
διά
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spλόγοςa word, speech, ἐπιστολήa letter, dispat
ἐσθίωI eat
μήτεNeg

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

Concordanceμήτε · 34× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew Revelation 2 Thessalonians James 1 Timothy Hebrews
Across the New Testament8 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Epistle of Barnabas Ignatius of Antioch Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 63c. AD 40

χαίρει γὰρ τὰ μέν τινα τεναγώδει καὶ οὐ πάνυ βαθείᾳ θαλάττῃ, τὰ δ’ ὑποδρόμοις καὶ λιμέσι μήτ’ ἐπὶ γῆν ἀνέρπειν μήτε πόρρω γῆς ἐπινήχεσθαι δυνάμενα, τὰ δὲ κατὰ μέσον καὶ βαθὺ πέλαγος διαιτώμενα τὰς προκεχυμένας ἄκρας ἢ νήσους ἢ πέτρας ἐκτρέπεται·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.72c. AD 75–95

Καὶ οὗτοι μὲν ἑπτὰ γενεὰς διέμειναν θεὸν ἡγούμενοι δεσπότην εἶναι τῶν ὅλων καὶ πάντα πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἀποβλέποντες, εἶτα προϊόντος χρόνου μεταβάλλονται πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἐκ τῶν πατρίων ἐθισμῶν μήτε τὰς νενομισμένας τιμὰς ἔτι τῷ θεῷ παρέχοντες μήτε τοῦ πρὸς…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 16.10c. AD 100

ὁ γὰρ ποθῶν σωθῆναι βλέπει οὐκ εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ̓ εἰς τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικοῦντα καὶ λαλοῦντα, ἐπ’ αὐτῷ ἐκπλησσόμενος, ἐπὶ τῷ μηδέποτε μήτε τοῦ λέγοντος τὰ ῥήματα ἀκηκοέναι ἐκ τοῦ στόματος μήτε αὐτός ποτε ἐπιτεθυμηκέναι ἀκούειν.

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 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. BC
P.Amh. 2 110Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 75

μηνὶ Τῦβι ἐννεακαιδεκάτῃ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γραφείου καὶ μὴ ἐνκαλεῖν μηδὲ ἐπελεύσεσθαι τοὺς ὁμολογοῦντας μήτε περὶ τούτου μήτε περὶ οὐδενὸς ἁπλῶς πράγματος ἐνγράπτου καὶ ἀγράφου. ὑπογραφεὺς τῶν ὁμολογούντων Σάτυρος

P.Athen.. 29Karanis (ArsinoitesAD 121

Σαμβᾶ καθʼ ὁμολογίαν χρήσεως, ἣν ἔθετο αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γραφείου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι μήτε αὐτοὺς Πτολεμαῖον καὶ Διδυμάριον μήτε αὐτῷ μηδὲ τοὺς παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Παουῆτιν μηδὲ

P.Amh. 2 111Herakleia (ArsinoitesAD 132

Φαῶφι δεκάτης, ἣν καὶ ἀναδέδωκεν αὐτοῖς εἰς ἀθέτησιν καὶ ἀκύρωσιν, καὶ μηδὲν τὸν ὁμολογοῦντα μήτε τοὺς παρʼ αὐτοῦ ἐνκαλεῖν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Στοτοῆτιν περὶ μηδενὸς ἁπλῶς πράγματος ἐνγράπτου ἢ

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
hos, hē what G3739 Relative pronoun · accusative · plural · neuter
1,407× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The word which is a pronoun used to ask for or identify something, as seen in John 5:11. It can also be used to describe a person or thing, such as in Mark 15:23. This word helps to clarify or specify what is being talked about.
Tyndale gloss
which
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ὅς is a pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' 'what,' or 'that.' It serves as both a demonstrative and a relative pronoun, agreeing in gender with its antecedent. The New Testament uses it in various constructions, including phrases like ὃς μὲν... ὃς δέ to indicate contrasting subjects. Notably, it can express purpose or cause in certain contexts.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

the postpositive article (ἄρθρον ὑποτακτικόν).

As demonstr. pron. = οὗτος, ὅδε, this, that, also for αὐτός, chiefly in nom.: ὅς δέ, but he (cf. ἦ δὲ ὅς, freq. in Plat.), Mk 15:23, Jo 5:11; ὃς μὲν . . . ὃς δέ, the one . . . the other, Mt 21:35 22:5 25:15, Lk 23:33, Ac 27:14, Ro 14:5, I Co 11:21, II Co 2:16, Ju 22; neut., ὃ μὲν . . . ὃ δέ, the one . . . the other, some . . . some, Mt 13:8, 23, Read the full entry →

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

ὅς 455 ὅς iii. 5 [RG], 6; Heb. vi. 10; ix. 20; Jas. ii. 5; 1 In. iii. 24; Jude 15; for other exx. see below; ἐν ὥρᾳ 7 οὐ γινώoxet, Mt. xxiv. 50; τῇ παραδύσει 9 παρεδώκατε, Mk. vii. 13 ; add, Lk. ii. 20; v. 9; ix. 435 xii. 46; xxiv. 25; Jn. xvii. 5; Acts ii. 22; xvii. 31; xx. 38; 2 Co. xii. 21; 2Th.i. 4; Rev. xviii. 6; ef. W. § 24,1; [B. as above]. Rarely attraction oceurs where the verb governs the dative [but see below]: thus, κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσε θεοῦ for xarévavre θεοῦ, ᾧ ἐπίστευσε (See κατέναντι). Ro. iv. 17; φωνῆς, ἧς ἔκραξα (for 7 (al. ἥν, οἴ. W. 164 (154 sq.) Β. 287 (217)}7), Acts xxiv. 21, οἵ. Is. vi. 4; (7γετο δὲ καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ τε πιστῶν, οἷς ἥδετο καὶ ὧν ἠπίστει πολλούς, for καὶ πολλοὺς τούτων, οἷς ἠπίστει, Xen. Cyr. ὅ, 4, 39; ὧν ἐγὼ ἐντετύχηκα οὐδείς; for οὐδεὶς τούτων, οἷς ἐντετ. Plato, Gorg. p. 509 ἃ.; Protag. p. 361 6.; derep.7 p.531e.; παρ᾽ ὧν βοηθεῖς, οὐδεμίαν λήψει…

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

ος is found as a demonstrative pronoun in P Ryl II. 14415 (complaint of assault—a.D. 38) ὃς δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ἄλογον ἀηδίαν μοι ἐπιχειρήσας παρεχρήσατό μοι πολλὰ καὶ ἄσχημα, ‘“whereupon he opposing me made a brutal and odious attack upon me and subjected me to much shameful mishandling” (Edd.): cf. Mk 15%, Jn 51. For ὃς μέν... ὃς δέ, “the one . . the other,” as in Mt 21° a/., see P Oxy IX. 1189? (c. A.D. 117) ἐπιστολὰς δύο ds ἔγραψα ἣν μὲν σοὶ ἣν δὲ Σαβείνῳ, and for ὃς δέ solétarium see PSI. IV. 313° (iii/iv A.D.) with the editor’s note. Ὃς ἄν (ἐάν) c. conj. = ‘‘ whosoever ” may be illustrated Ly P Par 4622 (B.c. 153) (= Witkowski*, p. 87), περὶ dv ἂν βούληι γράφε, P Grenf I. 30% (B.c. 103) ἐφ} οἷς ἂν οὖν ὑμῶν προσδέωνται, P Oxy IV. 743%% (B.C. 2) ἐν ols ἐὰν σοῦ προσδέηται, °° ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐὰν θέλῃς. For the comparative usage of ὃς ἄν and ὃς ἐάν, see Thackeray Gr. i. p. 68, cited s.v. ἄν.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅς (hos, hē) — which.

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

genitive οὗ, ἧς, οὗ, etc.; dative plural οἷς, αἷς, οἷς, etc.: Epic dialect forms, genitive ὅου (probably replacing Οο) in the phrases ὅου κλέος οὔ ποτ᾽ ὀλεῖται [Refs 8th c.BC+]; feminine ἕης [Refs 8th c.BC+]; elsewhere only ἧς [Refs]; dative plural οἷς, οἷσι, ᾗς, ᾗσι (never αἷς or αἷσι in [Refs 8th c.BC+] — _pronoun_ used,

__A as demonstrative by the side of οὗτος, ὅδε, and the Article ὁ, ἡ, τό: in post-Homeric Gr. this use survived only in a few special phrases.

__B as a Relat. by the side of the Article ὅ, ἥ, τό (see. ὁ, ἡ, τό, c):—this demonstrative and Relat. pronoun must not be confounded with the Possess. ὅς, ἥ, ὅν. (With Gr. Relat. ὅς, ἥ, ὅ cf. Sanskrit Relat. yas, yā, yad, Lithuanian jis, ji (he, she), Oslav. i, ja, je (he, she…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅς ἥ ὅ

hos

he hay, and neuter

ho ho

probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article 3588); the

relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what,

that:--one, (an-, the) other, some, that, what, which, who(-m, -se),

etc. See also 3757.

see GREEK for 3588

see GREEK for 3757

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ

Rel.pr.

who, which, what, that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅς hos 1x

who, which, what, that, Mt. 1:16, 23, 25; in NT interrog. ἐφ’ ὅ, wherefore, why, Mt. 26:50; in NT ὅς μὲν ... ὅς δέ, for ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, Mt. 21:35; 2 Cor. 2:16

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Rel-APN — Relative pronoun · accusative · plural · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked plural neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

R-APN Part of Speech: Relative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
25%which
which25% · 356×whom20% · 291×who17% · 238×that14% · 199×what8% · 117×whatever2% · 30×whose2% · 29×other renderings10% · 145×other renderings2% · 25×

1,430 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 60 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
object40%subject29%adverbial26%indirect object3%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,407 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
ἐν
ἡμέραa dayαὐτόςἵναin order that, s
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἔχωI have, hold, poυἱόςa son, descenden
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἀπόλλυμιI destroy, lose,δοῦλος (II)
διά
ἐκεῖνοςΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
εἰς
καίand, even, also,ἐγώοἰκίαa house, househo
ὅςwhat1407×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theμεθερμηνεύωI translate, intκαίand, even, also,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existἔξεστι(ν)it is permitted,γινώσκωI come to know,
Article the
θεόςGod, a godυἱόςa son, descendenκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
καίand, even, also, nam
σύποιέωI do, makeαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
ἄνDisjἑξήκονταIndecτριάκονταIndec

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

Concordanceὅς · 1,407× in the New Testament
Acts Luke John Matthew Romans Mark Hebrews Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Colossians Ephesians

22 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
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 33c. AD 40

ἵν’ οὖν μὴ αἰεὶ συμφερόμεναι στασιάζωσι καὶ πόλεμος ἀντ’ εἰρήνης ἐπικρατῇ τὴν ἀκοσμίαν ἐν κόσμῳ τιθείς, οὐ μόνον ἐχώρισε φῶς καὶ σκότος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅρους ἐν μέσοις ἔθετο διαστήμασιν, οἷς ἀνεῖρξε τῶν ἄκρων ἑκάτερον·

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

πῶς τὸ Σοδομιτῶν ἔθνος θεὸς κατεστρέψατο χολωθεὶς αὐτοῖς ἐφ' οἷς ἡμάρτανον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.8c. AD 100

Μωϋσῆ Μωϋσῆ, κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος, ὅτι ἠνόμησεν ὁ λαός σου, οὓς ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, καὶ συνῆκεν Μωϋσῆς καὶ ἔριψεν τὰς δύο πλάκας ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ: καὶ συνετρίβη αὐτῶν ἡ διαθήκη, ἵνα ἡ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου Ἰησοῦ ἐγκατασφραγισθῇ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν…

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 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

θεοῖς. καλῶς ποιήσεις διαλύσας Ἁρκοννῆσιν καὶ Ψενανοῦπιν καὶ … … ελθεῖν ἐπὶ προ … ους καὶ γραψάτωσαν ἡμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐσπούδασας διὰ τὰς ἡμῶν παρακλήσεις καὶ ση

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

ἐδάνεισεν Ὧρος Ὥρου Ὥρωι Νεχούτου ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος μελίχρως ὑποκλαστὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὖς ἀριστερὸν τετρημένον πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τεσσαράκοντα ἓξ κριθῆς ἑξήκοντα ἐννέα , ἴσους ἀτόκους, ὧν ἀπόδοσιν

P.Adl. 17Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC

τῆς ἐπιγονῆς τῶν ἐκ Παθύρεως ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος μελίχρως τετανὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὖς ἀριστερὸν τετρημένον χαλκοῦ ταλάντων πέντε . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
λέγουσινlegō they are saying G3004 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · plural
2,255× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in 1 Timothy than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means to say or speak, and it is used by Jesus and others in the New Testament to share teachings and tell stories. It appears in Matthew 9:34 and John 1:29.
Amplified meaning
speaking, affirming
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

λέγω (legō) is a primary Greek verb meaning 'to say' or 'to speak.' It encompasses a range of uses, including expressing thoughts, making declarations, and narrating events. The New Testament frequently employs it in direct speech and as a way to convey meaning, such as in Matthew 27:11. Abbott-Smith notes its distinction from similar verbs like λαλέω.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — λαλέω, λέγω, λαλιά, λόγος from a scan

In dealing with synonyms of the N. T. we plainly need not concern ourselves with such earlier, or even contemporary, uses of the words which we are discriminating, as lie altogether outside of the N. T. sphere, when these uses do not illustrate, and have not affected, their Scriptural employment. It follows from this that all those contemptuous uses of λαλεῖν as to talk at random, as one ἀθυρόστομος, or with no door to his lips, might do; of λαλιά, as chatter («Kpacia λόγου ἄλογος, Plato, Defin. 416)—for I cannot believe that we are to find this at John iv. 42—may be dismissed and set aside. The antithesis in the line of Eupolis (Meineke, /ragm. Com. Gr. p. 174), Λαλεῖν ἄριστος, ἀδυνατώτατος λέγειν, does little or nothing to illustrate the matter in hand. The distinction which indeed exists between the words may in this way be made clear. There are two leading aspects under which speech…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

[in LXX very freq., chiefly for אמר; λέγει for נְאֻם, Ge 22:16, al.;]

in Hom., to pick out, gather, reckon, recount.

In Hdt. and Att., to say, speak, affirm, declare: absol., Ac 13:15 24:10; seq. orat. dir., Mt 9:34, Mk 3:11, Jo 1:29, al.; seq. ὅτι recit., Mk 3:21, Lk 1:24, Jo 6:14, al.; acc. et. inf., Lk 11:18, Jo 12:29, al.; after another verb of speaking, προσφωνεῖν κ. λέγειν, Mt 11:17, al.; ἀπεκρίθη (ἐλάλησεν) λέγων (καὶ λέγει; Dalman…

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

λέγω (in the N. T. only the pres. and impf. act. and pres. pass. are in use; 3 pers. plur. impf. ἔλεγαν, Jn. xi. 56 Tdf. [ef. ἔχω, init.]): I. in its earliest use in Hom. to lay (like Lat. lego, Germ. legen; οἵ. J. G. Miiller in Theol. Stud. u. Krit. for 1835, p. 127 sqq.; Curtius § 538) ; to cause to lie down, put to sleep; 1. to collect, gather; to pick out. 2. lo lay with, count with; to enumerate, recount, narrate, describe; [οἷ. Eng. tale, Germ. ztihlen). II. to put word to word in speaking, join words together, i. e. to say (how it differs fr. λαλεῖν, see under that word ad init.) ; once so by Hom. in 1]. 2, 222 [yet ef. Schmidt, Syn. i. ch. 1, §§ 20; 48, 2; L. and S. s. vy. B. II. 2]; often in Pind., and by far the most com. use in Attic; Sept. more than thirteen hundred times for 728; often also for D8} (saying, dictum); very rarely for 1393; and soin N.T. 1. univ. a. absol. to…

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

λέγω. (1). “‘I say, speak”: see e.g. P Par 47 {= Selections, Ῥ- 21 ff.), ¢. B.C. 153, which is addressed on the verso—mpds τοὺς τὴν ἀλήθεαν λέγοντες (—-as), P Fay 12378 (c. A.D. 100) γνώσομαι yap εἰ ἀληθῶς λέγι, “1 will find out whether he is speaking the truth,” P Ryl 11. 7615 (late li/A.D.) ἃ καὶ ἀναγνώσομαι λεγομένου τοῦ [π]ράγματος, “1 will read them when the case is argued” (Edd.), P Flor II. 1327 (A.D. 257) ἔλεζξ]αν πεποιηκέναι ταῦτα ἀγνοίᾳ, ‘they said they had done this in ignorance,” and the magical P Par 5741238 (iii/A.D.) (= Selectzons, p. 113) λόγος λεγόμενος ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ, ‘ invocation to be uttered over the head (of the possessed one).”” For the phrase τὸ αὐτὸ λέγειν, cf. I Cor 11°, Weiss (Meyer 15 ad 1) cites a sepulchral inscr. of husband and wife from Rhodes, /J/Ae 149 (ii/B.c.) ταὐτὰ λέγοντες ταὐτὰ φρονοῦντες ἤλθομεν τὰν ἀμέτρητον ὁδὸν εἰς ᾿Αἴδαν. (2). Closely…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

λέγω (legō) — to say.

λέγω,

__B pick up, etc.: tenses for signification 1 and 11, future λέξω [Refs 8th c.BC+]: aorist ἔλεξα [Refs 4th c.BC+]:—middle, future in passive sense λέξομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἐλεξάμην [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Epic dialect ἐλέγμην [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—passive, aorist ἐλέχθην [Refs 8th c.BC+]-; post-[Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect εἴλοχα (κατ-, συν-), passive εἴλεγμαι, in these senses rarely λέλεγμαι (see. the compounds); also future λεγήσομαι (συλ-): aorist 2 ἐλέγην (κατ-, συν-):—gather, pick up, ὀστέα.. λέγωμεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; αἱμασιάς τε λέγων picking out stones for building walls, [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—middle, gather for oneself, ἐπὶ δὲ ξύλα πολλὰ λέγεσθε [Refs 8th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

lego

a primary verb; properly, to "lay" forth, i.e. (figuratively) relate

(in words (usually of systematic or set discourse; whereas 2036 and

5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech

respectively; while 4483 is properly to break silence merely, and 2980

means an extended or random harangue)); by implication, to mean:--ask,

bid, boast, call, describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on),

shew, speak, tell, utter.

see GREEK for 2036

see GREEK for 5346

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 2980

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

λέγω

v.

I say, speak

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

to lay, to arrange, to gather; to say, Mt. 1:20; to speak, make an address or speech, Acts 26:1; to say mentally, in thought, Mt. 3:9; Lk. 3:8; to say in written language, Mk. 15:28; Lk. 1:63; Jn. 19:37; to say, as distinguished from acting, Mt. 23:3; to mention, speak of, Mk. 14:71; Lk. 9:31; Read the full entry →

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-3P — Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · plural
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-3P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
35%saying
saying35% · 480×says13% · 175×i say12% · 164×he says9% · 122×say5% · 70×he was saying3% · 42×they say2% · 31×other renderings17% · 225×other renderings4% · 48×

1,357 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 107 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
verb98%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,255 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
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
αὐτός
πρόςμαθητήςa learner, disciἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theοὗτοςἐγώ
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article theδέbut, on the otheγόνυa knee
ἀμήνHebr
ἀμήνHebrαὐτόςλέγωI say, speak
λέγωthey are saying2255×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disciἸησοῦςJesusΠέτροςPeter
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becοὐNegἐάνCond
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theπρόςαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theοὗτοςσύ

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

Concordanceλέγω · 2,255× in the New Testament
Luke John Matthew Mark Acts Revelation Hebrews Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians James Galatians

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

Across the New Testament25 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 1,290 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 5c. AD 40

οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦθ’ ἡσυχαστέον, ἀλλ’ ἕνεκα τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς καὶ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐπιτολμητέον λέγειν, οἴκοθεν μὲν οὐδέν, ὀλίγα δ’ ἀντὶ πολλῶν, ἐφ’ ἃ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην διάνοιαν φθάνειν εἰκὸς ἔρωτι καὶ πόθῳ σοφίας κατεσχημένην.

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 2.4c. AD 100

πεφανέρωκεν γὰρ ἡμῖν διὰ πάντων τῶν προφητῶν, ὅτι οὕτε θυσιῶν οὔτε ὁλοκαυτωμάτων οὔτε προσφορῶν χρῄζει, λέγων ὅτε μέν:

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 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

τὸ ἐπιβάλλον αὐτῷ μέρος ἧς ἐμισθώσατο σὺν Πακοίβι Σχώτου καὶ τοῖς μετόχοις γῆς σιτοφόρου λεγομένης Νεχθαραῦτι θεοῦ μεγάλου παρὰ τῶν ἱερέων ἐτῶν δέκα εἰς τὰ ἐνλιπόντα αὐτῷ ἑτέρων ,

P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

ἑτερᾶς· νότου γῆ Τακοίμιος, βορρᾶ γῆ Χενσθώτου, ἀπηλιώτου Ἀείους, λιβὸς περίχωμα, τῆς δʼ ἄλλης λεγομένης Πκρώ· νότου γῆ Σενπελαίας, βορρᾶ γῆ Πανᾶτος ἀπηλιώτου ποταμός, λιβὸς Ἀραμείους, ἢ οἳ ἂν

P.Adl. 16Pathyris100 BC

οἱ Φίβιος τοῦ Πανεχάτου υἱοί, ἀπηλιώτου ὁδὸς βασιλική, λιβὸς γῆ Ψεμμώνθου τοῦ Πανεχάτου, ἄλλης λεγομένης Φαμούνιος νότου γῆ Παθώτου τοῦ Πατοῦτος, βορρᾶ γῆ Πατσεοῦτος τοῦ Φίβιος, ἀπηλιώτου ποταμός, λιβὸς

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
μήτεmēte nor G3383 Conjunction · negative
34× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'neither' or 'nor', used to indicate a negative condition, as seen in Matthew 11:18 and Luke 7:33.
Tyndale gloss
neither
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μήτε is a negative particle meaning 'neither' or 'nor,' often used in pairs (e.g., μήτε...μήτε). It appears in various New Testament passages, including Matthew 5:34-36 and Acts 23:8. The word is formed from μή and the enclitic τέ, and it differs from οὔτε in its usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή-τε,

negative particle, differing from οὔτε as μή from οὐ,

neither, nor: μήτε . . . μήτε, neither . . . nor, Mt 11:18, Lk 7:33 9:3, Ac 23:12, 21 27:20, He 7:3; μὴ (μηδὲ) . . . μήτε . . . μήτε, Mt 5:34-36, Mk 3:20 T, Ac 23:8, II Th 2:2, I Ti 1:7, Ja 5:12, Re 7:1, 3.†

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

μήτε, (μή and the enclitic τέ), [fr. Hom. down], a copulative conjunction of negation, neither, nor, (differing fr. οὔτε as μή does fr. ov. It differs fr. μηδέ in that μηδέ separates different things, but μήτε those which are of the same kind or which are parts of one whole; cf. W. § 55, 6; [Β. 8 149,13 b.]): pyre... μήτε, neither... nor, Lk. vii. 33 [T py... μηδέ]; ix. 3 (five times); Acts xxiii 12, 21; xxvii. 20; Heb. vii. 3 ; (but in Eph. iv. 27 for μὴ .-- μήτε we must with L T Tr WH substitute py... μηδέ). py... pyre... μήτε, Mt. v. 34-36 (four times); 1 Tim.i. 7; Jas. v.12; Rev. vii.3; ἵνα py... pyre... μήτε, Rev. vii. 1; pydé..- pyre... μήτε, 2 ΤῊ. ἢ. 2 LT Tr WH; μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν, μηδὲ ἄγγελον (for that is something other than ἀνάστασις). μήτε πνεῦμα (because angels belong to the genus πνεύματα), Acts xxiii. 8 RG; ef. W. 493 (459) ; [B. 367 (314)…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μήτε (mēte) — neither.

μήτε,

and not, mostly doubled, μήτε.. μήτε.. neither.. nor.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; μήτε.., μήτ᾽ οὖν.. [Refs 8th c.BC+]; μήτε.., μηδέ, see at {μηδέ}; μήτε..,{τε}.. both not.., and.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; also μήτε.., δέ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μή.., μήτε.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. μήτε is perhaps sometimes omitted in the former of two clauses, ἑκόντα μήτ᾽ ἄκοντα [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

μήτε

mete

from 3361 and 5037; not too, i.e. (in continued negation) neither or

nor; also, not even:--neither, (n-)or, so as much.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 5037

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μήτε

Neg.cj.

nor, neither, not even

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μήτε mēte 34x

neither; μήτε ... μήτε, or μὴ ... μήτε, or μηδὲ ... μητέ, neither ... nor, Mt. 5:34, 35, 36; Acts 23:8; 2 Thess. 2:2; in NT also equivalent to μηδέ, not even, not so much as, Mk. 3:20

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μήτε and not, mostly doubled, μήτε . . μήτε . . , neither . . nor, Hom., etc.

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

CONJ-N CONJunction or conjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
68%nor
nor68% · 23×neither32% · 11×

34 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
adverbial27%verb18%object18%subject12%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 34 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
γῆthe earth, soil, lan
Article the
ἄρτοςbread, a loaf, food
ἐσθίωI eatμήτεNeg
λέγωI say, speak
ἑαυτοῦὅς
ἐσθίωI eat
μήτεNeg
θάλασσαthe sea, lake
Article the
μήτεnor34×
what comes after →
πίνωI drink, imbibe
ἕωςuntil, as far asκαίand, even, also,οἶνοςwine
Article the
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaγῆthe earth, soil,θάλασσαthe sea, lake
ἐν
Article the
διά
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spλόγοςa word, speech, ἐπιστολήa letter, dispat
ἐσθίωI eat
μήτεNeg

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

Concordanceμήτε · 34× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew Revelation 2 Thessalonians James 1 Timothy Hebrews
Across the New Testament8 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Epistle of Barnabas Ignatius of Antioch Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 63c. AD 40

χαίρει γὰρ τὰ μέν τινα τεναγώδει καὶ οὐ πάνυ βαθείᾳ θαλάττῃ, τὰ δ’ ὑποδρόμοις καὶ λιμέσι μήτ’ ἐπὶ γῆν ἀνέρπειν μήτε πόρρω γῆς ἐπινήχεσθαι δυνάμενα, τὰ δὲ κατὰ μέσον καὶ βαθὺ πέλαγος διαιτώμενα τὰς προκεχυμένας ἄκρας ἢ νήσους ἢ πέτρας ἐκτρέπεται·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.72c. AD 75–95

Καὶ οὗτοι μὲν ἑπτὰ γενεὰς διέμειναν θεὸν ἡγούμενοι δεσπότην εἶναι τῶν ὅλων καὶ πάντα πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἀποβλέποντες, εἶτα προϊόντος χρόνου μεταβάλλονται πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἐκ τῶν πατρίων ἐθισμῶν μήτε τὰς νενομισμένας τιμὰς ἔτι τῷ θεῷ παρέχοντες μήτε τοῦ πρὸς…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 16.10c. AD 100

ὁ γὰρ ποθῶν σωθῆναι βλέπει οὐκ εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ̓ εἰς τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικοῦντα καὶ λαλοῦντα, ἐπ’ αὐτῷ ἐκπλησσόμενος, ἐπὶ τῷ μηδέποτε μήτε τοῦ λέγοντος τὰ ῥήματα ἀκηκοέναι ἐκ τοῦ στόματος μήτε αὐτός ποτε ἐπιτεθυμηκέναι ἀκούειν.

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 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. BC
P.Amh. 2 110Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 75

μηνὶ Τῦβι ἐννεακαιδεκάτῃ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γραφείου καὶ μὴ ἐνκαλεῖν μηδὲ ἐπελεύσεσθαι τοὺς ὁμολογοῦντας μήτε περὶ τούτου μήτε περὶ οὐδενὸς ἁπλῶς πράγματος ἐνγράπτου καὶ ἀγράφου. ὑπογραφεὺς τῶν ὁμολογούντων Σάτυρος

P.Athen.. 29Karanis (ArsinoitesAD 121

Σαμβᾶ καθʼ ὁμολογίαν χρήσεως, ἣν ἔθετο αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γραφείου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι μήτε αὐτοὺς Πτολεμαῖον καὶ Διδυμάριον μήτε αὐτῷ μηδὲ τοὺς παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Παουῆτιν μηδὲ

P.Amh. 2 111Herakleia (ArsinoitesAD 132

Φαῶφι δεκάτης, ἣν καὶ ἀναδέδωκεν αὐτοῖς εἰς ἀθέτησιν καὶ ἀκύρωσιν, καὶ μηδὲν τὸν ὁμολογοῦντα μήτε τοὺς παρʼ αὐτοῦ ἐνκαλεῖν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Στοτοῆτιν περὶ μηδενὸς ἁπλῶς πράγματος ἐνγράπτου ἢ

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
περὶperi [that] about G4012 Preposition
333× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Timothy as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for about or around, used in various contexts such as place, cause, or time. It is often translated as 'about' or 'concerning' in the KJV, and appears in many passages, including Matthew 2:8 and John 16:26.
Tyndale gloss
about
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

One of the workhorse prepositions, standing 333 times. With the genitive it means about, concerning, with reference to. There is no hidden depth here, and it would be a mistake to look for one: its usefulness is that it marks the subject a sentence is circling. In this verse it points at what the earlier accounts were about.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

περί, prep. c. gen., acc. (in cl. also c. dat.; cf. M, Pr., 105f.),

with radical sense round about (as distinct from ἀμφί, on both sides).

C. gen.,

of place, about (poët.).

Causal, about, on account of, concerning, in reference to: Mt 2:8, Mk 1:44, Lk 4:38, Jo 16:26, Ac 28:21, al. mult.; τὰ περί, c. gen., the things concerning one, one's state or case: Mk 5:27, Ac 1:3 28:15, Eph 6:22, al.; at the beginning of a sentence, περί, regarding, as to, I Co 7:1, al.…

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

περί, (akin to πέρα. πέραν ; [Curtius § 359]), prep., joined in the N. T. with the gen. and the ace. (in class. Grk. also with the dat.), and indicating that the person or thing relative to which an act or state is predicated is as it were encompassed by this act or state ; Lat. circum, circa; around, about. I. with the GeniTIve it denotes that around which an act or state revolves ; about, concerning, as touching, ete., (Lat. de, quod attinet ad, causa w. a gen., propter) [ef. W. 372 sq. (349)]. a. about, concerning, (Lat. de; in later Lat. also circa): after verbs of speaking, teaching, writing, ete., see under ἀναγγέλλω, ἀπαγγέλλω, ἀπολογοῦμαι, γογγύζω, γράφω, Sydow, διαβεβαιοῦμαι, διαγνωρίζω, διαλέγομαι, διδάσκω. διηγοῦμαι (Heb. xi. 32), διήγησις, εἶπον and προεῖπον, ἐπερωτάω and ἐρωτάω, κατηχέω, λαλέω, λέγω, λόγον αἰτέω. λόγον ἀποδίδωμι, λόγον δίδωμι, μαρτυρέω, μνεία, μνημονεύω…

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

περί τροπὴν δέδωκα, “1 have entrusted to him the care of the whole matter” (Edd.), 7. XII. 15831! (ii/A.D.) γράψον μοι περὶ τῶν ὄντων, ‘ write me revarding the present state of affairs,” and ΒΟῸΣ II. 63218 (ii/a.p.) (= ZAZ, p. 173) ο[ὐ]χ ὀκνῶ σοι γράψαι περὶ THs] σωτηρίας pov καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν, “T am not delaying to write you regarding the health of me and mine.” In P Par 488 (B.c. 153) (= Witkowski Zp.” p- 91) ἀκούσαντες... τὰ περὶ σου συνβεβηκότα, we have a mixture of ἀκούσαντες περὶ σοῦ and ἀκούσαντες τά (σοι) συνβεβηκότα ΠΕερί, ‘‘ with regard to,” at the beginning of a new clause (as in 1 Cor 71) may be illustrated from the headings in the Mysteries inscr, from Andania Sy// 653 (=*736)} (B.c. 91) περὶ ἱε]ρῶν Kal ἱερᾶν, α΄. See also P Eleph 134! (B.c, 223-2) περὶ δὲ τῶν εἴκοσι δραχμῶν οὔπω ἐκεκόμιστο Φίλων . περὶ δὲ τοῦ οἰναρίου ΤΙραξιάδης οὔπω εἰσελήλυθεν ἐξ ἀγροῦ, BGU IV. 1097° (time of…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

περί (peri) — about.

περί,

Thess., Delph. περ [Refs 5th c.BC+], also Aeolic dialect, see below [Refs 4th c.BC+] V; Elean παρ [Refs]: preposition with genitive, dative, and accusative:—round about, all round (properly different from ἀμφί, on both sides). (Cogn. with Sanskrit pári 'round about'.)

__A WITH GENITIVE,

__A.I of Place, sometimes in Poets, round about, around, τετάνυστο π. σπείους ἡμερίς [Refs 8th c.BC+], on both sides, see at {περιβαίνω} [Refs]

__A.I.2 about near, π. σοῦ πάντα γένοιτο ῥόδα [Refs]

__A.II to denote the object about or for which one does something:

__A.II.1 with Verbs of fighting or contending, π. τινός for an object—from the notion of the thing's lying in the middle to be fought about, π. τῶνδε for these prizes, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; δόλους καὶ μῆτιν ὕφαινον, ὥς τε π. ψυχῆς since it…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

περί

peri

from the base of 4008; properly, through (all over), i.e. around;

figuratively with respect to; used in various applications, of place,

cause or time (with the genitive case denoting the subject or occasion

or superlative point; with the accusative case the locality, circuit,

matter, circumstance or general period):--(there-)about, above,

against, at, on behalf of, X and his company, which concern, (as)

concerning, for, X how it will go with, ((there-, where-)) of, on,

over, pertaining (to), for sake, X (e-)state, (as) touching,

(where-)by (in), with. In comparative, it retains substantially the

same meaning of circuit (around), excess (beyond), or completeness

(through).

see GREEK for 4008

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

περί

Prep.

about, concerning, around

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

περί peri 333x

pr. of place, (1) gen., about, around; about, concerning, respecting, Mt. 2:8; 11:10; 22:31; Jn. 8:18; Rom. 8:3, et al. freq.; (2) acc., of place, about, around, round about, Mt. 3:4; Mk. 3:34; Lk. 13:8; οἱ περί τινα, the companions of a person, Lk. 22:49; a person and his companions, Acts 13:13; simply a person, Jn. 11:19; τὰ περί τινα, the condition, circumstances of any one, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

περί around, round about with gen., dat., and acc.

prep. with gen., dat., and acc.: Radical sense, round about, all round, whereas ἀμφί properly means on both sides.

WITH GENITIVE:

of Place, round about, around, Lat. circum, Od.

about, near, ἑσδόμεναι περὶ σεῖο Mosch.

Causal, to denote the object about or for which one does something:

with Verbs of fighting or contending, μάχεσθαι περὶ πτόλιος Il.; περὶ Πατρόκλοιο θανόντος id. Il.; so, τρέχειν περὶ ἑωυτοῦ, περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς Hdt.

about, for, on account of, μερμηρίζειν περί τινος Il.; φροντίζειν περί τινος Hdt.

with Verbs of hearing, knowing, speaking, about, concerning, Lat. circa, de, περὶ νόστου ἄκουσα Od., etc.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Prep — Preposition
preposition — its sense depends on the case of the word it governs.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

PREP PREPosition

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-bout': The use of this word as a preposition, in the sense of "around," is confined to the Old Testament. In the New Testament, generally an adverb, for Greek hos or "hosei." The Revised Version (British and American) adopts it in several idiomatic translations of mello, referring to what is about to be, i.e. on the point of occurring, or immediately impending, amending the King James Version, in Ac 5:35; 27:2; Re 12:4, etc.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
59%concerning
concerning59% · 199×about16% · 55×for13% · 45×around6% · 19×of3% · 9×other renderings3% · 9×

336 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 12 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
adverbial86%object8%subject4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 333 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
δέbut, on the otheκαίand, even, also,ἀκούωI hear, listen
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakλαλέωI speak, sayἐρωτάωI ask, question,
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἁμαρτίαa sinἀλλάbut, except
μαρτυρέωI witness, testify
Article theἐγώἵναin order that, s
σύ
μέλειit is a care, itγράφωI writeΦαρισαῖοςa Pharisee
περί[that] about333×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusβασιλείαkingship, sovereτράχηλοςthe neck
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὅτιthat, since, becοὐαίindcl
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,ἵναin order that, sArticle the
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becἀδελφόςa brotherArticle the
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
ὅςArticle theοὗτος

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

Concordanceπερί · 333× in the New Testament
Acts John Luke Matthew Hebrews Mark 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Thessalonians Romans 1 Peter Jude

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 297 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 15c. AD 40

περιέχει γὰρ τὸν νοητὸν κόσμον ἐξαίρετον, ὡς ὁ περὶ αὐτῆς λόγος μηνύει.

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 1.5c. 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 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι μήτʼ αὐτὸν Ψενενοῦπιν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἁρσιῆσιν μήτʼ ἄλλον μηδένα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ περὶ τοῦ διασαφουμένου μέρους γῆς τρόπῳ μηδενί. εἰ δὲ μή, ἀποτεισάτω Ἁρσιήσει ἐπίτιμον παραχρῆμα χαλκοῦ

P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐωνήσατο παρὰ Πανοβχούνιος τοῦ Τοτόηους ἐν

P.Lond. 3 p. 18 no. 678Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC–99 BC

νδ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ἀδύνατος ὄμμασι τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῶι ἐν τῶι ἄνω πεδίωι περὶ Πάθυριν γῆν ἤπειρον σιτοφόρον ἀρουρῶν … ἧς γείτονες νότουπλατεῖαὁδός, βορρᾶ … περίχωμα … προπεπρα

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
τίνωνtis which G5101 Interrogative pronoun · genitive · plural · neuter
562× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in 1 Timothy than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions like who, which, or what, as seen in Matthew 3:7 and Mark 11:28. It seeks information about a person or thing. This term is essential in direct and indirect questions.
Amplified meaning
the things, the matters
Tyndale gloss
which?
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τίς is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'what,' used in both direct and indirect questions. It can function as a substantive, adjective, or adverb, appearing in various contexts throughout the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:7 and John 18:23. The neuter form τί also means 'what' or 'which.' There are instances where τίς may be used interchangeably with other pronouns like ποῖος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τίς, neut., τί, gen., τίνος, interrog. pron., [in LXX for מָה ,מִי ;] in masc. and fem.,

who, which, what?; in neut., which, what?, used both in direct and in indirect questions.

As subst.,

masc., fem.: τίς; who, what?, Mt 3:7 26:68; Mk 11:28, Lk 9:9, al. mult.; c. gen. partit., Ac 7:52, He 1:5, al; seq. ἐκ (= gen. partit.), Mt 6:27, Lk 14:28, Jo 8:46; = ποῖος, Mk 4:41 6:2, Lk 19:3,

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

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

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τίς (tis) — which?.

τίς

__B Interrog. pronoun τίς, Elean and Laconian dialect τίρ (which see), τί:—genitive Epic dialect and Ionic dialect τέο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect, Trag., and Attic dialect τίνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative Ionic dialect τέῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; no dative in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τῷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίῳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; τίνι first in [NT+8th c.BC+]; genitive Epic dialect τέων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and as monosyllable [Refs]; Trag. and Attic dialect τίνων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative τίσι first in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect τέοισι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίοισι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Megarian dialect σά [Refs 5th c.BC+]: of the plural [Refs 8th c.BC+] with genitive τέω; ποῖος (what? which?) is sometimes preferred (especially in neuter…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τίς

tis

probably emphatic of 5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or

what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), +

no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, -

with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.

see GREEK for 5100

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τίς, τί

Irg.pr.

who, which, what

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Τίτιος Titios 1x

Titius, pr. name, Acts 18:7*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τίς in direct questions, who? which? neut. what? which? Lat. quis, quae, quid?, Hom., etc.: relating to other words in the same case, τίς δ᾽ οὗτος ἔρχεαι; who art thou that comest? Il.; τίν᾽ ὄψιν σὴν προσδέρκομαι; what face is this I see of thine? Eur.:— τίς ἄν or κεν, with the opt., expresses doubt, who could, who would do so? Hom.: —in double questions, τί λαβόντα τί δεῖ ποιεῖν; what has one received and what must one do? Dem.; so, τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; who and whence art thou? Od.

τίς with Particles: τίς γάρ; Lat. quisnam? why who? who possibly? Il., etc.; τίς δή; who then? Theogn.; τίς δῆτα; Soph.; τίς ποτε; who in the world? who ever? Xen.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Interrog-GPN — Interrogative pronoun · genitive · plural · neuter
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked plural neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

I-GPN Part of Speech: Interrogative pronoun Case: Genitive Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%what
what48% · 273×who21% · 117×why18% · 101×which5% · 29×whom5% · 29×other renderings3% · 19×

568 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
object30%adverbial25%predicate24%subject21%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 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
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπρόςἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existοὗτοςθεόςGod, a god
διά
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakεἶπονI say, speak
Disj
ἐσθίωI eatπῶςποιέωI do, make
τίςwhich562×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theοὗτοςκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spσημεῖονa sign, miracle,μαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδιώκωI pursue, persec
ποιέωI do, make
Article theἵναin order that, sὅτιthat, since, bec
οὖνtherefore, then
εἶπονI say, speakποιέωI do, makeεἰμίI am, exist

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

Concordanceτίς · 562× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Romans 1 Corinthians Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews Ephesians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament20 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 601 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 4c. AD 40

καὶ γὰρ λόγον καὶ ἀκοὴν ὑπερβάλλει μείζω καὶ σεμνότερα ὄντα ἢ ὡς θνητοῦ τινος ὀργάνοις ἐναρμοσθῆναι.

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

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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. BC 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 6th c. AD

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

desiring to be teachers of the Law, not understanding neither what they are saying nor [that] about which they confidently assert.
διαβεβαιοῦνται.¶diabebaioō they confidently assert. G1226 Verb · present · no voice stated · indicative · third person · plural
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Timothy than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To insist or affirm something confidently, as in Titus 3:8. It involves confirming thoroughly with words.
Amplified meaning
strongly, boldly, affirm, insist
Tyndale gloss
to insist
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word διαβεβαιόομαι (i.e., *diabebaioomai*) is a middle voice verb meaning to affirm or assert strongly and confidently. It is built from the components meaning 'through' and 'to make firm.' This term appears in the New Testament in contexts where strong affirmation is necessary, specifically in 1 Timothy 1:7 and Titus 3:8. The lexicons consistently emphasize its meaning of strong assertion without notable disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

* δια-βεβαιόομαι, -οῦμαι

to affirm confidently: Tit 3:8; seq. περί, I Ti 1:7 (Cremer, 140).†

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

δια-βεβαιόομαι (-οὔμαι) ; mid. to affirm strongly, assert confidently, [ef. W. 253 (238)]: περί twos (Polyb. 12, 11 (12), 6), 1 Tim. i. 7 [ef. WH. App. p. 167]; Tit. iii. 8. (Dem. p. 220, 4; Diod., Dion. Hal., Plut., Ael.)

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

διαβεβαιόομαι you about the copper” (Ed.): cf. τό. VI. goo!’ (A.D. 322) ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιδὴ μανθάνω τούτους βουλομένους ἐνεδρεύειν... τισὶ μὲν ἀπι[ο]ῦσι, ἐνίους δὲ διαβάλλοντας, ‘but whereas I learn that these persons are desirous of acting fraudulently, some by absenting themselves, and others by deception” (Edd.). Other examples are P Par 63%+ 7° (B.c. 165) ὡς διαβάλλεται, the Jewish ao/ogéa in answer to an Imperial rescript, 26 6888 & σοι alyn]Adws δια[βεβλη]μένοι προτοῦ, and BGU IV. 1040% (ii/A.b.) καθαρ[ὰ]ν yap ἔχων τὴν ψυχὴν οὐδενὸς émigt[.. . (Ἵν τῶν διαβαλόντων. In 7d. 1105" (B.C. 11) Tryphaena pleading for a divorce calls her husband 6] διαβαλλόμενος, “wohl nur ein ungeschickter Ausdruck fiir der genannte” (Ed.) = ‘‘the complained-of…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

διαβεβαιόω (diabebaioō) — to insist.

διαβεβαι-όω,

confirm, ὑπόληψιν [Refs 3rd c.AD+]:—usually middle διαβεβαι-όομαι, maintain strongly, affirm, confirm, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; to be positive, περί τινος [Refs 2nd c.BC+]:—passive, [Refs 1st c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

διαβεβαιόομαι

diabebaioomai

middle voice of a compound of 1223 and 950; to confirm thoroughly (by

words), i.e. asseverate:--affirm constantly.

see GREEK for 1223

see GREEK for 950

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

διαβεβαιόομαι

v.

I assert emphatically

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

διαβεβαιόομαι diabebaioomai 2x

to assert strongly, insist, 1 Tim. 1:7; Tit. 3:8*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

διαβεβαιόομαι Dep. to maintain strongly, Dem.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PNI-3P — Verb · present · no voice stated · indicative · third person · plural
present no voice stated indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PNI-3P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: middle or passive depoNent Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%they confidently assert
they confidently assert50% · 1×affirm strongly50% · 1×

2 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.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
τίςIrg
περί
σύ
βούλομαιI will, intend,
διαβεβαιόομαιthey confidently assert.
what comes after →
ἵναin order that, so th
φροντίζωI am thoughtful,

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

Concordanceδιαβεβαιόομαι · 2× in the New Testament
1 Timothy Titus
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
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
P.Neph. 20HerakleopolitesAD 301–AD 400

τῆς Θελβὼ εἰρηνάρχους πεπληρῶσθαι τοὺς εἰωθότας δίδοσθαι αὐτοῖς μισθοὺς παρὰ τῶν ἀπὸ Νήσων, ὡς διαβεβαιοῦνται οἱ ἄγροικοι. καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο γράφω τῇ σῇ ἐντρεχείᾳ εἰς τὸ μήτε τὸν πρεσβύτερον

P.Lond. 1 p. 204-207 no. 113 (2)ArsinoitesAD 501–AD 700

τῷ καὶ μετὰ τὴν τούτων ἁπάντων ἔκτισιν καὶ καταβολὴν ἰσχὺν ἔχειν καὶ κρατύνεσθαι καὶ διαβεβαιοῦσθαι ταύτην τὴν ἐνώμοτον ὁμολογίαν … κεφαλαίοις ἅπαντα δὲ συμπεφωνῆσθαι ἐπὶ τῶν προσώπων καὶ ἐπὶ

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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