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2 John 1:13 — Word Study

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N1904ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς ἀμήν.¶

BSAGreetaspazomai [addressing you directly, paying respects to, welcoming] yousu theho childrenteknon [born to parents, spiritual offspring] of theho sisteradelphē [a biological sister or a sister in the Christian faith community] of yousu <the>ho electeklektos [chosen, select] Amen.amēn

Word
Listen & take away2 John 1
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 13 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (amēn) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
2 John 1:13quick helps
In a sentenceThe children of your chosen sister send greetings to you.
Who is speakingThe author of the letter, likely John, is conveying a message from a group of people.
Where we areThis verse concludes the brief letter, emphasizing connections within the Christian community.
The hard wordἐκλεκτός
Take awayThe greetings reflect the unity and affection among believers.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subject verbἀσπάζομαι 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 — 2 John 1:13

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 — Final Greetings in 2 Johngenerated

10If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him.
11Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.
12I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come and speak with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
13The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

2 John 1:13 serves as a closing note in the letter, where the author conveys greetings from the children of a sister who is described as 'elect.' This highlights the bonds of fellowship and shared faith within the early Christian community. The surrounding verses emphasize the importance of adhering to the truth and the dangers of false teachings, setting a contrast between the faithful and those who stray from the truth.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
12 John 1:1The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I alone, but also all who know the truth—
21 Peter 5:13The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to

The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.2 John 1:1 1 Peter 5:13

The Key Word ἐκλεκτός, eklektosgenerated

The word ἐκλεκτός means 'chosen' or 'select,' indicating a special status bestowed by God. It is often used to describe individuals or groups that God has set apart for His purposes.

In this context, it refers to the sister of the addressed person, highlighting her significance within the Christian community. The parsing tells us it is a feminine singular adjective, emphasizing her unique role as a chosen one.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is presented in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses the term elect. This choice is mirrored in several translations, including the KJV and ASV.

However, the WEB and ULB opt for chosen, which emphasizes the act of selection rather than the state of being chosen. The variations reflect different nuances in understanding the term.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the sentence is ἀσπάζεταί, greet, which governs the rest of the sentence. The subject is implied as 'the children,' with the object being σε, you.

The structure is straightforward, with a clear subject-verb-object format, allowing for a direct expression of the greeting.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In 2 John 1:13, the Greek words σύ (su), ἀδελφῆς (adelphē), σου (su), and ἐκλεκτῆς (eklektos) correspond to Hebrew words found in the Septuagint. The term σύ is used to render the Hebrew אַתָּ֫ה (attah), meaning 'you', which emphasizes the personal address to the recipient of the letter. Similarly, ἀδελφῆς translates the Hebrew אָחוֹת (achot), meaning 'sister', indicating a close familial relationship.

The word ἐκλεκτῆς translates the Hebrew בָּרִיא (bariah), typically meaning 'fat', but in this context, it carries the connotation of being 'chosen' or 'elect', which reflects a sense of divine selection or favor. Together, these choices in the LXX highlight the intimate and chosen nature of the relationship between the sender and the recipient, reinforcing the themes of community and belonging within the early Christian context.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

2 John 1:13 states that the children of your chosen sister send their greetings. This verse emphasizes the close ties among believers and the importance of community in the faith.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean for someone to be 'elect'?

Being 'elect' refers to being chosen by God for a special purpose or status, often associated with salvation and belonging to the community of believers.

Why does John mention a sister in this context?

John mentions the sister to highlight the familial and spiritual connections within the Christian community, emphasizing unity and shared faith.

What is the significance of sending greetings?

Sending greetings is a way to express affection, solidarity, and connection among believers, reinforcing the bonds of community.

How does this verse relate to the overall message of 2 John?

This verse reinforces the themes of truth, community, and the importance of maintaining relationships among believers while adhering to the teachings of Christ.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How do I experience the sense of community among fellow believers in my life?
  2. In what ways can I express greetings or encouragement to those in my faith community?
  3. What does being 'chosen' by God mean to me personally?
  4. How can I maintain connections with those who share my faith, similar to the greetings shared in this letter?

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

Early church fathers reference this verse to discuss the unity and peace among believers, emphasizing their shared faith.

Hilary of ArlesINTRODUCTORY OMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN c. 403–449
John unites the leaders of the churches in peace because they are sisters in the faith of the church and daughters of God by baptism.
Early Church Fathers on 2 John 1 →
BedeCommentary on the Catholic Epistles c. 673–735
The children of your sister, the Elect, greet you. Just as he prohibits us to greet the adversaries of the truth, so, conversely, he greets the elect on behalf of the elect, so that the faithless may be detested by all the good,
Early Church Fathers on 2 John 1 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 2 John 1:13 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Not the members of a sister church, as some think; but the children of one who was the sister of this lady, according to the flesh; and who, as she

Read John Gill on 2 John 1 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Alford, The non-mention of the "lady" herself seems to favour the hypothesis that a church is meant.

Read Robert Jamieson on 2 John 1 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

They were, it is probable, with him at Ephesus, and took the occasion by him now writing, to transmit their salutations. Amen; this concluding Amen imports his sincerity in what he had written.

Read Matthew Poole on 2 John 1 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

13 The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Ver. 13. The children of thine elect] Who probably sojourned with St John for education’ s sake. The lady might say to the apostle, as he in Virgil did to Aeneas, "- sub te tolerare magistro Militiam-tua cernere facta Assuescant, primis et te mirentur ab annis."

Read John Trapp on 2 John 1 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(3) Conclusion (2 John 1:12-13). (12) Having many things to write unto you.—This verse shows that the Letter to the matron and her family was not a mere accompaniment of a copy of the First Epistle. His heart is full of things to write, but he hopes soon to have unlimited conversation. Paper.—The Egyptian papyrus.Ink.—A mixture of soot, water, and gum. The papyrus-tree grows in the swamps of the Nile to the height of ten feet and more. Paper was prepared from the thin coats that surround the plant. Pliny describes the method (xiii. 23). The different pieces were joined together by the turbid Nile water, as it has a kind of glutinous property. One layer of papyrus was laid flat on a board…

Read Charles John Ellicott on 2 John 1 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 13. The children of thy elect sister] Probably her own sister, who lived at Ephesus; and, being acquainted with the apostle's writing, desired to be thus remembered to her. Elect, both in this and the first verse, signifies excellent, eminent, or honourable. See note on 2 John 1:1. Amen is wanting in the most ancient MSS., and in most of the versions; but ηχαριςμετασου and μεθυμων, Grace be with thee, or with you, is found in several MSS. and versions. Subscriptions in the VERSIONS: - The end of the Second Epistle. - Syriac. The Second Epistle of John is ended. - Philox. SYRIAC. Praise be to God for ever, Amen! - ARABIC. In the MANUSCRIPTS: - The Second of John. - Codex Alexandrinus…

Read AdamClarke on 2 John 1 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13. The children of thy elect sister greet thee] Better, for the sake of uniformity with 3 John 1:14, salute thee: the same verb is used in both passages. That the elect sister herself sends no greeting is taken as an argument in favour of the ‘elect lady’ being a Church, and the ‘elect sister’ a sister Church, which could send no greeting other than that of its members or ‘children’. But the verse fits the other hypothesis equally well. Kyria’s nephews may be engaged in business at Ephesus under S. John’s Apostolic care: their mother may be living elsewhere, or be dead. It was perhaps from these children of her sister that the Apostle had knowledge of, the state of things in the elect…

Read Cambridge on 2 John 1 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The children of thy elect sister greet thee - Of this “elect sister” nothing more is known.

Read Albert Barnes on 2 John 1 →

The verse in English, compared — 15 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

The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

The children of your chosen sister greet you. Amen.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

The children of your elect sister send you greetings. Amen.

NETBNew English Translation2006

The children of your elect sister greet you.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

The children of thine elect sister salute thee.

RVARevised Version, American1894

The children of thine elect sister salute thee.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

The children of thine elect sister greet thee.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

salute thee do the children of thy choice sister. Amen.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

The children of your chosen sister greet you. Amen.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

The children of your chosen sister greet you.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

The children of thy sister Elect salute thee.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Greetings to you from the children of your chosen sister.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

The children of your noble sister, who is of God's selection, send you their love.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἀσπάζεταίaspazomai Greet G782 2 different renderings
greetDBY KJV LSV NETB NWB ULB WEB
saluteASV DRA RVA YLT
ἐκλεκτῆςeklektos elect G1588 2 different renderings
electASV BSB DBY DRA KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA
chosenFBV LSV ULB WEB

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.

clauseverbἈσπάζεταίGreetobjectσεyounoun phrase · subjectτὰthenoun phraseτέκναchildrennoun phraseτῆςof thenoun phrasenoun phraseἀδελφῆςsisterσουof younoun phraseτῆς-ἐκλεκτῆςelect

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

Salutant te filii sororis tuæ Electæ.

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

ܫܐܠܝܢ ܫܠܡܟܝ ܒܢܝܐ ܕܚܬܟܝ ܓܒܝܬܐ ܐܡܝܢ

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

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς ἀμήν.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἀδελφῆς σου τῆς ἐκλεκτῆς ἀμήν.¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
ἀμήν.¶ Amen.TR, ByzNA28, NA27, SBL, WH, Treg, Tyn

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

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

2 John 1:13ἀσπάζομαιGreetGreetἀσπάζομαισύyouyouσύthetheτέκνονchildrenchildrenτέκνονof theof theἀδελφήsistersisterἀδελφήσύof youof youσύ<the><the>ἐκλεκτόςelectelectἐκλεκτόςἀμήνAmen.Amen.ἀμήνἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφαἐκλέγωv. I choosv. I choose, elἐκλέγωτιμωρίαn.f. punisn.f. punishmentτιμωρίαἀδελφόςn.m. a bron.m. a brotherἀδελφόςἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήνφίλημαn.n. a kisn.n. a kissφίλημαφίλοςAdj. & n.fAdj. & n.f. & nφίλοςἐπανίστημιv. I rise v. I rise up agἐπανίστημιγονεύςn.m. a parn.m. a parentγονεύςΜάρθαn.f. Marthn.f. MarthaΜάρθαμήτηρn.f. a motn.f. a motherμήτηρκολοβόωv. I cut sv. I cut short,κολοβόωἔντιμοςAdj precioAdj precious, hἔντιμοςαἰώνn.m. an agn.m. an age, a αἰών
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 2 John 1:13

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.

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
ἀσπάζεταίaspazomai Greet G782 Verb · present · no voice stated · indicative · third person · singular
60× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To pay respects to means to greet or welcome someone, like in Matthew 5:47 or Romans 16:16. It involves showing respect or affection to someone. This word is about greeting or welcoming others.
Amplified meaning
addressing you directly, paying respects to, welcoming
Tyndale gloss
to pay respects to
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἀσπάζομαι is a verb meaning to greet, welcome, or salute, often used in the context of expressing good wishes or taking leave. It can also imply a physical embrace or kiss, and is employed as a formal closing in letters. The New Testament frequently uses it in greetings, such as in Romans 16:16 and 1 Corinthians 16:20.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀσπάζομαι depon.,

[in LXX: Ez 18:7, Jg 18:15 (לְשָׁלוֹם שָׁאַל), Es 5:2, I Mac 7:29, al.;]

to welcome, greet, salute: c. acc. pers., Mt 5:47, Mk 9:15, Ac 21:7, al.; id. seq. ἐν φιλήματι, Ro 16:16, I Co 16:20, II Co 13:12, I Th 5:26, I Pe 5:14; τ. ἐκκλησίαν (Deiss., BS, 257), Read the full entry →

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

ἀσπάζομαι ; [impf. ἠσπαζόμην] ; 1 aor. ἠἡσπασάμην ; (fr. σπάω with a intensive [q. y., but cf. ν᾽ ἀπιζθκ p. 1163 ; Curtius, Das Verbum, i. 324 sq.]; hence prop. to draw to one’s self [W. § 38, 7 fin.]; cf. doxaipw for σκαίρω. ἀσπαίpo for σπαίρω, ἀσπαρίζω for σπαρίζω) ; [fr. Hom. down]; a. with an acc. of the pers., to salute one, greet, bid welcome, wish well to, (the Israelites, on meeting and at parting, generally used the formula 7 DI7W); used of those accosting any one: Mt. x. 12; Mk. ix. 15; xv. 18; Lk. i. 40; Acts xxi. 19. of those who visit one to see him a little while, departing almost immediately afterwards: Acts xviii. 22; xxi. 7; like the Lat. sa/utare, our ‘pay one’s respects to,’ of those who show regard for a distinguished person by visiting him: Acts xxv. 13, (Joseph. antt. 1,19, 5;6,11,1). of those who greet one whom they meet in the way: Mt. v.47 (in the East even now…

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

ἀσπάζομαι. The papyri have shown conclusively that this common NT word was the regular ¢erm. tech. for conveying the greetings at the end of a letter. Examples are BGU IV. 1079*f(A.D. 41) (= Selections, p. 40) ἀσπάζου Διόδωρον pler’] ἄλων (Δ ἄλλων)... ἀσπάζου ᾿Αρποχράτη[ν], 22. 11. 423!8f (ii/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 91) ἄσπασαι Καπίτων[α πο]λλὰ καὶ το[ὺς] ἀδελφούς [μ]ου καὶ Σιεϊρήνιϊ]λλαν καὶ τοὺς] φίλους [μ]ου, etc. As showing how much the absence of these greetings was felt, we may quote P Giss I. 787 (ii/A.D.) ἡ μικρά μου “Hpa8[o]is γράφουσα τῶι πατρὶ ἐμὲ οὐκ dorifeται κ[α]ὶ διὰ τί οὐκ οἶδα, and P Grenf I. ς 35: (iv/a.p.) ᾿Αλλοῦς πολλά σοι ἀπειλί(εῖ), ἐπὶ γὰρ πολλάκις γράψας καὶ πάντας ἀσπασάμενος αὐτὴν μόνον οὐκ ἠσπάσου. The use of the Ist pers. ἀσπάζομαι by Tertius in Rom 16*!, the only ex. of this exact formula in the NT, may be paralleled from P Oxy VII. 106775 (iii/A.D.) where…

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

ἀσπάζομαι (aspazomai) — to pay respects to.

ἀσπάζομαι,

Epic dialect aorist ἀσπάσσατο[Refs]:—welcome kindly, greet, τινά[Refs 8th c.BC+]; μεγάλως ἠσπάζοντο αὐτόν received him with great joy, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: frequently with no modal word, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially as the common form on meeting, Στρεψιάδην ἀσπάζομαι[Refs 5th c.BC+]; πόρρωθεν ἀ. salute from a distance, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πρόσωθεν αὐτὴν ἁγνὸς ὢν ἀ. I salute her at a respectful distance, i. e. keep away from her, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀ. ταῖς κώπαις, of the saluting of ships, [Refs 1st c.AD+]; ἀ. τινὰ βασιλέα to hail or salute as king, [Refs 1st c.BC+] to bid the event welcome, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀσπάζομαι

aspazomai

from 1 (as a particle of union) and a presumed form of 4685; to enfold

in the arms, i.e. (by implication) to salute, (figuratively) to

welcome:--embrace, greet, salute, take leave.

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 4685

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀσπάζομαι

v.

I greet, salute, pay my respects to

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀσπάζομαι aspazomai 59x

to salute, greet, welcome, express good wishes, pay respects, Mt. 10:12; Mk. 9:15, et al. freq.; to bid farewell, Acts 20:1; 21:6; to treat with affection, Mt. 5:47; met. to embrace mentally, welcome to the heart of understanding, Heb. 11:13

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀσπάζομαι to welcome kindly, bid welcome, greet, Lat. salutare, τινα Hom., etc.; as the common form on meeting, ἀσπάζομαί σε or ἀσπάζομαι alone, Ar.; πρόσωθεν αὐτὴν ἀσπ. I salute her at a respectful distance, i. e. keep away from her, Eur.:— also to take leave of, id. Eur., Xen.

to embrace, kiss, caress, Ar.; of dogs, Lat. blandiri, Xen.

of things, to follow eagerly, cleave to, Lat. amplector, ἀσπ. τὸν οἶνον Plat.

ἀσπ. ὅτι to be glad that, Ar.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
46%do greet
do greet46% · 26×greet16% · 9×greets14% · 8×having greeted5% · 3×he greets4% · 2×other renderings4% · 2×other renderings12% · 7×

57 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 14 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 60 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
ΖαχαρίαςZechariahἀναβαίνωI go up, mount, ΠτολεμαΐςPtolemais
ἐκκλησίαan assembly, congreg
αὐτόςArticle the
ἅγιοςset apart, holy, sac
φίλημαa kissArticle the
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
ἀδελφόςa brotherἐγώ
ἐάνCond
καίand, even, also,
ἀσπάζομαιGreet60×
what comes after →
σύ
Article theἘπαφρᾶςEpaphrasΤιμόθεοςTimothy
Article the
ἀδελφόςa brotherἐκἘλισάβετProp
ἀλλήλων
ἐνκαίand, even, also,
αὐτός
χαίρωI rejoice, am glἐξηγέομαιI explain, make
ΠρίσκαPrisca, Priscilla
καίand, even, also,

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

Concordanceἀσπάζομαι · 60× in the New Testament
Romans Acts 1 Corinthians Colossians Hebrews Philippians 1 Peter 2 Corinthians 2 Timothy 3 John Luke Matthew
Across the New Testament17 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 164c. AD 40

ἡ μὲν γὰρ εὐτέλειαν καὶ ὀλιγοδεΐαν καὶ ὅσον ἀναγκαῖον φιλαυστήρῳ καὶ σεμνῷ βίῳ διαφερόντως ἀσπάζεται, ἡ δὲ περιεργίαν καὶ πολυτέλειαν, ἃ χλιδῆς καὶ θρύψεως αἴτια γίνεται ψυχῇ καὶ σώματι, δι’ ὧν τὴν ὑπαίτιον καὶ θανάτου χαλεπωτέραν ζωὴν παρὰ τοῖς εὖ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.196c. AD 75–95

Ταῦτα τοῦ θεοῦ κρίναντος περὶ τῶν Σοδομιτῶν Ἅβραμος θεασάμενος τρεῖς ἀγγέλους, ἐκαθέζετο δὲ πρὸς τῇ δρυῒ τῇ Μαμβρῆ παρὰ τῇ θύρᾳ τῆς αὑτοῦ αὐλῆς, καὶ νομίσας εἶναι ξένους ἀναστὰς ἠσπάσατό τε καὶ παρʼ αὐτῷ καταχθέντας παρεκάλει ξενίας μεταλαβεῖν.

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 1.2.2c. AD 140

ταῦτά μου συμβουλευομένου καὶ διακρίνοντος ἐν τῇ κάρδίᾳ μου, βλέπω κατέναντί μου καθέδραν λευκὴν ἐξ ἐρίων χιονίνων γεγονυῖαν μεγάλην: καὶ ἦλθεν γυνὴ πρεσβῦτις ἐν ἱματισμῷ λαμπροτάτῳ, ἔχουσα βιβλίον εἰς τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ ἐκάθισεν μόνη καὶ ἀσπάζεταί με:…

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 4th c. AD 7th c. AD

τοὺς παρ … c … ἀσπάζεταί σε … ρ …δοῦς καὶ Μητρόβις καὶ Ἡρᾶς. οὐκ ἔπεμψα τὸ ἔσοπτρον διὰ τὸν

P.Fay. 112Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 99

γράψω. τὰς ἅλως οὐ πάσας θλάσον ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος. μὴ οὖν ἄλλως ποιήσῃς. ἔρρωσο. ἀσπάζου Ἥρωνα καὶ Ὀρσενοῦφιν καὶ τοὺς ἐν οἴκῳ πάντας. ἔτους β Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Νερούα Τραιανοῦ

P.Fay. 123Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 100

ἀγόμενος ἵνα ἀπολυθῇ, ἀλλὰ αἰφνιδίως εἴρηκεν ἡμῖν σήμερον. γνώσομαι γὰρ εἰ ἀληθῶς λέγει. ἔρρωσο. ἀσπάζου τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς Λύκον καὶ … ν. Μεχεὶρ ιβ.

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
σεsu you G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · accusative · singular
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

σύ is the second-person singular pronoun meaning 'you' in Greek. It has various forms: genitive σοῦ, dative σοί, and accusative σέ. The word can be used for emphasis or contrast, particularly in the New Testament, as seen in verses like Matthew 26:64. It also appears in various dialects and has enclitic forms.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

thou, you, gen., σοῦ, dat., σοί, acc., σέ, pl., ὑμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς (enclitic in oblique cases sing., except after prep. (BL, §48, 3), though πρὸς σέ occurs in Mt 25:39). Nom. for emphasis or contrast: Jo 1:30, 42 4:10 5:33, 39, 44, Ac 4:7, Eph 5:32; so also perhaps σὺ εἶπας, Mt 26:64, al. (M, Pr., 86); before voc., Mt 2:6, Lk 1:76, Jo 17:5, al.; sometimes without emphasis (M, Pr., 85f.), as also

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

σύ, pron. of the second pers. (Dor. and Aeol. τύ, Boeot. Tov), gen. σοῦ, dat. σοί, ace. σέ (which oblique cases are enclitic, unless a preposition precede; yet πρός σε is written [uniformly in Ree. (exe. Mt. xxvi. 18), in Grsb. (exe. Jn. xxi. 22, 23), in Treg. (exc. Mt. xxvi. 18; Acts xxiii. 30), in Lchm. (exe. Mt. xxvi.18; Jn. xvii. 11, 13; xxi. 22, 23; Acts xxiii. 30), in Tdf. (exe. Mt. xxvi. 18; Lk. i. 19; Jn. xvii. 11, 13; Jn. xxi. 22; Acts xxiii. 18, 30; 1 Tim. iii. 14; Tit. iii. 12); also by WH in Mt. xxv. 39], see ἐγώ, 2; Lipsius, Grammat. Untersuch. p. 62 sq. [W. §6, 3; B. 31 (27)]); plur. ὑμεῖς, εἴς. : Lat. tu, ete., vos, ete.; thou, ete., ye,ete. The nominatives ov and ὑμεῖς are expressed for emphasis — before a vocative, as σὺ Βηθλεέμ, Mt. ii. 6; σὺ παιδίον (Leian. dial. deor. 2, 1), Lk. i. 76; add, Jn. xvii. 5; Acts i. 24; 1 Tim. vi. 11, etc.; ὑμεῖς of Φαρισαῖοι, Lk. xi. 39…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

thou: pronoun of the second person:—Epic dialect nominative τύνη [ῡ] [Refs 8th c.BC+] (Laconian dialect τούνη [Refs 5th c.AD+]; Aeolic dialect σύ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Doric dialect τύ [ῠ] [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τού [short syllable] [Refs 6th c.BC+] (also τούν [Refs]σύ, [Refs 8th c.BC+]—Gen. σοῦ, [Refs], elsewhere only Attic dialect, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; enclitic σου, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (also in Lyric poetry, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (which also occurs in Lyric poetry, [Refs 7th c.BC+], and as enclitic σευ, [Refs 8th c.BC+], σεο (enclitic) [Refs] σευ (enclitic) [Refs]:—Doric dialect τεῦ, τευ, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; rarely τέο, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τεῦς [Refs 6th c.BC+]; Doric dialect τεοῦς [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τοι variant in [Refs]; enclitic τεος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; other Doric dialect forms are τίω, τίως, both [Refs 3rd c.BC+]—Dat. σοί, [Refs 8th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

the person pronoun of the second person singular; thou:-- thou. See

also 4571, 4671, 4675; and for the plural 5209, 5210, 5213, 5216.

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

you, gen., σοῦ, dat., σοί, acc., σέ, Mt. 1:20; 2:6

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2AS — Personal pronoun · second person · accusative · singular
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2AS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Accusative Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
78%you
you78% · 2412×you yourselves7% · 221×you yourself5% · 168×your3% · 87×other renderings3% · 96×other renderings3% · 89×

3,073 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 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
subject28%object24%adverbial23%indirect object20%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,892 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύyou2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

Concordanceσύ · 2,892× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Acts Mark 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Romans 1 Thessalonians Revelation Hebrews Colossians

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

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

Counted over the 450 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

„οὐ φυτεύσεις σεαυτῷ ἄλσος, πᾶν ξύλον παρὰ τὸ θυσιαστήριον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου οὐ ποιήσεις σεαυτῷ“ (Deuter.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

παύσομαι δὲ τοῦ λοιποῦ μετὰ τοσαύτης ὀργῆς τὰς τιμωρίας ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀδικήμασιν εἰσπραττόμενος καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον σοῦ παρακαλοῦντος.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.2c. AD 100

Μεγάλων μὲν ὄντων καὶ πλουσίων τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιωμάτων εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὑπέρ τι καὶ καθ̓ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπερευφραίνομαι ἐπὶ τοῖς μακαρίοις καὶ ἐνδόξοις ὑμῶν πνεύμασιν: οὕτως ἔμφυτον τῆς δωρεᾶς πνευματικῆς χάριν εἰλήφατε.

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

τοῦ ἀποδοθῆι τὸν ἐπεσταλμένον ἡμῖν κατὰ μῆνα πυρὸν τοῖς παρʼ ἡμῶν. διʼ ἄλλων γεγράφαμεν ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν βουλόμεθα μηδεμιᾶς προσφωνήσεως προσπεπτωκυίας. ἑαυτῶν δὲ ἐπιμελόμενοι ἵνʼ ὑγιαίνητε, — ἔσμεν ἐν

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

η Φατρήους καὶ … χαίρειν καὶ ἐρρωμένοις διευτυχεῖν. ἐρρώμεθα δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρίστην μνείαν ποιούμενοι παρὰ τοῖς ἐν Πηλουσίωι θεοῖς. καλῶς ποιήσεις διαλύσας Ἁρκοννῆσιν καὶ

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

παρὰ Πετεύριος διεθέντος μου ὑπάρξει σοι εἰς στέφανον χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δεκάπεντε, τάλαντα ιε. εὐτύχει .

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
τὰho the G3588 Article · nominative · plural · neuter
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Art-NPN — Article · nominative · plural · neuter
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-NPN Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
the19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
τέκναteknon children G5043 Noun · nominative · plural · neuter
99× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means a child, either male or female, born to parents, as mentioned in Matthew 7:11 and Romans 9:8.
Amplified meaning
born to parents, spiritual offspring
Tyndale gloss
child
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τέκνον (teknon) means a child, whether male or female, and can also refer to descendants or inhabitants. It is used in various contexts in the New Testament, including as a term of endearment and to denote spiritual offspring, particularly in relation to God. The word is derived from the verb meaning 'to bear' or 'to give birth.' Notably, it appears in verses like Matthew 2:18 and Romans 8:16.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τέκνον, -ου, τό

(< τίκτω),

[in LXX chiefly for בֵּן, also for יֶלֶד, etc. ;]

that which is begotten, born (cf. Scottish bairn), a child of either sex: Mk 13:12, Lk 1:7, Ac 7:5; pl., Mt 7:11, Mk 7:27, Lk 1:17, Eph 6:1, al.; τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας, Ro 9:8; τ. τῆς σαρκός, ib.; in a wider sense (as Heb. בָּנִים), of posterity, Mt 2:18, Lk 3:8, al.…

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

τέκνον, -ov, τό, (τίκτω, τεκεῖν), fr. Hom. down, Sept. chiefly for 13, sometimes for ΠΩΣ offspring; plur. children; a. prop. a. univ. and without regard to sex, child: Mk. xiii. 12; Lk. i. 7: Acts vii.5; Rev. xii. 4; plur., Mt. vii. 11; x. 21; xv. 26; Mk. vii. 27; xii. 19; Lk.i.17; xiv. 26; Actsxxi.5; 2Co. xii. 14; Eph. vi. 1; Col. iii. 20sq.; 1 Th. ii. 7,11; 1 Tim. iii.4; Tit. i.6; 2Jn.1, 4,13, and often; with emphasis: to be regarded as true, genuine children, Ro. ix. 7; τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας, children begotten by virtue of the divine promise, Ro. ix. 8; accounted as children begotten by virtue of God’s promise, Gal. iv. 28; τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκός, children by natural descent, Ro. ix. 8. in a broader sense (like the Hebr. 0°33), posterity: Mt. ii. 18; iii. 9; Lk. iii. 8; Acts ii. 39; xiii. 33 (32). with emphasis: genuine posterity, true offspring, Jn. viii. 39; (of wo men) to be regarded as…

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

τέκνον. (1) The following may serve as exx. of this very common word = ‘“‘a child’’—P Amh II. 35% (B.c. 132) ὑπέρ τε τοῦ

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τέκνον (teknon) — child.

τέκνον, τό,

(τίκτω,--οὐκ ἔστι μήτηρ ἡ κεκλημένου τέκνου τοκεύς, τροφὸς δὲ.. [Refs 4th c.BC+], child, ἄλοχοι καὶ νήπια τέκνα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; γυναῖκες καὶ τ. [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc.: the singular is used by [Refs 8th c.BC+] only in vocative, as a form of address from elders to their youngers, my son, my child, sometimes with masculine adjective, φίλε τέκνον [Refs 8th c.BC+]: the relative pronoun or Participle sometimes follows in masculine or feminine, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—the word is used in Prose at Cyrene, [Refs 4th c.BC+] in Attic dialect Prose, [LXX+5th c.BC+]; rare in Comedy texts except in paratragoedic passages, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; in Trag. it is generally used with especially reference to the mother, ὦ τέκνον Νηρῇδος, ὦ παῖ Πηλέως [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖ (sic codices) καὶ Κλυταιμήστρας τέκνον…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τέκνον

teknon

from the base of 5098; a child (as produced):--child, daughter, son.

see GREEK for 5098

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τέκνον, ου, τό

n.n.

a child, descendent, inhabitant

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τέκνον teknon 99x

a child, a son or daughter, Mt. 2:18; Lk. 1:7; pl. descendants, posterity, Mt. 3:9; Acts 2:39; child, son, as a term of endearment, Mt. 9:2; Mk. 2:5; 10:24; pl. children, inhabitants, people, of a city, Mt. 23:37; Lk. 19:44; from the Hebrew, met. a child or son in virtue of discipleship, 1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Tim. 1:2; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τέκνον τέκνον, ου, τό, τίκτω that which is borne or born, a child (cf. Scottish bairn, from Anglo-S. beran, to bear), Hom., etc.; my son, my child, sometimes with masc. adj., φίλε τέκνον id. Hom.; the relat. Pron. or Participle often follows in masc. or fem.

of animals, the young, id. Hom., etc.

metaph., flowers are γαίας τέκνα Aesch.; birds αἰθέρος τέκνα Eur.

The penult. is long in Hom., in Trag. more often short.

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

N-NPN Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Neuter

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Smith's Bible Dictionary

The blessing of offspring, but especially of the male sex, is highly valued among all eastern nations, while a the absence is regarded as one of the severest punishments. (Genesis 16:2; 7:14; 1 Samuel 1:6; 2 Samuel 6:23; 2 Kings 4:14; Isaiah 47:9; Jeremiah 20:15; Psalms 127:3,5) As soon as the child was born it was washed in a bath, rubbed with salt and wrapped in swaddling clothes. (Ezekiel 16:4; Job 38:9; Luke…

A numerous offspring was regarded as a signal blessing, Ps 127:3-5, and childless wives sought various means to escape the reproach of barrenness, which was deprecated in the blessing given to a newly married couple, Ru 4:11. The pangs of childbirth, in their suddenness and sharpness, are often alluded to in Scripture. The apostle Paul speaks of them as fruits and evidences of the fall; but assures those who abide in faith, that, amid all the suffering that reminds them that woman was first in the transgression, Ge 3:16, they may yet look trustfully to God for acceptance and salvation, 1Ti 2:15.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ In answer to prayer

To Abraham Ge 15:2-5; with 21:1,2

Isaac Ge 25:21

Leah Ge 30:17-22

Rachel Ge 30:22-24

Hannah 1Sa 1:9-20

Zacharias Lu 1:13

→ Treatment of, at birth Eze 16:4-6; Lu 2:7,12

→ Circumcision of

→ See CIRCUMCISION

→ Dedicated to God in infancy

Samson Jud 13:5,7

Samuel 1Sa 1:24-28

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- Christ was an example to

Lu 2:51; Joh 19:26,27

- Are a gift from God

Ge 33:5; Ps 127:3

- Are capable of glorifying God

Ps 8:2; 148:12,13; Mt 21:15,16

- SHOULD BE

. Brought to Christ

Mr 10:13-16

. Brought early to the house of God

1Sa 1:24

. Instructed in the ways of God

De 31:12,13; Pr 22:6

. Judiciously trained

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
77%children
children77% · 76×child17% · 17×son4% · 4×other renderings2% · 2×

99 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 5 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
object31%subject18%predicate18%adverbial10%indirect object9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 99 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,δίδωμιI offer, giveἄρτοςbread, a loaf, f
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakεἰμίI am, existμήτηρa mother
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
ἀλλάbut, exceptἀντιμισθίαa reward, recompθεόςGod, a god
πατήρfather, Father, ance
καίand, even, also,ὡςas, like as, how
Disj
μήτηρa motherπατήρfather, Father, γονεύςa parent
τέκνονchildren99×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἈβραάμPropσάρξflesh, body
σύ
πόσοςὅςπάντοτεalways, at all t
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐπανίστημιI rise up againsArticle theβάλλωI cast, throw, r
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὅςἀποκτείνωI put to death,
ἐγώ
ἀνίστημιI raise up, set ἀγαπητόςloved, belovedὅς

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

Concordanceτέκνον · 99× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Mark Romans 1 John 1 Timothy Acts Ephesians Galatians 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 John
Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 167c. AD 40

ἡ μὲν γυνὴ σφοδρὰς ἀνίας ἐνδεξαμένη τὰς ἐν ὠδῖσι καὶ τὰς παρὰ τὸν ἄλλον βίον λύπας ἐπαλλήλους καὶ μάλιστα τὰς ἐπὶ τέκνοις γεννωμένοις καὶ τρεφομένοις καὶ νοσοῦσι καὶ ὑγιαίνουσι καὶ εὐτυχοῦσι καὶ ἀτυχοῦσιν, εἶτ’ ἀφαίρεσιν ἐλευθερίας καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.74c. AD 75–95

Νῶχος δὲ τοῖς πραττομένοις ὑπʼ αὐτῶν δυσχεραίνων καὶ τοῖς βουλεύμασιν ἀηδῶς ἔχων ἔπειθεν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοὺς καὶ τὰς πράξεις μεταφέρειν, ὁρῶν δʼ οὐκ ἐνδιδόντας, ἀλλʼ ἰσχυρῶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς τῶν κακῶν κεκρατημένους, δείσας μὴ καὶ…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.1c. AD 100

Οὐκοῦν νοεῖτε, τέκνα εὐφροσύνης, ὅτι πάντα ὁ καλὸς κύριος προεφανέρωσεν ἡμῖν, ἵνα γνῶμεν, ᾧ κατὰ πάντα εὐχαριστοῦντες ὀφείλομεν αἰνεῖν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Bon. 24 aTebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 135

π … ικ … οικ … ἀπηλιώτου πρότερον τοῦ προγεγραμμένου Προκτηρος … νυνὶ δὲ τέκνων Μυς … τοῦ Φ … … ωπ … ικαι … … , καὶ ἀπέχειν

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

ἐστὶν ἡ πέμπτη τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος μηνὸς Φαρμοῦθι καὶ παραστήσειν τὸν μὲν Ζεναμοῦνιν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ τέκνα εἰς τὸ ἁλιεύειν καὶ πωλεῖν καὶ Πετεσοῦχον ὡσαύτως δὲ παραστήσειν σὺν τοῖς προγεγραμμένοις τοὺς

P.Berl.Leihg. 1 24Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 169

Πτολεμαῖος ἐπίτροπος Σερήνου ἀντεξηγητοῦ καὶ Πλουτάμμωνος ἀφηλίκων τέκνων Σαραπίωνος Ἠπιοδώρου Ἰσιδώρῳ Νικάνδρου μισθωτῇ χαίρειν. ἀπέχω παρὰ σοῦ τὸν χειμερινὸν φόρον κήπου παραδείσου,

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
τῆςho of the G3588 Article · genitive · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-GSF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

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

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
of the19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
ἀδελφῆςadelphē sister G79 Noun · genitive · singular · feminine
26× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word means a biological sister or a sister in the Christian faith community, as seen in Romans 16:1 and 1 Corinthians 7:15.
Amplified meaning
a biological sister or a sister in the Christian faith community
Tyndale gloss
sister
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀδελφή (adelphē) means 'sister' and is the feminine form of ἀδελφός (adelphos). It covers both biological sisters and metaphorical uses, particularly referring to female members of the Christian community. The New Testament employs it in various contexts, including familial and ecclesiastical relationships.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀδελφή, -ῆς, ἡ

(< ἀδελφός),

[in LXX for אָחוֹת;]

a sister: Mt 19:29, al.; metaph. (MM, VGT, s.v.), of a member of the Christian community: Ro 16:1, I Co 7:15 Ja 21:15, al.

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

ἀδελφή, -ῆς, ἡ. (see ἀδελφός), [fr. Aeschyl. down], sister ; 1. a full, own sister (i.e. by birth): Mt. xix. 29; Lk. x. 39 sq.; Jn. xi. 1, 3, 5; xix. 25; Ro. xvi. 15, ete.; respecting the sisters of Christ, mentioned in Mt. xiii. 56; Mk. vi. 3, see ἀδελφός, 1. 2. one connected by the tie of the Christian religion: 1 Co. vii. 153; ix. 5; Philem. 2 L'T Tr WH; Jas. ii. 15; with a subj. gen., a Christian woman especially dear to one, Ro. xvi. 1.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀδελφή (adelphē) — sister.

ἀδελφ-ή, ἡ,

feminine of ἀδελφός, sister, Trag., E [Refs 4th c.BC+]: Ionic dialect ἀδελφ-εή, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Epic dialect ἀδελφ-ειή, [Refs 4th c.AD+]; Doric dialect ἀδελφ-εά, [Refs 5th c.BC+], and in lyr, passages of Trag., [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. kinswoman, [LXX]

3. term of endearment, [LXX]; applied to a wife, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]:—sister (as a fellow Christian), [NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀδελφή

adelphe

fem of 80; a sister (naturally or ecclesiastically):--sister.

see GREEK for 80

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀδελφή, ῆς, ἡ

n.f.

a sister

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀδελφή adelphē 26x

a sister; near kinswoman, or female relative, a female member of the Christian community

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀδελφή fem. of ἀδελφός, a sister, Trag., etc.

a sister (as a fellow Christian), NTest.

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

N-GSF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sis'-ter ('achoth): Used repeatedly in the Old Testament of a female

(1) having the same parents as another; or

(2) having one parent in common, with another, half-sister (Ge 20:12; Le 18:9), and also

(3) of a female belonging to the same family or clan as another, so a kinswoman (Ge 24:60; Job 42:11);

(4) also of a woman of the same country (Nu 25:18).

(5) Figuratively, the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, are sisters (Eze 23:7).

(6) Confederate cities are conceived of as sisters (Eze 16:45).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In the style of the Hebrews, "sister" had equal latitude with "brother." It is used, not only for a sister by natural relation, from the same father and mother, but also for a sister by the same father only, or by the same mother only; or for any near female relative, Ge 12:13. See BROTHER.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
62%sister
sister62% · 16×sisters35% · 9×our sister4% · 1×

26 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 3 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject46%object35%predicate8%adverbial4%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 26 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existὅτιthat, since, bec
καίand, even, also, nam
ἀδελφόςa brotherἐγώ
Disj
ἀδελφόςa brother
εἰμίI am, exist
ὅδε
ἐξουσίαpower, authority, we
ἔχωI have, hold, po
ἀδελφήsister26×
what comes after →
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,οὐχίIrgὧδεhere
καίand, even, also, nam
μήτηρa motherἌρχιπποςArchippus
Disj
πατήρfather, Father, μήτηρa mother
σύ
ἔξωwithout, outsideArticle the
ἐγώ
μόνοςonly, solitary, εἰμίI 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

Concordanceἀδελφή · 26× in the New Testament
John Mark Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians Romans 1 Timothy 2 John Acts James Philemon
Across the New Testament11 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 73 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.20c. AD 40

καὶ μὴν ἀδελφαί γ’ εἰσὶ καὶ συγγενεῖς πᾶσι τοῖς μέρεσιν αἱ ἡμῶν πλευραὶ καὶ σαρκὸς γεγόνασι.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.165c. AD 75–95

νομίζων γὰρ ἀδελφὴν ἀλλʼ οὐ γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ σπουδάσαι περὶ αὐτὴν συγγένειαν ποιήσασθαι βουλόμενος, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐνυβρίσαι κατʼ ἐπιθυμίαν ὡρμημένος·

Clement of RomeSecond Clement 12.5c. AD 96

καὶ τὸ ἄρσεν μετὰ τῆς θηλείας, οὔτε ἄρσεν οὔτε θῆλυ, τοῦτο λέγει: ἵνα ἀδελφὸς ἰδὼν ἀδελφὴν οὐδὲν φρονῇ περὶ αὐτῆς θηλυκόν, μηδὲ φρονῇ τι περὶ αὐτοῦ ἀρσενικόν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

BGU 3 1000Pathyris99 BC

Column i βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν

P.Adl. 20Poinkoris (Diopolites)99 BC

1 βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου θεοῦ Φιλομήτορος καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεᾶς Φιλαδέλφου ἔτους ἑκκαιδεκάτου ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
σουsu of you G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · genitive · singular
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

σύ is the second-person singular pronoun meaning 'you' in Greek. It has various forms: genitive σοῦ, dative σοί, and accusative σέ. The word can be used for emphasis or contrast, particularly in the New Testament, as seen in verses like Matthew 26:64. It also appears in various dialects and has enclitic forms.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

thou, you, gen., σοῦ, dat., σοί, acc., σέ, pl., ὑμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς (enclitic in oblique cases sing., except after prep. (BL, §48, 3), though πρὸς σέ occurs in Mt 25:39). Nom. for emphasis or contrast: Jo 1:30, 42 4:10 5:33, 39, 44, Ac 4:7, Eph 5:32; so also perhaps σὺ εἶπας, Mt 26:64, al. (M, Pr., 86); before voc., Mt 2:6, Lk 1:76, Jo 17:5, al.; sometimes without emphasis (M, Pr., 85f.), as also

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

σύ, pron. of the second pers. (Dor. and Aeol. τύ, Boeot. Tov), gen. σοῦ, dat. σοί, ace. σέ (which oblique cases are enclitic, unless a preposition precede; yet πρός σε is written [uniformly in Ree. (exe. Mt. xxvi. 18), in Grsb. (exe. Jn. xxi. 22, 23), in Treg. (exc. Mt. xxvi. 18; Acts xxiii. 30), in Lchm. (exe. Mt. xxvi.18; Jn. xvii. 11, 13; xxi. 22, 23; Acts xxiii. 30), in Tdf. (exe. Mt. xxvi. 18; Lk. i. 19; Jn. xvii. 11, 13; Jn. xxi. 22; Acts xxiii. 18, 30; 1 Tim. iii. 14; Tit. iii. 12); also by WH in Mt. xxv. 39], see ἐγώ, 2; Lipsius, Grammat. Untersuch. p. 62 sq. [W. §6, 3; B. 31 (27)]); plur. ὑμεῖς, εἴς. : Lat. tu, ete., vos, ete.; thou, ete., ye,ete. The nominatives ov and ὑμεῖς are expressed for emphasis — before a vocative, as σὺ Βηθλεέμ, Mt. ii. 6; σὺ παιδίον (Leian. dial. deor. 2, 1), Lk. i. 76; add, Jn. xvii. 5; Acts i. 24; 1 Tim. vi. 11, etc.; ὑμεῖς of Φαρισαῖοι, Lk. xi. 39…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

thou: pronoun of the second person:—Epic dialect nominative τύνη [ῡ] [Refs 8th c.BC+] (Laconian dialect τούνη [Refs 5th c.AD+]; Aeolic dialect σύ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Doric dialect τύ [ῠ] [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τού [short syllable] [Refs 6th c.BC+] (also τούν [Refs]σύ, [Refs 8th c.BC+]—Gen. σοῦ, [Refs], elsewhere only Attic dialect, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; enclitic σου, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (also in Lyric poetry, [Refs 8th c.BC+] (which also occurs in Lyric poetry, [Refs 7th c.BC+], and as enclitic σευ, [Refs 8th c.BC+], σεο (enclitic) [Refs] σευ (enclitic) [Refs]:—Doric dialect τεῦ, τευ, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; rarely τέο, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τεῦς [Refs 6th c.BC+]; Doric dialect τεοῦς [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τοι variant in [Refs]; enclitic τεος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; other Doric dialect forms are τίω, τίως, both [Refs 3rd c.BC+]—Dat. σοί, [Refs 8th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

the person pronoun of the second person singular; thou:-- thou. See

also 4571, 4671, 4675; and for the plural 5209, 5210, 5213, 5216.

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

you, gen., σοῦ, dat., σοί, acc., σέ, Mt. 1:20; 2:6

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2GS — Personal pronoun · second person · genitive · singular
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2GS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Genitive Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
78%you
you78% · 2412×you yourselves7% · 221×you yourself5% · 168×your3% · 87×other renderings3% · 96×other renderings3% · 89×

3,073 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 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
subject28%object24%adverbial23%indirect object20%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,892 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύof you2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

Concordanceσύ · 2,892× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Acts Mark 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Romans 1 Thessalonians Revelation Hebrews Colossians

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

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

Counted over the 450 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

„οὐ φυτεύσεις σεαυτῷ ἄλσος, πᾶν ξύλον παρὰ τὸ θυσιαστήριον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου οὐ ποιήσεις σεαυτῷ“ (Deuter.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

παύσομαι δὲ τοῦ λοιποῦ μετὰ τοσαύτης ὀργῆς τὰς τιμωρίας ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀδικήμασιν εἰσπραττόμενος καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον σοῦ παρακαλοῦντος.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.2c. AD 100

Μεγάλων μὲν ὄντων καὶ πλουσίων τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιωμάτων εἰς ὑμᾶς, ὑπέρ τι καὶ καθ̓ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπερευφραίνομαι ἐπὶ τοῖς μακαρίοις καὶ ἐνδόξοις ὑμῶν πνεύμασιν: οὕτως ἔμφυτον τῆς δωρεᾶς πνευματικῆς χάριν εἰλήφατε.

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

τοῦ ἀποδοθῆι τὸν ἐπεσταλμένον ἡμῖν κατὰ μῆνα πυρὸν τοῖς παρʼ ἡμῶν. διʼ ἄλλων γεγράφαμεν ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν βουλόμεθα μηδεμιᾶς προσφωνήσεως προσπεπτωκυίας. ἑαυτῶν δὲ ἐπιμελόμενοι ἵνʼ ὑγιαίνητε, — ἔσμεν ἐν

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

η Φατρήους καὶ … χαίρειν καὶ ἐρρωμένοις διευτυχεῖν. ἐρρώμεθα δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑμῶν τὴν ἀρίστην μνείαν ποιούμενοι παρὰ τοῖς ἐν Πηλουσίωι θεοῖς. καλῶς ποιήσεις διαλύσας Ἁρκοννῆσιν καὶ

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

παρὰ Πετεύριος διεθέντος μου ὑπάρξει σοι εἰς στέφανον χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δεκάπεντε, τάλαντα ιε. εὐτύχει .

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
τῆςho <the> G3588 Article · genitive · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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

T-GSF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
ἐκλεκτῆςeklektos elect G1588 Adjective · genitive · singular · feminine
22× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means select or favorite, often describing someone or something chosen by God. In Romans 16:13, it describes a chosen person, and in Luke 23:35, it refers to Jesus as the chosen one. It represents God's special selection and love.
Amplified meaning
chosen, select
Tyndale gloss
select
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐκλεκτός (*eklektos*) means 'chosen' or 'select.' It is derived from the verb ἐκλέγω (*eklegō*), which means to pick out. The term is used in the New Testament to refer to those chosen by God, including Christians and angels, and appears in verses like Romans 8:33 and 1 Peter 2:9. There is some variation in how lexicons describe its application, particularly regarding its use in distinguishing between the 'called' and the 'chosen.'

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐκ-λεκτός, -ή, -όν

(< ἐκλέγω),

[in LXX for בָּחַר (so prob. in Is 28:16, Pr 17:3, for MT בָּחַן), בָּרִיא, etc. ;]

choice, select (cl., rarely; Thuc., Plat., al.), hence, eminent: Ro 16:13 (cf. Ez 27:24).

As in Inscr. (MM, Exp., xii), chosen; esp. as in LXX, of Israel, elect, chosen of God (Is 65:9, Ps 105:43, al.); so in NT;

of Christ: Lk 23:35 (cf. Is 42:1); fig., λίθος, I Pe 2:4, 6 (LXX);

of holy angels: I Ti 5:21;

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

ἐκ-λεκτός, -7, -όν, (ἐκλέγω), picked out, chosen; rare in Grk. writ., as Thue. 6, 100; Plat. lege. 11 p. 938 b.; 12, 948 ἃ.» ete.; Sept. for 13n3 and "73; in the N. T. ΤΙΣ chosen by God, and a. to obtain salvation through Christ (see ἐκλέγω); hence Christians are called οἱ ἐκλεκτοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, the chosen or elect of God, [ef. W. 35 (34); 234 (219)], (AI "3, said of pious Israelites, Is. Ixv. 9, 15, 23; Ps. civ. (cv.) 43, cf. Sap. iv. 15): Lk. xviii. 7; Ro. viii. 33; Col. iii. 12; Tit.i.1; without the gen. θεοῦ, Mt. xxiv. 22,24; Mk. xiii. 20, 22; 1 Pet. 1.1; with the addition of rod Χριστοῦ, as gen. of possessor, Mt. xxiv. 31; Mk. xiii. 27 [Τ᾿ Trom.gen.]; κλητοὶ καὶ ἐκλεκτοὶ K. πιστοί, Rev. xvii. 14; γένος ἐκλεκτόν, 1 Pet. ii. 9 (fr. Is. xliii. 20, ef. Add. to Esth. viii. 40 [vi. 17, p. 64 ed. Fritz.]); ἐκλεκτοί, those who have become true partakers of the Christian salvation are…

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

ἐκλεκτός. In P Rein 43° (A.p. 102) a ‘‘choice” or “" beautiful ”’ lodging which is being let is described as ἐκλεκτὸν ἀντρῶνα (4. ἀνδρῶνα). For the distinctive Biblical use of the word, cf. farm-accounts—P Fay 1023, (c, A.D. 105) where ἐγλεκ(τοί) is applied to baskets ‘‘ ‘selected,’ 1.6. of a better quality than the rest ’’ (Edd.), and OGZS 499% (ii/A.D.) τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν ἐν Ρώμῃ δικαστῶν, with which Dittenberger compares 76, 56729 (ii/A.D.) ἐπίλεκτον κριτήν, the zudex selectus of the Latin inscriptions. The Avircius epitaph— late ii/A.p.—from MS. of Acta Sanctorum has ἐκλεκτῆς πόλεως ὁ πολείτης τοῦτ᾽ ἐποίησα. See also BGU II. 603% (ὦ. A.D. 167) ἐλαίας ἐγλεκτῆς.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐκλεκτός (eklektos) — select.

ἐκλεκτ-ός, ή, όν,

picked out, select, [Refs 6th c.BC+]; ἐ. δικασταί,=Latin iudices selecti, [Refs 2nd c.AD+] adverb -τῶς interpolated in Suid. see at {ἐπίλεκτος}.

2. choice, pure, σμύρνη [LXX+3rd c.BC+]; ἐκλεκτόν,= corn, [LXX+2nd c.AD+]

II. chosen of God, elect, [LXX+NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐκλεκτός

eklektos

from 1586; select; by implication, favorite:--chosen, elect.

see GREEK for 1586

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐκλεκτός, ή, όν

Adj

chosen, elect, choice, select

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐκλεκτός eklektos 22x

chosen out, selected; in NT chosen as a recipient of special privilege, elect, Col. 3:12; specially beloved, Lk. 23:35; possessed of prime excellence, exalted, 1 Tim. 5:21; choice, precious, 1 Pet. 2:4, 6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐκλεκτός ἐκλεκτός, ή, όν ἐκλέγω picked out, select, Thuc., Plat., etc.

οἱ ἐκλεκτοί, the elect, NTest.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-GSF — Adjective · genitive · singular · feminine
genitive — of, from, belonging to.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-GSF Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Genitive Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

e-lekt':

That is, "chosen," "selected."

In the Old Testament the word represents derivatives of bachar, elegit;

In the New Testament eklektos. It means properly an object or objects of selection.

This primary meaning sometimes passes into that of "eminent," "valuable," "choice"; often thus as a fact, in places where the King James Version uses "chosen" (or "elect") to translate the original (eg. Isa 42:1; 1Pe 2:6). In the King James Version "elect" (or "chosen") is used of Israel as the race selected for special favor and to be the special vehicle of Divine purposes (so 4 times in Apocrypha, Tobit and Ecclus); of the great Servant of Yahweh (compare Lu 23:35; the "Christ of God, his chosen"); compare eminent saints as Jacob, Moses…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
63%elect
elect63% · 15×chosen38% · 9×

24 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
adverbial32%object32%predicate18%subject9%indirect object9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 22 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,ἐπισυνάγωI collect, gatheδιά
δέbut, on the other ha
ὀλίγος& Adv
κατά
ἐγκαλέωI bring a charge
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
οὖνtherefore, then
πίστιςfaith, belief, trust
κατά
ἐκλεκτόςelect22×
what comes after →
αὐτός
ἐκArticle the
θεόςGod, a god
θεόςGod, a godκαίand, even, also,
κολοβόωI cut short, shorten
Article the
ὅς
ἐκλέγωI choose, elect
ἐν
κύριοςlord, Lord, mast

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

Concordanceἐκλεκτός · 22× in the New Testament
1 Peter Matthew Mark 2 John Luke Romans 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Colossians Revelation Titus
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 56 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
Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas Philo of Alexandria The Epistle of Barnabas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Cherubim 7c. AD 40

ὅταν δὲ ἤδη ὁ μὲν Ἀβρὰμ ἀντὶ φυσιολόγου γένηται σοφὸς καὶ φιλόθεος μετονομασθεὶς Ἀβραάμ, ὃς ἑρμηνεύεται πατὴρ ἐκλεκτὸς ἠχοῦς — ἠχεῖ μὲν γὰρ ὁ γεγωνὸς λόγος, πατὴρ δὲ τούτου ὁ νοῦς ἐπειλημμένος τοῦ σπουδαίου —, Σάρα δὲ ἀντὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς μου γένηται…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 7.59c. AD 75–95

ἐκ δὲ τῆς Δανίτιδος φυλῆς ἐκλεκτοὶ δισμύριοι ἑπτακισχίλιοι ἑξακόσιοι.

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 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD

ὀκτακοσίαις καὶ ἐξαιρέτων ἐλαίας ἐκλεκτῆς μελαίνης ἀρταβῶν δύο μέτρωι δρόμωι ἰδίωι τῶι τοῦ Μάρκου Ἀντωνίου Ἄπρου καὶ ἐλαίου ἐλαείνου

P.Rein. 1 43Ibion Tatkelmeos (Hermopolites)AD 102

Παρμοῦθι μηνὸς τοῦ εἰσιόντος ἕκτου ἔτους Τραιανοῦ Καίσαρος τοῦ κυρίου ὃ ἔχω κατάγαιον καὶ ἐκλεκτὸν ἀνδρῶνα ἐν κώμῃ Ἰβιώνι Ταυκελμεως, ἐνοικίου τοῦ συμπεφωνημένου τῶν προκειμένων μηνῶν ἀργυρίου δραχμῶν τεσσεράκοντα,

P.Oxy. 3 639 descr.OxyrhynchosAD 103

ἕτερα ἀκρόδρυα, φόρου τοῦ ἑσταμένου πρὸς ἀλλήλους κατʼ ἔτος ἀργυρίου δραχμῶν ἑκατὸν ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἐκλεκτῆς ἐλαίας μελαίνης ἀρταβῶν τριῶν ἀκίνδυνα παντὸς κινδύνου τῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ παραδείσου κατʼ ἔτος δημοσίων

Greet you the children of the sister of you <the> elect Amen.
ἀμήν.¶amēn Amen. G281 Hebrew
126× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Meaning
Amen means something is trustworthy or firm. It's often used to express agreement or confirmation, like in Revelation 3:14. It's a way of saying 'so be it' or 'it's true'.
Tyndale gloss
amen
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀμήν (i.e., *amēn*) is an indeclinable term derived from Hebrew, meaning 'verily' or 'so be it.' It functions as an adverb in the New Testament, often used to affirm statements or prayers, particularly in the teachings of Jesus. It appears frequently, including in Revelation 3:14, where it describes Christ as 'the faithful and true one.' The repetition of the word in John's Gospel emphasizes certainty.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀμήν, indecl. (Heb. אָמֵן, verbal adj. fr. אמן, to prop, ni., be firm),

[in LXX: I Ch 16:36, I Es 9:46, Ne 5:13 8:6, To 8:8 14:15, III Mac 7:23, IV Mac 18:24 (elsewhere א״ is rendered ἀληθινός, Is 65:16; ἀληθῶς, Je 35 (28):6; γένοιτο, Nu 5:22, De 27:15ff., III Ki 1:36, Ps 40 (41):13

71 (72):19 105 (106):48, Je 11:5)*.]

As adj. (cf. Is 65:16), ὁ ἀ., Re 3:14.

As adv.,

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

ἀμήν, Hebr. 1285 1. verbal adj. (fr. [23 to prop; Niph. to be firm), firm, metaph. faithful: ὁ ἀμήν, Rev. iii. 14 (where is added ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστὸς K. ἀληθινός). 2. it came to be used as an adverb by which something is asserted or confirmed: a. at the beginning of a discourse, surely, of a truth, truly; so freq. in the discourses of Christ in Mt. Mk. and Lk.: ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν “1 solemnly declare unto you,’ e.g. Mt. v.18; Mk. iii. 28; Lk. iv. 34. The repetition of the word (ἀμὴν ἀμήν), employed by John alone inhis Gospel (twenty-five times), has the force of a superlative, most assuredly: Jn. i. 51 (52); iii. 8. Ὁ. at the close of a sentence; so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled (γένοιτο, Sept. Num. ν. 22; Deut. xxvii. 15, ete.): Ro.i. 25; ix.5; Gal.i.5; Eph. iii. 21; Phil. iv. 20; 1 Tim.i.17; Heb. xiii. 21; 1 Pet. iv. 11; Rev. i. 6, and often; cf. Jer. xi. 5; xxxv. (xxviii.) 6; 1 K. i.…

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

ἀμήν. 49 is ἃ common symbol in the Christian papyri for ἀμήν, 99 being the sum of the numerical equivalents of the letters (1 + 40 + 8 + 50): see e.g. P Oxy VI. 9257 (v/vi A.D.), where a prayer for guidance regarding a certain journey concludes—yévotro, g@, ‘‘so be it; Amen,” and P Iand I. 618 (a Christian amulet—v/vi A.D.) with the editor’s note. In P Oxy VII. 1058 (iv/v A.D.) the word is written out in full, ὃ θ(εδ)ς τῶν παρακειμένων σταυρῶν, βοήθησον τὸν δοῦλόν σου ᾿Απφουᾶν. ἀμήν, “Ὁ God of the crosses that are laid upon us, help thy servant Apphouas. Amen.” (Ed.)

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀμήν (amēn) — amen.

ἀμήν,

Hebrew adverb verily, of a truth, so be it, [LXX]; at beginning of sentence, [NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀμήν

amen

of Hebrew origin (543); properly, firm, i.e. (figuratively)

trustworthy; adverbially, surely (often as interjection, so be

it):--amen, verily.

see HEBREW for 0543

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀμήν

Hebr.

verily, truly, amen, so let it be

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀμήν amēn 129x

in truth, most certainly; so be it; ὁ ἀμήν, the faithful and true one, Rev. 3:14

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀμήν for ἁμῆι, dat. fem. of ἁμός ῀ τὶς Hebr. adv. verily, of a truth, so be it, NTest.:— τὸ ἀμήν, certainty, id. NTest.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Hebrew — Hebrew
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-men' (in ritual speech and in singing a-men', a'men) ('amen; amen, = "truly," "verily"): Is derived from the reflexive form of a verb meaning "to be firm," or "to prop." It occurs twice as a noun in Isa 65:16, where we have (the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American)) "God of truth." This rendering implies the pointing 'omen or 'emun i.e. "truth," or "faithfulness," a reading actually suggested by Cheyne and adopted by others. "Amen" is generally used as an adverb of assent or confirmation--fiat, "so let it be." In Jer 28:6 the prophet endorses with it the words of Hananiah. Amen is employed when an individual or the whole nation confirms a covenant or oath recited in their presence (Nu 5:22;

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Amen

This Hebrew word means firm, and hence also faithful (Rev. 3:14). In Isa. 65:16, the Authorized Version has “the God of truth,” which in Hebrew is “the God of Amen.” It is frequently used by our Saviour to give emphasis to his words, where it is translated “verily.” Sometimes, only, however, in John’s Gospel, it is repeated, “Verily, verily.” It is used as an epithet of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 3:14).

It is found singly and sometimes doubly at the end of prayers (Ps. 41:13; 72:19; 89:52), to confirm the words and invoke the fulfilment of them. It is used in token of being bound by an oath (Num.…

literally "true" and used as a substantive, "that which is true," "truth," (Isaiah 65:16) a word used in strong asseverations, fixing, as it were, the stamp of truth upon the assertion which it accompanied, and making it binding as an oath. Comp. (Numbers 5:22) In the synagogues and private houses it was customary for the people or members of the family who were present to say "amen" to the prayers which were offered. (Matthew 6:13; 1 Corinthians 14:16) And not only public prayers, but those offered in private, and doxologies, were appropriately concluded with "amen." (Romans 9:5; 11:36; 15:33; 16:27; 2 Corinthians…

Strictly an adjective, signifying firm, and by a metaphor, faithful. So in Re 3:14, our Lord is called "the Amen, the faithful and true Witness," where the last words explain the preceding appellation. In its adverbial use it means certainly, truly, surely. It is used at the beginning of a sentence by way of emphasis, frequently by our Savior, and is there commonly translated Verily. In John’s gospel alone, it is often used by him in this way double, Verily, verily. At the end of a sentence it is often used, singly or repeated, especially at the end of hymns and prayers; as "Amen and Amen," Ps 41:13 72:19 89:52. The proper signification of it here is, to confirm the words which have preceded, assert the sincerity and invoke the fulfilment of them: so it is, so be it, let it be…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
99%amen
amen99% · 150×other renderings1% · 2×

152 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
adverbial6%subject2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 126 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
ἀμήνHebr
ἸησοῦςJesusαὐτόςλέγωI say, speak
αἰώνan age, a cycle of t
Article the
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakεὑρίσκωI findμαθητήςa learner, disci
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article theἀποκρίνομαιI answer, replyαὐτός
ἀμήνAmen.126×
what comes after →
λέγωI say, speak
σύ
ἀμήνHebr
λέγωI say, speak
γάρfor
λέγωI say, speak
Article the
θεόςGod, a godμάρτυςa witnessεὐλογίαadulation, prais
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speak

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

Concordanceἀμήν · 126× in the New Testament
John Matthew Mark Revelation Luke Romans 1 Peter 1 Timothy Galatians 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Clement of Rome Josephus The Didache
JosephusThe Jewish War 3.95c. AD 75–95

φέρουσι δʼ οἱ μὲν περὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἐπίλεκτοι πεζοὶ λόγχην καὶ ἀσπίδα, ἡ δὲ λοιπὴ φάλαγξ ξυστόν τε καὶ θυρεὸν ἐπιμήκη, πρὸς οἷς πρίονα καὶ κόφινον ἄμην τε καὶ πέλεκυν, πρὸς δὲ ἱμάντα καὶ δρέπανον καὶ ἅλυσιν, ἡμερῶν τε τριῶν ἐφόδιον·

The DidacheThe Didache 10.6c. AD 100

εἴ τις ἅγιός ἐστιν, ἐρχέσθω: εἴ τις οὐκ ἔστι, μετανοείτω: μαρὰν ἀθά: ἀμήν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
7th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Louvre 1 1Soknopaiu Nesos (ArsinoitesAD 13

πλείους καὶ κατέαξεν κράνωι τὴν ἀριστερὰν χεῖρα καὶ ἀπηνέγκατό μου χιτῶνα καὶ ζώνην καὶ ἄμην καὶ ἀξείνην, καὶ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου μέχρι τοῦ νῦν κατακλινὴς ἐγενόμην· καὶ βλάβος μοι οὐκ

P.Flor. 3 369HermopolisAD 139

ἄρτων ζεύγη δέκα ἐλαίου κοτύλας δύο ὄψου δραχμὰς δύο ἔχω πρὸς ὑπουργίαν τῶν ἔργων ἄμην καὶ δώσω κατʼ ἔτος ξύλων καθάρσεων γόμον ἕνα καὶ μετὰ τὸν χρόνον παραδώσω τὸν

SB 12 11146ArsinoitesAD 176–AD 300

Εὐτύχει χειριστῇ. δὸς ἐμοὶ Νείλῳ φροντιστῇ Εὐτυχιάδος σκαφεῖον α ἄμην α χωροῦντα τῷ κεραμεῖ τῆς Εὐτυχιάδος. δὸς ἄμην καὶ σκαφεῖον τοῦ γραμμ ὑπο. ἔτους

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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