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Acts 20:12 — Word Study

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N1904ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

BSAThey broughtagō thende theho boypais [young man, child] alivezaō [living, with life] andkai were comfortedparakaleō [comforted in no ordinary measure] notou a little.metriōs [were greatly comforted, not a little]

Word
Listen & take awayActs 20
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 12 is in this chapter.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (metriōs) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Acts 20:12quick helps
In a sentenceThe people were relieved and comforted after bringing the boy back to life.
Who is speakingThe narrative is from the author of Acts, recounting an event involving Paul and the people present.
Where we areThis verse concludes a dramatic scene where a boy has been raised from the dead.
The hard wordπαρεκλήθησαν
Take awayThe miracle brought immense comfort to the onlookers.
7 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause verbἄγω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

1 of 9 occurs nowhere else in the New Testament — a word chosen on purpose.

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 — Acts 20:12

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

Context — Paul's Journey and Miraclesgenerated

11Then Paul went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. And after speaking until daybreak, he departed.
12And the people were greatly relieved to take the boy home alive.
13We went on ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard. He had arranged this because he was going there on foot.
14And when he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.

Acts 20:12 describes the aftermath of a miraculous event where a boy was raised from the dead. The people who witnessed this miracle were not only relieved but also greatly comforted by the return of the boy alive. This event emphasizes the power of God working through Paul and the impact it had on the community, similar to how miracles often served to strengthen faith and provide hope, as seen in other passages such as Isaiah 40:1 and 2 Corinthians 1:4.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Isaiah 40:1“Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God.
22 Corinthians 1:4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
3Ephesians 6:22I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about us, and that he may encourage your hearts.
41 Thessalonians 3:2We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
51 Thessalonians 4:18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word παρεκλήθησαν, parakaleōgenerated

The verb παρακαλέω, transliterated as parakaleō, means to comfort or plead. It is used in the aorist passive form here, indicating that the people were comforted by an external influence rather than through their own actions.

This word captures the emotional response of the crowd after witnessing the miracle. It signifies not just a mild comfort but a profound relief, as indicated by the context of the event.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

In the Berean Standard Bible, the phrase is rendered as greatly relieved, which is echoed in the Webster's Bible and Young's Literal Translation. The KJV and ASV use not a little comforted, emphasizing the depth of their comfort.

The translations diverge particularly on the word παῖδα, with the BSB and WEB using boy, while the KJV opts for young man. The term ζῶντα is consistently rendered as alive in most translations, except for BBE, which uses living.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is ἤγαγον, they brought, which governs the action of the sentence. This verb connects to a noun phrase, τὸν παῖδα, the boy, serving as the object of the action.

The structure also includes a participial phrase ζῶντα, alive, describing the boy, and a clause detailing the emotional response of the people, which is indicated by the verb παρεκλήθησαν, were comforted.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

παῖς is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word עֶ֫בֶד (H5650), meaning 'slave' or 'servant'. In this context, it highlights the youthfulness or servitude of the boy.

ζάω, meaning 'to live', corresponds to the Hebrew חָיָה (H2421), which also conveys the idea of being alive or living. This connection emphasizes the significance of the boy's return to life.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Acts 20:12 tells us that after Paul raised a boy from the dead, the people were greatly comforted. They brought the boy home alive, and this miracle filled them with relief and joy.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What happened to the boy in this passage?

The boy fell from a window and was presumed dead, but Paul raised him back to life, bringing great comfort to those present.

Why were the people comforted?

The people were comforted because they witnessed a miraculous event where the boy was brought back to life, which filled them with joy and relief.

What does the term 'boy' signify in this context?

The term 'boy' can refer to a young man or child, indicating the youth of the individual who was raised from the dead.

How does this event compare to other miracles in the New Testament?

This event is similar to other miracles where Jesus or the apostles raised individuals from the dead, demonstrating God's power over life and death.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How do I respond to miraculous events in my own life?
  2. What does it mean for me to find comfort in difficult situations?
  3. In what ways can I support others who are experiencing loss or grief?
  4. How can I share the hope of life and resurrection with those around me?

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

John Chrysostom comments on this verse, noting the dual comfort of the people due to both the boy's return and the miracle itself.

John ChrysostomHomily on Acts 43 c. 347–407
"And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted," both because they received him back alive, and because a miracle had been wrought.

John Chrysostom highlights the significance of the miracle, emphasizing the joy of the people in receiving the boy back alive.

Early Church Fathers on Acts 20 →

Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Acts 20:12 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And they brought the young man alive,.... Up into the upper room, and presented him alive to the disciples: and were not a little comforted; that is, the disciples, at the sight of the young man, who

Read John Gill on Acts 20 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. And they brought the young man alive.

Read Robert Jamieson on Acts 20 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

They rejoiced not only that the young man was restored to life, but that by this means the gospel was attested to, and many confirmed in the belief of it.

Read Matthew Poole on Acts 20 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. Ver. 12. And were not a little comforted] Not so much for the young man’ s recovery, as for the love of God sealed up unto them therein: this was the kernel, the other but the shell.

Read John Trapp on Acts 20 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12. And they brought the young man alive] Here is a different noun, and the Rev. Ver. rightly gives “the lad.” It would seem as though those who had had the care of him brought him, before the congregation broke up, perhaps even before the Apostle’s departure, back again into the upper room.

Read Cambridge on Acts 20 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Not a little comforted - By the fact that he was alive; perhaps also strengthened by the evidence that a miracle had been performed.

Read Albert Barnes on Acts 20 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

12. They brought—They presented the young man truly living before Paul and his companions, comforted alike by the restored life and by the miracle.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Acts 20 →

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

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

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

And the people were greatly relieved to take the boy home alive.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

They brought the boy in alive, and were greatly comforted.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

And the people were greatly relieved to take the boy home alive.

NETBNew English Translation2006

They took the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

And they brought the lad alive, and were not a little comforted.

RVARevised Version, American1894

And they brought the lad alive, and were not a little comforted.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And they brought the boye aliue, and they were not a litle comforted.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

And they brought [away] the boy alive, and were no little comforted.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and they brought up the lad alive, and were comforted in no ordinary measure.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and they brought up the boy alive, and were comforted in no ordinary measure.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

They brought back the boy alive and were greatly comforted.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And they brought the youth alive, and were not a little comforted.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

They took the young man home alive and well, and were very thankful for this.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And they took the boy in, living, and were greatly comforted.

Word by word, the decisions they made

παῖδαpais boy G3816 2 different renderings
boyBBE BSB DBY LSV MSB NETB ULB WEB
young manFBV KJV NWB
ζῶνταzaō alive G2198 2 different renderings
aliveASV BSB DBY DRA FBV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB YLT
livingBBE
μετρίως.¶metriōs a little. G3357 3 different renderings
not a littleASV DRA KJV NWB RVA
were greatly comfortedBBE NETB ULB WEB
littleDBY

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.

clauseδὲthenclauseclauseverbἤγαγονThey broughtnoun phrase · objectτὸνtheπαῖδαboysecond objectζῶνταaliveκαὶandclauseverbπαρεκλήθησανwere comfortedadverb phrase · adverbialοὐnotμετρίωςa little

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

Adduxerunt autem puerum viventem, et consolati sunt non minime.

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

ܘܕܒܪܘܗܝ ܠܥܠܝܡܐ ܟܕ ܚܝ ܘܚܕܝܘ ܒܗ ܪܘܪܒܐܝܬ

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

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

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


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

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

Acts 20:12ἄγωThey broughThey broughtἄγωδέthenthenδέthetheπαῖςboyboyπαῖςζάωalivealiveζάωκαίandandκαίπαρακαλέωwere comforwere comfortedπαρακαλέωοὐnotnotοὐμετρίωςa little.a little.μετρίωςπαίωv. I strikv. I strike, smπαίωπαράPrep. fromPrep. from, in παράμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήμέτρονn.n. a mean.n. a measure,μέτρονκελεύωv. I commav. I command, oκελεύωλύωv. I loosev. I loose, untλύωἰάομαιv. I healv. I healἰάομαιΔαυίδProp.n. DaProp.n. DavidΔαυίδμηκέτιNeg.adv. nNeg.adv. no lonμηκέτινεκρόςAdj dead, Adj dead, a corνεκρόςπαράκλησιςn.f. exhorn.f. exhortatioπαράκλησιςδιόCj. wherefCj. whereforeδιόἔξεστι(ν)v. it is pv. it is permitἔξεστι(ν)μόνοςAdv alone,Adv alone, but,μόνος
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 Acts 20:12

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.

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
ἤγαγονagō They brought G71 Verb · second aorist · active · indicative · third person · plural
69× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Acts than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This verb means to lead or bring something. Jesus used it in John 10:16 to describe leading his followers. It also appears in Romans 2:4 and Hebrews 2:10.
Tyndale gloss
to bring
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἄγω (lemma: agō) primarily means to lead or bring. It can refer to guiding someone or something, carrying, or spending time. In the New Testament, it is used in various contexts, including leading people to court or guiding them spiritually. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement regarding its meanings.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἄγω,

[in LXX for בּוא hi., לקח, נהג, etc.;]

to lead, bring, carry: c. acc., seq. ἐπί, εἰς, ἕως, πρός and simple dat.; metaph., to lead, guide, impel: Jo 10:16 Ro 2:4, He 2:10, II Ti 3:6, al.

to spend or keep a day: Lk 24:21, Ac 19:38

Intrans., to go: subjunc., ἄγωμεν, Mt 2:46, al. (Cramer, 61; MM, VGT, s.v.).

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

ἄγω ; impf. ἦγον; fut. ἄξω ; 2 aor. ἤγαγον, inf. ἀγαγεῖν, (more rarely 1 aor. ἦξα, in ἐπάγω 2 Pet. ii. 5); Pass., pres. ἄγομαι; impf. ἠγόμην; 1 aor. ἤχθην ; 1 fut. ἀχθήcopa; [fr. Hom. down]; to drive, lead. 1. properly [A. V. ordinarily, to bring]; a. to lead by laying hold of, and in this way to bring to the point of destination: of an animal, Mt. xxi. 7; Lk. xix. 35; Mk. xi. 7 (T Tr WH φέρουσιν) ; [Lk. xix. 30]; τινά foll. by εἰς with ace. of place, Lk. iv. 9 [al. refer this to 2 ¢.]; x. 34; (ἤγαγον k. εἰσήγαγον eis, Lk. xxii. 54); Jn. xviii. 23; Acts vi. 12; ix. 2; xvii. 5 [RG]; xxi. 34; xxii. 5, 24 Rec. ; xxiii. 10, 31; ἐπί with ace., Acts xvii. 19; ἕως, Lk. iv. 29; πρός twa, to persons, Lk. [iv. 40]; xviii. 40; Acts ix. 27; Jn.viii.3[Ree.]. Ὄ. to lead by accompanying to (into) any place: εἰς, Acts xi. 26 (25); ἕως. Acts xvii. 15; πρός τινα, to persons, Jn. i. 42 (43); ix. 13; Acts…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἄγω (agō) — to bring.

ἄγω [ᾰ],

imperfect ἦγον, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect ἄγεσκον[Refs 5th c.BC+]: future ἄξω[Refs 8th c.BC+]: thematic aorist imperative ἄξετε[Refs 8th c.BC+]infinitive ἀξέμεναι, -έμεν, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: aorist 2 ἤγαγον[Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist 1 ἦξα rare, ἦζε[Refs 5th c.BC+], participle ἄξας[Refs], infinitive ἄξαι[Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἦχα[Refs 7th c.BC+], (προ-) [Refs 4th c.BC+], (συν-) [Refs 5th c.BC+], etc., Doric dialect συν-αγάγοχα[LXX+1st c.AD+] (also in compounds, (εἰσ-) Ps.-Philipp. cited in [Refs 4th c.BC+], (κατ-) Canon Laws texts[Refs]; ἀγείοχα[Refs 2nd c.BC+]; ἀγέωχα (δι-) [Refs 2nd c.BC+], etc.: pluperfect ἀγηόχει[Refs 2nd c.BC+]:—middle, future ἄξομαι[Refs 8th c.BC+], Trag.: them. aorist 1 ἄξοντο[Refs 8th c.BC+] (ἐσ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+], (προεσ-) [Refs]aorist 2 ἠγαγόμην[Refs 8th c.BC+], 2nd pers.singular ἀγάγαο[Refs]:—passive, future…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἄγω

ago

a primary verb; properly, to lead; by implication, to bring, drive,

(reflexively) go, (specially) pass (time), or (figuratively)

induce:--be, bring (forth), carry, (let) go, keep, lead away, be open.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἄγω

v.

I lead

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἄγω agō 67x

to lead. bring; lead away, drive off, as a booty of cattle; conduct, accompany; lead out, produce; conduct with force, drag, hurry away; guide, incite, entice; convey one’s self, go, go away; pass or spend as time; celebrate

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἄγω on the augment in the Doric form ἆγον, see Chantraine, MHG, 311. to lead or carry, to convey, bring, with living creatures as the object, φέρω being used of things, δῶκε δ᾽ ἄγειν ἑτάροισι γυναῖκα, καὶ τρίποδα φέρειν Il. (v. infr. 3); ἄγ. εἰς or πρὸς τόπον; poet. also c. acc. loci, ἄγει Ἀχέροντος ἀκτάν Soph.

intr. of soldiers, to march, Xen., etc.; so, ἄγωμεν let us go, NTest.

part. ἄγων is used in sense, taking, στῆσε δ᾽ ἄγων, where we should use two Verbs, took and placed, Hom.

to take with one, ἑταίρους id. Hom.

to carry off as captives or booty, id. Hom., etc.; mostly in phrase ἄγειν καὶ φέρειν to sweep a country of all its plunder (where φέρειν refers to things, ἄγειν to men and cattle); then c. acc. loci, φέρων καὶ ἄγων τὴν Βιθυνίδα plundering all…

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAI-3P — Verb · second aorist · active · indicative · third person · plural
second aorist active indicative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAI-3P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
10%let us go
let us go10% · 7×bring6% · 4×they brought6% · 4×he brought6% · 4×brought6% · 4×led6% · 4×be brought6% · 4×do bring6% · 4×other renderings49% · 34×

69 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 35 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 69 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakκελεύωI command, orderἐπί
καίand, even, also, nam
Ἰορδάνηςthe Jordanπόλιςa cityαὐτός
ἐγείρωI wake, arouse, rais
ποιέωI do, make
ΠαῦλοςPaul
Article the
ἐγώ
δεῖit is necessary,σύν
ἄγωThey brought69×
what comes after →
αὐτός
πρόςεἰςἐπί
πρός
αὐτόςArticle theἍνναςAnnas
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰσάγωI lead in, bringἐγώ
Article the
ὄνοςa donkey, an assἸσραήλPropἀνήρa male human bei
δέbut, on the other ha
αὐτόςArticle theκαίand, 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

Concordanceἄγω · 69× in the New Testament
Acts John Luke Matthew Mark 2 Timothy James Romans 1 Corinthians 1 Thessalonians Galatians Hebrews
Across the New Testament12 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 The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 46c. AD 40

οἷα γὰρ ἡνίοχος ἡνιῶν ἢ κυβερνήτης οἰάκων ἐνειλημμένος ἄγει ᾗ ἂν ἐθέλῃ κατὰ νόμον καὶ δίκην ἕκαστα μηδενὸς προσδεόμενος ἄλλου·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.120c. AD 75–95

Σκίδνανται δὴ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐντεῦθεν ὑπὸ τῆς ἀλλογλωσσίας τὰς ἀποικίας ποιησάμενοι πανταχοῦ, καὶ γῆν ἕκαστοι κατελάμβανον τὴν ἐντυχοῦσαν καὶ εἰς ἣν αὐτοὺς ἦγεν ὁ θεός, ὡς πληρωθῆναι πᾶσαν αὐτῶν ἤπειρον μεσόγεών τε καὶ παράλιον·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.2c. AD 100

γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἅ μὲν πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραήλ, ἃ δὲ πρὸς ἡμᾶς, λέγει δὲ οὕτως: Ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν: τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν: ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἄφωνος ἐναντίον τοῦ…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Cair. Zen. 3 59383276 BC–227 BC

τεσσάρων ἐξαγωγῶν σχοινία κ ἀνὰ ὀβολὸν α 𐅵 γίνονται δραχμαὶ ε. καὶ ὀχετοὺς δεῖ ἀγαγεῖν οἳ ἄξουσιν τὸν ὄμβρον εἰς τὰς ἐξαγωγοὺς σχοινίων ι ἀνὰ ὀβολὸν γίνεται α τετρώβολον

δὲ καὶ ὧν ἕνεκεν κατεπλεύσαμεν κατὰ λόγον ὄντα· οὐ μέντοι γε ἐξεποίησεν ἐπὶ τέλος ἀγαγεῖν διὰ τὰς ἐνεστηκυίας ἀσχολίας Ζηνοδώρωι· ἀλλὰ πεπείσμεθα ἐν Μέμφει ἔσεσθαι. ἔρρωσο. ἔτους ε, Φαρμοῦθι

PSI 6 680Philadelphia ? (Arsinoites244 BC

τε ἥδιον διδῶις ποιοῦντός τι ἐμοῦ πλέον σοι. εἰ δʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν κελεύεις, τὸν μὲν καιρὸν αὐτὸς εἰδήσεις, ἐμοὶ δὲ καλῶς λως ἂν ποιήσαις συντάξας ὅπως

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
δὲde then G1161 Conjunction
2,787× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δέ (de) is a post-positive particle in Greek, primarily used as a conjunction to connect clauses. It can express contrast (but, on the other hand) or continuation (and, also), and is often used to transition between ideas or to add emphasis. In the New Testament, it appears frequently in various contexts, such as contrasting statements or resuming interrupted discourse, with notable examples in Matthew and 2 Corinthians.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δέ (before vowels δ’; on the general neglect of the elision in NT, v. WH, App., 146; Tdf., Pr., 96),

post-positive conjunctive particle;

copulative, but, in the next place, and, now (Abbott, JG, 104): Mt 1:2ff., II Co 6:15, 16, II Pe 1:5-7; in repetition for emphasis, Ro 3:21, 22, 9:30, I Co 2:6, Ga 2:2, Phl 2:8; in transition to something new, Mt 1:18 2:19, Lk 13:1, Jo 7:14, Ac 6:1, Read the full entry →

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

δέ (related to δή, as μέν to μήν, ef. Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p. 355), a particle adversative, distinctive, disjunctive, but, moreover, (W.§ 53, 7 and 10, 2); it is much more freq. in the historical parts of the N. T. than in the other books, very rare in the Epp. of John and the Apocalypse. {On its general neglect of elision (when the next word begins with a vowel) cf. Tdf. Proleg. p. 96; WH. App. Ῥ 146; W.§5,1a.; B. p.10sq.] It is used ἘΠ ΟἹ δὲ univ. by way of opposition and distinction; it is added to statements opp. to a preceding statement: ἐὰν yap ἀφῆτε... ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε, Mt. vi. 14 sq.; ἐὰν de ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς κτλ. Mt. vi. 23; ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι, Mk. ii. 20; it opposes persons to persons or things previously mentioned or thought of, —either with strong emphasis: ἐγὼ δέ, Mt. v. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39,44; ἡμεῖς de, 1 Co. i. 23; 2 Co. x. 13; σὺ δέ, Mt. vi. 6; ὑμεῖς δέ, Mk. viii. 29; of δὲ…

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

δεῖ. For the conjunctive, as in Mt 26%, cf. P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) ἐάν σε δῇ (for δέῃ) τὸ εἱμάτιόν σου θεῖναι ἐνέχυρον. “even if you have to pawn your cloak” (Edd.). In P Tebt I. 585° (B.c. 111) we have ἐάν followed by the indicative— ἐὰν δεῖ σε συνπεσεῖν τῶι ᾿Ανικήτωι, σύνπεσαι, ‘if you must meet Anicetus, meet him” (Edd.): cf. Mayser G7. p. 325. Other examples of the verb are l’ Par 461® (B.C. 153) διὸ Kal ἡγούμενος δεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου μὲν μηθενὸς αὐτῶι διακριθῆναι» P Lille I. 267 (iii.B.c.) περὶ (corr. from πεερὶ) δὲ τούτου τοῦ μέρους δεήσει ἐπισχεῖν, P Tebt 11. 3414 (A.p. 140-1) δεήσι ἐπισταλῆναι εἰς δάνε[ι]α σπέρματα κατασπίο]ρᾶς KTA., “ΕἼ will be necessary to send on account of loans of seedcorn for the sowing,” etc., AécheZ 1001" © (Theran Doric —c. B.C. 200) no one may bring forward a proposal ὡς δεείσῃ διαλῦσαι τὸ κοινὸν εἰ τὰς θυσίας, P Flor II. 133" (A.D. 257) ἔδι μὲν ὑμᾶς μηδὲ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

I. answering to μέν (which see), τὴν νῦν μὲν Βοιωτίαν, πρότερον δὲ Καδμηίδα γῆν καλουμένην [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. without preceding μέν,

II.1. adversative, expressing distinct opposition, αἰεί τοι τὰ κάκ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλα.. μαντεύεσθαι, ἐσθλὸν δ᾽ οὔτε τί πω εἶπας[Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in Prose, οὐκ ἐπὶ κακῷ, ἐλευθερώσει δέ.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. copulative,

II.2. a in explanatory clauses, ξυνέβησαν.. τὰ μακρὰ τείχη ἑλεῖν (ἦν δὲ σταδίων μάλιστα ὀκτώ) [Refs 8th c.BC+]: when a substantive is followed by words in apposition, Ἀρισταγόρῃ τῷ Μιλησίῳ, δούλῳ δὲ ἡμετέρῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so in answers, διπλᾶ λέγειν. —Answ. διπλᾶδ᾽ ὁρᾶν…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and,

etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

a conjunctive particle, marking the superaddition of a clause, whether in opposition or in continuation, to what has preceded, and it may be variously rendered but, on the other hand, and, also, now, etc.; καὶ δέ, when there is a special superaddition in continuation, too, yea, etc. It sometimes is found at the commencement of the apodosis of a sentence, Acts 11:17. It serves also to mark the resumption of an interrupted discourse, 2 Cor. 2:10; Gal. 2:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δέ but: conjunctive Particle, with adversative force: it commonly answers to μέν, and may often be rendered by while, whereas, on the other hand, v. μέν:— but μέν is often omitted, δέ being used merely to pass on from one thing to another; ὣς Ἀχιλεὺς θάμβησεν, θάμβησαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι Il.; etc.; κινεῖ κραδίην κινεῖ δὲ χόλον Eur.

δέ is often redundant,

to introduce the apodosis, where it may be rendered by then, yet, εἰ δέ κε μὴ δώωσιν, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι if they will not give it, then I will take it, Il.; so at in Lat., si tu oblitus es, at Dii meminerint Catull.

to resume after interruption caused by a parenthesis, where it may be rendered by I say, now, so then, Hdt.

POSITION of δέ: properly second, being often put between the Art. and Subst., the prep. and case.

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
33%now
now33% · 974×however27% · 780×then21% · 620×and12% · 360×but5% · 154×other renderings2% · 49×

2,937 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,787 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
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέthen2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

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

Concordanceδέ · 2,787× in the New Testament
Acts Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John Mark Romans 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians James 1 Timothy

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
τὸνho the G3588 Article · accusative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts 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-ASM — Article · accusative · singular · masculine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-ASM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
παῖδαpais boy G3816 Noun · accusative · singular · masculine
24× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Acts than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A child can refer to either a boy or girl, and can also describe a servant or minister, as seen in Matthew 17:18 and Luke 2:43. This term is often used to convey a sense of youth or servitude.
Amplified meaning
young man, child
Tyndale gloss
child
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

παῖς is a Greek word meaning 'child' or 'youth,' applicable to both boys and girls. It can also refer to a servant or slave, often in the context of a minister or attendant. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as in Matthew 17:18 and Luke 8:54. The lexicons note its use in relation to age and parentage, with some sources indicating it can imply a servant role.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

παῖς, gen., παιδός, ὁ, ἡ,

[in LXX chiefly for עֶבֶד, also for נַעַר, נַעֲרָה, etc.;]

a child, boy, youth, maiden: ὁ π., Mt 17:18, Lk 2:43 9:42, Ac 20:12; ἡ π. Lk 8:51, 54 (on the artic. nom, of address, v. M, Pr., 70 f., 235; Bl., § 33, 4); pl., Mt 2:16 21:15; of parentage, c. gen., Jo 4:51.

Like Heb. עֶבֶד, Lat. puer, Fr. garçon, Eng. boy (Æsch., Aristoph., Xen., al.), servant, slave, attendant: Mt 8:6, 8, 13, Lk 7:7 12:45 15:26; in late writers (Diod., LXX:

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

πᾶς, πᾶσα, πᾶν, en. παντός, πάσης, παντός, [dat. plur. Lchm. πᾶσι ten times, -σιν seventy-two times; Tdf. -σι five times (see Proleg. p. 98 sq.), -ow seventy-seven times; Treg. -ow eighty-two times; WH -ox fourteen times, -ow sixty-eight times; see N, v (ἐφελκυστικόν)], Hebr. 75, [fr. Hom. down], all, every; it is used I. adjectively, and 1. with anarthrous nouns; a. any, every one (86. of the class denoted by the noun annexed to mas); with the Singular: as πᾶν δένδρον, Mt. iii. 10; πᾶσα θυσία, Mk. ix. 49 [T WH Tr mrg. om. Tr txt. br. the cl.]; add, Mt. v.11; xv. 13; Lk. iv. 37; Jn.ii. 10; xv.2; Acts ii.43; v.42; Ro. xiv. 11; 1 Co. iv. 17; Rev. xviii. 17, and very often; πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἀνθρώπου, Ro. ii. 9 (πᾶσα ἀνθρ. ψυχή, Plat. Phaedr. p- 249e.); πᾶσα συνείδησις ἀνθρώπων, 2 Co. iv. 2; mas λεγόμενος θεός, 2 Th. ii. 4; πᾶς ἅγιος ἐν Χριστῷ, Phil. iv. 21sqq. with the Plural, all or any that are…

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

παῖς. In Gnomon 41 (¢. A.D. 150) it is laid down—éav Αἰγύπτιος ἐκ κοπρίας [ἀν]έληται παῖδα καὶ τοῦτον υἱοποιήσηται, μετὰ θάνατον τεταρτολο[ γεῖτ]αι, ““1Γ an Egyptian shall take up a child from the dungheap, and adopt him as a son, he shall be mulcted after his death to the extent of one fourth of his property.” For παῖς applied to a female child see P Strass I. 41° (A.D. 250) ἐκδικῆσαι τὰ τῆς παιδός, and P Oxy 1 5215 (A.D. 325) εΠδαμὲν τὴν παῖδα ἔχουσαν κατὰ τῶν εἰσχίων ἀμυχὰς μετὰ πελιωμάτων (see 76. II. p. 319), ““νγῈ saw that the girl had wounds on her hips with livid spots”: cf. Lk 8° (for voc. of address see Pro/eg. pp. 70, 235). The word is commonly applied to slaves, as in Lk 77 a/., e.g. P Lille 27 (iii/B.c.), where 11 male slaves are enumerated under the heading παῖδες, then 2 female slaves, and then again 3 male slaves: cf. P Strass I. 405 (a. p. 569) Κολλοῦθος Βίκτορος…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

παῖς (pais) — child.

παῖς,

also παῦς (which see), παιδός, ὁ, ἡ, genitive plural παίδων, Doric dialect παιδῶν[Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative plural παισί, Epic dialect παίδεσσι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in early Epic dialect frequently disyllable in nominative πάϊς, e. g. when forming part of two different feet, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; probably also in the fifth foot, [Refs]; and before bucolic diaeresis, [Refs]; also in Lyric poetry, [Refs 7th c.BC+]; and in Boeotian dialect, [Refs], compare πῆ; πάϊ [ᾰῑ] [Refs 8th c.BC+] (παιδ- is never disyllable in oblique cases in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; genitive παϊδός epigram cited in [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; dative παϊδί probably in [Refs 6th c.BC+]

I. in relation to Descent, child, whether son, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; or daughter, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; παῖς, opposed to κόρα, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of an…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

παῖς

pais

perhaps from 3817; a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by

analogy), a girl, and (genitive case) a child; specially, a slave or

servant (especially a minister to a king; and by eminence to

God):--child, maid(-en), (man) servant, son, young man.

see GREEK for 3817

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

παῖς, παιδός, ὁ, ἡ

n.f. & n.m.

a boy or girl child

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

παῖς pais 24x

a child in relation to parents, of either sex, Jn. 4:51; a child in respect of age, either male or female, and of all ages from infancy up to manhood, a boy, youth, girl, maiden, Mt. 2:16; 17:18; Lk. 2:43; 8:54; a servant, slave, Mt. 8:6, 8, 13, cf. v. 9; Lk. 7:7, cf. v. 3, 10; an attendant, minister, Mt. 14:2; Lk. 1:69; Acts 4:25; also, Lk. 1:54; or, perhaps, a child in respect of fatherly…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

παῖς in relation to Descent, a child, whether son or daughter, Il.:— παῖς παιδός a child's child, grandchild, id. Il.; Ἀγήνορος παῖδες ἐκ παίδων Eur.;—of animals, Aesch.

metaph., ἀμπέλου παῖς, i. e. wine, Pind.

periphr., δυστήνων παῖδες (v. sub δύστηνος); οἱ Λυδῶν παῖδες, sons of the Lydians, i. e. the Lydians, Hdt.; π. Ἑλλήνων Aesch.; οἱ Ἀσκληπιοῦ π. i. e. physicians, Plat., etc.

in relation to Age, a child, either a boy, youth, lad, or a girl, maiden, Hom., etc.; with another Subst., παῖς συφορβός a boy- swineherd, Il.: —ἐκ παιδός from a child, Plat.; ἐκ παίδων or παίδων εὐθύς id. Plat.; εὐθὺς ἐκ παίδων ἐξελθών Dem.

in relation to Condition, a slave, servant, man or maid, Aesch., Ar., etc.

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

N-ASM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(yeledh, "child," na`ar, "lad," "youth"; ho pais and he pais): Refers to a child of any age, and is sometimes used of either sex: Joe 3:3; Zec 8:5; Mt 17:18; Lu 2:43; 8:51,54 fem.; Lu 9:42. In the East the word applies also to an adult who is a servant (Mt 8:6 the Revised Version, margin). The boy occupied a place of special importance in the family life of all ancient people. In Syria the father even was called by the name of his son. He was known as the father of Joseph, or whatever the n ame might be. As is true among all oriental people, while the father had absolute…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%servant
servant50% · 12×boy21% · 5×servants8% · 2×child8% · 2×boys4% · 1×children4% · 1×men-servants4% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object42%subject33%adverbial21%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 24 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
ἰάομαιI healλέγωI say, speakπᾶςall, the whole,
ΔαυίδProp
οἶκοςa house, househoστόμαthe mouth, speec
ἅγιοςset apart, holy, sac
Article the
ἸσραήλProp
ἀντιλαμβάνωI take hold of,
παῖςboy24×
what comes after →
αὐτός
οὗτοςμιμνῄσκωI remember, recaζάωI live
ἐγώ
βάλλωI cast, throw, rὅς
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theἀποδίδωμιI give back, ret
σύ
ἸησοῦςJesusλέγωI say, speak
Article the
ἐνκράζωI cry aloud, shr

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

Concordanceπαῖς · 24× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Acts John
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 216 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 Clement of Rome The Didache The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 104c. AD 40

Παῖς μὲν ἄνηβος ἐὼν ἔτι νήπιος ἕρκος ὀδόντων φύσας ἐκβάλλει πρῶτον ἐν ἕπτ’ ἔτεσιν·

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

περὶ τῆς Ἰσάκου παίδων Ἡσαῦ καὶ Ἰακώβου γενέσεως καὶ διατροφῆς.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 39.4c. AD 96

ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ἄμεμπτος ἀνήρ, εἰ κατὰ παίδων αὐτοῦ οὐ πιστεύει, κατὰ δὲ ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ σκολιόν τι ἐπενόησεν;

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

ἔγραψάς μοι ὑπὲρ τῶν καμίνων ἵνα τοῖς μόσχοις ὦσιν. σὺ οὖν προαπόστειλόν τινα, ἵνα παῖδα ἀποστείλω ὃς παραδώσει αὐτῶι. εἰσὶν δὲ κάμινοι μεγάλαι μὲν δύο , μικραὶ δὲ τρεῖς

PSI 4 436Philadelphia (Arsinoites)249 BC

, τοῖς δὲ παρʼ ἐμοῦ τότε οὐδεὶς ἔδωκε· μετὰ ὀλίγας δὲ ἡμέρας τὸν διασυνεστημένον παῖδα Θράσωνα Λευκίππωι τῶι γραμματεῖ ὥστε ἐκκομίζεσθαι τὰ ὀψώνια καὶ τὰς ἀγορὰς δεδεμένον μετεπεμψάμην διά

P.Cair. Zen. 4 59606257 BC–240 BC

r … … ωι εν … ως ἔφης οἰκονομήσειν αὐτὸν περὶ Ἡροδότου τοῦ παιδός, ἢ τὸν παῖδα ἢ δραχμὰς τριακοσίας . χαριεῖ οὖν ἡμῖν ἐν τάχει τοῦτο ποιήσας

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
ζῶνταzaō alive G2198 Verb · present · active · participle · accusative · singular · masculine
140× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To live means to have life, either physically or spiritually, as seen in Acts 20:12 and Romans 7:1-3. It can also refer to being alive with Christ, like in Philippians 1:21.
Amplified meaning
living, with life
Tyndale gloss
to live
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ζάω (transliterated as zao) means 'to live' and is used in various contexts, including both literal and figurative senses. It encompasses the idea of being alive, functioning in life, and can refer to both animals and plants. In the New Testament, it appears in discussions of spiritual life and vitality, often in relation to Christ and God, highlighting a deeper, metaphorical meaning of existence.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ζάω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for חיה (most freq. ptcp., ζῶν, inf., ζῆν, for חַי);]

prop., to live, be alive (v. Syn., s.v. βίος; in cl. usually of animal life, but sometimes of plants, as Arist., Eth. N, i, 7, 12): Ac 20:12, Ro 7:1-3, I Co 7:39, Re 19:20, al.; ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶμεν, Ac 17:28; ἐμοὶ τὸ ζῆν Χριστός, Phl 1:21; διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν (M, Pr., 215, 249), He 2:15; ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, Ga 2:20; ζῇ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός, Ga 2:20; (ὁ) ζῶν, of God (אֵל חַי…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ζάω (zaō) — to live.

ζῶ

(contraction from ζώω: ζάω only in Grammars, [Refs 4th c.AD+]; imperative ζῆ [Refs 5th c.BC+] see at {ζῆ}; optative ζῴη; infinitive ζῆν: imperfect ἔζων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἔζην in most codices of [Refs 4th c.BC+]; 3rd.pers. plural ἔζων [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future ζήσω [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist 1 ἔζησα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἔζηκα [Refs 4th c.BC+]aorist and perfect are mostly supplied from βιόω.- Exc. participle ζῶντος, [Refs 8th c.BC+] always uses the Epic dialect Ionic dialect Lyric poetry present ζώω (also in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; subjunctive ζώῃ [Refs 5th c.BC+], contraction ζῷ [Refs]; Cretan dialect δώω [Refs]; infinitive ζωέμεναι, -έμεν, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: imperfect ἔζωον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect ζώεσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]aorist 1 ἔζωσα (ἐπ-) [Refs 5th c.BC+]; infinitive ζῶσαι [Refs]: perfect participle ἐζωκότα [Refs]; infinitive ζόειν [Refs 7th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ζάω

zao

a primary verb; to live (literally or figuratively):--life(-time),

(a-)live(-ly), quick.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ζάω

v.

I live

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ζάω zaō 140x

to live, to be possessed of vitality, to exercise the functions of life, Mt. 27:63; Acts 17:28; τὸ ζῆν, life, Heb. 2:15; to have means of subsistence, 1 Cor. 9:14; to live, to pass existence in a specific manner, Lk. 2:36; 15:13; to be instinct with life and vigor; hence, ζῶν, living, an epithet of God, in a sense peculiar to Himself; ἐλπὶς ζῶσα, a living hope vigor and constancy, 1 Pet. 1:3; ὕδωρ ζῶν, living water in respect of a full and unfailing flow, Jn. 4:10, 11; to be alive with cheered and…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ζάω to live, Hom., etc.; ἐλέγχιστε ζωόντων vilest of living men, Od.; ζώειν καὶ ὁρᾶν φάος ἠελίοιο Il.; ῥεῖα ζώοντες living at ease, of the gods, id. Il.; ζῶν κατακαυθῆναι to be burnt alive, Hdt.:—also, ζῆν ἀπό τινος to live off or on a thing, Theogn., Hdt., etc.:— τὸ ζῆν ῀ ζωή, Aesch., etc.: —in a quasi-trans. sense, ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ὧν ἔζης ( = ἃ ἐν τῶι βίωι ἔπραττες) from the other acts of your life, Dem.

metaph. to be in full life and strength, to be fresh, be strong, ἄτης θύελλαι ζῶσι Aesch.; ἀεὶ ζῆι ταῦτα [νόμιμα] Soph.; ζῶσα φλόξ living fire, Eur.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAP-ASM — Verb · present · active · participle · accusative · singular · masculine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAP-ASM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-liv' (chai, "living"; zao, "to live," anazao, "to live again"): These Hebrew and Greek originals are the chief terms for life in both Testaments. They cover all life, including soul and spirit, although primarily referring to physical vitality. Striking examples may be cited: "Is your father yet alive?" (Ge 43:7); "To whom he also showed himself alive" (Ac 1:3). Often used of God: "the living God" (Jos 3:10); also of the resurrection life: "In Christ shall all be made alive" (1Co 15:22); of the soul's regenerate life: "Reckon .... yourselves .... alive unto God," "as those that are alive from the dead" (Ro 6:11:13 the…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
42%living
living42% · 60×live10% · 14×will live8% · 11×we live4% · 5×lives4% · 5×alive3% · 4×we may live3% · 4×he lives2% · 3×other renderings26% · 37×

143 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
verb73%adverbial11%predicate6%object5%second object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 140 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
ἐγώθεόςGod, a godπᾶςall, the whole,
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςνεκρόςdead, a corpseσῴζωI save, heal
θεόςGod, a god
ἐπίυἱόςa son, descendenπνεῦμαwind, breath, sp
αὐτός
οὐσίαproperty, wealthγάρforλέγωI say, speak
ἀλλάbut, except
νεκρόςdead, a corpseἀσθένειαwant of strengthαὐτός
ζάωalive140×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
νεκρόςdead, a corpseπιστεύωI believe, have θεάομαιI see, behold, c
Article the
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of thἀνήρa male human beiπεριλείπομαιI leave behind
εἰς
Article theθάνατοςdeath
ἐν
αὐτόςσάρξflesh, bodyκόσμοςthe world, unive
διά
Article theἐγώἀνάστασιςa rising again,

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

Concordanceζάω · 140× in the New Testament
Romans John Revelation Acts Hebrews 2 Corinthians Galatians Luke 1 Peter Matthew 1 Thessalonians 1 Corinthians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 250 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 AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 77c. AD 40

λέγουσιν οὖν οἱ τοῖς νόμοις ἐπὶ πλέον ἐμβαθύναντες καὶ τὰ κατ’ αὐτοὺς ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα μετὰ πάσης ἐξετάσεως ἀκριβοῦντες, ὅτι τῆς αὑτοῦ συγγενείας μεταδοὺς ὁ θεὸς ἀνθρώπῳ τῆς λογικῆς, ἥτις ἀρίστη δωρεῶν ἦν, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἐφθόνησεν, ἀλλ’ ὡς οἰκειοτάτῳ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.66c. AD 75–95

ἔτι δὲ ζῶντος Ἀδάμου Κάιος τοὺς ἐγγόνους πονηροτάτους συνέβη γενέσθαι κατὰ διαδοχὴν καὶ μίμησιν ἄλλον ἄλλου χείρονα τελευτῶντα·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.3c. AD 100

Καὶ ὃς ἐλπίσει ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 2nd c. BC 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Lond. 2 p. 163-165 no. 354Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites8 BC–5 BC

Κόρδῳ τῶι ἐπιστατήσαντι τῶν φυλακιτῶν … … τας φάσκοντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν μεθεστακέναι πρὸς … λο … κατὰ φυλακὴν. καταστάντες δὲ καὶ ἀπολογησάμενοι ἐφάνημεν τῶι Κόρδωι

P.Mich. 5 228Areos Kome (Arsinoites)AD 47

ὥστε παρʼ αὐτῇ ἐκτέτρωται τὸ βρέφος νεκρὸν ὥστε αὐτὴν κατακλινῆ εἶναι καὶ κινδυνεύειν τοῦ ζῆν. διὸ ἀξιῶ γράψαι τοῖς τῆς Ὠξυρύνχων πρεσβυτέροις ἐκπέμψαι τὸν ἐνκαλούμενον ἐπὶ σὲ πρὸς τὴν

P.Lond. 3 p. 131 no. 846Soknopaiu Nesos (ArsinoitesAD 140

μου τὸ ὄνομα εἰς πρεσβυτερείαν τῆς κώμης ἀπόρου μου ὄντος καὶ μισθοῦ πορίζοντος τὸ ζῆν ἀπὸ τῆς γερδιακῆς διὸ ἀξιῶ σε τὸν κύριον βοηθῆσαί μοι, ἵνα τύχω τῆς ἀπὸ

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
παρεκλήθησανparakaleō were comforted G3870 Verb · aorist · passive · indicative · third person · plural
109× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Acts as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To plead with or comfort someone, as Jesus did with his disciples in Matthew 26:53 when he told them to have faith. This word can also mean to invoke or call on someone for help or guidance.
Amplified meaning
comforted in no ordinary measure
Tyndale gloss
to plead/comfort
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

παρακαλέω is built from the prefix παρά (near) and the root καλέω (to call). It covers a range of meanings including to summon, beseech, exhort, and comfort. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as Acts 28:20 and Matthew 26:53. Notably, it can also imply invoking the gods or comforting others.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

παρα-καλέω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for נחם ni., pi.;]

to call to one, call for, summon: Ac 28:20 (R, mg.; R, txt., entreat); hence (of the gods: Dem., Xen., al.), to invoke, call on, beseech, entreat: τ. πατέρα μου, Mt 26:53; τ. κύριον, II Co 12:8; in late writers (Polyb., Diod., al.; rarely in LXX; in π., v. Deiss., LAE, 17614), also of men: absol., Phm 9; c. acc., Mt 8:5, Mk 1:40, Ac 16:9, al.; c. inf., Mk 5:17, Lk 8:41, Read the full entry →

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

παρα-καλέω, -@; impf. 3 pers. sing. παρεκάλει, 1 and 3 pers. plur. παρεκάλουν ; 1 aor. παρεκάλεσα ; Pass., pres. παρακαλοῦμαι; pf. παρακέκλημαι; 1 aor. παρεκλήθην ; 1 fut. παρακληθήσομαι; fr. Aeschyl. and Hdt. down; i as in Grk. writ. to call to one’s side, call for, summon: twa, w. an inf. indicating the purpose, Acts xxviii. 20 [al. (less naturally) refer this to II. 2, making the ace. the subj. of the inf. ]. II. to address, speak to, (call to, call on), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, ete. ; hence result a variety of senses, on which see Knapp, Scripta varii arg. ed. 2 Ρ. 117 sqq.; ef. Fritzsche, Ep. ad Rom. i. p. 82 sq. ie asin Grk. auth., to admonish, exhort: absol., Lk. iii. 18; [Acts xx. 1 (RGom.)]; Ro. xii. 8; 2 Tim. iv. 2; Heb. x. 25; 1 Pet. v. 12; foll. by direct dise. 2 Co. v. 20; foll. by λέγων w. direct disc. Acts ii. 40; foll.…

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

παρακαλέω, “ask,” ‘‘beseech,”’ as frequently in the NT, is a common formula in papyrus private letters, e.g. P Par 42° (B.c. 156) (= UPZ i, p. 318) παρεκάλεσα αὐτὸν ἔρχεσθαι, περὶ dv ἂν βούληται, BGU IV. 1141!° (B.c. 14) ἐρωτῶ σε οὖν Kal παρακαλῶι Kal τὴν Καίσαρος τύ[χη]ν oe ἐξορκιζῶι, and

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

παρακαλέω (parakaleō) — to plead/comfort.

παρακᾰλέω,

Attic dialect future -καλῶ, later -καλέσω[LXX]:—call to one, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. call in, send for, summon, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; invoke the gods, τοὺς θεούς [Refs 4th c.BC+]; περὶ τούτου τὸν θεόν (as medical adviser) [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; τὸν Ἐνυάλιον [Refs 5th c.BC+] —passive, παρακαλούμενος καὶ ἄκλητος, 'vocatus atque non vocatus', [Refs 5th c.BC+]; παρακαλουμένη ἀμύνειν being called upon to ward off, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. summon one's friends to attend one in a trial, π. τοὺς φίλους [Refs 4th c.BC+]; π. τινάς call them as witnesses, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, uncertain in [Refs 4th c.BC+] —passive, παρακεκλημένοι summoned to attend at a trial, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

παρακαλέω

parakaleo

from 3844 and 2564; to call near, i.e. invite, invoke (by imploration,

hortation or consolation):--beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort,

desire, (give) exhort(-ation), intreat, pray.

see GREEK for 3844

see GREEK for 2564

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

παρακαλέω

v.

I summon, entreat, admonish, comfort

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

παρακαλέω parakaleō 109x

to call for, invite to come, send for, Acts 28:20; to call upon, exhort, admonish, persuade, Lk. 3:18; Acts 2:40; 11:23; to beg, beseech, entreat, implore, Mt. 8:5, 31; 18:29; Mk. 1:40; to animate, encourage, comfort, console, Mt. 2:18; 5:4; 2 Cor. 1:4, 6; pass. to be cheered, comforted, Lk. 16:25; Acts 20:12; 2 Cor. 7:13

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

παρακαλέω attic fut. -καλῶ later -καλέσω to call to one, Xen.

to call to aid, call in, send for Lat. arcessere, Hdt., Ar., etc.; π. τινα σύμβουλον Xen.:— to call on, invoke the Gods, id. Xen., etc.:—Pass., παρακαλούμενος καὶ ἄκλητος, "vocatus atque non vocatus, " Thuc.

to summon one's friends to attend one in a trial (cf. παράκλησις 1. 1):—Pass., παρακεκλημένοι summoned to attend at a trial, Aeschin.

to invite, ἐπὶ δαῖτα Eur.; ἐπὶ θήραν Xen.; π. τινὰ ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα to invite him to mount the tribune, Aeschin.

to call to, exhort, cheer, encourage, τινά Aesch., Xen.

to comfort, console: in Pass., NTest.

to excite, τινὰ ἐς φόβον, ἐς δάκρυα Eur.: —of things, to foment, φλόγα Xen.

π. τινά, c. inf., to exhort one to do, Eur., Xen.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-API-3P — Verb · aorist · passive · indicative · third person · plural
aorist passive indicative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-API-3P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Passive Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
16%i exhort
i exhort16% · 17×exhorting6% · 7×begging6% · 6×we exhort5% · 5×do exhort5% · 5×they were begging4% · 4×imploring3% · 3×exhort3% · 3×other renderings54% · 58×

108 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 52 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb99%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 109 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
ἐγώσύἀσθενέωI am weak, sick
αὐτός
πρόςὅτιthat, since, becὁράωI see, look upon
Article the
εἴτεand if, whetherἀλλάbut, exceptεἰς
οὗτος
διάἀκούωI hear, listen
διόwherefore
παρακαλέωwere comforted109×
what comes after →
αὐτός
ἵναin order that, sλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
Article the
ἀδελφόςa brotherκαρδίαthe heart, innerαὐτός
σύ
δέbut, on the otheμεταλαμβάνωI share in, partὁράωI see, look upon
δέbut, on the other ha
σύ
ἐγώ
τέDisjἐπίArticle the

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

Concordanceπαρακαλέω · 109× in the New Testament
Acts 2 Corinthians Matthew Mark 1 Thessalonians Luke 1 Corinthians 1 Timothy Hebrews Romans 1 Peter Titus

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament19 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 60 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch The Epistle of Barnabas The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Posterity of Cain 138c. AD 40

ἡ δὲ τὸ πρεσβύτατον τῶν παιδευμάτων διδαχθεῖσα, τὸ ἀβάσκανον καὶ φιλόδωρον, εὐθὺς ὀρέγει τὸ σοφίας νᾶμα καὶ ἐμπιεῖν ἀθρόου παρακαλεῖ μετὰ τοῦ καὶ κύριον ὀνομάζειν τὸν οἰκέτην.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.15c. AD 75–95

ἤδη τοίνυν τοὺς ἐντευξομένους τοῖς βιβλίοις παρακαλῶ τὴν γνώμην θεῷ προσανέχειν καὶ δοκιμάζειν τὸν ἡμέτερον νομοθέτην, εἰ τήν τε φύσιν ἀξίως αὐτοῦ κατενόησε καὶ τῇ δυνάμει πρεπούσας ἀεὶ τὰς πράξεις ἀνατέθεικε πάσης καθαρὸν τὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ φυλάξας…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 14.9c. AD 100

καὶ πάλιν ὁ προφήτης λέγει: Πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ’ ἐμέ, οὖ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με εὐαγγελίσασθαι ταπεινοῖς χάριν, ἀπέσταλκέν με ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τὴν καρδίαν, κηρῦξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, καλέσαι ἐνιαυτὸν κυρίου δεκτὸν καὶ…

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

διανδραγαθήσαντα σαυτοῦ ἐπιμέλεσθαι μέχρι τοῦ τὰ πράγματα ἀποκαταστῆναι , ἔτι καὶ νῦν καλῶς ποιήσεις παρακαλῶν σαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς παρʼ ἡμῶν· προσπέπτωκεν γὰρ Παῶν ἀναπλεῖν ἐν τῶι Τῦβι μηνὶ μετὰ

ÉdP 5 (1939), p. 94Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 298

δὲ οὐδεμίαν ἡμῶν φροντίδα ποιεῖται, καὶ διʼ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐντάξασαι τὰ καταλειφθέντα δεόμεθα καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν τὴν σὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ὅπως κελεύσῃς αὐτῷ τῷ Χαιρήμονι ταῦτα ἡμῖν παρασχεῖν ἵνα δυνηθῶμεν ὄνησιν

P.Cair. Isid. 73Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 314

τοῦτο μὴ φέροντες τὰ ἔνγραφα ἐπιδίδομεν τῇ σῇ ἀρετῇ αὐτὰ ταῦτα μεμνημένοι, δεόμενοι καὶ παρακαλοῦντες ὅπως κελεύσῃς διὰ ἱερᾶς σου ὑπογραφῆς ἐπεξελθεῖν, τὸ σὸν μεγαλεῖον, κατά τε τοῦ πραιποσίτου

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
οὐou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Acts than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a strong 'no', used to deny something completely. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:21. It is a negative answer to a question.
Tyndale gloss
no
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

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

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

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

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

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

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

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

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

C.Erbstreit16Diospolis Magna (Theben)135 BC

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

P.Adl. 2Pathyris125 BC

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

They brought then the boy alive and were comforted not a little.
μετρίως.¶metriōs a little. G3357 Adverb
1× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Acts than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Moderately means to a limited extent or slightly. In Acts 20:12, it is used to convey that someone was only slightly affected by something.
Amplified meaning
were greatly comforted, not a little
Tyndale gloss
moderately
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μετρίως (metriōs) is an adverb meaning 'moderately' or 'slightly.' It derives from the adjective μέτριος (metrios), which conveys the idea of moderation or being within due limits. The New Testament uses it in Acts 20:12, where it contrasts with the idea of excess. Lexicons note its usage in various contexts, including size, time, and degree, but there is some variation in how they interpret its nuances.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

** μετρίως,

adv.

(μέτριος, moderate),

[in LXX: II Mac 15:38*;]

moderately: litotes, οὐ μ., exceedingly, Ac 20:12.†

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

μετρίως, (μέτριος), adv., [fr. Hdt. down]; a. in due measure. b. moderately: οὐ μετρίως, [A. V. sol ἃ little], exceedingly, (Plut. Flam. 9, et al.), Acts ΧῈ Pt!

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

μετρίως. This NT dm. εἰρ. (Ac 2015, cf. 2 Macc 1538) may be cited from P Par 46° (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski, p. 86) εἰ ἔρρωσαι εν εἴη dv ὡς βούλομαι, καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ μετρίως ἐπί α]ρ[ κῶ, P Ryl 11. 150° (4.0. 40) ὕβρισεν οὐ μετρίως, P Tor I. 25 (ἠ)δικημένος οὐ μετρίως καὶ κινδυνεύων τῶν ἰδίων στερηθῆναι, and the touching letter of a slave to her master, P Giss I. 17° (time of Hadrian) (= Chrest. I. p. 566) ἠγωνίασα, κύριε, οὐ μετρίως, ἵνα ἀκούσω ὅτι ἐνωθρεύσας, “1 was distressed in no small measure, on hearing that you were sick.” For the adj. see P Oxy VIII. 1117}° (c. a.D. 178) μέτρον 40 μέτρια κεκτήμεθα ἐξ ὧν καὶ μόλις ζῶμεν, and 24. I. 1207 (iv/A.D.) μετρίων γὰρ καὶ δυστυχῶν γένεσιν αἴχοντες οὐδὲ οὕτω αἱαντοῖς προσαίχομεν, “ we fail to realize the inferiority and wretchedness to which we are born” (Edd.). Ramsay (Luke, p. 360) quotes from a iv/A.p. Lycaonian inscr. μετρίων χηρῶν, ‘virtuous…

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

μετρίως (metriōs) — moderately.

Included with: μέτριος, α, ον,

also ος, ον [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect μέτερρος [Refs] (but μέτριος [Refs 7th c.BC+]: (μέτρον):—within measure, moderate, and so,

I. of Size, μ. ἄνδρες men of average height, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μ. πῆχυς the common cubit, [Refs]; ἰσχὰς μ. a fair-sized fig, [Refs]; of Time, μ. μῆκος λόγων the proper length of speech, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μ. χρόνος ἀκμῆς a fair average time of maturity, [Refs]

II. of Number, [ἱππεῖς] μ. a reasonable number of.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. mostly of Degree, moderate, ἔργα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὸ μ. the mean, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μ. φιλία a friendship not too great, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μ. ἐσθῆτι χρῆσθαι simple dress, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μετρία φυλακῇ not in strict custody, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μ. σχῆμα…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

μετρίως

metrios

adverb from a derivative of 3358; moderately, i.e. slightly:--a

little.

see GREEK for 3358

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μετρίως

Adv

moderately, greatly

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μετρίως metriōs 1x

moderately; slightly; οὐ μετρίως no little, not a little, much, greatly, Acts 20:12*

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adv — Adverb
adverb — it qualifies the verb, and never changes form.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

ADV ADVerb or adverb and particle combined

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
100%little
little100% · 1×

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

Concordanceμετρίως · 1× in the New Testament
Acts
Across the New Testament1 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 155c. AD 40

ὡς δὲ εἶδε ῥέπουσαν μὲν ἐπὶ πανουργίαν, εὐσεβείας δὲ καὶ ὁσιότητος ὀλιγωροῦσαν, ἐξ ὧν ἡ ἀθάνατος ζωὴ περιγίνεται, προὐβάλετο κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς καὶ ἐφυγάδευσεν ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου, μηδ’ ἐλπίδα τῆς εἰσαῦθις ἐπανόδου δυσίατα καὶ ἀθεράπευτα πλημμελούσῃ ψυχῇ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.349c. AD 75–95

Σαοῦλος τοίνυν τοῦτο ἐποίησεν ἐπιδείξας ὅτι πάντας μὲν προσήκει τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον εὐφημίας γλιχομένους ταῦτα ποιεῖν, ἐξ ὧν ἂν αὑτοῖς ταύτην καταλείποιεν, μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς βασιλέας, ὡς οὐκ ἐξὸν αὐτοῖς διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἀρχῆς οὐ μόνον οὐ κακοῖς…

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

ἐμοῖς λόγοις· αἴτησον στρατιώτην καὶ δὸς αὐτῶι Ἡρωνᾶτι, ἵνα καὶ ἐγὼ τελέσω πάντα, ἐπεὶ μετρίως ἔχω. ἔρρωσο. καὶ μὴ ἄλλως ποιήσῃς. ἔτους ιε Τιβερίου Καίσαρος Σεβαστοῦ, Μεσορὴ γ.

P.Ryl. 2 150Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 40

Χαιρήμονος τῶν ἀπὸ Εὐημερείας τῆς Θεμίστου μερίδος περιγενάμενός με ἐν τῇ κώμῃ ὕβρισεν οὐ μετρίως καὶ ἐκακολόγησεν πολλὰ καὶ ἀσχήμονα καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐμπλοκῇ ἀπώλοντό μου ἀργυρίου μ. ἀξιῶ

P.Oxy. 2 325 descr.OxyrhynchosAD 41

μήτηρ σου παρακαλεῖ σε ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὰ ἴδια, ἐν τάχει, ἐπεὶ ὁ ἀδελφός σου μετρίως ἔχει καὶ κομψῶς ἔσχεν. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ποιῇ ἐδαφως πον … … δι σου

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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