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John 5:33 — Word Study

Depth

N1904ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

BSAYou yourselvessu [ye, as a group] have sentapostellō [dispatched, as on a mission] untopros JohnIōannēs [the Baptist, a prophet] andkai he has borne witnessmartureō [borne witness, given evidence] to theho truth;alētheia [reality, authenticity]

Word
Listen & take awayJohn 5
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 33 is in this chapter.
Greek ↓ Download MP3 Nestle 1904 — the very text on this page — read by Andy Martin in Erasmian pronunciation.
Say the word Each Greek word carries its transliteration (alētheia) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
John 5:33quick helps
In a sentenceJesus reminds the listeners that they sent to John, who testified about Him.
Who is speakingJesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders who questioned Him.
Where we areThis verse is part of a larger discourse where Jesus defends His authority.
The hard wordμαρτυρέω
Take awayThe testimony of John the Baptist is significant in affirming the truth about Jesus.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectσύ verbἀποστέλλω The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the New Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.

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

Deep Study — John 5:33

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 — Jesus' Testimony and John's Witnessgenerated

32There is another who testifies about Me, and I know that His testimony about Me is valid.
33You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
34Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved.
35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.

John 5:33 shows Jesus referencing John the Baptist's testimony. He emphasizes that the Jewish leaders had sent to John, who confirmed the truth about Jesus' identity and mission. This exchange underscores the importance of John’s role as a witness to the truth, which is a recurring theme in the Gospel of John, particularly in relation to the nature of testimony and belief.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1John 1:19–27And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
2John 1:6–8There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John.
3John 3:26–36So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word μαρτυρέω, martureōgenerated

The verb μαρτυρέω (to testify) is in the perfect tense, indicating a completed action with ongoing relevance. This means John has borne witness and his testimony continues to hold significance.

This perfect active indicative form shows that John's testimony is not just a past event but has lasting implications for those who hear it. It emphasizes the reliability of John's witness in affirming the truth about Jesus.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.' This is consistent across several translations, including the KJV and ASV.

However, there are differences in how some translations express John's testimony. The BSB, WEB, and YLT use 'testified', while the ASV and RVA use 'borne witness'.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb is ἀπεστάλκατε, you have sent, which governs the whole sentence. It is followed by a prepositional phrase indicating the recipient of the sending, πρὸς Ἰωάννην (to John), and a second clause that describes what John has done.

The structure shows a clear relationship between the sending and the testimony, highlighting the connection between the Jewish leaders' action and John's role as a witness.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἀληθείᾳ is the Greek word for 'truth' and corresponds to the Hebrew word אֱמֶת (emet) in the Septuagint, which conveys the idea of firmness and faithfulness. This connection enriches the understanding of truth in the context of John's testimony.

The use of ἀποστέλλω in the New Testament parallels its use in the Septuagint, where it often refers to sending prophets or messages from God, reinforcing the authoritative nature of John's testimony.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

John 5:33 tells us that the Jewish leaders sent to John the Baptist, who testified about the truth of Jesus. This highlights the importance of John's role in confirming Jesus' identity and mission.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that John testified to the truth?

John's testimony affirmed the reality of who Jesus is and His mission, serving as a divine confirmation of Jesus' identity.

Why did the Jewish leaders send to John?

They sought to understand John's authority and his message about Jesus, as John had a significant following and was recognized as a prophet.

How is John's testimony relevant today?

John's witness continues to be significant for believers, as it points to the truth of Jesus and His role as the Messiah.

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

In this context, 'truth' refers to the authentic reality of Jesus' identity and His mission as the Savior.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How does John the Baptist's testimony influence your understanding of Jesus?
  2. In what ways can I bear witness to the truth in my own life?
  3. What does it mean to you that John was sent to testify about Jesus?
  4. How can I seek out and recognize truth in today's world?

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

Several early church Fathers reference this verse to discuss the significance of John's testimony about Jesus.

Ephrem the SyrianCOMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 13.11 c. 306–373
If he [our Lord] was not receiving testimony from human beings, why did he go to John to receive testimony from him? John, however, was sent from God: “He who sent us spoke to me.” Through John, the Father was testifying about him,
Early Church Fathers on John 5 →
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2 c. 376–444
As we have just affirmed that it is disgraceful, and not without share of the uttermost folly, that any one should be seen as an admirer of his own excellencies,
Early Church Fathers on John 5 →
BedeCatena Aurea by Aquinas c. 673–735
Because I do not want it. John, though he bore witness, did it not that Christ might increase, but that men might be brought to the knowledge of Him.
Early Church Fathers on John 5 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on John 5:33 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Ye sent unto John,.... The sanhedrim at Jerusalem made a deputation of priests and Levites to him, to know who he was, whether the Messiah, or Elias, or that prophet, John 1:19.

Read John Gill on John 5 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. Ye sent unto John - referring to the deputation which these same rulers sent to the Baptist (John 1:19, etc.), of which, though not present,

Read Robert Jamieson on John 5 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Ye sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to John, ; he was a man of reputation among you, for all the people judged him a prophet; and he had an interest in Herod’ s court: he bare witness (he doth not say to me, but) to the truth.

Read Matthew Poole on John 5 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. Ver. 33. Ye sent unto John] As unto an oracle: but when his answer pleased you not, you rejected it, of mere obstinace and malice to my person and office. There is an odious unthankfulness in unbelief: for it rebelleth against the light, rejecteth the medicine, refuseth to be reformed, hateth to be healed. Wine is a strong remedy against hemlock; yet mingled with it, doubleth the force of the poison. So it is with the Word of life when mingled with unbelief.

Read John Trapp on John 5 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(33) Ye sent . . .—Both verbs are perfects. Better, therefore, Ye have sent; He hath borne witness. The pronoun “ye” is emphatically opposed to the “I” of the following verse. They sought human witness. He had witness which was divine. The object of John’s mission was to bear witness of the Light (John 1:7), and this he did to them (John 1:19 et seq.)

Read Charles John Ellicott on John 5 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 33. Ye sent unto John] I am not without human testimony of the most respectable kind:-Ye sent to John, and he bare witness. There are several circumstances in John's character which render his testimony unexceptionable. 1. He is consulted by the very enemies of Christ, as a very holy and extraordinary man. 2. He is perfectly free from all self-interest, having declined making the least advantage by his own reputation. 3. He is sincere, undaunted, and so averse from all kinds of flattery that he reproves Herod at the hazard of his liberty and life. 4. He was so far from being solicited by Christ to give his testimony that he had not even seen him when he gave it. See John 1:19-28.

Read AdamClarke on John 5 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

33. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness] Better, Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness. ‘What ye have heard from him is true; but I do not accept it, for I need not the testimony of man. I mention it for your sakes, not My own. If ye believe John ye will believe Me and be saved.’ ‘Ye’ and ‘I’ in these two verses (33, 34) are in emphatic opposition.

Read Cambridge on John 5 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ye sent unto John - See John 1:19. He bare witness ... - See John 1:26, John 1:29, John 1:36. This testimony of John ought to have satisfied them.

Read Albert Barnes on John 5 →

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

You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.

NETBNew English Translation2006

You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth.

RVARevised Version, American1894

Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Ye sent to John, and he testified to the truth.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Ye sent vnto Iohn, and he bare witnesse vnto the trueth.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Ye have sent unto John, and he has borne witness to the truth.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

ye have sent unto John, and he hath testified to the truth.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

you have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

You have sent to John, and he has testified the truth.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

You sent to John, and he gave testimony to the truth.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

You asked John about me, and he told the truth,

BBEBible in Basic English1949

You sent to John and he gave true witness.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἀπεστάλκατεapostellō have sent G649 2 different renderings
have sentASV BSB DBY LSV MSB NETB RVA ULB WEB YLT
sentBBE DRA GNV KJV NWB
μεμαρτύρηκενmartureō he has borne witness G3140 3 different renderings
testifiedBSB LSV MSB NETB NWB ULB WEB YLT
borne witnessASV RVA
he has borne witnessDBY

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.

clauseclausesubjectὑμεῖςYouverbἀπεστάλκατεhave sentprepositional phrase · adverbialπρὸςuntoἸωάνηνJohnκαὶandclauseverbμεμαρτύρηκενhe has borne witnessnoun phrase · indirect objectτῇto theἀληθείᾳtruth

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

Vos misistis ad Joannem, et testimonium perhibuit veritati.

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

ܐܢܬܘܢ ܫܕܪܬܘܢ ܠܘܬ ܝܘܚܢܢ ܘܐܣܗܕ ܥܠ ܫܪܪܐ

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

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ὑμεῖς ἀπεστάλκατε πρὸς Ἰωάννην, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·

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.

John 5:33σύYou yourselYou yourselvesσύἀποστέλλωhave senthave sentἀποστέλλωπρόςuntountoπρόςἸωάννηςJohnJohnἸωάννηςκαίandandκαίμαρτυρέωhe has bornhe has borne wiμαρτυρέωto theto theἀλήθειαtruth;truth;ἀλήθειαἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόμάρτυςn.m. a witn.m. a witnessμάρτυςἀληθήςAdj unconcAdj unconcealedἀληθήςπρόPrep. befoPrep. beforeπρόἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήνδέχομαιv. I take,v. I take, receδέχομαιδύοAdj. & IndAdj. & Indec.nuδύοἀλλήλωνRecip.pr. Recip.pr. one aἀλλήλωνἐπιστρέφωv. I turn v. I turn back ἐπιστρέφωβαπτιστήςn.m. the bn.m. the baptizβαπτιστήςΖεβεδαῖοςn.m. Zebedn.m. ZebedeeΖεβεδαῖοςμαρτυρίαn.f. witnen.f. witness, eμαρτυρίαἐμαυτοῦRefl.pr. oRefl.pr. of mysἐμαυτοῦἐπίγνωσιςn.f. knowln.f. knowledge,ἐπίγνωσιςεὐαγγέλιονn.n. the gn.n. the good nεὐαγγέλιον
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 John 5:33

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.

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
ὑμεῖςsu You yourselves G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · nominative · plural
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Amplified meaning
ye, as a group
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2NP — Personal pronoun · second person · nominative · plural
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2NP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Nominative Number: Plural

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

3,073 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 37 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject28%object24%adverbial23%indirect object20%predicate5%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύYou yourselves2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

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

Counted over the 450 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.48c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
ἀπεστάλκατεapostellō have sent G649 Verb · perfect · active · indicative · second person · plural
131× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To send means to set apart or dispatch someone or something on a mission, as seen in Matthew 10:40 and Mark 12:2. This term is used to describe the act of giving someone a task or commission to fulfill.
Amplified meaning
dispatched, as on a mission
Tyndale gloss
to send
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀποστέλλω (i.e., *apostellō*) means to send away or dispatch, often with a specific mission or commission. It is used in various contexts, including sending persons like Christ and the apostles, as well as things like messages or commands. The New Testament frequently employs this term, notably in Matthew 10:40 and Luke 4:18. Different lexicons highlight its official or authoritative connotation compared to the more general term for sending.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀπο-στέλλω,

[in LXX very freq., almost always for שׁלח;]

prop., to send away, to dispatch on service;

to send with a commission, or on service;

of persons: Christ, Mt 10:40; the apostles, 10:16; servants, Mk 12:2; angels, 13:27;

of things: ὄνος, Mt 21:3; τὸ δρέπανον, Mk 4:29; τ. λόγον, Ac 10:36; τ. ἐπαγγελίαν (i.e. the promised Holy Spirit), Lk 24:49, Rec.; seq. εἰς, Mt 20:2, Lk 11:49, Jo 3:17; ὀπίσω,

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

ἀπο-στέλλω; fut. ἀποστελῶ ; 1 aor. ἀπέστειλα; pf. ἀπέσταλκα, [3 pers. plur. ἀπέσταλκαν Acts xvi. 36 LT Tr WH (see γίνομαι init.) ; Pass., pres. drooreAAopat |; pf. ἀπέσταλpat; 2 aor. ἀπεστάλην ; [fr. Soph. down]; prop. to send off; sena away ; 1. to order (one) to go to a place ap6/ 5 τς ἀποστέλλω pointed; a. either persons sent with commissions, or things intended for some one. So, very frequently, Jesus teaches that God sent him, as Mt. x. 40; Mk. ix. 37; Lk. x.16; Jn. v. 36, ete. he, too, is said to have sent his apostles, i. 6. to have appointed them: Mk. vi. 7; Mt. x.16; Lk. xxii. 35; Jn. xx. 21, etc. messengers are sent: LK. vii. 3 ; ix. 52; x. 1; servants, Mk. vi. 27; xii. 2; Mt. xxi. 36; xxii. 3; an embassy, Lk. xiv. 32; xix. 14; angels, Mk. xiii. 27; Mt. xxiv. 31, ete. Things are said to be sent, which are ordered to be led away or conveyed to any one, as Mt. xxi. 3; Mk. xi. 3…

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

ἀποστέλλω. The verb is common in the sense of mz¢¢o. Thus P Par 32°° (B.c. 152) (= Witkowski?, p. 68) Καβάτοκον δ᾽ ἐπιτηρῶ, ἂν κατα[π]λῇ, ἀποστεῖλαί σοι, P Oxy IV. 744° (B.C. 1) (= Selections, p. 33) ἐὰν εὐθὺς ὀψώνιον λάβωμεν ἀποστελῶ

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀποστέλλω (apostellō) — to send.

ἀποστέλλω,

future -στελῶ: aorist ἀπέστειλα (see. below):— send off or away from, μή μ᾽.. τῆσδ᾽ ἀποστείλητε γῆς[Refs 5th c.BC+]; send away, banish, τὰ δίκαια[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, go away, depart, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. dispatch, on some mission or service, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently of messengers or forces, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἰκιστάς (as a form of banishment), [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, with infinitive, οἱ ἀποσταλέντες στρατεύεσθαι[Refs]

III. put off, doff, θαἰμάτια[Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV. intransitive, retire, withdraw, of the sea, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; of persons, οἴκαδε[Refs 4th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀποστέλλω

apostello

from 575 and 4724; set apart, i.e. (by implication) to send out

(properly, on a mission) literally or figuratively:--put in, send

(away, forth, out), set (at liberty).

see GREEK for 575

see GREEK for 4724

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀποστέλλω

v.

I send forth, send, send away, dismiss

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀποστέλλω apostellō 132x

to send forth a messenger, agent, message, or command, Mt. 2:16; 10:5; to put forth into action, Mk. 4:29; to liberate, rid, Lk. 4:19; to dismiss, send away, Mk. 12:3

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀποστέλλω to send off or away from, γῆς, χθονός Soph., Eur.; ἔξω χθονός Eur.; ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Plat.: absol. to send away, banish, Soph., Eur.:—Pass. to go away, depart, set out, Soph., Eur.

to send off, despatch, on some service, Soph.; of troops and ships, Hdt., Thuc.

intr. to go back, retire, of the sea, Thuc.; of seamen, Dem.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-RAI-2P — Verb · perfect · active · indicative · second person · plural
perfect active indicative — a past action whose result still stands.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-RAI-2P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: peRfect Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: second Number: Plural

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(shalach; apostello): "Sent" in the Old Testament is the translation of shalach, "to send" (of presents, messengers, etc., Ge 32:18; 44:3; Jud 6:14; 1Ki 14:6; Es 3:13; Pr 17:11; Jer 49:14; Eze 3:5; 23:40; Da 10:11; Ob 1:1); of shelach, Aramaic (Ezr 7:14; Da 5:24); of shilluchim, "sending" (

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
31%sent
sent31% · 42×he sent16% · 22×having sent9% · 12×has sent5% · 7×he may send2% · 3×have sent2% · 3×send forth2% · 3×send2% · 3×other renderings29% · 39×

134 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 38 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
verb96%adverbial2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 131 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
λίανvery, very much,δέρωI flay, flog, scθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
σύὁράωI see, look uponἐκβάλλωI throw, cast, p
Article the
δέχομαιI take, receive,λιθοβολέωI stone, cast stἀλλάbut, except
αὐτός
μήNegἄρχωI beginεὐθέωςimmediately, soo
ὅς
ὅτιthat, since, becεἰςκαίand, even, also,
ἀποστέλλωhave sent131×
what comes after →
Article the
ἄγγελοςan angel, messenυἱόςa son, descendenδοῦλος (II)
πρός
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
αὐτός
εἰςκηρύσσωI proclaim, heraArticle the
ἐγώ
Article theεἰςκηρύσσωI proclaim, hera
εἰς
Article theὅλοςall, the whole, αὐτός

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

Concordanceἀποστέλλω · 131× in the New Testament
John Luke Acts Matthew Mark 1 John Revelation 1 Corinthians 1 Peter 2 Corinthians 2 Timothy Hebrews

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 236 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaThat the Worse Attacks the Better 5c. AD 40

καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς κοιλάδος τῆς Χεβρών, καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Συχέμ.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.167c. AD 75–95

φήσαντος δέ τινος αὐτῷ τῶν παρόντων ἐν Βηθλεέμῃ πόλει τεθεᾶσθαι Ἰεσσαίου μὲν υἱὸν, ἔτι δὲ παῖδα τὴν ἡλικίαν, εὐπρεπῆ δὲ καὶ καλὸν τά τε ἄλλα σπουδῆς ἄξιον καὶ δὴ καὶ ψάλλειν εἰδότα καὶ ᾄδειν ὕμνους καὶ πολεμιστὴν ἄκρον, πέμψας πρὸς τὸν Ἰεσσαῖον…

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
3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 5th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Cair. Zen. 1 59047Alexandria258 BC

r Ἀμύντας Ζήνωνι χαίρειν. ἀπεστάλκαμεν Δεξίλαον πρὸς Ἀπολλώνιον κομίζοντα ἐπιστολὴν περὶ ἀνηλωμάτων. καλῶς ἂν οὖν ποιήσαις … τήν τε

P.Cair. Zen. 1 59049Memphites (?)258 BC

r Νίκων Ζήνωνι χαίρειν. ἀπόστειλόν τινα ὃς παραλήψεται τὸν χόρτον τὸν γινόμενον ἡμῖν παρὰ τῶν γεωργῶν καὶ Ἀπολλώνιον ὑπόμνησον

P.Edg. $1Alexandria258 BC

πόλει κομιῆι· καὶ τὴν ταχίστην, ἵνα γενόμενα ὡς ἂν παραγένηι εἰς πόλιν καταγάγηις ἡμῖν. ἀπεστάλκαμεν δέ σοι τὴν γραφὴν πάντων Ἕρμωνα κομίζοντα καὶ ἅμα ἵνα γένηται πρὸς τούτοις. ἔρρωσο.

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
πρὸςpros unto G4314 Preposition
700× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
A preposition showing direction or relationship, like towards or with something, as seen in Mark 5:11 and John 18:16. This means indicating movement or direction. It's about showing proximity or connection.
Tyndale gloss
to/with
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πρός is a preposition that indicates direction, proximity, or relation. It can be used with the genitive to denote motion from a place, with the dative for local proximity, and with the accusative to express motion towards a place or object. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as Acts 27:34 for benefit and Mark 5:11 for proximity.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πρός,

prep. c. gen., dat., acc.

C. gen., of motion from a place, from the side of, hence metaph., in the interests of, Ac 27:34 (cf. Page, in l.).

C. dat., of local proximity, hard by, near, at: Mk 5:11, Lk 19:37, Jo 18:16 20:11, 12, Re 1:13.

C. acc., of motion or direction towards a place or object, to, towards.

Of place,

after verbs of motion or of speaking and other words with the idea of direction: ἔρχομαι, ἀναβαίνω, πορεύομαι, λέγω, ἐπιστολή, etc., Mt 3:14, Mk 6:51, Lk 11:5, Jo 2:3,

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

πρός, a preposition, i.q. Epic mpori, from πρό and the adverbial suffix τι, (cf. the German vor . . . hin [Curtius § 381]); it is joined I. with the AccusaTIvE, to, towards, Lat. ad, denoting direction towards athing, or position and state looking towards a thing (W. § 49h. p. 404 (378)): it is used 1. of the goal or limit towards which a movement is directed: πρός twa or τι, a. prop. after verbs of going, departing, running, coming, ete.: ἄγω, Jn. xi. 15; ἀναβαίνω, Mk. vi. 51; Jn. xx. 17; Acts xv. 2; ἀνακάμπτω, Mt. ii. 12; Acts xvili. 21; ἀνέρχομαι, Gal. i. 17 [1]. Tr mrg. arépy.]; ἀπέρχομαι, Mt. » xiv. 25 [Rec.]; Mk. iii. 13, etc.; πρὸς ἑαυτόν, to his house, Lk. xxiv. 12 [T om. L Trbr. WH reject the ys.; Tr reads mp. αὐτόν ; some connect the phrase w. θαυμάζων (see 2 Ὁ. below) ]; Jn. xx. 10 [Ὁ Tr αὐτούς, WH air. (cf. s. v. αὑτοῦ sub fin.)]; γίνεσθαι πρός τινα, to come to one, 1 Co.…

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

πρός reference to place PSI IV. 31178 (iv/A.D.?) πρ]ὸς τὴν Aavitk.ay τῆς κοίλης Dupials. Headlam (on Herodas VII. 123) holds that τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν in Mk 2? ‘‘is surely idiomatic (not vulgar as Moulton thinks) ‘spots which commanded the door’”: cf. Mt 310, Lk 35. For πρός, ‘‘with,” as in Jn ΤΡ, Heb 41%, cf. Epict. iv. 9. 13 πρὸς ὃν οὐδείς ἐστί σου πιθανώτερος (see Sharp Ξε, p. 92). And for the possibility that the difficult πρός in Mk 63, οἷ", 14%, Jn 1}, 1 Jn 1?, is to be explained as an Aramaism, see Rendel Harris Prologue to S. John’s Gospel p. 8f., and Burney Avamaic Origin of the Fourth Gospel p. 28 f. (6) of time = ‘‘for’’ (a time) and no longer—BGU I. 1131? (A.D. 143) βουλόμενος παρεπιδημεῖν πρὸς καιρόν (cf. Lk 818), P Oxy I. 6714 (A.D. 338) πρὸς ὀλίγον εἰσχύει, ‘‘withstands but for a short time” (cf. Jas 4), and P Flor III. 282° (A.D. 520) πρὸς ὅλον χρόνον. (c) of mental…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πρός (pros) — to/with.

πρός,

preposition, expressing direction,

__A on the side of, in the direction of, hence with genitive, dative, and accusative, from, at, to: Epic dialect also προτί and ποτί, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] usually with accusative, more rarely with dative, and each only once with genitive, [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—dialectal forms: Doric dialectποτί (which see) and ποί, but Cretan dialect πορτί [Refs], Argive προτ(ί) [Refs 7th c.BC+] πός [Refs 4th c.BC+]., also sometimes in Asia Minor in compounds, see at {ποσάγω},{ποσφέρω}; Aeolic dialect πρός [Refs 7th c.BC+]; πρές [Refs 6th c.AD+]; Pamphylian περτ (ί) [Refs] (With προτί, πρός cf. Sanskrit práti 'towards, near to, against, back, etc.', Slavonic protiv[ucaron], Lett. pret 'against', Latin pretium: ποτί (which see) and πός are not cognate) [Refs 4th c.BC+] refers to that from which something…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

πρός

pros

a strengthened form of 4253; a preposition of direction; forward to,

i.e. toward (with the genitive case, the side of, i.e. pertaining to;

with the dative case, by the side of, i.e. near to; usually with the

accusative case, the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the

destination of the relation, i.e. whither or for which it is

predicated):--about, according to , against, among, at, because of,

before, between, (where-)by, for, X at thy house, in, for intent, nigh

unto, of, which pertain to, that, to (the end that), X together, to

(you) -ward, unto, with(-in). In the comparative case, it denotes

essentially the same applications, namely, motion towards, accession

to, or nearness at.

see GREEK for 4253

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πρός

Prep.

to, towards, with

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πρός pros 700x

from; met. for the benefit of, Acts 27:34; with a dative, near, by, at, by the side of, in the vicinity of, Mk. 5:11; Lk. 19:37; with an accusative, used of the place to which anything tends, to, unto, towards, Mt. 2:12; 3:5, 13; at, close upon, Mt. 3:10; Mk. 5:22; near to, in the vicinity of, Mk. 6:45; after verbs of speaking, praying, answering to a charge, etc., to, Mt. 3:15; 27:14; of place where, with, in, among, by, at, etc., Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πρός prep. with gen., implying motion from a place; with dat., abiding at a place; with acc., motion to a place

WITH GEN.,

of Place, from, from forth, Hom., Soph.

on the side or quarter of, νήσοισι πρὸς Ἤλιδος islands looking (as it were) from Elis, i. e. towards Elis, Od.; πρὸς τοῦ Ἑλλησπόντου ἵδρυται μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦ Στρύμονος lies more towards (i. e. nearer) the Hellespont than the Strymon, Hdt.; ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο πρὸς Ὀλύνθου Thuc., etc.:—often with words denoting the points of the compass, δύω θύραι εἰσίν, αἱ μὲν πρὸς βορέαο, αἱ δ᾽ αὖ πρὸς νότου one looking north wards, the other south wards, Od.; so, οἰκέουσι πρὸς νότου ἀνέμου Hdt., etc.

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

PREP PREPosition

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
69%to
to69% · 506×with7% · 48×for6% · 42×toward4% · 30×against3% · 21×at3% · 20×unto2% · 18×other renderings5% · 37×other renderings1% · 10×

732 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 32 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
adverbial93%predicate5%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 700 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
ἔρχομαιI come, go
καίand, even, also,Article theνύξthe night, night
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakArticle theπαραγίνομαιI appear, come,
αὐτός
ἄγωI leadφέρωI carry, bear, bμαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
ὑπέρσῶμαbody, fleshυἱόςa son, descenden
πρόςunto700×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, θεόςGod, a godμαθητήςa learner, disci
αὐτός
Article theλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
σύ
καίand, even, also,ἐνἔρχομαιI come, go
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,Article theοὐNeg
ἀλλήλων
τίςIrgλέγωI say, speakμήNeg

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

Concordanceπρός · 700× in the New Testament
Luke Acts John Mark Matthew 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthians Hebrews Romans Ephesians 1 Thessalonians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament26 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 3c. AD 40

ἡ δ’ ἀρχή, καθάπερ ἔφην, ἐστὶ θαυμασιωτάτη κοσμοποιίαν περιέχουσα, ὡς καὶ τοῦ κόσμου τῷ νόμῳ καὶ τοῦ νόμου τῷ κόσμῳ συνᾴδοντος καὶ τοῦ νομίμου ἀνδρὸς εὐθὺς ὄντος κοσμοπολίτου πρὸς τὸ βούλημα τῆς φύσεως τὰς πράξεις ἀπευθύνοντος, καθ’ ἣν καὶ ὁ σύμπας…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.4c. AD 75–95

τὸν μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον ἡμῖν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις γενόμενον καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ πράξεις καὶ τὸ τέλος οἷον ἀπέβη πείρᾳ μαθὼν ἐβιάσθην ἐκδιηγήσασθαι διὰ τοὺς ἐν τῷ γράφειν λυμαινομένους τὴν ἀλήθειαν,

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.3c. AD 100

τούτων οὖν μενόντων τὰ πρὸς κύριον ἁγνῶς, συνευφραίνονται αὐτοῖς σοφία, σύνεσις, ἐπιστήμη, γνῶσις.

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
P.Grenf. 1 28Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)109 BC

r … πυρὸν νέον καθαρὸν ἄδολον μέτρωι ὧι καὶ παρείληφεν καὶ ἀποκαθεστάμενον εἰς οἶκον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἰδίοις ἀνηλώμασιν. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἢ μὴ ποιῆ

P.Amh. 2 48Pathyris107 BC

παρεχέτω τὸν οἶνον μόνιμον ἕως Ἁθὺρ λ τοῦ δεκάτου ἔτους, καὶ ἀποκαταστησάτω εἰς οἶκον πρὸς αὐτὴν τοῖς ἰδίοις. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῷ ἐν τῷ ὡρισμένῳ χρόνῳ ἀποτεισάτω ἑκάστου κεραμίου

P.Grenf. 1 30Pathyris104 BC

πᾶσι χαίρειν καὶ ἐρρωμένοις διὰ παντὸς εὐημερεῖν. ὑγιαίνομεν δὲ καὶ αὐτοί. μεταλαβόντες τοὺς συντετελεσμένους πρὸς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς Ἑρμωνθίτας ἀγῶνας μεγάλως ἐχάρημεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν προκεχειρίκαμεν προστάτην τοῦ μεγίστου θεοῦ Νεχθφαραῦτος

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
Ἰωάννην,Iōannēs John G2491 Noun · accusative · singular · masculine
134× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
John refers to several important figures in the Bible, including John the Baptist and John the Apostle, one of Jesus' twelve apostles. John the Baptist is mentioned in Matthew 3:1 and John the Apostle in Matthew 4:21.
Amplified meaning
the Baptist, a prophet
Tyndale gloss
John
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word Ἰωάννης (transliterated as Ioannes) is a proper noun meaning "John." It is derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) and refers to several biblical figures, including John the Baptist, John the Apostle, John the father of Peter, and John Mark. The New Testament frequently uses this name, appearing in various forms across different verses.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

Ἰωάνης (Rec. -ννης, q.v.; cf. Dalman, Gr., 142; Tdf., Pr., 79; WH, App., 159; Bl., § 3, 10; 10, 2), -ου, dat., -ῃ (but in Mt 11:4, Lk 7:18, 22, Re 1:1, -ει), acc., -ην, ὁ (Heb. יוֹחָנָן, LXX: Ἰωανάν, II Ch 23:1, al.; -ννάν, Je 47 (40):8, al., Aq.), Hellenized form of Ἰωανάν,

John (I Es 8:38(41)*), viz.,

John the Baptist: Mt 3:1, al.

John the Apostle, son of Zebedee: Mt 4:21, Mk 1:19,

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

Ἰωάννης (Iōannēs) — John.

Ἰωάνης (Rec. ννης, which see; cf. Dalman, Gr., 142; Tdf., Pr., 79; WH, App., 159; Bl., §3, 10; 10, 2), -ου, dative, -ῃ (but in Mat.11:4. Luk.7:18, 22 Rev.1:1, ει), accusative, -ην, ὁ (Heb. יוֹחָנָן, LXX: Ἰωανάν, 2Ch.23:1, al.; -ννάν, Je 47 (40):8, al., Aq.), Hellenized form of Ἰωανάν,

John ( I Est.8:38(41)*), viz.,

1. John the Baptist: Mat.3:1, al.

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

Ἰωάννης

Ioannes

of Hebrew origin (3110); Joannes (i.e. Jochanan), the name of four

Israelites:--John.

see HEBREW for 03110

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Ἰωάννης, ου, ὁ

n.m.

John

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Ἰωάννης Iōannēs 135x

also spelled Ἰωάνης, Joannes, John, pr. name (1) John the Baptist, Mt. 3:1, et al. (2) John, son of Zebedee, the apostle, Mt. 4:21, et al. (3) John, surnamed Mark, Acts 12:12, et al. (4) John, the high-priest, Acts 4:6

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
Easton's Bible Dictionary

John

(1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (Acts 4:6). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown.

(2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He is designated by this name in the acts of the Apostles (12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37).

(3.) THE APOSTLE, brother of James the “Greater” (Matt. 4:21; 10:2; Mark 1:19; 3:17; 10:35). He was one, probably the younger, of the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 4:21) and Salome (Matt. 27:56; comp. Mark 15:40), and was born at Bethsaida. His father was apparently a man of some wealth (comp.…

Smith's Bible Dictionary

the same name as Johanan, a contraction of Jehoanan, Jehovah’s gift . One of the high priest’s family, who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment upon the apostles Peter and John. (Acts 6:6) The Hebrew name of the evangelist Mark. (Acts 12:12,25; 13:5,13; 15:37)

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

1. THE BAPTIST, the forerunner of our Lord Jesus Christ, was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, and was born about six months before Christ, as Reland and Robinson suppose at Juttah, Jos 21:16 Lu 1:29, a town some five miles south of Hebron, but according to tradition at a place about four miles west of Jerusalem. Several Old Testament predictions found their fulfillment in him. See Isa 40:3 Mt 3:3 Mal 3:1 4:5 Mt 11:14. His birth, name, and office were also foretold by the angel Gabriel to his father Zacharias while ministering at the temple altar. Several other…

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

the grace or mercy of the Lord

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
98%john
john98% · 133×other renderings2% · 3×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject48%object25%adverbial16%predicate5%indirect object3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 134 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
αὐτόςκαίand, even, also,δέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
ἸάκωβοςJamesΠέτροςPeterΖεβεδαῖοςZebedee
ὅτιthat, since, because
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheτὶς
μαθητήςa learner, disciple,
Article the
λέγωI say, speak
γράφωI writeἀνήρa male human beiἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸωάννηςJohn134×
what comes after →
Article the
βαπτιστήςthe baptizer, thἀδελφόςa brotherβαπτίζωI dip, submerge,
καίand, even, also, nam
ἸάκωβοςJamesArticle theλέγωI say, speak
λέγωI say, speak
διάἐπιστάτηςmaster, teacherκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge, bap
ἐνβάπτισμαthe rite or cere
μένDisj
βαπτίζωI dip, submerge,σημεῖονa sign, miracle,

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

ConcordanceἸωάννης · 134× in the New Testament
Luke Mark Matthew Acts John Revelation Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 8.305c. AD 75–95

οἱ δὲ τὰς μὲν ἐνεπίμπρασαν τὰς δὲ διήρπασαν πορευθέντες, τήν τε Ἰωάνου λεγομένην καὶ Δάνα καὶ Ἀβελάνην καὶ ἄλλας πολλάς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 7th c. AD 5th c. AD 4th c. AD 8th c. AD
P.Jud.Des.Misc. p. 103-105 no. 19Jericho (Judaea)AD 101–AD 200

FrA αλλα … Ἰωάνης … πο επι … … τοῦ ε … … ἕπτα καί … ιου ν

ÉdP 5 (1939), p. 108Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 304

τοῦ λόγου περὶ τοῦ προτέρου ιθ ἔτους καὶ ιη ἔτους καὶ ια ἔτους. Αὐρήλιος Ἰωάννης ἔγραψα τὰ ὅλα. ἔτους κα καὶ ιγ Ἁθὺρ ιζ.

P.Cair. Isid. 115Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 306

μου ἀρουρῶν περὶ κώμην Καρανίδα πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τέσσαρας ἥμισυ, γίνονται ἀρτάβαι δ 𐅵. Αὐρήλιος Ἰωάννης ἔγραψα τὰ ὅλα. ἔτους ιε καὶ γ Ἁθὺρ κα.

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John 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

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
μεμαρτύρηκενmartureō he has borne witness G3140 Verb · perfect · active · indicative · third person · singular
76× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To testify means to be a witness or give evidence, as seen in John and Acts where people testify about Jesus and their faith.
Amplified meaning
borne witness, given evidence
Tyndale gloss
to testify
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μαρτυρέω is built from the root μάρτυς, meaning to bear witness or testify. It encompasses a range of meanings from simply giving testimony to affirming one's knowledge of something, often through divine revelation. In the New Testament, it is used in various contexts, including the testimony of Jesus and the apostles. Some lexicons note its judicial sense in ancient texts, while others emphasize its broader application in the New Testament.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μαρτυρέω, -ῶ

(< μάρτυς),

[in LXX chiefly for עֵד (Ge 31:47, 48, al.), also for עוּד hi. (Ge 43:3, La 2:13), ענה (Nu 35:30);]

prop., to be a witness, bear witness, testify: absol. (Pind., al.), Jo 15:27, Ac 26:5; parenthetical (Bl., § 79, 7; MM, xvi), II Co 8:3; c. dat. pers. (comm. et incomm.; Bl., § 37, 2), Ac 22:5, He 10:15; id. seq. ὅτι, Mt 23:31, Ro 10:2, al.; acc. et inf., Ac 10:43; c. acc. rei (cl.), Jo 3:11, Re 22:16, 20; c. acc.…

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

μαρτυρέω, -ὦ; impf. 3 pers. plur. ἐμαρτύρουν ; fut. μαρτυρήσω; 1 aor. ἐμαρτύρησα; pf. μεμαρτύρηκα; Pass., pres. μαρτυροῦμαι; impf. ἐμαρτυροῦμην ; pf. μεμαρτύρημαι; 1 aor. ἐμαρτυρήθην ; ἔτ. [Simon., Pind.], Aeschyl., Hdt. down; to be a witness, to bear witness, testify, i. 6. to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that (so in the N. T.) he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration, (sometimes in the N. T. the apostles are said μαρτυρεῖν, as those who had been eyeand ear- witnesses of the extraordinary sayings, deeds and sufferings of Jesus, which proved his Messiahship ; so too Paul, as one to whom the risen Christ had visibly appeared; cf. Jn. xv. 27; xix. 35; xxi. 24; Acts xxiii. 11; 1 Co.xv. 15; 1Jn.i. 2, cf. Acts i. 22sq.; ii. 325 111. 15; iv. 33; v. 32; x. 39,41; χῆϊ 31; xxvi. 16; [cf. Westcott, (“Speaker's”) Com. on Jn., Introd. p. xlv.…

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

μαρτυρέω. The common occurrence of this word after a signature, just as we write “witness,” e.g. P Oxy I. 10528 (a will— A.D. 117-137) Σαραπίων Zapartwvos . . μαρτυρῶ, P Lond 1164 (7)35 (records of sales and receipts—A.D. 212) (= III. p. 162) ἩΗλιόϊδ]ωρος . . . μαρτυρῶ, P Grenf II. 682! f (deed of gift—a.p. 247) Αὐρήλιος Piocdpams . . μαρτ[υρ]ῶ. Αὐρήλιος Appovios . . μαρτυρῶ, may be cited in illustration of the Pauline usage in 2 Cor 883, The verb has again a judicial sense in P Amh II. 6655 (a.p. 124) Στοτοήτιος λέγοντος . . . παρεῖναι τοὺς μαρτυρῆσαι δυναμένους τὸ[ν] φόν[ο]ν, ““ Stotoétis stated that there were present persons able to witness to the murder” (Edd.), cf. 38 For the more general meaning, ‘‘bear witness to,” *‘report,’’ cf. PSI 1. 94° (ii/aA.D.) πρὸς τὸ μαρτυρῆσαι ὑμεῖν τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν pov, P Oxy VII. τοῦ413 (iii/a.p.) γράφω σοι. ὅπως συνλάβῃς τῷ “Are. . ξενίαν δὲ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μαρτυρέω (martureō) — to testify.

μαρτῠρ-έω,

future -ήσω [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—passive, future μαρτυρηθήσομαι [Refs 4th c.BC+]; μαρτυρήσομαι in passive sense, [Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist ἐμαρτυρήθην: perfect μεμαρτύρημαι [Refs 5th c.BC+], used in active sense, [LXX]:—bear witness, give evidence:—Constr.:

1. absolutely, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. with dative person, bear witness to or in favour of another, confirm what he says, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; μαρτυρέει μοι τῇ γνώμῃ, ὅτι.. bears witness to my opinion, that.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially bear favourable witness to, give a good report of a person, [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; πάντες ἐμαρτύρουν αὐτῷ [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

3. with accusative of things, testify to a thing, [Refs 7th c.BC+]

4. μ. περί τινος [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μαρτυρέω

martureo

from 3144; to be a witness, i.e. testify (literally or

figuratively):--charge, give (evidence), bear record, have (obtain,

of) good (honest) report, be well reported of, testify, give (have)

testimony, (be, bear, give, obtain) witness.

see GREEK for 3144

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μαρτυρέω

v.

I witness, testify

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μαρτυρέω martyreō 76x

trans. to testify, depose, Jn. 3:11, 32; 1 Jn. 1:2; Rev. 1:2; 22:20; absol. to give evidence, Jn. 18:23; to bear testimony, testify, Lk. 4:22; Jn. 1:7, 8; to bear testimony in confirmation, Acts 14:3; to declare distinctly and formally, Jn. 4:44; pass. to be the subject of testimony, to obtain attestation to character, Acts 6:3; 10:22; Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μαρτυρέω μάρτυς to be a witness, to bear witness, give evidence, bear testimony, Simon., etc.: c. dat. pers. to bear witness to or in favour of another, Hdt., attic; μαρτυρέει μοι τῆι γνώμηι bears witness to my opinion, Hdt.

c. acc. rei, to bear witness to a thing, testify it, Soph., etc.

c. inf. to testify that a thing is, id. Soph.; τίς σοι μαρτυρήσει κλύειν; who will bear thee witness that he heard..? id. Soph.

c. acc. cogn., μ. ἀκοήν to give hearsay evidence, Dem.:—so in Pass., μαρτυρίαι μαρτυρηθεῖσαι id. Soph.

Pass. also impers., μαρτυρεῖται testimony is borne, Plat.; οἶδα μαρτυρήσεσθαι I know that testimony will be given, Xen.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-RAI-3S — Verb · perfect · active · indicative · third person · singular
perfect active indicative — a past action whose result still stands.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wit'-nes (nouns `edh, and `edhah, and verb `anah; martus, with all derivative words and their compounds): The word "witness" is used of inanimate things, e.g. the heap of stones testifying to the covenant between Jacob and Laban (Ge 31:44-54), and the So of Moses. (De 31:19,21). The main use of the word is forensic, and from this use all other applications are naturally derived. Important legal agreements required the attestation of witnesses, as in the case of the purchase of property, or a betrothal (Ru 4:1-11, where we are told that the ancient form of attestation was by a man drawing off his shoe and giving it to his neighbor).

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Witness

More than one witness was required in criminal cases (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). They were the first to execute the sentence on the condemned (Deut. 13:9; 17:7; 1 Kings 21:13; Matt. 27:1; Acts 7:57, 58). False witnesses were liable to punishment (Deut. 19:16-21). It was also an offence to refuse to bear witness (Lev. 5:1).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Among people with whom writing is not common the evidence of a transaction is given by some tangible memorial or significant ceremony: Abraham gave seven ewe-lambs to Abimelech as an evidence of his property in the well of Beersheba. Jacob raised a heap of stones, "the heap of witness." as a boundary-mark between himself and Laban. (Genesis 21:30; 31:47,52) The tribes of Reuben and Gad raised an "altar" as a witness to the covenant between themselves and the rest of the nation. Joshua set up a stone as an evidence of the allegiance promised by Israel to God. (Joshua 22:10,26,34; 24:26,27) But written evidence was by no means unknown to the Jews. Divorce was to be proved by a written document. (24:1,3) In civil contracts, at least in later times documentary evidence was required…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

One who testifies to any fact from his own personal knowledge. Under the Mosaic law, two witnesses under oath were necessary to convict a person charged with a capital crime, Nu 35:30; and if the criminal was stoned, the witnesses were bound to cast the first stones, De 17:6-7 Ac 7:58. The Greek word for witness is MARTYR, which see.

The apostles were witnesses, in proclaiming to the world the facts of the gospel, Ac 1:8,22 2:32 2Pe 1:12,16-18; and Christ is a "faithful witness," in testifying to men of heavenly things, Joh 3:12

Across the New Testament14 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 8 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 100c. AD 40

μαρτυρεῖ δέ μου τῷ λόγῳ καὶ Φιλόλαος ἐν τούτοις·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.240c. AD 75–95

μαρτυρεῖ δέ μου τῷ λόγῳ Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ πολυίστωρ λέγων οὕτως·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 15.4c. AD 100

αὐτὸς δέ μοι μαρτυρεῖ λέγων: Ἰδού, ἡμέρα κυρίου ἔσται ὡς χίλια ἔτη.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD
P. Cairo Cat. 10389 descr.Pathyrites114 BC–113 BC

τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην πάντων … … Ἀμμώνιος ὁ παρ' Ἡλιοδώρου κεχρη­μάτικα. ἐμαρτύρησεν Ταστῖς Φαγήριος Περσίνη ὡς ἐτῶν … … τῆς προγεγραμμένης ὠνῆς.

P.Mil.Vogl. 2 84Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 138

Ἁρποχράτου. ἔγραψα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ Ὀννῶφρις Θ … ξωσεως μὴ εἰδότος τὰ γράμματα. Ἵππαλος Χράτους μαρτυρῶ καὶ σφραγιῶ γλύμματι Ἁρποχράτου. Σωτήριχος Εὐτύχου μαρτυρῶ καὶ σφραγιῶ γλύμματι Σεραπιαδος. Κρονίων Τυράννου μαρτυρῶ

P.Flor. 2 173Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 253

καὶ οἰνάρια ἐπιτήδεια καὶ δελφάκιον καὶ ἀρτίδια καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἀλλʼ ἵνα μοι μαρτυρήσῃ καὶ τὴν ξενίαν δὲ ἐχέτω καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἐνδέχεται. ἐρρῶσθαί σε εὔχομαι Ἡρωνίνῳ

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
τῇho to the G3588 Article · dative · singular · feminine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in John as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

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

As demonstr. pron.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

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

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

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

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

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Art-DSF — Article · dative · singular · feminine
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-DSF Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

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
to 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

You yourselves have sent unto John and he has borne witness to the truth;
ἀληθείᾳ·alētheia truth; G225 Noun · dative · singular · feminine
109× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in John than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for truth, meaning the reality of a matter, is used in Romans 9:1 and Galatians 2:5 to describe Christian doctrine. It can also mean truthfulness, as in being honest. Jesus teaches about truth in John 8:32.
Amplified meaning
reality, authenticity
Tyndale gloss
truth
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀλήθεια (aletheia) means 'truth' and is derived from ἀληθής ('true'). It encompasses both objective truth, as in the reality of a matter, and subjective truthfulness, reflecting sincerity and integrity. In the New Testament, it is used in various contexts, including religious truth and moral integrity, with references in Romans and John.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀλήθεια, -ας, ἡ

(< ἀληθής),

[in LXX chiefly for אֱמֶת (on which, v. Cremer, 627f.), אֱמוּנָה;]

truth (v. DB, iv, 818f.).

Objectively, "the reality lying at the basis of an appearance; the manifested, veritable essence of a matter" (Cremer, 86): Ro 9:1, al.; of religious truth, Ro 1:25, al.; esp. of Christian doctrine, Ga 2:5, al.; ἀ. θεοῦ, Ro 15:8.

Subjectively, truthfulness, truth, not merely verbal (cl.), but sincerity and integrity of character: Jo 8:44, III Jo 3.

In phrases (MM, VGT, s.v.): ἐπ’ ἀληθείας, Mk 12:14, al.; ἀ. λέγειν (εἰπεῖν, λαλεῖν),

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

ἀλήθεια, -as, ἡ, (ἀληθής), [fr. Hom. down], verity, truth. I. objectively; 1. univ. what is true in any matier under consideration (opp. to what is feigned, fictitious, false): Jas. iii. 14; ὀλήθειαν λέγειν, ἐρεῖν, Jn. viii. 45 sq.; xvi. 7; Ro. ix. 14 1 Co. xii. 6; 1 Tim. ii. 7; εἶπεν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, everything as it really was, Mk. v. 33, (so in classics); μαρτυρεῖν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ to testify according to the true state of the case, Jn. v. 33; ina broader sense, λαλεῖν ἀλήθειαν to speak always according to truth, Eph. iv. 25; [ἀληθείας ῥήματα ἀποφθέγγομαι, as opp- to the vagaries of madness, Acts xxvi. 25]; ἀλήθεια ἐγένετο, was shown to be true by the event, 2 Co. vii. 14. ἐν ἀληθείᾳ in truth, truly, as the case is, according to fact: Mt. xxii. 16; Jn. iv. 23 sq. (as accords with the divine nature); 2 Co. vii. 14; Col. i. 6; ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας a. truly, in truth, according to truth: Mk.…

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

ἀλήθεια. The noun occurs requently in prepositional phrases, μετὰ πάσης ἀληθείας, etc. “Em ἀληθείας is found in P Amh II. 68% (late i/A.D.) ὀμνύομεν . . . εἶ μὴν ἐξ ὑγειοῦς Kal ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας ἐπιδεδωκ[ςέ]ναι : so P Oxy III. 4809 (A.p. 132), and Syli 2261 (iii/B.c.) οὐ γεγενημένου τούτου ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας, etc. This NT phrase is thoroughly idiomatic, we see, and not “translation Greek” in Mark. Other combinations are ἐξ a., P Oxy VII. 103253 (A.p. 162) ἐ[κ] τῆς a., P Flor I. 3214 (A.D. 298) ἐξόμνυμι. . . ἐξ ἀ. kal πίστεως. (For this collocation of nouns, cf. P Oxy I. 70° (iii/A.p.) πίστιν καὶ ἀλήθ[ειαν Exe, “is credited and accepted,” of a contract (Edd.).) With 2 Jn1, 3 Jnt ὃν ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, cf. the Gemellus letters, P Fay 11826 (A.D. 110) ἀσπάζου τοὺς φιλοῦντές σε πάντες πρὸς ἀλήθιαν, and 20. 11928 (c. A.D. 100) τοὺς φιλοῦντες ἡμᾶς πρὸς ἀλήθιαν. In much the same sense we find ταῖς…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀλήθεια (alētheia) — truth.

ἀλήθ-εια [ᾰλ], ἡ,

Doric dialect ἀλάθεια (also ἀλαθείᾱ[Refs 7th c.BC+] ἀληθεί; Ionic dialect ἀληθείη:

I. truth, opposed to lie or mere appearance:

I.1. in [Refs 8th c.BC+] only opposed to a lie, frequently in phrase ἀληθείην καταλέξαι[Refs 8th c.BC+]; παιδὸς πᾶσαν ἀ. μυθεῖσθαι to tell whole truth about the lad, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; proverbial, οἶνος καὶ ἀ. `in vino veritas', Alc.[same place], etc.; ἁπλᾶ γάρ ἐστι τῆς ἀ. ἔπη[Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀ. ἔχειν to be true, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.2. after [Refs 8th c.BC+] also truth, reality, opposed to appearance, σὺν ἀλαθείᾳ καλῶν[Refs 5th c.BC+] — in adverbial usages, τῇ ἀ. in very truth, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τοῦ πράγματος in truth and reality, [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀλήθεια

aletheia

from 227; truth:--true, X truly, truth, verity.

see GREEK for 227

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀλήθεια, ας, ἡ

n.f.

truth

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀλήθεια alētheia 109x

truth, Mk. 5:33; love of truth, sincerity, 1 Cor. 5:8; divine truth revealed to man, Jn. 1:17; practice in accordance with Gospel truth, Jn. 3:21; 2 Jn. 4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀλήθεια ἀληθής truth

truth, as opp. to a lie, παιδὸς πᾶσαν ἀλ. μυθεῖσθαι to tell the whole truth about the lad, Od.; so, χρᾶσθαι τῇ ἀλ. Hdt.; ἡ ἀλ. περί τινος Thuc.

truth, reality, opp. to appearance, τῶν ἔργων ἡ ἀλ. Thuc.

adverb. usages, τῇ ἀληθείᾳ in very truth, Thuc.; rarely ἀληθείᾳ Plat.; ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας in truth and reality, Dem.; μετ᾽ ἀληθείας Xen.; κατ᾽ ἀλήθειαν Arist.

the character of the ἀληθής, truthfulness, sincerity, frankness, candour, Hdt., etc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Noun-DSF — Noun · dative · singular · feminine
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular feminine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

N-DSF Part of Speech: Noun Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

trooth (`emeth, emunah, primary idea of "firmness," "stability" (compare Ex 17:12), hence "constancy," "faithfulness," etc.; the Septuagint's Apocrypha and the New Testament, aletheia (Ro 3:7), pistis (Ro 3:3); in adjectival and adverbial sense, "in truth," "of a truth," "faithful," etc.; alethos (Lu 21:3; Joh 6:14; 7:40; 1Th 2:13); alethinos (Joh 17:3); ontos (1Co 14:25); pistos (1Ti 3:1); in the King James…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Truth

Used in various senses in Scripture. In Prov. 12:17, 19, it denotes that which is opposed to falsehood. In Isa. 59:14, 15, Jer. 7:28, it means fidelity or truthfulness. The doctrine of Christ is called “the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:5), “the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7; 4:4). Our Lord says of himself, “I am the way, and the truth” (John 14:6).

Nave's Topical Bible

→ Saints should worship God in Joh 4:24; with Ps 145:18

→ Serve God in Jos 24:14; 1Sa 12:24

→ Walk in the presence of God in 1Ki 2:4; 2Ki 20:3

→ Keep religious feasts with 1Co 5:8

→ Esteem, as inestimable Pr 23:23

→ Love Zec 8:19

→ Rejoice in 1Co 13:6

Torrey's New Topical Textbook

- God is a God of

De 32:4; Ps 31:15

- Christ is

Joh 14:6; 7:18

- Christ was full of

Joh 1:14

- Christ spoke

Joh 8:45

- The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of

Joh 14:17

- The Holy Spirit guides into all

Joh 16:13

- The word of God is

Da 10:21; Joh 17:17

- God regards, with favour

Jer 5:3

- The judgments of God are according to

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
99%truth
truth99% · 109×other renderings1% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial49%object28%subject12%predicate10%

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
Article the
καίand, even, also,πνεῦμαwind, breath, spἐν
ἐν
θεόςGod, a godσύἀγαπάωI love
ἐπί
ἀλλάbut, exceptλέγωI say, speakδιδάσκαλοςa teacher
καίand, even, also, nam
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spχάριςgrace, favor, kiεἰλικρίνειαclearness, since
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegτίςIrgκαθώςjust as, as
ἀλήθειαtruth;109×
what comes after →
Article the
εὐαγγέλιονthe good news, tὁδόςa way, road, jouθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςγάρfor
λέγωI say, speak
οὐNegὅτιthat, since, becδιά
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςἀδικίαunrighteousness
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existστήκωI stand fast, peδέχομαιI take, receive,

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

Concordanceἀλήθεια · 109× in the New Testament
John 1 John 2 Corinthians Romans 1 Timothy 2 Timothy 3 John Ephesians 2 John 2 Thessalonians Acts Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament23 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 70 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 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 1.4c. AD 75–95

τὸν μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον ἡμῖν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις γενόμενον καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ πράξεις καὶ τὸ τέλος οἷον ἀπέβη πείρᾳ μαθὼν ἐβιάσθην ἐκδιηγήσασθαι διὰ τοὺς ἐν τῷ γράφειν λυμαινομένους τὴν ἀλήθειαν,

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 18.6c. AD 96

ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀλήθειαν ἠγάπησας: τὰ ἄδηλα καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῆς σοφίας σου ἐδήλωσάς μοι.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Oxy. 74 4980OxyrhynchitesAD 34

Καίσαρα … Σεβαστὸν Αὐτοκράτορα θεοῦ Σεβαστοῦ υἱὸν ἦ μὴν ἐξ ὑγιοῦς καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας ἐπιδεδωκέναι τὴν προκειμένην … … αν … γυναικῶν τ … τῶν παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ οἰκούντων

P.Fay. 119Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 103

αὐτά. μὴ οὖν ἄλλως ποιήσῃς. ἐπιμέλου σεαυτοῦ. ἀσπάζου Ἐπαγαθὸν καὶ τοὺς φιλοῦντας ἡμᾶς πρὸς ἀλήθειαν. ἔρρωσο. Χοίακ ιβ. εἰς τὰ Σατορνάλια πέμψεις ἀλέκτορας δέκα ἀγοράσας καὶ εἰς τὰ γενέσια

P.Fay. 118Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 110

ἔχʼ ἐκεῖ ἕως ποτίσῃς τὸ ἑπτάρουρον τοῦ ἐλαιῶνος. ἀσπάζου τοὺς φιλοῦντάς σε πάντας πρὸς ἀλήθειαν. ἔρρωσο. ἔτους ιδ Τραιανοῦ Καίσαρος τοῦ κυρίου, Ἀθὺρ ι.

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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