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John 6:20 — Word Study

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N1904 δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

BSA<the>ho Andde He sayslegō [the Messiah, Christ] to them;autos I myselfegō [I am, the existing One] am [He],eimi not [lest you] do fear.phobeō [have reverence or awe]

Word
Listen & take awayJohn 6
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 20 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 (phobeō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
John 6:20quick helps
In a sentenceJesus reassures His disciples in a moment of fear, identifying Himself and urging them not to be afraid.
Who is speakingJesus, addressing His disciples who are in distress.
Where we areIn the midst of a miraculous event where Jesus walks on water, as seen in the surrounding verses.
The hard wordἐγώ
Take awayJesus' presence dispels fear and reassures His followers.
6 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them › clause subject verbλέγω 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 6:20

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 Walks on Watergenerated

19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the sea—and they were terrified.
20But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.”
21Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
22The next day, the crowd that had remained on the other side of the sea realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not boarded it with His disciples, but they had gone away alone.

John 6:20 occurs during a dramatic moment when the disciples are frightened by Jesus walking on the sea. This passage highlights Jesus' divine authority and His ability to calm fears. The surrounding verses describe the disciples' initial terror and their eventual willingness to receive Jesus into the boat, emphasizing the transformative effect of His presence.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Psalm 35:3Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
2Isaiah 41:10–14Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
3Isaiah 43:1–2Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine!
4Isaiah 44:8Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”
5Matthew 14:27–31But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

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


The Key Word ἐγώ, egōgenerated

The pronoun ἐγώ means 'I' or 'I myself', emphasizing the speaker's identity. It is often used for emphasis, indicating that the speaker is asserting their presence or authority.

In this context, Jesus uses ἐγώ to assert His identity and reassure His disciples, reminding them of His divine nature and presence amidst their fear.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is translated in the Berean Standard Bible as: "But Jesus spoke up: 'It is I; do not be afraid.'" This is consistent across several versions, including the KJV and ASV.

However, the Young's Literal Translation offers a slightly different rendering: "I am [he], be not afraid;" emphasizing the identity of Jesus more explicitly.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in the verse is λέγει, He says, which governs the entire statement. It is followed by a direct address to the disciples and a reassuring declaration from Jesus.

The structure consists of a main clause with the subject (the) and a verb λέγει (says), followed by the indirect object αὐτοῖς (to them) and the emphatic pronoun ἐγώ (I) linked to the verb εἰμι (am), concluding with the imperative φοβεῖσθε (do not fear).


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The verb λέγει (legō), meaning 'He says', appears in the Septuagint to render various Hebrew terms, including כֹּה (kōh, 'thus') and יָרֵא (yare', 'fear'). This choice emphasizes the authoritative declaration of Jesus in the context of reassurance.

The pronoun ἐγώ (egō, 'I myself') is used in the LXX to translate Hebrew words like אֲנִי (anī, 'I'). This personal identification reinforces Jesus' presence and authority in the moment, while the negative μὴ (, 'not') and the verb φοβεῖσθε (phobeō, 'do fear') correspond to the Hebrew אַל (al, 'not') and יָרֵא (yare', 'fear'), creating a strong command against fear.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

John 6:20 shows Jesus speaking to His frightened disciples as He walks on water, reassuring them that it is He and urging them not to be afraid. This moment illustrates His divine authority and ability to bring peace in times of fear.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Jesus mean when He says, 'It is I'?

Jesus is affirming His identity and presence, indicating that He is with them and they need not fear.

Why were the disciples afraid?

The disciples were terrified because they saw Jesus walking on the water, which was a miraculous and unexpected sight.

What does 'do not be afraid' signify in this context?

The phrase 'do not be afraid' signifies Jesus' reassurance and comfort, encouraging His disciples to trust in Him despite their fears.

How does this passage connect to other biblical instances of fear and reassurance?

This passage connects to other scriptures where God or Jesus reassures His followers, such as in Isaiah 41:10, where God says not to fear because He is with them.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what areas of my life do I need to hear Jesus say, 'Do not be afraid'?
  2. How can I remind myself of Jesus' presence during times of fear or uncertainty?
  3. What does it mean for me to recognize Jesus as the 'I am' in my daily life?
  4. How can I help others who are struggling with fear to find reassurance in Jesus?

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

Early church fathers comment on this passage, emphasizing the significance of Jesus' reassurance to His disciples.

John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of John 43 c. 347–407
"It is I, be not afraid." As He spake the word, He cast out fear from their souls. But at another time not so; wherefore Peter said "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me to come unto Thee." (Matt. xiv.
Early Church Fathers on John 6 →
Bedein Matt. c. xiv. c. 673–735
He does not say, I am Jesus, but only I am. He trusts to their easily recognising a voice, which was so familiar to them, or, as is more probable, He shows that He was the same who said to Moses, I am that I am (Exod. 3:14)
Early Church Fathers on John 6 →

Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on John 6:20 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

But he saith to them, it is I, be not afraid. [See comments on Matthew 14:27].

Read John Gill on John 6 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. For the exposition, see the notes at Mark 6:30-56.

Read Robert Jamieson on John 6 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. Ver. 20. They were afraid] See Matthew 14:26-27.

Read John Trapp on John 6 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(20) See the same words in Mark 6:50. St. Matthew’s account is more full here, adding the trial of St. Peter’s faith.

Read Charles John Ellicott on John 6 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

20. It is I] Literally, I am (comp. John 18:5).

Read Cambridge on John 6 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

16-21. Compare notes on parallel passage in Matthew.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on John 6 →

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

But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.”

WEBWorld English Bible2000

But he said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.”

NETBNew English Translation2006

But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

RVARevised Version, American1894

But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

But he saith to them, It is I; be not afraid.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

But he said vnto them, It is I: be not afraid.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

But he says to them, It is I: be not afraid.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and he saith to them, 'I am [he], be not afraid;'

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and He says to them, “I AM; do not be afraid”;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

But he said to them, “It is I! Do not be afraid.”

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

But he saith to them: It is I; be not afraid.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

“Don't be afraid!” he told them. “It's me.”

BBEBible in Basic English1949

But he said to them, It is I, have no fear.

Word by word, the decisions they made

εἰμι,eimi am [He], G1510 2 different renderings
it isASV BBE BSB DBY DRA GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
i amLSV

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.

clauseδὲAndclausesubject-verbλέγειHe saysindirect objectαὐτοῖςto themclausesubjectἘγώIlinking verbεἰμιam [He]clauseadverbialμὴnotverbφοβεῖσθεfear

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

Ille autem dicit eis : Ego sum, nolite timere.

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

ܗܘ ܕܝܢ ܝܫܘܥ ܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܐܢܐ ܐܢܐ ܠܐ ܬܕܚܠܘܢ

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

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἐγώ εἰμι, μὴ φοβεῖσθε.

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 6:20<the><the>δέAndAndδέλέγωHe saysHe saysλέγωαὐτόςto them;to them;αὐτόςἐγώI myselfI myselfἐγώεἰμίam [He],am [He],εἰμίμήnotnotμήφοβέωdo fear.do fear.φοβέωφόβοςn.m. fear,n.m. fear, terrφόβοςφημίv. I sayv. I sayφημίἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήνδιδάσκαλοςn.m. a tean.m. a teacherδιδάσκαλοςἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωπέμπωv. I sendv. I sendπέμπωἀγαπητόςAdj loved,Adj loved, beloἀγαπητόςἄξιοςAdj worthyAdj worthy, worἄξιοςπότεIrg.prt. wIrg.prt. when, πότεφοβέωv. I fear,v. I fear, am tφοβέωἀποκτείνωv. I put tv. I put to deaἀποκτείνω
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 6:20

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.

<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
ho <the> G3588 Article · nominative · singular · masculine
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.

Read the full entry →
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-NSM — Article · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-NSM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

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

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

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

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

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
δὲde And G1161 Conjunction
2,787× 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 is a conjunction that means and, but, or then, used to connect ideas like in Matthew 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 6:15.
Tyndale gloss
then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

post-positive conjunctive particle;

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δέ (de) — then.

δέ,

but: adversative and copulative Particle,

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

II. without preceding μέν,

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

II.2. copulative,

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δέ

de

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

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δέ

Cj.

but, on the other hand, and

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δέ de 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

δέ is often redundant,

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

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

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

2,937 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,787 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existσύ
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπεντακισχίλιοιfive thousand
εἰCond
παλαιόςold, ancient, woσύεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
περιπατέωI walk, conduct ἀναπίπτωI lie down, reclμνημεῖονa tomb, sepulche
οὗτος
δίδωμιI offer, giveθεόςGod, a godπίστιςfaith, belief, t
δέAnd2787×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusθεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
αὐτός
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐπί
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςArticle theσύ
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὗτοςἸωάννηςJohn
τὶς
Article theαὐτόςὄνομαname, character,

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

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

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

Across the New Testament26 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
λέγειlegō He says G3004 Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singular
2,255× 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
This word means to say or speak, and it is used by Jesus and others in the New Testament to share teachings and tell stories. It appears in Matthew 9:34 and John 1:29.
Amplified meaning
the Messiah, Christ
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

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

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

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

λέγω (legō) — to say.

λέγω,

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

lego

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

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

5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech

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

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

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

shew, speak, tell, utter.

see GREEK for 2036

see GREEK for 5346

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 2980

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

λέγω

v.

I say, speak

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

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

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

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

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

1,357 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 107 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb98%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,255 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
αὐτός
πρόςμαθητήςa learner, disciἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theοὗτοςἐγώ
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article theδέbut, on the otheγόνυa knee
ἀμήνHebr
ἀμήνHebrαὐτόςλέγωI say, speak
λέγωHe says2255×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disciἸησοῦςJesusΠέτροςPeter
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becοὐNegἐάνCond
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theπρόςαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theοὗτοςσύ

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

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

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

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

Counted over the 1,290 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 5c. AD 40

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

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

ὅπως Ἅβραμος ὁ πρόγονος ἡμῶν ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Χαλδαίων γῆς κατέσχε τὴν τότε μὲν Χαναναίαν νῦν δὲ Ἰουδαίαν λεγομένην.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.4c. AD 100

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 6th c. AD 1st c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

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

P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 16Pathyris100 BC

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

<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
αὐτοῖς·autos to them; G846 Personal pronoun · dative · plural · masculine
5,550× 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 pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

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

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-DPM — Personal pronoun · dative · plural · masculine
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-DPM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Dative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

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

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςto them;5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
ἐγώegō I myself G1473 Personal pronoun · first person · nominative · singular
2,567× 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
This is a pronoun meaning I or me, used by the speaker to refer to themselves. It is often used in the Bible to emphasize the speaker's identity.
Amplified meaning
I am, the existing One
Tyndale gloss
I/we
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The first-person pronoun. A Greek verb already carries its person in the ending, so the pronoun is usually present for emphasis. Luke puts himself inside the “us” among whom these things were fulfilled: he writes as one of the people the events happened to, not as an observer standing outside them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐγώ, gen, etc., ἐμοῦ, ἐμοί, ἐμέ (enclitic μου, μοι, με), pl. ἡμεῖς, -ῶν, -ῖν, -ᾶς,

pers. pron.

I.

The nom. is usually emphatic, when expressed as subjc, as in Mt 3:11, Mk 1:8, Lk 3:16, al. But often there is no apparent emphasis, as Mt 10:16, Jo 10:17; ἰδοὺ ἐ. (= Heb. הִנֵּנִי, cf. I Ki 3:8), Ac 9:10; ἐ. (like Heb. אֲנִי), I am, Jo 1:23 (LXX), Ac 7:32 (LXX).

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

ἐγώ, gen. ἐμοῦ, enclitic pod; dat. ἐμοί, enclitic μοί; acc. ἐμέ, enclitic μέ; plur. ἡμεῖς, ete.; personal pronoun, J. 1. The nominatives ἐγώ and ἡμεῖς, when joined to a verb, generally have force and emphasis, or indicate antithesis, as Mt. iii. 11; Mk.i. 8; Lk. iii. 16 (ἐγὼ pev... ὁ δέ); Mt. iii. 14 (ἐγὼ... ἔχω, καὶ σύν ; V. 22, 28, 39, and often; ἡμεῖς, contrasted with God, Mt. vi. 12; ἡμεῖς x. of Φαρισαῖοι, Mt. ix. 14; cf. W. § 22,6. But sometimes they are used where there is no emphasis or antithesis in them, as Mt. x. 16; Jn. x. 17; and in many edd. in Mk. i. 2; Lk. vii. 27; οἵ. B. §129, 12. ἰδοὺ ἐγώ, 1397, behold me, hereamT: Acts ix.10 (1S. iii. 8). ἐγώ, like 38, Jam: Jn. i. 23; Acts vii. 32, [ef. W.585 (544); B. 125 (109)]. 2. The enclitic (and monosyllabic) gen., dat., and ace. are connected with nouns, verbs, adverbs, but not with prepositions: ἔμπροσθέν pov, Jn. i. 15; ὀπίσω…

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

ἐγώ. Deissmann (ZAZ p. 134 ff.) has drawn attention to the parallels to the solemn use of the first personal pronoun in the Fourth Gospel that may be adduced from inscriptions and magical texts. Thus in an inscr. in honour of Isis from Ios, written in ii/iii A.p., the contents of which are preChristian, we find —Elows ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ τ[ύρανν]ος πάσης χόρας.. ἐγὼ νόμους ἀνθρώποις ἐθέμην . . ἐγώ εἰμι Kpdvov θυγάτηρ πρεσβυτάτη α΄. And similarly in the magical papyrus P Lond 4645 (iv/a.p.) (=I. p. 69) ἐγώ εἰμι ὃ ἀκέφαλος δαίμων . . ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια ὁ μεισῶν ἀδικήματα γείνεσθαι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ α΄. With the construction of the phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί ; in Jn 24 we may compare BGU IV. 1141°8 (n.c. 14) ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ διαστολὰς μηδὲν αὐτῶι καὶ ἐκείνωι εἶναι : for its meaning see Ε΄. C. Burkitt in 77:5 xiii. p- 594f., where it is rendered, ‘‘ What have I and thou to do with that ?” On the difficult…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐγώ (egō) — I/we.

ἐγώ,

I: pronoun of the first person:—Epic dialect mostly ἐγών before vowels (so in Doric dialect, before consonants, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἱών [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:— strengthened ἔγωγε, I at least, for my part, indeed, for myself (more frequently in Attic dialect than in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Doric dialect ἐγώνγα [Refs 7th c.BC+]: Boeotian dialect ἱώνγα [Refs 6th c.BC+]; ἱώνει [Refs]; ἰώγα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: Laconian dialect and Tarentum dialect ἐγώνη, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

II. oblique cases from a different root, genitive ἐμοῦ, enclitic μο; Ionic dialect and Epic dialect ἐμέο, ἐμεῦ, μευ, also ἐμέθεν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect ἔμεθεν [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Doric dialect ἐμέος, ἐμεῦς, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect ἐμοῦς [Refs 6th c.BC+] — _dative_ ἐμοί, enclitic μοι (which may be compared with…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγώ

ego

a primary pronoun of the first person I (only expressed when

emphatic):--I, me. For the other cases and the plural see 1691, 1698,

1700, 2248, 2249, 2254, 2257, etc.

see GREEK for 1691

see GREEK for 1698

see GREEK for 1700

see GREEK for 2248

see GREEK for 2249

see GREEK for 2254

see GREEK for 2257

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐγώ

Pers.pr.

I

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγώ egō 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐγώ

pron. of the first person, Lat ego

epic ἐγών before vowels

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

P-1NS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: first Case: Nominative Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
47%i myself
i myself47% · 406×me myself21% · 180×me13% · 114×myself4% · 36×mine4% · 36×my3% · 26×i myself also3% · 26×other renderings5% · 42×

866 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 25 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
subject30%object26%adverbial26%indirect object10%predicate6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,567 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
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theθεόςGod, a godκαίand, even, also,
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
Article theναίDisjδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
μένωI remain, abideεἰμίI am, existπατήρfather, Father,
καίand, even, also, nam
ὡςas, like as, howαὐτόςοὕτωthus, so, in thi
δίδωμιI offer, give
ὅςArticle theαὐτός
ἐγώI myself2567×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godπατήρfather, Father, ἐν
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theσύοὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,σύ
ἐν
Article theΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
οὐNegλέγωI say, speakArticle the

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

Concordanceἐγώ · 2,567× in the New Testament
John Acts Luke Matthew 2 Corinthians Romans Mark 1 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews Galatians Philippians

18 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 853 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 Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 17c. AD 40

ᾗ δὲ συνέστηκεν, εἰσόμεθα παρακολουθήσαντες εἰκόνι τινὶ τῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν.

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

ὅπως Ἅβραμος ὁ πρόγονος ἡμῶν ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Χαλδαίων γῆς κατέσχε τὴν τότε μὲν Χαναναίαν νῦν δὲ Ἰουδαίαν λεγομένην.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 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 6th c. AD 3rd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 35Ptolemais - Akko (Syrien)103 BC

συνγενόμενοι Ὥρωι Ψεν … λειτουργῶι μέχρι τοῦ ἀποδοθῆι τὸν ἐπεσταλμένον ἡμῖν κατὰ μῆνα πυρὸν τοῖς παρʼ ἡμῶν. διʼ ἄλλων γεγράφαμεν ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν βουλόμεθα μηδεμιᾶς

P.Adl. 14Pathyris101 BC

σφραγίδων, ἧς ἐτελειώθη ὠνῆς ἀποστασίου ἐν τῷ ιδ ἔτει Φαῶφι ι εἰς τὸ ἐνλιπὸν μοι ἄπρατον γῆς ἀρουρῶν γ, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαι μήτʼ αὐτὸν Κολλούθην μήδʼ ἄλλον μηδένα ὑπὲρ

P.Cair. Goodspeed 9Pathyris100 BC–99 BC

παρὰ Πατῆτος τοῦ Πανεβχώνιος. ἐκμισθωθείσης μοι τῆς νήσου καλουμένης Περχμασσινηιτ εἰς τὸ ιϛ ἔτος πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τεσσαράκοντα πέντε γίνονται πυροῦ

<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
εἰμι,eimi am [He], G1510 Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
2,457× 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
To be or exist, a basic verb used to describe something or someone, like God saying 'I am' in John 8:58.
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἰμί is a Greek verb meaning 'to be' or 'to exist.' It serves various functions, such as a substantive verb for persons and things, and as a copula linking subjects and predicates. The New Testament frequently uses it in passages like John 1:1 and Matthew 24:3. Notably, it can also express possibility, as seen in Hebrews 9:5.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

εἰμί,

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

As substantive verb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

εἰμί (eimi) — to be.

εἰμί

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί

eimi

the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a

primary and defective verb; I exist (used only when emphatic):--am,

have been, X it is I, was. See also 1488, 1498, 1511, 1527, 2258,

2071, 2070, 2075, 2076, 2771, 2468, 5600.

see GREEK for 1488

see GREEK for 1498

see GREEK for 1511

see GREEK for 1527

see GREEK for 2258

see GREEK for 2071

see GREEK for 2070

see GREEK for 2075

see GREEK for 2076

see GREEK for 2771

see GREEK for 2468

see GREEK for 5600

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

εἰμί

v.

I am, exist

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

εἰμί eimi 2x

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

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

εἰμί The whole of the pres. ind. (except 2nd sg. εἶ) may be enclitic when εἰμί is the Copula; but the 3rd sg. is written ἔστι in certain cases of emphasis, e. g. ἔστι μοι, I have: when used as Verb Subst., it retains the accent in all persons. as Substantive Verb, to be, to exist, οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἀνήρ, οὐδ᾽ ἔσσεται Od.; τεθνηῶτος, μηδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐόντος id. Od.; οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστι he is no more, Eur.; θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες Il.; ἐσσόμενοι posterity, id. Il.; ζώντων καὶ ὄντων Ἀθηναίων Dem.:—so of cities, etc., ὄλωλεν, οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔστι Τροία (cf. Troja fuit), Eur.

of things, to be, exist, εἰ ἔστιν ἀληθέως [ἡ τράπεζα] Hdt.; ἕως ἂν ὁ πόλεμος ἦι so long as it last, Thuc.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-1S — Verb · present · active · indicative · first person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-1S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: first Number: Singular

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ha: The fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet; transliterated in this Encyclopedia as "h." It came also to be used for the number 5. For name, etc., see ALPHABET.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
26%is
is26% · 619×are9% · 228×was7% · 176×being6% · 138×it is5% · 112×will be4% · 87×am3% · 80×were3% · 67×other renderings37% · 901×

2,408 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 139 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
linking verb87%verb13%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,457 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becκαίand, even, also,ὅς
οὗτος
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
ἐνἄνθρωποςa man, one of thθεόςGod, a god
ἐγώ
ὅτιthat, since, becλέγωI say, speakμετά
σύ
ἐνλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
εἰμίam [He],2457×
what comes after →
Article the
υἱόςa son, descendenΧριστόςanointed, the Meβασιλείαkingship, sovere
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theοὐNegγάρfor
ἐν
Article theσύαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theτὶςἐκεῖthere, yonder, t
ἐγώ
εἰςἄξιοςworthy, worthy oὧδεhere

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

Concordanceεἰμί · 2,457× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 Corinthians Romans Revelation 1 John 2 Corinthians Hebrews Galatians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 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 1.2c. AD 75–95

τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·

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 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Ἐπεὶφ κε. ἐν Παθύρει, ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν καὶ κανηφόρου τῶν ὄντων καὶ οὐσῶν, μηνὸς Τῦβι ιη ἐν Παθύρει ἐφʼ Ἑρμίου τοῦ παρὰ Πανίσκου ἀγορανόμου. ἀπέδοτο

<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
μὴ not G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× 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
Not is a word used to show that something is not true or is not happening, like in phrases that say 'lest' or 'God forbid', as seen in various parts of the New Testament.
Amplified meaning
lest you
Tyndale gloss
not
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μή () is a Greek negative particle used to express subjective negation, often in conditional or hypothetical contexts. It contrasts with οὐ (ou), which indicates absolute denial. μή can function as an adverb meaning 'not' or as a conjunction meaning 'lest.' It appears in various grammatical constructions, including prohibitions and deliberative questions, and is referenced in verses like Matthew 5:29 and John 3:18.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή,

subjective negative particle,

used where the negation depends on a condition or hypothesis, expressed or understood, as distinct from οὐ, which denies absolutely. μή is used where one thinks a thing is not, as distinct from an absolute negation. As a general rule, οὐ negatives the indic., μή the other moods, incl, ptcp. [In LXX for אֵין, אַיִן, אַל.]

As a neg. adv., not;

with ref. to thought or opinion: Jo 3:18, Tit 1:11, II Pe 1:9.

In delib. questions, c. subjc. (M, Pr., 185): Mk 12:14, Ro 3:8.

In conditional and final sentences, after εἰ, ἐάν, ἄν, ἵνα, ὅπως: Mt 10:14,

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

μή, Sept. for Ox, |X, PN, ἃ particle of negation, which differs from οὐ (which is always an adverb) in that ov denies the thing itself (orto speak technically, denies simply, absolutely, categorically, directly, objectively). but μή denies the thought of the thing, or the thing according to the judgment, opinion, will, purpose, preference, of some one (hence, as we say technically, indirectly, hypothetically, subjectively). This distinction holds also of the compounds οὐδείς, μηδείς, οὐκέτι, μηκέτι, ete. But pris either an ad verb of negation, not (Lat. non, ne); or aconjunction, that... not, lest, (Lat. ne); or an interrogative particle, (Lat. num) [i. e. (generally) implying aneg. ans.; in indir. quest. whether nol (suggesting apprehension) ]. Cf. Herm. ad Vig. § 267 p- 802 sqq-; Matthiae § 608; Bitm. Gram. § 148 (cf. Alex. Bttm. N. T. Gr. p. 344 (296) sqq.); Kiihner ii. §§ 512 sq. p.…

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

μή Grenf II. 384 (mid. 1.8.6.) καλῶς οὖ]ν ποιήσις μὴ ἀμελήσ[α]ς α[. . ἀγο]ράσαι. .. , P Oxy I. 3815 (a.p. 49--50) (= Selections, p. 53) τοῦ δὲ Σύρου μὴ βουλομένου ἐνμεῖναι τοῖς κεκριμένοις, “45 Syrus does not wish to abide by what has been decided,” 2d. II. 2755 (A.D. 66) (= Selections, p. 58) ἔγραψα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μὴ ἰδότος γράμματα, “1 wrote for him seeing that he was unlettered,” BGU I. 22° (a.p. 114) (= Selections, p. 74) TappovOios . . . τὸ παρὸν μὴ ἔχουσα κύριον, ‘ Tarmuthis at present without a guardian,’ and P Grenf II. 779 (iii/iv A.D.) (= Sedections, p. 120) θαυμάζω πάνυ [ὅτι] ἀλόγως ἀπέστητε μὴ ἄραντες [τὸ σ]ῶμα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ὑμῶν, “1 wonder exceedingly that you went off so unreasonably, without taking the body of your brother”; cf. P Tor 1. 1¥8-4 (νον 116) εἰ δὲ kal τις θείηι τὸ μὴ ὄν (cf. 1 Cor 1°8)—acc. and inf. follow, P Ryl II. 144°? (Α.Ὁ. 38) ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ μὴ ὄντος, ‘‘…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μή (mē) — not.

μή,

Elean μά [ᾱ] [Refs 6th c.BC+]. (Cf. Sanskrit mā´, Armenian mi [from I.-[Refs 5th c.BC+] mē´], negative used in prohibitions):—not, the negative of the will and thought, as οὐ of fact and statement; μή rejects, οὐ denies; μή is relative, οὐ absolute; μή subjective, οὐ objective. (A few examples of μηδέ and μηδείς have been included.)

__A in INDEPENDENT sentences, used in expressions of will or wish, command, entreaty, warning,

__A.1 with present imperative, 2 person, μή μ᾽ ἐρέθιζε [Refs 8th c.BC+]: rarely with aorist imperative, μὴ.. ἔνθεο τιμῇ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Attic dialect, μὴ ψεῦσον, ὦ Ζεῦ, τῆς.. ἐλπίδος [Refs 8th c.BC+]perfect imperative [Refs 8th c.BC+] person when perfect = present, μὴ κεκράγετε [Refs 5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μή

me

a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an

absolute denial); (adverb) not, (conjunction) lest; also (as an

interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas 3756 expects an

affirmative one)) whether:--any but (that), X forbear, + God forbid, +

lack, lest, neither, never, no (X wise in), none, nor, (can-)not,

nothing, that not, un(-taken), without. Often used in compounds in

substantially the same relations. See also 3362, 3363, 3364, 3372,

3373, 3375, 3378.

see GREEK for 3756

see GREEK for 3362

see GREEK for 3363

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

see GREEK for 3373

see GREEK for 3375

see GREEK for 3378

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μή

Neg.prt.

not, lest

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μή mē 1x

a negative particle, can function as a conj, not, for the particulars of its usage, especially as distinguished from that of οὐ, consult a grammar; as a conj., lest, that not, Mt. 5:29, 30; 18:10; 24:6; Mk. 13:36; μή, or μήτι, or μήποτε, when prefixed to an interrogative clause, it expresses an intimation either of the reality of the matters respecting which the question is asked, Mt. 12:23; or the contrary, Jn. 4:12

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
71%not
not71% · 772×except9% · 95×unless5% · 58×surely not4% · 41×lest3% · 32×otherwise2% · 23×other renderings4% · 48×other renderings1% · 16×

1,085 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 23 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial84%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,060 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,σύἐγώ
ἵναin order that, so th
αὐτόςσύπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώαὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
εἰCond
αὐτόςυἱόςa son, descendenκαίand, even, also,
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰςδιά
μήnot1060×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenσημεῖονa sign, miracle,
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
καίand, even, also,ποιμήνa shepherdβάθοςdepth, a depth,
εἰμίI am, exist
δίδωμιI offer, giveἐνμετά
τὶς
σύὑστερέωI am lacking, faγεννάωI beget, bring f
φοβέωI fear, am terrified
ἀπόArticle theμόνοςalone, but, only

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

Concordanceμή · 1,060× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John 1 Corinthians Romans Mark Acts Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews 1 Timothy Galatians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 1,321 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

<the> And He says to them; I myself am [He], not do fear.
φοβεῖσθε.phobeō do fear. G5399 Verb · present · no voice stated · imperative · second person · plural
95× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in John than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To fear means to be alarmed or in awe of something, like God's power. In the New Testament, it often means to reverence or respect, as in Matthew 10:31.
Amplified meaning
have reverence or awe
Tyndale gloss
to fear
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

φοβέω is derived from φόβος and primarily means to frighten or to be alarmed. It covers a range of meanings from being terrified to having reverential fear, as seen in various New Testament passages like Matthew 10:31 and Luke 1:50. The word is used in both active and passive forms, but in the New Testament, it appears only in the passive sense.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

φοβέω, ῶ

(< φόβος)

[in LXX chiefly for ירא ;]

in Hom., to put to flight. Pass., to be put to flight, to flee affrighted

to terrify, frighten (Wis 179; Hdt. and Att..). Pass. (so always in NT; cf. M, Pr., 162), to be seized with fear, be affrighted, fear: Mt 10:31 14:27, Mk 5:33 6:50, Lk 1:13 8:50, Jo 6:19 12:15, Ac 16:38, al.; opp. to ὑψηλοφρονεῖν, Ro 11:20; σφόδρα, Mt 17:6 27:54; c. cogn. acc., φόβον μέγαν, Mk 4:41, Lk 2:9 (I Mac 10:8); φόβον αὐτῶν…

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

φοβέομαι (act. obsolete): (1) ‘‘fear,’”’ ‘‘dread,’’ (a) absol., P Lips I. 40% (iv/y A.D.) κἀγὼ αὐτὸς φοβοῦμαι, ἐπειδὴ ἀπών ἐστιν ὁ ἑταῖρός μου, OG/S 6659 (i/A.D.) ὅσοι μὲν γὰρ ἐφοβήθησαν ἀκούσαντες περὶ... ; (b) ς. acc., P Oxy II. 237-1 (ap. 186) φοβηθέντας τὸν κίνδυνον, “through fear of the danger’’ (Edd.), P Flor III. 33232 (ii/a.p.) οὔτε προσεκύνησα θεοὺς φοβουμένη σου Td μετέωρον, P Grenf II, 84% (v/vi A.D.) τοὺς νόμους φοβηθεὶς ἔφυγεν εἰς ἐρημίαν (said of a patricide) ; (c) c. μή and conj., P Magd 9® (ili/B.C.) φοβουμένη μὴ συμπέσηι (of a sanctuary in a dangerous state), BGU IV. 10974 (time of Claudius or Nero) (= Olsson, p. 113) φοβοῦμαι yap μὴ σχάσῃ. velv]αυσίακε [γ]άρ, ‘for I am afraid that he will give up, for he has become sick,’’ P Tebt II. 31818 (a.p. 166) φο[βουἹμένη δ[ὲ] μὴ λάθω [κατὰ] τὸ εἴς pe δίκαι[ον] οἰκονομεί[ας, ‘tas I am afraid that my right of procedure may escape…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

φοβέω (phobeō) — to fear.

φοβέω,

3rd.pers. plural imperative φοβεόντων [Refs 5th c.BC+]: Ionic dialect imperfect φοβέεσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]: future -ήσω[Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἐφόβησα [Refs 8th c.BC+] —passive and middle, Ionic dialect [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect imperative φοβεῦ or φοβέο, [Refs]: Epic dialect 3rd.pers. plural imperfect φοβέοντο [Refs 8th c.BC+]: future φοβήσομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist passive ἐφοβήθην [Refs 8th c.BC+]; aorist middle ἐφοβησάμην only [Refs]: perfect πεφόβημαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]: pluperfect 3rd.pers. plural ἐπεφόβηντο [Refs 5th c.BC+], Epic dialect πεφοβήατο [Refs 8th c.BC+]

__A active, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] always in the sense put to flight, [ἴρηξ] ἐφόβησε κολοιούς [Refs 8th c.BC+]; [Ζεὺς] καὶ ἄλκιμον ἄνδρα φοβεῖ[Refs 8th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

φοβέω

phobeo

from 5401; to frighten, i.e. (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy, to

be in awe of, i.e. revere:--be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly),

reverence.

see GREEK for 5401

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

φοβέομαι

v.

I fear, am terrified

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

φοβέομαι phobeomai 95x

has an active form, φοβέω (G5828), but only occurs as a passive (deponent) in our literature, to fear, dread, Mt. 10:26; 14:5; to fear reverentially, to reverence, Mk. 6:20; Lk. 1:50; Acts 10:2; Eph. 5:33; Rev. 11:18; to be afraid to do a thing, Mt. 2:22; Mk. 9:32; to be reluctant, to scruple, Mt. 1:20; to fear, be apprehensive, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

φοβέω φόβος Act. to put to flight, Lat. fugo, Il.

to strike with fear, to terrify, frighten, alarm, Lat. terreo, Hdt., attic; πόνος ὁ μὴ φοβῶν free from alarm, Soph.; φοβήσαντες κατεστήσαντο τὴν πολιτείαν they established it by terror, Plat.

Pass. and Mid. to be put to flight, to flee affrighted, flee, Hom.; φοβηθείς in flight, Il.; ὑπό τινος φοβέεσθαι to flee before him, id. Il.

to be seized with fear, be affrighted, fear, Hdt., attic; φοβεῖσθαι εἴς or πρός τι to be alarmed at a thing, Soph.; ἀμφί τινι to fear about a thing, Hdt.; περί τινος Xen.; περί τινι Thuc., etc.:— φοβεῖσθαι μὴ . . to fear lest a thing will be, Lat. vereri ne . . , Eur., etc.; so, φ. ὅπως μὴ . . Thuc.; so, φοβ. ὅτι . . , ὡς . . to fear that . . , not like Lat. vereri ut . . , id. Thuc., etc.:— φοβ. c. inf. to fear to do, be afraid…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PNM-2P — Verb · present · no voice stated · imperative · second person · plural
present no voice stated imperative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PNM-2P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: middle or passive depoNent Mood: iMperative Person: second Number: Plural

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fer (yir'ah, yare'; phobos, phobeo):

Terms, etc.:

"Fear" is the translation of many words in the Old Testament; the chief are: yir'ah, "fear," "terror," "reverence," "awe," most often "the fear of God," "fear of Yahweh" (Ge 20:11; 2Ch 19:9, etc.); also of "fear" generally (Job 22:4; Isa 7:25; Eze 30:13, etc.); yare', "to be afraid," "to fear," "to reverence" (Ge 15:1; Le 19:3,14; De 6:2, etc.); pachadh, "fear," "terror," "dread" (

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

Counted over the 189 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 Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 142c. AD 40

ἦν γὰρ οἶκος αὐτῷ καὶ πόλις ὁ κόσμος, μηδεμιᾶς χειροποιήτου κατασκευῆς δεδημιουργημένης ἐκ λίθων καὶ ξύλων ὕλης, ᾧ καθάπερ ἐν πατρίδι μετὰ πάσης ἀσφαλείας ἐνδιῃτᾶτο φόβου μὲν ἐκτὸς ὤν, ἅτε τῆς τῶν περιγείων ἡγεμονίας ἀξιωθεὶς καὶ πάντων ὅσα θνητὰ…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.96c. AD 75–95

Νῶχος δὲ φοβούμενος, μὴ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔτος ἐπικλύζῃ τὴν γῆν ὁ θεὸς φθορὰν ἀνθρώπων καταψηφισάμενος, ἱερὰ καύσας ἐδεῖτο τὸν θεὸν τοῦ λοιποῦ ἐπὶ τῆς πρώτης μένειν εὐταξίας καὶ μηδὲν ἔτι τοιοῦτον ἐπενεγκεῖν πάθος, ὑφʼ οὗ κινδυνεύσει πᾶν ἀπολέσθαι τὸ τῶν…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 10.10c. AD 100

λαμβάνει δὲ τῶν αὐτῶν τριῶν δογμάτων γνῶσιν Δαυείδ καὶ λέγει: Μακάριος ἀνήρ, ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν, καθὼς καὶ οἱ ἰχθύες πορεύονται ἐν σκότει εἰς τὰ βάθη: καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη, καθὼς οἱ δοκοῦντες φοβεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον ἁμαρτάνουσιν…

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 2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD

σιος Δωριεὺς Φλελεμούθι πλεῖστα χαίρειν καὶ ὑγιαίνειν. μὴ φοβοῦ περὶ τῶν σκευῶν ὧν ἔχεις ἀλλὰ ἀσφάλισαι, ἂν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ μεταλλάρχης ἔλθῃ ἐρωτῶν‧

P.Tebt. 2 335Tebtynis (Arsinoites)AD 165

καλ … ν τὴν … τελείαν ἀπόφασιν εἰς τὴν ἐξέτασιν τῶν βιβλίων Ἑρμαίσκου φοβούμενος μὴ ἄρα εὑρεθείη ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐπίληψις ἕνεκα τῆς τοῦ ἐποικίου οἰκειότητος πρὸς τὸν Ἑρμαίσκον.

C.Clergé 4 172Narmuthis (Arsinoites)AD 190

παρόντος δὲ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ μετεπέμψατο τὸν πατέρα μου καὶ ἐπερώτησεν ὅτι ποῦ ἐστιν. καὶ φοβούμενος μὴ ἐντυχῶ κατὰ αὐτοῦ τῷ ἡγεμόνι ὑπεμνηματίσατο οὕτως β … ἔτους Φαμενὼτ ϛ ἀπαιτῶν

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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