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Luke 20:40 — Word Study

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N1904οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

BSAno longerouketi thende were they daringtolmaō [no longer, not anymore, be bold, have courage] to askeperōtaō [seek information, ask] Himautos [Jesus, the Messiah] no [thing].oudeis [none, not one, additional, more]

Word
Listen & take awayLuke 20
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 40 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 (oudeis) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Luke 20:40quick helps
In a sentenceThe religious leaders stopped questioning Jesus after He answered them.
Who is speakingThe religious leaders are responding to Jesus.
Where we areThis verse concludes a series of challenging questions posed to Jesus.
The hard wordοὐκέτι
Take awayThey were intimidated and ceased their inquiries.
5 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, AdamClarke & more — read them › clause verbτολμάω 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 — Luke 20:40

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 — Confrontation with the Religious Leadersgenerated

39Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”
40And they did not dare to question Him any further.
41Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Christ is the Son of David?
42For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand

Luke 20:40 describes a moment when the religious leaders, after hearing Jesus' wise responses, decided not to ask Him any further questions. This follows a series of exchanges where they tried to trap Him with difficult inquiries. Jesus' authority and wisdom left them without questions, illustrating His mastery over the situation. This moment reflects the broader theme of Jesus' authority throughout the Gospels, as seen in passages like Matthew 22:46 and Mark 12:34.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Proverbs 26:5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.
2Matthew 22:46No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.
3Mark 12:34When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.

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

And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.Proverbs 26:5 Matthew 22:46 Mark 12:34

The Key Word οὐκέτι, ouketigenerated

The word οὐκέτι is an adverb meaning 'no longer' and is a strong negative used to deny something completely. It indicates a definitive end to an action or state, as seen in other New Testament contexts like Matthew 13:29.

In this verse, it signifies that the religious leaders ceased their questioning of Jesus entirely, emphasizing their intimidation and the finality of their decision.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'And they did not dare to question Him any further.' Other translations agree with this meaning, though they vary in wording.

For instance, the KJV uses 'durst not ask him any question at all,' while the ASV states, 'they durst not any more ask him any question.' The WEB simplifies this to 'They didn’t dare to ask him any more questions.'


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in this verse is ἐτόλμων, were they daring, which governs the overall meaning. The structure consists of a main clause followed by two infinitive phrases that describe the actions they refrained from.

The first infinitive phrase, ἐπερωτᾶν, to ask, indicates the action they did not take, while the second object, οὐδέν, no [thing], specifies the extent of their hesitation.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In Luke 20:40, the Greek word ἐπερωτᾶν (eperōtaō), meaning 'to ask,' is used. This term corresponds to the Hebrew word שָׁאַל (sha'al), which also means 'ask' or 'inquire.' The choice of this word emphasizes the act of questioning, highlighting the authority of Jesus that left His challengers hesitant to continue.

The phrase includes οὐδέν (oudeis), meaning 'no [thing],' which aligns with the Hebrew אַ֫יִן (ayin), meaning 'nothing.' This reinforces the idea that they found themselves completely unable to pose further questions to Him.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Luke 20:40 shows that the religious leaders, after hearing Jesus' responses, were too intimidated to ask Him any more questions. This moment highlights Jesus' authority and wisdom in dealing with challenging inquiries.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

Why did the religious leaders stop questioning Jesus?

They were intimidated by His responses and realized they could not trap Him with their questions.

What does 'no longer dare' imply about their attitude?

It indicates a shift from confidence to fear, as they recognized Jesus' authority.

How does this verse relate to the overall theme of Jesus' authority?

It illustrates how Jesus' wisdom and authority left His challengers speechless, reinforcing His role as a teacher and leader.

What can we learn from this interaction?

We can learn the importance of humility in the face of truth and the recognition of authority.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What does this passage teach us about the authority of Jesus?
  2. How can we respond when we encounter challenging questions about our faith?
  3. In what ways can we show respect for the authority of God's Word in our lives?
  4. How do we handle situations where we feel intimidated or challenged?

Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Luke 20:40 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And after that, they durst not ask him any question at all. Neither the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, nor Herodians.

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

And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.

Read Robert Jamieson on Luke 20 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(40) They durst not ask him any question at all.—The singular omission by St. Luke of the question which is recorded by St. Matthew (Matthew 22:34-40) and St. Mark (Mark 12:28-34), and which would have fallen m so well with the general scope and tenor of his Gospel, may take its place, though we cannot account for it except on the supposition that he did not know the facts, as one of the many proofs of his entire independence as a narrator.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Luke 20 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 40. They durst not ask] Or, did not venture to ask any other question, for fear of being again confounded, as they had already been.

Read AdamClarke on Luke 20 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

40. they durst not ask him any question] The total collapse of their stratagems enhanced our Lord’s peril, by shewing how impossible it was for these rich and learned “pupils of the wise” to pose themselves as superiors to Christ in wisdom and knowledge. Assumed contempt was deepened into real hatred, and all the more after the next incident.

Read Cambridge on Luke 20 →

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

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

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

And they did not dare to question Him any further.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

They didn’t dare to ask him any more questions.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

And they did not dare to question Him any further.

NETBNew English Translation2006

For they did not dare any longer to ask him anything.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

For they durst not any more ask him any question.

RVARevised Version, American1894

For they durst not any more ask him any question.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And after that, they durst not ask him any question at all.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And after that, durst they not aske him any thing at all.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

For they did not dare any more to ask him anything.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and no more durst they question him anything.

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and they no longer dared question Him anything.

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

For they did not dare ask him any more questions.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And after that they durst not ask him any more questions.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

After this no one dared to ask him any more questions.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And they had fear of putting any more questions to him.

Word by word, the decisions they made

οὐκέτιouketi no longer G3756 2 different renderings
notASV BSB DBY DRA GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB
no longerLSV
ἐτόλμωνtolmaō were they daring G5111 3 different renderings
dareBSB DBY MSB NETB ULB WEB
no longerLSV
daredFBV
ἐπερωτᾶνeperōtaō to ask G1905 3 different renderings
questionASV BSB KJV LSV MSB NWB RVA YLT
to askDBY FBV NETB WEB
askDRA ULB
οὐδέν.¶oudeis no [thing]. G3762 2 different renderings
moreASV BBE DBY DRA FBV RVA ULB WEB YLT
notBSB GNV KJV MSB NETB NWB

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.

clauseγὰρthenclauseadverbialοὐκέτιNo longerverbἐτόλμωνdid they dareclause · objectverbἐπερωτᾶνto askobjectαὐτὸνHimsecond objectοὐδένanything

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

Et amplius non audebant eum quidquam interrogare.

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

ܘܠܐ ܬܘܒ ܐܡܪܚܘ ܠܡܫܐܠܘܬܗ ܥܠ ܡܕܡ

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

οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

οὐκέτι ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

οὐκέτι ἐτόλμων ἐπερωτᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδέν.¶

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

WordEditions carrying itMissing from
γὰρ thenNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

Apparatus — SBL Greek New Testament, CC BY 4.0


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.

Luke 20:40οὐno longerno longerοὐγάρthenthenγάρτολμάωwere they dwere they darinτολμάωἐπερωτάωto askto askἐπερωτάωαὐτόςHimHimαὐτόςοὐδείςno [thing].no [thing].οὐδείςἐπίPrep. on, Prep. on, to, aἐπίοὐδέNeg.cj. neNeg.cj. neitherοὐδέμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήτέλοςn.n. an enn.n. an end, puτέλοςθαρρέωv. I am cov. I am courageθαρρέωἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦοὐκέτιNeg.adv. nNeg.adv. no lonοὐκέτιἔξεστι(ν)v. it is pv. it is permitἔξεστι(ν)μόνοςAdv alone,Adv alone, but,μόνοςὥσπερAdv just aAdv just as, asὥσπερτοιοῦτοςDem.pr. ofDem.pr. of suchτοιοῦτοςἀφροσύνηn.f. want n.f. want of seἀφροσύνηΦαρισαῖοςn.m. a Phan.m. a PhariseeΦαρισαῖοςἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωὠφελέωv. I help,v. I help, beneὠφελέωτολμάωv. I dare,v. I dare, enduτολμάω
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 Luke 20:40

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.

no longer then were they daring to ask Him no [thing].
οὐκέτιouketi no longer G3756 Adverb · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a strong 'no', used to deny something completely. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:21. It is a negative answer to a question.
Tyndale gloss
no
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

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

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

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

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

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

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

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

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

ADV-N ADVerb or adverb and particle combined Negative

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existἐγώαὐτός
ὅς
ἐγώθερίζωI reap, gatherδέbut, on the othe
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐνἐπί
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforὅς
οὐno longer1622×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐκArticle theἐγώ
μήNeg
παρέρχομαιI pass byεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inπίνωI drink, imbibe
οἶδαI know, remember
ὅτιthat, since, becArticle theτίςIrg
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existθέλωI will, wish, deArticle the
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
ἔρχομαιI come, goσῴζωI save, healArticle the

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

C.Erbstreit16Diospolis Magna (Theben)135 BC

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

P.Adl. 2Pathyris125 BC

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

no longer then were they daring to ask Him no [thing].
γὰρde then G1063 Conjunction
1,038× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
For is a word used to explain or give a reason, often introducing a justification or clarification, as seen in Matthew 4:18 and Romans 7:1. It's a conjunction that connects ideas and provides additional information.
Tyndale gloss
for
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word γάρ (gar) is a coordinating particle primarily used to introduce reasons or explanations, similar to 'for' in English. It can serve various functions, including causal, explicative, and conclusive, and is often placed after the first word in a clause. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts that clarify or justify preceding statements, aligning with its classical usage.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

γάρ,

co-ordinating particle, contr. of γε ἄρα,

verily then, hence, in truth, indeed, yea, then, why, and when giving a reason or explanation, for, the usage in NT being in general accord with that of cl.;

explicative and epexegetic: Mt 4:18 19:12, Mk 1:16 5:42 16:4, Lk 11:30, Ro 7:1, I Co 16:5, al.

Conclusive, in questions, answers and exclamations: Mt 9:5 27:23, Lk 9:25 22:27, Jo 9:30, Ac 8:31 16:37 19:35,

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

γάρ, a conjunction, which ace. to its composition, γέ and dpa (i. 4. ἄρ), is properly a particle of affirmation and conclusion, denoting truly therefore, verily as the case stands, “ the thing is first aflirmed by the particle yé, and then is referred to what precedes by the force of the particle dpa” (Klotz ad Devar. ii. 1, p. 232; οἵ. Kiihner ii. p. 724; [Jelf § 786; W. 445 (415) sq-]). Now since by a new affirmation not infrequently the reason and nature of something previously mentioned are set forth, it comes to pass that, by the use of this particle, either the reason and cause of a foregoing statement is added, whence arises the causal or argumentative force of the particle, for (Lat. nam, enim; Germ. denn) ; or some previous declaration is explained, whence γάρ takes on an ex plicative force: YP Sor, the fact is, namely (Lat. videlicet, Germ. ndmilich). Thus the force of the…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

γάρ (gar) — for.

γάρ

(γε, ἄρα), causal conjunction, used alone or with other Particles.

I. introducing the reason or cause of what precedes, for, τῷ γὰρ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη· κήδετο γ. Δαναῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; but frequently in explanation of that which is implied in the preceding clause, πολλάων πολίων κατέλυσε κάρηνα.. τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον [Refs]

I. b in simple explanations, especially after a Pronoun or demonstrative adjective, ἀλλὰ τόδ᾽ αἰνὸν ἄχος κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἱκάνει· Ἕκτωρ γ. ποτε φήσει [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὃ δὲ δεινότατον.. ὁ Ζεὺς γ... [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently in introducing proofs or examples, μαρτύριον δέ· Δήλου γ. καθαιρομένης.. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τεκμήριον δέ· οὔτε γ. Λακεδαιμόνιοι.. [Refs 4th c.BC+]; in full, τεκμήριον δὲ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

γάρ

gar

a primary particle; properly, assigning a reason (used in argument,

explanation or intensification; often with other particles):--and, as,

because (that), but, even, for, indeed, no doubt, seeing, then,

therefore, verily, what, why, yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

γάρ

Cj.

for

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

γάρ gar 1x

for; it is, however, frequently used with an ellipsis of the clause to which it has reference, and its force must then be variously expressed: Mt. 15:27; 27:23, et al.; it is also sometimes epexegetic, or introductory of an intimated detail of circumstances, now, then, Mt. 1:18

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

γάρ for, Lat. enim, and like it, regularly placed after the first word of a sentence: to introduce the reason:

ARGUMENTATIVE, to introduce the reason for a statement, which usually precedes:—when it precedes the statement, it may be rendered since, as, Ἀτρείδη, πολλοὶ γὰρ τεθνᾶσιν Ἀχαιοί, χρὴ πόλεμον παῦσαι Il.

the statement of which γάρ gives the reason may be omitted, οὐ γάρ τί μοι Ζεὺς ἦν ὁ κηρύξας τάδε [yes], for it was not Zeus, etc., Soph.; ἔστι γὰρ οὕτω [yes], for so it is, i. e. yes certainly, Plat.; οἵδ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ εἰσί: τοῦτο γάρ σε δήξεται [I say this], for it will sting thee, Eur.: —in Conditional Propositions, where the Condition is omitted, it may be transl. for otherwise, else, οὐ γὰρ ἄν με ἔπεμπον πάλιν, (sc. εἰ μὴ ἐπίστευον)…

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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
97%for
for97% · 1050×other renderings3% · 33×

1,083 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 11 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,038 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
αὐτόςἐγώσύ
οὐNeg
οὐδείςno one, none, noαὐτόςλαλέωI speak, say
εἰμίI am, exist
θάλασσαthe sea, lakeλυπέωI pain, grieve, καθεύδωI sleep, am slee
οὗτος
εἰςαὐτόςδιά
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existκύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐγώ
γάρthen1038×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, θεόςGod, a godArticle the
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύἐν
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becἐνοὐNeg
αὐτός
Article theοὗτοςλέγωI say, speak
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theδιάἐν

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

Concordanceγάρ · 1,038× in the New Testament
Romans Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Hebrews Acts 2 Corinthians John Mark Galatians 1 Thessalonians Revelation

1 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 Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.2c. 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 1.7c. AD 100

ἐγνώρισεν γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ δεσπότης διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τὰ παρεληλυθότα καὶ τὰ ἐνεστῶτα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων δοὺς ἀπαρχὰς ἡμῖν γεύσεως, ὧν τὰ καθ̓ ἕκαστα βλέποντες ἐνεργούμενα, καθὼς ἐλάλησεν, ὀφείλομεν πλουσιώτερον καὶ ὑψηλότερον προσάγειν τῷ φόβῳ αὐτοῦ.

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

ἀποκαταστῆναι , ἔτι καὶ νῦν καλῶς ποιήσεις παρακαλῶν σαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς παρʼ ἡμῶν· προσπέπτωκεν γὰρ Παῶν ἀναπλεῖν ἐν τῶι Τῦβι μηνὶ μετὰ δυνάμεων ἱκανῶν πρὸς τὸ καταστεῖλαι τοὺς ἐν

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας κατὰ κοινόν … ἐπίσκεψιν ποιησάσθαι. … τούτων γὰρ γενομένων ἐσόμεθα βεβοηθημένοι ὑφʼ ὑμῶν. ἔρρωσθε. ἔτους θ Φαρμοῦθι κζ, ἐπιλέγματος ἀναγνωσθέντος τοῦ ὑπομνήματος

P.Bad. 2 16Pathyris89 BC

ποιήσετε συνγεινόμενοι εἰς τοῦτον τόπον ἐν ἀσφαλείαι ὑπάρχοντα συντηρηθῆναι τοῦτον τῶι κυρίωι βασιλεῖ· οὕτω γὰρ πράσσοντες καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰ πράγματα εὔνοιαν διατηροῦντες … ε … παρὰ τῶν ἐπάνω

no longer then were they daring to ask Him no [thing].
ἐτόλμωνtolmaō were they daring G5111 Verb · imperfect · active · indicative · third person · plural
16× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Luke than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be bold or daring is the meaning of this word. In 2 Corinthians 10:2, it describes having the courage to take action or speak out.
Amplified meaning
no longer, not anymore, be bold, have courage
Tyndale gloss
be bold
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τολμάω is a verb meaning to dare or be bold, derived from the concept of boldness. It encompasses the ideas of venturing, enduring, and taking courage, often followed by an infinitive. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as in Mark 15:43, where it describes someone taking courage to enter a situation. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τολμάω, -ῶ

[in LXX: Jb 15:12 (לָקַח), Es 1:18 7:5 (לֵב מָלֵא) Jth 14:13, II Mac 4:2, III Mac 3:21 R, IV Mac 8:18 * ;]

to have courage, to venture, dare, be bold: absol, II Co 11:21; seq. ἐπί, II Co 10:2; c. inf. (Bl., § 69, 4), Mt 22:46, Mk 12:34, Lk 20:40, Jo 21:12, Ac 5:13 7:32, Ro 15:18, I Co 6:1, Read the full entry →

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

τολμάω, -@; impf. 3 pers. sing. ἐτόλμα, plur. ἐτόλμων; fut. τολμήσω; 1 aor. ἐτόλμησα; (τόλμα or τόλμῃ [‘daring’; Curtius § 236]); fr. Hom. down; to dare; a. not to dread or shun through fear: foll. by an inf., Mt xxii. 46; Mk. xii. 34; Lk. xx. 40; Jn. xxi. 12 [W. $65, 7b.]; Acts v. 13; vii. 32; Ro. xv. 18; 2Co.x.12; Phil. i.14; Jude 9; τολμήσας εἰσῆλθεν, took courage and went in, Mk. xv. 43 [Hdian. 8, 5, 22; Plut. vit. Cam. 22, 6]. Ὁ. to bear, endure; to bring one’s self to; [cf W. u.s.]: foll. by an inf., Ro. v. 7; 1 Co. vi. 1. ο. 8.050]. to be bold; bear one’s self boldly, deal boldly: 2Co. xi. 21; ἐπί twa, against one, 2 Co. x. 2. [CompP.: dro ToApdw. |

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

τολμάω, “have courage,” “‘am bold”: P Par 2215 (Β.σ. 165) (= UPZ i. p. 193) μέχρι Tod νῦν οὐ τετόλμηκεν αὐτὸν ἡ Νέφορις θάψαι, BGU IV. 1209! (B.c. 23) ἵνα πρὸς μὲν κατάπληξιν τῶν τολμησάντων ἔχωμεν α[ὐτο]ὺς ἑτοίμους πρὸς ἐντυχίαν, P Ryl ΤΙ. 14.450 (A.D. 38) ἐτόλμησεν πθόνους (2. φθόνου) μοι ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ μὴ ὄντος, “ moreover he had the audacity to bring baseless accusations of malice against me” (Edd.), P Oxy VIII. 112015 (early iii/A.p.) εἰσεπήδησεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν μου καὶ ἐτόλμησεν ἀποσπάσαι δούλην μου, ‘rushed into my house and dared to carry off my slave” (Ed.), 76. IX. 12042 (A.p. 299) tts ᾽Οξυρυγχείτης . . . ὁρμώμενος τετόλμηκεν αὐτὸν ὀνομάζειν εἰς δεκαπρωτείαν, “4η Oxyrhynchite made a design upon him and ventured to nominate him for the decemprimate”’ (Ed.), and BGU III. 90918 (A.D. 359) ἐπὶ τοίνυν οὐχ ὀλίγ[α] ἐστὶν τὰ τολμηθέντα ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν kar’ ἐμοῦ. On τολμάω in the sense…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

τολμάω (tolmaō) — be bold.

τολμ-άω,

Ionic dialect τολμέω [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Doric dialect 2nd pers. singular τολμῇς [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: future τολμήσω [Refs 5th c.BC+], Doric dialect -ᾱσῶ[Refs 3rd c.BC+]: perfect τετόλμηκα [Refs 4th c.BC+], Doric dialect -ᾱκα[Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—undertake, take heart either to do or bear anything terrible or difficult:

1. mostly absolutely, dare, endure, submit (see. Τλάω), ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θυμὸς ἐτόλμα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; σὺ δ᾽ (i.e. κραδίη) ἐτόλμας [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τολμῶντες ἄνδρες[Refs 6th c.BC+]participle, τολμήσας.. παρέστη he took courage and.., [NT+1st c.AD+]

2. with accusative of things, endure, undergo, τ. χρὴ τὰ διδοῦσι θεοί [Refs 6th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

τολμάω

tolmao

from tolma (boldness; probably itself from the base of 5056 through

the idea of extreme conduct); to venture (objectively or in act; while

2292 is rather subjective or in feeling); by implication, to be

courageous:--be bold, boldly, dare, durst.

see GREEK for 5056

see GREEK for 2292

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τολμάω

v.

I dare, endure, am bold

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

τολμάω tolmaō 16x

to assume resolution to do a thing, Mk. 15:43; Rom. 5:7; Phil. 1:14; to make up the mind, 2 Cor. 10:12; to dare, Acts 5:13; 7:32; to presume, Mt. 22:46; Mk. 12:34; Lk. 20:40; Jn. 21:12; Rom. 15:18; Jude 9; to have the face, 1 Cor. 6:1; absol. to assume a bold bearing…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τολμάω to undertake, take heart either to do or bear anything terrible or difficult, Hom., etc.:—absol. to hold out, endure, be patient, submit, id. Hom., attic:—c. acc. rei, to endure, undergo, Theogn., Eur.

c. inf. to have the courage, hardihood, effrontery, cruelty, or the grace, patience, to do a thing in spite of any natural feeling, to venture, dare to do, Hom., attic

sometimes c. part., ἐτόλμα βαλλόμενος he submitted to be struck, Od.; τόλμα ἐρῶσα Eur.

c. acc., τολμᾶν πόλεμον to undertake, venture on it, Od.; τοιαῦτα, πάντα τ. Trag.; also, τ. τὰ βέλτιστα Thuc.: Pass., οἷ᾽ ἐτολμήθη πατήρ such things as my father had dared (or done) against him, Eur.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-IAI-3P — Verb · imperfect · active · indicative · third person · plural
imperfect active indicative — a continuing action in past time.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
19%daring
daring19% · 3×dare13% · 2×he was daring6% · 1×would dare6% · 1×will i dare6% · 1×be daring6% · 1×dare we6% · 1×may be daring6% · 1×other renderings31% · 5×

16 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 13 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
verb94%adverbial6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 16 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
γάρfor
οὐNegοὐκέτιNeg
οὐδείςno one, none, nothin
ἀριστάωI breakfast, dinλοιπόςleft, left behin
οὐNeg
ΜωϋσῆςMosesσῶμαbody, flesh
οὐδέNeg
λόγοςa word, speech,
οὐκέτιNeg
οὐδείςno one, none, no
τολμάωwere they daring16×
what comes after →
τὶς
ἀπόλαλέωI speak, sayσύ
αὐτός
ἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
εἰσέρχομαιI go in, come in, en
πρός
ἐπερωτάωI interrogate, quest
αὐτός
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disci

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

Concordanceτολμάω · 16× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Acts Mark Romans 1 Corinthians John Jude Luke Matthew Philippians
Across the New Testament10 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 26c. AD 40

πρεσβύτερον δ’ ἀποφαίνεσθαι τολμᾶν ἀφιλόσοφον.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.155c. AD 75–95

πρῶτος οὖν τολμᾷ θεὸν ἀποφήνασθαι δημιουργὸν τῶν ὅλων ἕνα, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν εἰ καί τι πρὸς εὐδαιμονίαν συντελεῖ κατὰ προσταγὴν τὴν τούτου παρέχειν ἕκαστον καὶ οὐ κατʼ οἰκείαν ἰσχύν.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 30.8c. AD 96

θράσος καὶ αὐθάδεια καὶ τόλμα τοῖς κατηραμένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ: ἐπιείκεια καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνη καὶ πραΰτης παρὰ τοῖς ηὐλογημένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. AD 2nd c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD 4th c. AD
P.Ryl. 2 144Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 38

καὶ ἄσχημα καὶ ἐνειλούμενός μοι ἀπώλεσα πινακίδα καὶ ἀργυρίου δραχμὰς ξ, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐτόλμησεν φθόνου μοι ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ μὴ ὄντος. διὸ ἀξιῶ γράψαι ἀχθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐπὶ σὲ

P.Lond. 2 p. 167-169 no. 177Bakchias (Arsinoites)AD 40

καὶ μηδενὸς αὐτῇ ἐπιβάλλοντος τῶν πατρικῶν καὶ μητρικῶν ἀκολούθως τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν διαθήκῃ ἐτόλμησεν σὺν τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς Πτολεμαίῳ Ὡρίωνος ἐξᾶραι τὰ πατρικὰ ἡμῶν ἔπιπλα καὶ σκεύη τὰ

P.Mich. 5 231ArsinoitesAD 48–AD 51

τοῖς συκοφαντιῶν καὶ ἐπιθέσεων ὑπὲρ ὧν ἕκαστος τῶν ἠδικημένων τὴν προέλευσιν πεποίηνται ἔτι καὶ ἐτόλμησεν ὁ αὐτὸς ἐνκαλούμενος τῆι περὶ ἑαυτὸν αὐθαδείᾳ χρώμενος ἐκδιῶξαι ἕτερον τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς

no longer then were they daring to ask Him no [thing].
ἐπερωτᾶνeperōtaō to ask G1905 Verb · present · active · infinitive
56× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Luke than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To question or seek information is what this word means, used by Jesus in Mark 11:29 and by the disciples in Luke 2:46.
Amplified meaning
seek information, ask
Tyndale gloss
to question
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐπερωτάω (i.e., *eperotao*) is composed of the prefix ἐπ- and the root ἐρωτάω. It means to inquire, question, or demand and is used in various contexts, including consulting God (Romans 10:20). In the New Testament, it appears in passages like Mark 12:34 and Matthew 16:1. Some sources note a distinction in its use, particularly regarding formal requests.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐπ-ερωτάω, -ῶ

[in LXX chiefly for שָׁאַל, also for דָּרַשׁ, etc. ;]

to in­quire of, consult, question: c. acc pers., Mk 12:34, Lk 2:46, al.; c. dupl. acc, Mk 7:17 11:29, Lk 20:40, al.; c. acc pers., seq. λέγων, Mt 12:18, Mk 9:11; εἰ, Mk 8:23, Lk 23:6, al.; ἐ. θεόν, Ro 10:20 (LXX).

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

ἐπ-ερωτάω, -ῶ ; impf. ἐπηρώτων: fut. ἐπερωτήσω; 1 aor. ἐπηρώτησα: 1 aor. pass. ptep. émepwrnbeis ; Sept. mostly for 78wW, sometimes for W171, 1. fo accost one with an inquiry, put a question to, inquire of, ask, interrogate, [ἐπί directive, uniformly in the N.T.; Mey. on Mk. xi. 29 (ef. ἐπί, D. 2)]: τινά, Mk. ix. 325 xii. 34; Mt. xxii. 46; Lk. ii. 46; 1 Co. xiv. 35; Jn. xviii. 21 RG: τινά τι; ask one any thing, Mk. vii. 17 LT Tr WH; xi. 29; Lk. xx. 40; τινὰ περί τινος, one about a thing, Mk. vii. 17 RG; (Lk. ix. 45 Lehm.], (Hdt. 1, 32; Dem. 1072, 12): foll. by λέγων with the words used by the questioner, Mt. xii. 10; xvii. 10; Mk. ix. 11; xii. 18; Lk. iii.10, 145 xx. 27; xxiii. 3 [R G L], and often in the Synoptic Gospels; foll. by εἰ, whether, Mk. viii. 23; xv. 445 Lk. xxiii. 6; or some other form of the indirect question, Acts xxiii. 34; ἐπηρώtov λέγοντες [LT Tr WH om. dey. ], τίς…

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

ἐπερωτάω. For this verb in its ordinary NT sense of ‘‘ask,” see P Hib I. 7215 (B.c. 241) ἀποσταλεὶς “A. πρὸς τὸν [ἐν τῶι] ἀδύτωι X. ἐπηρώτα εἰ ὑπάρχει ἐν τῶι ἱερῶν... ἡ σφραγίς, “Ας having been sent to Ch. in the sanctuary asked him if | the seal was in the temple”; P Flor III. 331° (ii/a-D.) ἐπερωτώμενος im[d] σου περὶ τῶν ἐντὸς περιχώμα[τος ἀν]αγραφομένων .. . προσφωνῶ ὡς ὑπόκειται. For a “remarkably early example” of the stipulatory formula ἐπερωτηθεὶς ὡμολόγησα cf. P Oxy VI. 90529 (a.p. 170) (= Selectzons, p. 87) κυρία ἡ συνγραφὴ δισσὴ γραφεῖσα πρὸς τὸ ἑκάτερον μέρος ἔχειν μοναχόν, καὶ ἐπερωτη[θέν)τες ἑαυτοῖς ὡμολόγησαν, ‘the contract is valid, being written in duplicate in order that each party may have one: and in answer to the formal question they declared to each other their consent.” Other examples of the same formula (cf. Modica /ntroduzione, p. 128) are P Gen I. 4251 (A.D.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐπερωτάω (eperōtaō) — to question.

ἐπερωτ-άω,

Ionic dialect ἐπειρ-, consult, inquire of, with accusative person, [Refs 5th c.BC+], cf. Oracle texts cited in [LXX+4th c.BC+]:—passive, to be questioned, asked a question, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. with accusative of things, ask a question, ταῦτα, τάδε, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; also, ask about a thing, [[Refs 5th c.BC+]; σμικρόν τι τῶν ῥηθέντων call it in question, [Refs 5th c.BC+] inquire what.., [Refs 5th c.BC+] inquire about, [LXX]passive, τὸ ἐπερωτηθέν the question asked, variant in [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. with accusative person et of things, [Refs 5th c.BC+].

4. absolutely, put a question, especially of a chairman putting a question to the vote, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐπερωτάω

eperotao

from 1909 and 2065; to ask for, i.e. inquire, seek:--ask (after,

questions), demand, desire, question.

see GREEK for 1909

see GREEK for 2065

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐπερωτάω

v.

I interrogate, question, demand of

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐπερωτάω eperōtaō 56x

to interrogate, question, ask, Mt. 12:10; 17:10; in NT to request, require, Mt. 16:1; from the Hebrew, ἐπερωτᾶν τὸν θεόν, to seek after, desire an acquaintance with God, Rom. 10:20

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐπερωτάω ionic ἐπειρ- fut. ήσω to inquire of, question, consult, τὸν θεόν Hdt., Thuc., etc.; τινὰ περί τινος Hdt.:—Pass. to be questioned, asked a question, Thuc.

c. acc. rei, to ask a thing or about a thing, Hdt.:—c. acc. pers. et rei, ἐπ. τοὺς προφήτας τὸ αἴτιον id. Hdt.:—absol. to put the question, Dem.

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ask (sha'al "to inquire," "to seek for counsel," "to demand"): It is the word commonly used in the Old Testament and is equivalent to eperotao, "to request," used in the New Testament. It does not imply any inferiority on the part of the person asking (Ps 2:8). It is the Son who is bidden to ask, and therefore the word expresses the request of an equal. It has also the meaning "to inquire": "Wherefore .... ask after my name?" (Ge 32:29) signifying, "Surely you must know who I am." "Ye shall ask me no question" (Joh 16:23), i.e. "about the true meaning of My words, for all will then be clear to you" (Dummelow). aiteo, is the word commonly used with reference to prayer. It means "to ask," "to implore," and presents the…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
11%questioning
questioning11% · 6×asked9% · 5×questioned9% · 5×he was asking9% · 5×asking9% · 5×he questioned9% · 5×they asked5% · 3×they questioned5% · 3×other renderings34% · 19×

56 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 21 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 56 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
ξηρόςdry, withered, dἀνάστασιςa rising again, ἡγεμώνa governor
αὐτός
χείρa handκαίand, even, also,φοβέωI fear, am terri
Φαρισαῖοςa Pharisee
Article theπροσέρχομαιI come near, con
πειράζωI try, tempt, test
Σαδδουκαῖοςa Sadducee
ἡμέραa day
Article the
ἐπερωτάωto ask56×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theλέγωI say, speakτίςIrg
δέbut, on the other ha
αὐτόςὑπό
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disciπατήρfather, Father, ἸησοῦςJesus
σύ
εἷςoneεἰCond
εἷςone
ἐκ

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

Concordanceἐπερωτάω · 56× in the New Testament
Mark Luke Matthew Acts John 1 Corinthians Romans
Across the New Testament7 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 30 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome
JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.123c. AD 75–95

εἰπόντος δὲ τοῦ ἱερέως μὴ ἀποκρίνεσθαι τὸν θεόν ἀλλʼ οὐ δίχα αἰτίας, εἶπεν ὁ Σαοῦλος, πυνθανομένοις ἡμῖν φωνὴν οὐ δίδωσιν ὁ θεὸς, ὃς πρότερον αὐτὸς προεμήνυσε πάντα καὶ μηδʼ ἐπερωτῶσιν ἔφθασε λέγων, ἀλλʼ ἔστι τι λανθάνον ἐξ ἡμῶν ἁμάρτημα πρὸς αὐτὸν…

Clement of RomeSecond Clement 12.2c. AD 96

ἐπερωτηθεὶς γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ὑπό τινος, πότε ἥξει αὐτοῦ ἡ βασιλεία, εἶπεν: Ὅταν ἔσται τὰ δύο ἕν, καὶ τὸ ἔξω ὡς τὸ ἔσω, καὶ τὸ ἄρσεν μετὰ τῆς θηλείας οὔτε ἅρσεν οὔτε θῆλυ.

The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 3.8.9c. AD 140

ἐπηρώτων δὲ αὐτὴν περὶ τῶν καιρῶν, εἰ ἤδη συντέλειά ἐστιν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 5th c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Berl.Leihg. 1 23Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 252

ἄξιον δραχμῶν κ, καὶ μετὰ τὸν χρόνον παραδώσω ὡς παρέλαβον, ἐὰν φαίνηται μισθῶσαι, καὶ ἐπερωτηθεὶς ὡμολόγησα. ἔτους β Αὐτοκρατόρων Καισάρων Γαΐου Οὐιβίου Τρεβωνιανοῦ Γάλλου καὶ Γαΐου Οὐιβίου Ἀφεινίου Γάλλου

Καρανίδα καὶ Πτολεμαίδα Νέαν τῆς Ἡρακλείδου μερίδος ὑπὲρ τοῦ διεληλυθότος τρίτου ἔτους πλήρης, καὶ ἐπερωτηθεὶς ὡμολόγησα. Αὐρήλιος Ἀφροδίσιος ἀπέσχον τὸ ἐκφόριον ὡς πρόκιται. ἔτους δ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Μάρκου

ÉdP 3 (1936), p. 27- no. 13Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 297

χρόνον παραδώσω τὰς ἀρούρας ἀπὸ ἀναπαύματος καὶ καλάμης ἐξ ἴσου. ἡ μίσθωσις κυρία, καὶ ἐπερωτηθεὶς ὡμολόγησα. Αὐρήλιος Νεμεσῖνος μεμίσθωκα ὡς πρόκιται. ἔτους β τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Δομιτιανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ, Φαῶφι

no longer then were they daring to ask Him no [thing].
αὐτὸνautos Him G846 Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke 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'.
Amplified meaning
Jesus, the Messiah
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-ASM — Personal pronoun · accusative · singular · masculine
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-ASM Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular 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
αὐτόςHim5550×
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

no longer then were they daring to ask Him no [thing].
οὐδέν.¶oudeis no [thing]. G3762 Adjective · accusative · singular · neuter
235× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Luke as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'none' or 'nobody', used in Luke 4:24 and Romans 8:1 to emphasize the absence of something or someone. It's a strong way to say that nothing or no one is present or available.
Amplified meaning
none, not one, additional, more
Tyndale gloss
none
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

οὐδείς is built from the negation οὐ (not) and εἷς (one), meaning no one or none. It appears in various contexts in the New Testament, often emphasizing the absence of people or things, such as in Matthew 5:13 and John 1:18. The word can also be used adverbially to mean not at all or nothing.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὐδείς, -δεμία, -δέν (also in WH, txt., the Hellenistic forms -θείς, -θέν, Lk 22:35 23:14, Ac 15:9 19:27 26:26, I Co 13:2, II Co 11:8; cf. Bl., § 6, 7; M, Pr., 56n, Thackeray, Gr., 58), related to μηδείς as οὐ to μή,

no, no one, none: with nouns, Lk 4:24, Jo 10:41, Ro 8:1, al.; absol., Mt 6:24, Mk 3:27, Lk 1:61, Jo 1:18, Ac…

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

οὐδείς. P Alex 4° (iii/B.c.) (= Witkowski’, p. 52), οὐδείς σε ἀνθρώπων μὴ ὠφειλήσηι. For a similar use of οὐθείς, cf. P Petr 11. 13(19)!8 (B.c. 258-3) (= Witkowski?, p. 20) τοῦτο {δ᾽ ἔχε τῆι δια[νοία]ι, ὅτι οὐθέν σοι μὴ γενηθῆι λυπηρόν, ἀλλὰ πᾶν ἐμοὶ ἔστ]αι πεφροντισμένον τοῦ σε γενέσθαι ἄλυπον, ‘‘but hold this fact in your mind, that nothing vexatious may happen to you, but that I have used every forethought to keep you free from trouble’’ (Ed.). Another ex. of the neut. οὐδέν is the illiterate BGU II. 380" (ili/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 105) οὐδὲν περισότε[ρ]ον ext σε. οὐδ΄ ποτε “there is nothing so much the matter with you.’’ The stronger οὐδέν is sometimes used for οὐ : see Epict. iv. ro. 36 οὐδὲν κωλύονται ἀθλιώτατοι εἶναι Kal δυστυχέστατοι (cited by Radermacher G7. p. 26), and possible NT exx. in Ac 18! (but cf. Blass Gr. p. 104), Rev 377, The usual accumulation of negatives may be…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐδείς (oudeis) — none.

οὐδείς,

feminine οὐδεμίᾰ (never nominative accusative -μίη, -μίην, since οὐδεμιῇ is probably in [Refs], rarely οὐδ᾽ ἴα [Refs 7th c.BC+], not one, i.e. no one, none, used by [Refs 8th c.BC+], except in the phrase τὸ ὃν μένος οὐδενὶ εἴκων [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οὐδείς is found in [Refs 5th c.BC+]: rare in plural, no set of persons or things, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὐδένων εἰσὶ βελτίους, i.e. οὔ τινων ἄλλων, [Refs 5th c.BC+] —In _Ionic dialect_ the _plural_ is usually οὐδαμοί.

2. οὐ. ὅστις οὐ every one, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὐδὲν ὅ τι οὐ every, [Refs]; this came to be regarded as one word, so that οὐδείς passed into the same case as ὅστις, οὐδένα ὅντινα οὐ κατέκλασε [Refs 5th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐδείς οὐθείς

oudeis

oudemia oo-dem-ee'-ah, and neuter

ouden oo-den'

from 3761 and 1520; not even one (man, woman or thing), i.e. none,

nobody, nothing:--any (man), aught, man, neither any (thing), never

(man), no (man), none (+ of these things), not (any, at all, -thing),

nought.

see GREEK for 3761

see GREEK for 1520

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐδείς, οὐδεμία, οὐδέν

Adj

no one, none, nothing

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐδείς oudeis 227x

latter form, οὐθείς (G4032), not one, no one, none, nothing, Mt. 5:13; 6:24; 19:17; met. οὐδέν, nothing, of no account, naught, Jn. 8:54; Acts 21:24

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

οὐδείς never οὐδεμίη and not one, i. e. no one, none, as Lat. nullus, for ne ullus, Hom., etc.:—rare in pl. (οὐδαμοί being used instead), Xen.; πρὸς οὐδένας τῶν Ἑλλήνων Dem.; v. infr. II. 3.

οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐ, Lat. nemo non, every one, Hdt., attic; οὐδὲν ὅ τι οὐ, Lat. nihil non, every, Hdt.; this came to be regarded as one word, so that οὐδείς passed into the same case as the relative, οὐδένα ὅντινα οὐ κατέκλασε Plat.

naught, good for naught, Ar.

in neut. of persons, οὐδέν εἰμι Hdt.; πρὸς τὸν οὐδένα Eur.; οὐδὲν εἶναι to be good for nothing, Ar.

in pl., οὐδένες ἐόντες being nobodies, Hdt.; ὄντες οὐδένες Eur.; ὁ μηδὲν ὢν κἀξ οὐδένων κεκλήσομαι id. Eur.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-ASN-N — Adjective · accusative · singular · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-ASN-N Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter Negative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
90%no
no90% · 212×none5% · 12×other renderings3% · 7×other renderings2% · 4×

235 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject46%object32%adverbial12%predicate8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 235 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
ἐγώαὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςΠιλᾶτοςPilate
αὐτός
ὀφθαλμόςthe eyeφοβέωI fear, am terriλέγωI say, speak
ὅς
ἐπίγράφωI writeαὐτός
σύ
λέγωI say, speakκατήγοροςa prosecutor, acχαράjoy, gladness
οὐδείςno [thing].235×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ὅςἐκἀλλάbut, except
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
ἔρχομαιI come, goδύοἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existδύναμαιI am powerful, aτὶς
ὁράωI see, look upon, ex
Article theεἰCondἀλλάbut, except
ἐγώ
μισθόωI hire out, hireδύναμαιI am powerful, aδιαφέρωI carry through,

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

Concordanceοὐδείς · 235× in the New Testament
John Luke Acts Mark 1 Corinthians Matthew Revelation 2 Corinthians Galatians Hebrews Romans 1 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 113 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

τὸ μὲν οὖν κάλλος τῶν νοημάτων τῆς κοσμοποιίας οὐδεὶς οὔτε ποιητὴς οὔτε λογογράφος ἀξίως ἂν ὑμνῆσαι δύναιτο·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

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

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.9c. AD 100

διὸ προσέχωμεν ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις: οὐδὲν γὰρ ὠφελήσει ἡμᾶς ὁ πᾶς χρόνος τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν, ἐὰν μὴ νῦν ἐν τῷ ἀνόμῳ καιρῷ καὶ τοῖς μέλλουσιν σκανδάλοις, ὡς πρέπει υἱοῖς θεοῦ, ἀντιστῶμεν, ἵνα μὴ σχῇ παρείσδυσιν ὁ μέλας.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 4th c. AD 1st c. AD
P. Grenf. 1 12Latopolis151 BC

Φιλωτέρειον Δρύτωνι Παμφίλου ὄντα συγγενῆ, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ἐσθλάδου τοῦ Ἐσθλάδου. Ἀλλωι δὲ οὐθενὶ οὐθὲν καταλείπω οὐδε δίδωμι. Μαρτυρες … … … … δεξι … … μελίχρως τετανὸς

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

ς δεομένων δὲ τῶν … ντων ὑμῶν διαλήψεως … καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν οὐδενός … ς ἀξιοῦμεν … ἀνθρώπου ἀλόγως … ὀφείλει ἡμῖν διάφορα … θαι ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι

P.Grenf. 2 36Pathyris96 BC

καὶ Φάφις καὶ οἱ παρʼ ἡμῖν πάντες. μὴ λυπεῖσθε ἐπὶ τοῖς χωρισθεῖσι. ὑπελάμβανον φονευθήσεσθαι. οὐθὲν ἡμῖν κακὸν ἐποίησεν ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπιμεμέληται, περὶ ὧν, ἐὰν αἱρῆτε, γράψατέ μοι.

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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