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Matthew 20:27 — Word Study

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N1904καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

BSAandkai who[ever]hos, hē [desires to be, wishes to] maybeean shall wishthelō amongen [in the midst of, surrounded by] yousu to beeimi first,prōtos [first in importance, foremost] he will beeimi yoursu slave;doulos [a servant subject to another]

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 20
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 27 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 (doulos) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 20:27quick helps
In a sentenceJesus teaches that true greatness comes from serving others, not seeking power.
Who is speakingJesus, addressing His disciples about leadership.
Where we areIn a teaching moment, contrasting worldly views of greatness with His own.
The hard wordδοῦλος
Take awayTo lead is to serve; the first must be like a slave.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectὅς verbθέλω 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 — Matthew 20:27

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 — Teaching on Servanthoodgenerated

26It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—
28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
29As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him.

Matthew 20:27 is part of a larger discourse where Jesus instructs His disciples on the nature of true leadership. He contrasts the expectations of greatness in society with the call to humility and service. This teaching follows a request from the mother of James and John, who sought positions of honor for her sons, prompting Jesus to clarify the meaning of greatness in His kingdom.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Matthew 18:4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
2Mark 9:33–35Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
3Luke 22:26But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
4Acts 20:34–35You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.
5Romans 1:14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 9 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word δοῦλος, doulosgenerated

The noun δοῦλος is commonly translated as 'slave' or 'servant.' It indicates a person who is in a state of subjection to another, often used in the context of literal servitude but can also carry metaphorical implications of spiritual servitude. The word appears frequently in the New Testament, emphasizing the role of a servant in the community of believers.

In this verse, Jesus uses δοῦλος to illustrate that those who aspire to be first must adopt the mindset and role of a servant, reversing the typical understanding of leadership. This aligns with the broader biblical theme of humility and service as the true path to greatness.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses slave for δοῦλος. Other translations, like the KJV and ASV, use servant, which softens the term's implications of subjection.

The translations diverge primarily on the rendering of δοῦλος. The BSB, NETB, and others maintain the stronger connotation of slave, while the KJV and ASV opt for servant, which can imply a more voluntary role.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main finite verb in this verse is ἔσται, he will be, which governs the clause. The structure includes a subject, ὃς (whoever), and a predicate that describes the condition of being first among the disciples.

The clause is constructed with a conditional phrase introduced by ἂν (if), indicating that the status of being first is contingent upon the willingness to serve, thus linking the concept of leadership directly to servitude.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In Matthew 20:27, the Greek word θέλῃ (thelō), meaning 'shall wish,' is used. This word corresponds to Hebrew terms like חָפֵץ (ḥāfēṣ), which conveys a sense of delight or desire, and אָבָה (ʾāḇāh), meaning 'to be willing' or 'to consent.' This choice emphasizes the intention behind the desire to lead.

The term πρῶτος (prōtos), meaning 'first,' aligns with the Hebrew רִאשׁוֹן (rīʾšōn), which denotes being first or chief. The phrase 'your slave' is translated from δοῦλος (doulos), corresponding to עֶ֫בֶד (ʿeḇeḏ), meaning 'slave' or 'servant.' This highlights the countercultural call to greatness through servanthood.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 20:27 teaches that if anyone wants to be first among the disciples, they must be like a slave. This challenges common views of leadership, showing that true greatness comes from serving others.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to be a slave in this context?

In this verse, being a slave means to serve others selflessly, putting their needs above your own, reflecting the servant leadership that Jesus exemplified.

How does this teaching contrast with worldly views of leadership?

Worldly views often see leadership as a position of power and authority, while Jesus teaches that true leaders serve others and prioritize their well-being.

Why is servanthood emphasized in the Christian faith?

Servanthood is emphasized because it reflects the character of Jesus, who came to serve rather than be served, and calls His followers to do the same.

How can I apply this teaching in my life?

You can apply this teaching by looking for opportunities to serve others in your community, workplace, or family, and by adopting a humble attitude in your interactions.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways can I serve others in my daily life?
  2. How does my understanding of leadership align with Jesus' teaching?
  3. What are some practical examples of servanthood I can model after Jesus?
  4. How can I encourage others to embrace a servant-hearted approach to leadership?

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 20:27 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

And whosoever will be chief among you,.... Or first, or have the pre-eminence, the first place in the kingdom of the Messiah, let him be your servant; or, as in Mark, shall be servant of all: not

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

And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, For the exposition, see the notes at Mark 10:32-45.

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

Ver. 25-27. So Mark hath much the same, . Luke hath also much the same, (but it seemeth spoken at another time), . I shall not here intermeddle with the disputes some have founded on this text: Whether there may be a civil, magistracy amongst Christians; a thing undoubtedly foreign to the sense of this text. Or, Whether Christ here establisheth a party amongst ministers; which I do not think our Lord’ s design here. Nor yet with that other question, Whether ministers of the gospel may take upon them the exercise of any civil power. That which our Saviour here intends is, 1. To distinguish his kingdom from the kingdoms of the world. Those kingdoms are over men’ s bodies and estates; his was…

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

27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Ver. 27. Let him be your servant] This is the ready way to rise. Neither may any think himself too good to serve the saints, to wash their feet, to minister to their necessities. Christ came out of the bosom of his Father to fetch them to heaven. The Holy Ghost disdains not to dwell in their hearts. Angels are desirous to do them any good office. Prophets think not much to minister to them, 1 Peter 1:12. Paul, and Apollos, and Cephas are theirs, public servants to the Church; accounting it a far greater matter prodesse quam praeesse, to seek men’ s salvation than to exercise dominion.

Read John Trapp on Matthew 20 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(27) Whosoever will be chief.—Better, first, as continuing the thought of Mat 20:16. The “servant” (better, slave) implies a lower and more menial service than that of the “minister” of the preceding verse, just as the “chief” or “first” involves a higher position than the “greatness” there spoken of. We introduce a false antithesis if we assign the “service” to this life, and the “greatness” as its reward to the life after death. The true teaching of the words is that the greatness is the service.

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

Verse 27. Your servant] δουλος the lowest secular office, as deacon was the lowest ecclesiastical office: δουλος is often put for slave. From these directions of our Lord, we may easily discern what sort of a spirit his ministers should be of. 1. A minister of Christ is not to consider himself a lord over Christ's flock. 2. He is not to conduct the concerns of the Church with an imperious spirit. 3. He is to reform the weak, after Christ's example, more by loving instruction than by reproof or censure. 4. He should consider that true apostolic greatness consists in serving the followers of Christ with all the powers and talents he possesses. 5. That he should be ready, if required, to give…

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

20–28. Salome’s Prayer for her sons, and the Answer of Jesus Mark 10:35-41. St Mark begins “And James and John the sons of Zebedee came unto him, saying, &c.” For once St Matthew is more graphic and true to detail than St Mark.

Read Cambridge on Matthew 20 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

27. Will be chief — The only superiority here to be sought is superiority in labours and sufferings for the common good. If any would be great let him be the greatest servant.

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Matthew 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 whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant,

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

NETBNew English Translation2006

and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave –

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:

RVARevised Version, American1894

and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And whoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

GNVGeneva Bible1599

And whosoeuer will be chiefe among you, let him be your seruant.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

and whosoever will be first among you, let him be your bondman;

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

and whoever may will among you to be first, let him be your servant;

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

and whoever may will among you to be first, let him be your servant;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your servant,

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And he that will be first among you, shall be your servant.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Whoever among you wants to be first will be like a slave.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And whoever has a desire to be first among you, let him take the lowest place:

Word by word, the decisions they made

δοῦλος·doulos slave; G1401 2 different renderings
servantASV DRA KJV LSV NWB RVA ULB YLT
slaveBSB FBV MSB NETB

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.

clauseοὐχNotclausepredicateοὕτωςthuslinking verbἐστὶνwill it beprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνamongὑμῖνyouἀλλ’butclauseclausenoun phrase · subjectclauseἐὰνifclausesubjectὃςwhoeververbθέλῃwishesclause · objectprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνamongὑμῖνyoupredicateμέγαςgreatlinking verbγενέσθαιto becomelinking verbἔσταιhe will benoun phrase · predicateὑμῶνyourδιάκονοςservantκαὶandclausenoun phrase · subjectclauseἂν-clausesubjectὃςwhoeververbθέλῃwishesclause · objectprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνamongὑμῖνyoulinking verbεἶναιto bepredicateπρῶτοςfirstlinking verbἔσταιhe will benoun phrase · predicateὑμῶνyourδοῦλοςslaveclauseὥσπερeven asclausenoun phrase · subjectthenoun phraseΥἱὸςSonnoun phraseτοῦ-ἀνθρώπουof Manadverbialοὐκnotverbἦλθενcameclause · adverbialclauseverbδιακονηθῆναιto be servedἀλλὰbutclauseclauseverbδιακονῆσαιto serveκαὶandclauseverbδοῦναιto givenoun phrase · objectτὴνthenoun phraseψυχὴνlifeαὐτοῦof Himnoun phrase · second objectλύτρον[as] a ransomprepositional phraseἀντὶforπολλῶνmany

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 qui voluerit inter vos primus esse, erit vester servus.

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

ܘܡܢ ܕܨܒܐ ܒܟܘܢ ܕܢܗܘܐ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܢܗܘܐ ܠܟܘܢ ܥܒܕܐ

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

καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

καὶ ὃς ἂν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ἔσται ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

καὶ ὃς θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

καὶ ὃς θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος, ὑμῶν δοῦλος·

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
ἂν maybeNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz
ἔσται he will beNA28, NA27, Tyn, SBL, WH, TregTR, Byz

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.

Matthew 20:27καίandandκαίὅςwho[ever]who[ever]ὅςἄνmaybemaybeἄνθέλωshall wishshall wishθέλωἐνamongamongἐνσύyouyouσύειναιto beto beειναιπρῶτοςfirst,first,πρῶτοςεἰμίhe will behe will beεἰμίσύyouryourσύδοῦλος (II)slave;slave;δοῦλος (II)εἰμίv. I am, ev. I am, existεἰμίδέωv. I bindv. I bindδέωArticle thArticle theοὗAdv where,Adv where, whitοὗἐάνCond. ifCond. ifἐάνεἰςPrep. intoPrep. into, in,εἰςἐκPrep. fromPrep. from out,ἐκπρόPrep. befoPrep. beforeπρόἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήνἄνDisj.prt. Disj.prt. an unἄνἄχριAdv as farAdv as far as, ἄχριδέχομαιv. I take,v. I take, receδέχομαιἐχθρόςAdj hated,Adj hated, hostἐχθρόςἀγνοέωv. I do nov. I do not knoἀγνοέωκαθαρίζωv. I make v. I make cleanκαθαρίζωσυναγωγήn.f. an asn.f. an assemblσυναγωγήἔρημοςAdj desertAdj deserted, dἔρημοςχείρωνAdj worseAdj worseχείρων
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 Matthew 20:27

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.

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
καὶkai and G2532 Conjunction
8,978× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
And or also, a connecting word used to join ideas or words, like in Matthew 2:18 and Hebrews 1:1.
Tyndale gloss
and
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

καί,

conj.,

and.

Copulative.

Connecting single words;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καί (kai) — and.

καί,

conjunction, copulative, joining words and sentences,

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

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

καί

kai

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

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

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

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

yet.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καί

Cj.

and, even, also, namely

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καί kai 9x

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

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

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

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
ὃςhos, hē who[ever] G3739 Relative pronoun · nominative · singular · masculine
1,407× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The word which is a pronoun used to ask for or identify something, as seen in John 5:11. It can also be used to describe a person or thing, such as in Mark 15:23. This word helps to clarify or specify what is being talked about.
Amplified meaning
desires to be, wishes to
Tyndale gloss
which
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ὅς is a pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' 'what,' or 'that.' It serves as both a demonstrative and a relative pronoun, agreeing in gender with its antecedent. The New Testament uses it in various constructions, including phrases like ὃς μὲν... ὃς δέ to indicate contrasting subjects. Notably, it can express purpose or cause in certain contexts.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

the postpositive article (ἄρθρον ὑποτακτικόν).

As demonstr. pron. = οὗτος, ὅδε, this, that, also for αὐτός, chiefly in nom.: ὅς δέ, but he (cf. ἦ δὲ ὅς, freq. in Plat.), Mk 15:23, Jo 5:11; ὃς μὲν . . . ὃς δέ, the one . . . the other, Mt 21:35 22:5 25:15, Lk 23:33, Ac 27:14, Ro 14:5, I Co 11:21, II Co 2:16, Ju 22; neut., ὃ μὲν . . . ὃ δέ, the one . . . the other, some . . . some, Mt 13:8, 23, Read the full entry →

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

ὅς 455 ὅς iii. 5 [RG], 6; Heb. vi. 10; ix. 20; Jas. ii. 5; 1 In. iii. 24; Jude 15; for other exx. see below; ἐν ὥρᾳ 7 οὐ γινώoxet, Mt. xxiv. 50; τῇ παραδύσει 9 παρεδώκατε, Mk. vii. 13 ; add, Lk. ii. 20; v. 9; ix. 435 xii. 46; xxiv. 25; Jn. xvii. 5; Acts ii. 22; xvii. 31; xx. 38; 2 Co. xii. 21; 2Th.i. 4; Rev. xviii. 6; ef. W. § 24,1; [B. as above]. Rarely attraction oceurs where the verb governs the dative [but see below]: thus, κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσε θεοῦ for xarévavre θεοῦ, ᾧ ἐπίστευσε (See κατέναντι). Ro. iv. 17; φωνῆς, ἧς ἔκραξα (for 7 (al. ἥν, οἴ. W. 164 (154 sq.) Β. 287 (217)}7), Acts xxiv. 21, οἵ. Is. vi. 4; (7γετο δὲ καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ τε πιστῶν, οἷς ἥδετο καὶ ὧν ἠπίστει πολλούς, for καὶ πολλοὺς τούτων, οἷς ἠπίστει, Xen. Cyr. ὅ, 4, 39; ὧν ἐγὼ ἐντετύχηκα οὐδείς; for οὐδεὶς τούτων, οἷς ἐντετ. Plato, Gorg. p. 509 ἃ.; Protag. p. 361 6.; derep.7 p.531e.; παρ᾽ ὧν βοηθεῖς, οὐδεμίαν λήψει…

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

ος is found as a demonstrative pronoun in P Ryl II. 14415 (complaint of assault—a.D. 38) ὃς δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ἄλογον ἀηδίαν μοι ἐπιχειρήσας παρεχρήσατό μοι πολλὰ καὶ ἄσχημα, ‘“whereupon he opposing me made a brutal and odious attack upon me and subjected me to much shameful mishandling” (Edd.): cf. Mk 15%, Jn 51. For ὃς μέν... ὃς δέ, “the one . . the other,” as in Mt 21° a/., see P Oxy IX. 1189? (c. A.D. 117) ἐπιστολὰς δύο ds ἔγραψα ἣν μὲν σοὶ ἣν δὲ Σαβείνῳ, and for ὃς δέ solétarium see PSI. IV. 313° (iii/iv A.D.) with the editor’s note. Ὃς ἄν (ἐάν) c. conj. = ‘‘ whosoever ” may be illustrated Ly P Par 4622 (B.c. 153) (= Witkowski*, p. 87), περὶ dv ἂν βούληι γράφε, P Grenf I. 30% (B.c. 103) ἐφ} οἷς ἂν οὖν ὑμῶν προσδέωνται, P Oxy IV. 743%% (B.C. 2) ἐν ols ἐὰν σοῦ προσδέηται, °° ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐὰν θέλῃς. For the comparative usage of ὃς ἄν and ὃς ἐάν, see Thackeray Gr. i. p. 68, cited s.v. ἄν.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅς (hos, hē) — which.

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

genitive οὗ, ἧς, οὗ, etc.; dative plural οἷς, αἷς, οἷς, etc.: Epic dialect forms, genitive ὅου (probably replacing Οο) in the phrases ὅου κλέος οὔ ποτ᾽ ὀλεῖται [Refs 8th c.BC+]; feminine ἕης [Refs 8th c.BC+]; elsewhere only ἧς [Refs]; dative plural οἷς, οἷσι, ᾗς, ᾗσι (never αἷς or αἷσι in [Refs 8th c.BC+] — _pronoun_ used,

__A as demonstrative by the side of οὗτος, ὅδε, and the Article ὁ, ἡ, τό: in post-Homeric Gr. this use survived only in a few special phrases.

__B as a Relat. by the side of the Article ὅ, ἥ, τό (see. ὁ, ἡ, τό, c):—this demonstrative and Relat. pronoun must not be confounded with the Possess. ὅς, ἥ, ὅν. (With Gr. Relat. ὅς, ἥ, ὅ cf. Sanskrit Relat. yas, yā, yad, Lithuanian jis, ji (he, she), Oslav. i, ja, je (he, she…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅς ἥ ὅ

hos

he hay, and neuter

ho ho

probably a primary word (or perhaps a form of the article 3588); the

relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun, who, which, what,

that:--one, (an-, the) other, some, that, what, which, who(-m, -se),

etc. See also 3757.

see GREEK for 3588

see GREEK for 3757

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ

Rel.pr.

who, which, what, that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅς hos 1x

who, which, what, that, Mt. 1:16, 23, 25; in NT interrog. ἐφ’ ὅ, wherefore, why, Mt. 26:50; in NT ὅς μὲν ... ὅς δέ, for ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, Mt. 21:35; 2 Cor. 2:16

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Rel-NSM — Relative pronoun · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

R-NSM Part of Speech: Relative pronoun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
25%which
which25% · 356×whom20% · 291×who17% · 238×that14% · 199×what8% · 117×whatever2% · 30×whose2% · 29×other renderings10% · 145×other renderings2% · 25×

1,430 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 60 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
object40%subject29%adverbial26%indirect object3%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,407 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
ἐν
ἡμέραa dayαὐτόςἵναin order that, s
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἔχωI have, hold, poυἱόςa son, descenden
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἀπόλλυμιI destroy, lose,δοῦλος (II)
διά
ἐκεῖνοςΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
εἰς
καίand, even, also,ἐγώοἰκίαa house, househo
ὅςwho[ever]1407×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theμεθερμηνεύωI translate, intκαίand, even, also,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existἔξεστι(ν)it is permitted,γινώσκωI come to know,
Article the
θεόςGod, a godυἱόςa son, descendenκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
καίand, even, also, nam
σύποιέωI do, makeαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
ἄνDisjἑξήκονταIndecτριάκονταIndec

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

Concordanceὅς · 1,407× in the New Testament
Acts Luke John Matthew Romans Mark Hebrews Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Colossians Ephesians

22 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 33c. AD 40

ἵν’ οὖν μὴ αἰεὶ συμφερόμεναι στασιάζωσι καὶ πόλεμος ἀντ’ εἰρήνης ἐπικρατῇ τὴν ἀκοσμίαν ἐν κόσμῳ τιθείς, οὐ μόνον ἐχώρισε φῶς καὶ σκότος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅρους ἐν μέσοις ἔθετο διαστήμασιν, οἷς ἀνεῖρξε τῶν ἄκρων ἑκάτερον·

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

πῶς τὸ Σοδομιτῶν ἔθνος θεὸς κατεστρέψατο χολωθεὶς αὐτοῖς ἐφ' οἷς ἡμάρτανον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 4.8c. AD 100

Μωϋσῆ Μωϋσῆ, κατάβηθι τὸ τάχος, ὅτι ἠνόμησεν ὁ λαός σου, οὓς ἐξήγαγες ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, καὶ συνῆκεν Μωϋσῆς καὶ ἔριψεν τὰς δύο πλάκας ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ: καὶ συνετρίβη αὐτῶν ἡ διαθήκη, ἵνα ἡ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου Ἰησοῦ ἐγκατασφραγισθῇ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν…

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 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

θεοῖς. καλῶς ποιήσεις διαλύσας Ἁρκοννῆσιν καὶ Ψενανοῦπιν καὶ … … ελθεῖν ἐπὶ προ … ους καὶ γραψάτωσαν ἡμῖν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐσπούδασας διὰ τὰς ἡμῶν παρακλήσεις καὶ ση

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

ἐδάνεισεν Ὧρος Ὥρου Ὥρωι Νεχούτου ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος μελίχρως ὑποκλαστὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὖς ἀριστερὸν τετρημένον πυροῦ ἀρτάβας τεσσαράκοντα ἓξ κριθῆς ἑξήκοντα ἐννέα , ἴσους ἀτόκους, ὧν ἀπόδοσιν

P.Adl. 17Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC

τῆς ἐπιγονῆς τῶν ἐκ Παθύρεως ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος μελίχρως τετανὸς ἀναφάλακρος μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν οὖς ἀριστερὸν τετρημένον χαλκοῦ ταλάντων πέντε . προπωλητὴς καὶ βεβαιωτὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν ὠνὴν ταύτην

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
ἂνean maybe G302 Conditional particle
164× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'if' is used to show a condition. It appears in Luke 7, where Jesus says what would happen if a certain condition were met.
Tyndale gloss
if
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἄν, a conditional particle, indicates supposition or possibility and is often untranslatable in English. It is used in various grammatical constructions, particularly in hypothetical sentences, to express what would occur under certain conditions. The New Testament employs it in verses like Luke 7:39 and Galatians 1:10, illustrating its role in conditional statements.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἄν,

conditional particle,

which cannot usually be separately translated in English, its force depending on the constructions which contain it (see further, LS, s.v.; WM, §xlii; M, Pr., 165 ff.; MM, VGT, s.v.).

In apodosis,

c. indic, impf. or aor., expressing what would be or would have been if (εἰ c. impf., aor. or plpf.) some condition were or had been fulfilled: Lk 7:39 17:6, Jo 5:46, Ga 1:10, Mt 12:7 24:43, I Co 2:8, Ac 18:14, I Jo 2:19, al. The protasis is sometimes understood (as also in cl.): Mt 25:27, Lk…

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

ἄν, a particle indicating that something can or could occur on certain conditions, or by the combination of certain fortuitous causes. In Lat. it has no equivalent ; nor do the Eng. haply, perchance, Germ. wohl (wol), etwa, exactly and everywhere correspond to it. The use of this particle in the N. T., illustrated by copious exx. fr: Grk. writ., is shown by W. § 42; [ef. B. 216 (186) 544. Its use in classic Grk. is fully exhibited (by Prof. Goodwin) in L. and S. s. v.]. It is joined 1. in the apodoses of hypothetical sentences 1. with the Impf., where the Lat. uses the impf. subjunctive, e. g. Lk. vii. 39 (ἐγίνωσκεν ἄν, sciret, he would know) ; Lk. xvii. 6 (ἐλέγετε ἄν ye would say) ; Mt. xxiii. 80 (non essemus, we should not have been); Jn. v. 46; vili.42; ix. 41; xv. 19; xviii. 36; 1 Co. xi. 31; Gal. i. 10; iii. 21 [but WH mrg. br.]; Heb. iv. 8; viii. 4, 7.. 2. with the indic. Aor.…

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

ἊΝ ἢ το Teil i., von E. Mayser. Berlin u. Leipzig, 1926. Meecham Lefters...... = Light from Ancient Letters. By Henry G. Meecham. London, [1923]. Meisterhans Gy....... = Grammatik der attischen Inschrifzen, von K. Meisterhans. Dritte Auflage von E, Schwyzer. Berlin, 1900. Meél, Chatelain........ = Mélanges offerts ἃ M. Emile Chatefain. Paris, 1910. πα ECOL Cen nesac ene = Mélanges... offerts a Jules Nicole. Geneva, 1905. = Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta, Ill. Ed. Th. Kock. Leipzig, 1888. Selections = Selections from Menander, edited Menander Fragm. ... ” by W. G. Waddell, M.A. Oxford, 1927. Menandred...........6. = Menandrea ex papyris et membrants vetustissimis. Ted. A. Korte. Leipzig, 1912. WEAN EZ τοῦτος = Griechtsche Grammatik®, von Gustav Meyer. Leipzig, 1896. Meyer Heerwesen.... = Das Heerwesen der Plolemder und Romer in Agypten, von Paul M. Meyer. Leipzig, 1900. Jur, Pap. ..... =…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἄν (an) — if.

ἄν, [ᾰ],

Epic dialect, Lyric poetry, Ionic dialect, [Refs 4th c.AD+], Attic dialect; also κεν) Epic dialect, Aeolic dialect, Thess., κᾱ Doric dialect, Boeotian dialect, El.; the two combined in Epic dialect (below [Refs 4th c.BC+], εἰκ ἄν[Refs 4th c.BC+]:—modal Particle used with Verbs to indicate that the action is limited by circumstances or defined by conditions. In [Refs 8th c.BC+] κε is four times as common as ἄν, in Lyric poetry about equally common. No clear distinction can be traced, but κε as an enclitic is somewhat less emphatic; ἄν is preferred by [Refs 8th c.BC+] in negative clauses, κε (ν) with the relative.

__A In Simple Sentences, and in the Apodosis of Compound Sentences; here ἄν belongs to the Verb, and denotes that the assertion made by the Verb is dependent on a condition, expressed or implied: thus ἦλθεν he came, ἦλθεν…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἄν

an

a primary particle, denoting a supposition, wish, possibility or

uncertainty:--(what-, where-, wither-, who-)soever. Usually

unexpressed except by the subjunctive or potential mood. Also

contracted for 1437.

see GREEK for 1437

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἄν

Disj.prt.

an untranslatable word that makes a statement contingent

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἄν an 166x

For the various constructions of this particle, and their significance, consult a grammar. At the beginning of a clause, it is another form of ἐάν, if, Jn. 20:23

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
COND — Conditional particle
conditional particle — it marks the clause as a condition.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

COND CONDitional particle or conjunction

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
55%maybe
maybe55% · 101×then would19% · 35×when16% · 29×would3% · 6×then2% · 4×other renderings2% · 4×other renderings2% · 3×

182 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 9 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
subject20%adverbial11%object8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 164 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
ὅς
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakὅτιthat, since, bec
δέbut, on the other ha
ὅςὅστις
ἕωςuntil, as far as
θάνατοςdeathἐγώμένωI remain, abide
οὐNeg
ὧδεhereθυσίαa sacrificeἐγώ
τίςIrg
Article theἀλλήλωνπυνθάνομαιI ask, inquire
ἄνmaybe164×
what comes after →
λέγωI say, speak
Article theσύμωρόςstupid, foolish
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theαὐτόςμέγας
τὶς
χρείαneed, necessity,πέμπωI sendαἰτέωI ask, request,
μήNeg
δέχομαιI take, receive,ἔχωI have, hold, poτὶς
Article the
ἐμόςσυκάμινοςa sycamore treeἴδιοςone’s own, priva

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

Concordanceἄν · 164× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke John Mark Acts Romans 1 Corinthians Hebrews 1 John 2 Corinthians Galatians Revelation

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
θέλῃthelō shall wish G2309 Verb · present · active · subjunctive · third person · singular
207× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To will or desire something, as seen in Romans 9:16 and 1 Corinthians 12:6, where it describes a person's intentional choice or preference. This word is about making a conscious decision.
Tyndale gloss
to will/desire
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

θέλω (thelō) means to will, wish, or desire. It is a common verb in the New Testament, often expressing intention or resolution, and can appear in various constructions, such as with an infinitive or an accusative. The lexicons note its frequent use compared to similar verbs and highlight its role in expressing personal desire or divine will, but they do not indicate significant disagreements among them.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

θέλω (the strengthened form ἐθέλω is found in Hom., and is the more freq. in Attic; v. Rutherford, NPhr., 415 f.),

[in LXX for חפץ ,אבה; c. neg., מאן pi., etc.;]

to will, be willing, wish, desire (more freq. than βούλομαι, q.v., in vernac. and late Gk., also in MGr.; for various views as to its relation to β., v. Thayer, 286; but v. also Bl., §24, s.v.): absol., Ro 9:16, I Co 4:19 12:18, Ja 4:15; τ. θεοῦ θέλοντος, Ac 18:21; c. acc. rei, Mt 20:21, Mk 14:36, Jo 15:7, Ro 7:15, 16, I Co 4:21 7:36, Read the full entry →

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

θέλω (only in this form in the N. T.; in Grk. auth. also ἐθέλω [Veitch 5. v.; Lob. ad Phryn. p. 7; B. 57 (49)]); impf. ἤθελον ; [fut. 3 pers. sing. θελήσει, Rev. xi. 5 WII mrg.]; 1 aor. ἠθέλησα; (derived apparently fr. dey with a fuller aspiration, so that it means prop. to seize with the mind; but Curtius p. 726, ed. 5, regards its root as uncertain [he inclines, however, to the view of Pott, Fick, Vanicek and others, which connects it with a root meaning to hold to]); Sept. for 728 and yan; To WILL, (have in mind,) intend; i. e. 1. to be resolved or determined, to purpose: absol., ὁ θέλων, Ro. ix. 16; τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντος if God will, Acts xviii. 21; ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ (in Attic ἐὰν θεὸς θέλῃ, ἣν οἱ θεοὶ θέλωσιν [ ef. Lob. u.s.]), 1 Co. iv. 19; Jas. ἵν. 15; καθὼς ἠθέλησε, 1 Co. xii. 18; xv. 38; τί, Ro. vii. 15 sq. 19 sq.; 1 Co. vii. 36; Gal. v.17; with the aorist inf., Mt. xx. 14…

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

θέλω. For the form ἐθέλω, which is wanting in the NT as in the LXX, Nageli (p. 57) refers to the magic papyri and to the poetic 7J/de 111. 1064: it is common in the Attic inscrr. up to the end of iv/B.c., but from B.C. 250 θέλω occurs, and eventually takes its place as the regular form in the Kow (cf. Meisterhans G7. p. 178). For the verb denoting a personal wish or desire we may cite P Petr I. ταῦ (a Will) τὰ [ἐμαυτοῦ διοικεῖν ὡς ἐ]γὼ θέλω, P Oxy VIT. τοῦτ" (B.c. 22) od BE ypade ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐὰν θέλῃς (ci Mt 85), 726. III. 531° (ii/A.p.) περὶ ὧν θέλεις δήλωσόν μοι, P Cairo Preis 48° (ii/A.D.) τὸ μὲν πλοῖόν σοι, ὡς ἠθέλησας, σκέψομαι, and the constant epistolary phrase γινώσκειν σε θέλω, as in P Oxy IV. 74377 (B.c. 2) ὥστ᾽ ἂν τοῦτό σε θέλω γεινώσκειν ὅτι ἐγὼ αὐτῴ διαστολὰς δεδώκειν τὸ βαδίσαι εἰς Τακόνα, ‘I wish you therefore to know…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

θέλω (thelō) — to will/desire.

θέλω,

see at {ἐθέλω} and add ὅστις ἂν θέλῃ [Refs]

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

θέλω

v.

I will, wish, desire

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

θέλω thelō 208x

to exercise the will, properly by an unimpassioned operation; to be willing, Mt. 17:4; to be inclined, disposed, Rom. 13:3; to choose, Lk. 1:62; to intend, design, Lk. 14:28; to will, Jn. 5:21; 21:22; ἤθελον, I could wish, Gal. 4:20

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

wish: The word appears both as a substantive and as a verb in the Old Testament, having a variety of meanings: (1) The substantive, peh, means "mouth" and also "speech." In this form it occurs in Job 33:6 margin: "Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead." Elihu here refers to Job's expressed desire for an umpire (9:33), and one who would maintain his right with God (16:21). (2) The verb: (a) haphets, "willing," or "desirous" (Ps 40:14 the King James Version); (b) sha'-al, "to ask," "petition," "supplicate" (Job 31:30 the King James Version); (c) another variation of meaning is found in Ps 73:7 where maskith, "to imagine," is translated "wish": "They have more…

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
9%desiring
desiring9% · 18×i desire5% · 10×wishing4% · 9×willing4% · 8×i want3% · 7×do you desire3% · 7×desires3% · 7×shall desire3% · 7×other renderings65% · 138×

211 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 89 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 207 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,ὅςλέγωI say, speak
ἐάνCond
ὅςγάρforκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
καίand, even, also,γραμματεύςa scribe, town-cὅπωςhow, in order th
ὅς
γάρforβασιλεύςa king, ruler, eἐγώ
τίςIrg
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakΠιλᾶτοςPilate
θέλωshall wish207×
what comes after →
δέbut, on the other ha
σύπᾶςall, the whole, οὗτος
Article the
ψυχήthe soul, life, θέλημαwill, wish, desiθεόςGod, a god
ποιέωI do, make
Article theὧδεhereἐν
αὐτός
ἀποκτείνωI put to death, δειγματίζωI hold up as an λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
οὐNegἰάομαιI healδίδωμιI offer, give

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

Concordanceθέλω · 207× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Mark John 1 Corinthians Romans Acts Galatians 2 Corinthians Revelation Hebrews 1 Timothy

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament22 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 61 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 Philo of Alexandria Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 104c. AD 40

τῇ δ’ ἕκτῃ περὶ πάντα καταρτύεται νόος ἀνδρός, οὐδ’ ἕρδειν ἔθ’ ὁμῶς ἔργ’ ἀπάλαμνα θέλει·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.9c. AD 75–95

τούτῳ δὴ πειθόμενος ὡς αἰεὶ τοῖς χρήσιμον ἢ καλόν τι πράττειν δυναμένοις συμφιλοκαλοῦντι καὶ ἐμαυτὸν αἰσχυνόμενος, εἰ δόξαιμι ῥαθυμίᾳ πλέον ἢ τῷ περὶ τὰ κάλλιστα χαίρειν πόνῳ, προθυμότερον ἐπερρώσθην, ἔτι κἀκεῖνα πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις λογισάμενος οὐ…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.9c. AD 100

αἰσθάνεσθαι οὖν ὀφείλομεν, μὴ ὄντες ἀσύνετοι, τὴν γνώμην τῆς ἀγαθωσύνης τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν, ὅτ̓ ἡμῖν λέγει, θέλων ἡμᾶς μὴ ὁμοίως πλανωμένους ἐκείνοις ζητεῖν, πῶς προσάγωμεν αὐτῷ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 1st c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Edg. $1Alexandria (?)252 BC

αὐτός τε ἔρρωσαι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα σοί ἐστιν κατὰ νοῦν, εἴη ἂν ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω· ὑγίαινον δὲ καὶ αὐτός. ἐγραψέν μοι Μαιανδρία ὅτι χλαμύδα αὐτὴν κελεύεις ἐξυφᾶναι. νυνὶ μὲν

P.Cair. Zen. 3 59478276 BC–227 BC

αὐτός τε ἔρρωσαι καὶ τὰ λοιπά σοι κατὰ γνώμην ἐστίν, εἴη ἂν ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω· ὑγίαινον δὲ καὶ αὐτός. ἀπέσταλκά σοι κομίζοντα Πολέμωνα χοιρίδιον τριακονθήμερον α καὶ χαλκῶν δραχμὰς

P.Cair. Zen. 4 59575276 BC–227 BC

σὺ καὶ οὕς βούλει καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ κατὰ νοῦν ἐστιν, γένοιτʼ ἂν ὡς ἡμεῖς θέλομεν. ἱκανῶς δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔχομεν, καί σου μνημονεύομεν ἐν παντὶ καιρῶι, ὥσπερ καὶ προσῆκόν

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
ἐνen among G1722 Preposition
2,743× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word is a preposition that means in, on, or among something. It's used in many places, like Matthew 7:3 and Luke 7:37, to describe a location or relationship. It can also mean by, with, or during.
Amplified meaning
in the midst of, surrounded by
Tyndale gloss
in/on/among
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The most frequent preposition in the New Testament, 2,752 occurrences. In, on, at, among, within — its force comes almost entirely from the word it is attached to. What it does here is put the events inside a community rather than at a distance: they were fulfilled among us.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐν,

prep, (the most freq. of all in NT), c. dat. (= Heb. בְּ, Lat. in, c. abl.).

Of place, c. dat. rei, pers., in, within, on, at, by, among: ἐν τ. πόλει, Lk 7:37; τ. οφθαλμῷ, Mt 7:3; τ. κοιλίᾳ, Mt 12:40; τ. ὄρει, II Pe 1:18; τ. θρόνῳ, Re 3:21; τ. δεξιᾷ τ. θεοῦ, Ro 8:34; ἐν ἡμῖν , Lk 1:1; of books, ἐν τ. βιβλίῳ, Ga 3:10; τ. νόμῳ, Mt 12:5, al.; ἐν τοῖς τ. Πατρός, in my Father's house (RV; cf. M, Pr., 103)…

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

ἐν Χριστῷ, ἐν Χριστῷ ᾿Ιησοῦ, ἐν κυρίῳ, (οἴ. Fritzsche, Com. on Rom. vol. ii. p. 82 544.; W. 389 (364); Weiss, Bibl. Theol. des N. T. §§ 84 b., 149 c.), ingrafied as it were in Christ, in fellowship and union with Christ, with the Lord: Ro. iii. 24; vi. 11, 23; viii. 39; 1Co.i.4; 2 Co. iii. 14; Gal. ii. 4; iii. 14, 26, 28; v. 6; Eph.i. 3 [Rec. om. ἐν]; ii. 6 sq. 10,13; 1 Tim.i.14; 2 Tim.i. 1,13; ii-1; 1 Pet. iii. 16; v.10; στήκειν ἐν κυρίῳ, Phil. iv. 1; iva εὑρεθῶ ἐν αὐτῷ, that I may be found (by God and Christ) most intimately united to him, Phil. iii. 9; εἶναι ἐν Χριστῷ "Inc. 1 Co. i. 30; οἱ ἐν Xp. "Ina. Ro. viii. 1; 1 Pet. v. 14; κοιμᾶσθαι ἐν Χριστῷ, θνήσκειν ἐν κυρίῳ, to fall asleep, to die, mindful of relationship to Christ and confiding in it [W. u.s.], 1 Co. xv. 18; Rey. xiv. 13. Since such union with Christ is the basis on which actions and virtues rest, the expression is…

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

ἐν 210 contract—time of Augustus) ἱμάτια γυναικεῖα ἐν apyv(plov) δραχμαῖς ἑκατόν, P Oxy IV. 7247 (A.D. 155) ἐξ ὧν ἔσχες τὴν πρώτην δόσιν ἐν δραχμαῖς τεσσαράκοντα, 70. I. 565 (A.D. 211) δανειζομένη. .. ἀργύριον ἔντοκον ἐν δραχμαῖς ἑξακισχειλίαις, and P Grenf II. 778 (iii/iv a.p.) (=Selections, Pp. 120) το]ὺς μισθοὺς. . ὄντας ἐν δραχμαῖς τριακοσίαις τεσσαράκοντα. Similar are P Oxy IV. 7084 (a.p. 188) yopou . . ἐν (1vpod)(apraBats) ’B, BGU 1. 724 (a.p. 191) ἐξέκοψαν πλεῖστον τόπον ἐν ἀρούραις πέντε: with which may be compared Eph 2!° τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν, “consisting in.” In P Lond 9215 (ii/iii a.p.) (ΞΞ 111. P- 134) γεγονέναι ἐν ἀμπέλῳ = ‘to be planted with vines.” A predicative use of ἐν is seen in P Hib I. 421° (B.c. 262) δώσομεν Λευκίωι ἐν ὀφειλήματι, ‘asa debt,” P Petr I. 1215 (cf. II. p. 22) ὅσα δὲ ᾿Αξιοθέα προσενήνεγκται ἐμ φερνῆι, “ἐᾷς dowry,” and P Tebt I. 120 135…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐν (en) — in/on/among.

ἐν,

poetry ἐνί, εἰν, εἰνί [Refs 8th c.BC+], forms used by Epic dialect and Lyric Poets as the metre requires, but only as falsa lectio in Trag., εἰν [Refs 5th c.BC+] ἰν [Refs]

__PREP. WITH DAT. AND ACC. Radical sense, in, into.

__A WITH DAT.

__A.I OF PLACE,

__A.I.1 in, νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ [Refs 8th c.BC+]; with names of cities or islands, as ἐν Ἀθήνῃς, ἐν Τροίῃ, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; where ἐν is used, it = in the district of.., ὲν Ἐλευσῖνι [Refs] in my arms, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐν αὑτῷ εἶναι to be in one's senses, be oneself, ἔτ᾽ ἐν σαυτῷ (variant -τοῦ) γενοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.I.1.b ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσιν in the fish-market, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so ἐν τοῖν δυοῖν ὀβολοῖν ἐθεώρουν ἄν in the two-obol seats, [Refs 4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐν

en

a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or

state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or

constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between 1519

and 1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:--about, after, against, +

almost, X altogether, among, X as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+

all means), for (... sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to,

-wardly), X mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, X outwardly,

one, X quickly,

X shortly, (speedi-)ly, X that, X there(-in, -on),

through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while,

with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same

import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate

direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different)

preposition.

see GREEK for 1519

see GREEK for 1537

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐν

Prep.

in, on, among

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐν en 2x

followed by the dat., in, Mt. 8:6; Mk. 12:26; Rev. 6:6,; upon, Lk. 8:32; among, Mt. 11:11; before, in the presence of, Mk. 8:38; in the sight, estimation of, 1 Cor. 14:11; before, judicially, 1 Cor. 6:2; in, of state, occupation, habit, Mt. 21:22; Lk. 7:25; Rom. 4:10; in the case of, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐν

e)nprepe)ni/prep ei)nprep ei)ni/prep in, among. c. dat.

Lat. in.

PREP. WITH DAT.:

OF PLACE

in, ἐν νήσῳ, ἐν Τροίῃ, etc., Hom., etc.:—elliptic, ἐν Ἀλκινόοιο (sc. οἴκῳ) Od.; εἰν Ἀΐδαο Il.; ἐν παιδοτρίβου at the school of the training master, Ar.

in, upon, ἐν οὔρεσι Hom., etc.

in the number of, amongst, ἐν Δαναοῖς, etc., Hom.; and with Verbs of ruling, ἄρχειν, ἀνάσσειν ἐν πολλοῖς to be first or lord among many, i. e. over them, id. Hom.; cf. ὁ, τό B. III. 3.

in one's hands, within one's reach or power, Lat. penes, Hom., etc.; ἐν σοὶ γάρ ἐσμεν Soph.; ἐν τῷ θεῷ τὸ τέλος ἦν Dem.

in respect of, ἐν γήρᾳ in point of age, Soph.

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

PREP PREPosition

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

AMONG',

AMONGST', preposition [Gr. See Mingle.]

1. In a general or primitive sense, mixed or mingled with; as tares among wheat.

2. Conjoined or associated with, or making part of the number.

Blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:1.

3. Of the number; as, there is not one among a thousand, possessing the like qualities.

{ A‐mong″ , A‐mongst″ , } prep. [OE. amongist, amonges, amonge, among, AS. onmang, ongemang, gemang, in a crowd or mixture. For the ending -st see Amidst. See Mingle.] 1. Mixed or mingled; surrounded by.

They heard,

And from his presence hid themselves among

The thickest trees.

Milton.

2. Conjoined, or associated with, or making part of the number of; in the number or class of.

Blessed art thou among women.

Luke i. 28.

3. Expressing a relation of dispersion, distribution, etc.; also, a relation of reciprocal action.

What news among the merchants?

Shak.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
79%in
in79% · 2226×with5% · 135×among5% · 132×by4% · 112×on3% · 72×other renderings4% · 116×other renderings1% · 40×

2,833 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 36 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%predicate11%object3%subject3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 2,743 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,πᾶςall, the whole, σύ
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύεἰμίI am, exist
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the othe
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,οὐNeg
ἐγώ
μετάπατήρfather, Father, εἰς
ἐνamong2743×
what comes after →
Article the
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaἡμέραa dayκαρδίαthe heart, inner
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,Article theμένωI remain, abide
σύ
εἰμίI am, existμένωI remain, abideκαίand, even, also,
ὅς
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existArticle the
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theτόποςa placeσοφίαwisdom

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

Concordanceἐν · 2,743× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew Acts John Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Revelation Mark Ephesians Colossians 1 John

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
ὑμῖνsu you G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · dative · plural
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2DP — Personal pronoun · second person · dative · plural
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked plural.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2DP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Dative Number: Plural

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
εἶναιeimi to be G1511 Verb · present · active · infinitive
2,123× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
In plain English
Tyndale gloss
to be
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
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

εἶναι (einai) — to exist.

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…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

εἰμί ἐιμί

einai

present infinitive from 1510; to exist:--am, was. come, is, X lust

after, X please well, there is, to be, was.

see GREEK for 1510

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
75%be
be75% · 95×being12% · 15×be?6% · 8×other renderings6% · 7×other renderings2% · 2×

127 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.

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
πρῶτος,prōtos first, G4413 Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
98× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for first or foremost, used in Luke 14:18 and 1 Corinthians 14:30. It can refer to the first in a sequence, like the first day of the week, or the most important thing, like the first commandment.
Amplified meaning
first in importance, foremost
Tyndale gloss
first
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πρῶτος (protos) is an adjective meaning 'first' in terms of time, order, or importance. It appears in various contexts in the New Testament, often denoting rank or precedence, such as in Matthew 20:27 and Luke 14:18. The word can also function adverbially, as seen in John 1:42. Notably, it is sometimes used interchangeably with the comparative form πρότερος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

B. Superl., πρῶτος, -η, -ον,

[in LXX chiefly for רִאשׁוֹן, also for אֶחַד, etc.;]

first,

of Time or Place;

absol., as subst., ὁ π.., Lk 14:18, Jo 19:32, I Co 14:30; ὁ π. καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος, Re 1:17 2:8 22:13; neut., τὸ π., opp. to τ. δεύτερον, He 10:9; τὰ π., opp. to τ. ἔσχατα, Mt 12:45, Lk 11:26, II Pe 2:20; anarth., Mt 10:2; pl., Mt 19:30,

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

πρῶτος, -7, -ov, (super. of πρό, contr. fr. πρόατος, whence the Doric πρᾶτος ; the compar. πρότερος see in its place), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. for }}W8 and often for ἽΝ and wer, first; 1. either in time or place, in any succession of things or of persons; a. absolutely (i. e. without a noun) and substantively ; a. with the article: ὁ πρῶτος καὶ 6 ἔσχατος, i. 6. the eternal One, Rev. i. 17; ii. 8; xxii. 13; ὁ πρῶτος, sc. τῶν κεκλημένων, Lk. xiv. 18; the first of two (cf. W. § 35, 4 Ν. 1: [B. 32 (28}7), Jn. xix. 32; 1 Co. xiv. 30; plur. opp. to οἱ ἔσχαtot, Mt. xx. 16, on which see ἔσχατος. 3 ἃ. Neut. τὸ πρῶτον, opp. to τὸ δεύτερον, Heb. x. 9; τὰ πρῶτα, opp. to τὰ ἔσχατα, one’s first state, Mt. xii. 45; Lk. xi. 26; 2 Pet. ii. 20; the first order of things, Rey. xxi. 4. B. without the article: Mt. x. 2 (πρῶτος, sc. of the apostles to be mentioned); plur., Mt. xix. 80; Mk. x. 31; Lk. xiii.…

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

πρῶτος. In the LXX regularly (Thackeray Gr. i. p. 183) and in the Kow7y frequently, especially in the Ptolemaic period, πρῶτος stands for πρότερος, so reversing the usual Hellenistic rule that the comparative does duty for both degrees of comparison. For an ex. almost contemporary with the NT we may cite P Oxy II. 2979 (A.D. 54), where a man asks for information for a supplementary return of lambs born since the first or former return for the year had been made— παρὰ τὴν πρώτην ἀπογραφήν. No stress can, therefore, be laid on the use of πρῶτος in Ac 1, as if Luke meant to write a third treatise (cf. Ramsay Paz/, p. 28). To illustrate Jn 125, 1518, we may quote P Leid W*# 49 τερον ἀντέστη αὐτῷ, λέγων᾽ σοῦ πρῶτός εἶμι, “‘ prior sum quam tu.” Abbott (ολ. Gr. p. 510f.) suggests that the Leiden papyrus may have been dependent on Jn 1, and translates the latter passage ‘‘my Chief” (76. p. 11…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first: previous.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first: chief.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

πρῶτος (prōtos) — first: best.

πρῶτος, η, ον,

see at {πρότερος} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

πρῶτος

protos

contracted superlative of 4253; foremost (in time, place, order or

importance):--before, beginning, best, chief(-est), first (of all),

former.

see GREEK for 4253

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πρῶτος, η, ον

Adj

first, before

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πρῶτος prōtos 95x

first in time, order, etc., Mt. 10:2; 26:17; first in dignity, importance, etc., chief, principal, most important, Mk. 6:21; Lk. 19:47; Acts 13:50; 16:12; as an equivalent to the compar. πρότερος (G4754), prior, Jn. 1:5, 30; 15:18; Mt. 27:64; adverbially, first, Jn. 1:42; 5:4; 8:7

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-NSM-S — Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-NSM-S Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine Degree: Superlative

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

furst ('echadh, ri'shon; proton, to proton, protos):

Of these words, which are those most frequently used for "first," ri'shon is from rosh, "the head, and is used for the highest, chief, etc.; also of time, the beginning, e.g. Ge 8:13, in the first month"; in Isa 44:6; 48:12, it is used of Yahweh as Eternal and solely Supreme--the First and the Last (compare Isa 41:4). Special usages are in connection with "firstborn," "first- fruit," etc.; proton is used of that which is first in order; but also of that which is first or chief in importance, etc. (Mt 6:33; Jas 3:17). In

Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 121 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 13c. AD 40

τῶν τε γὰρ ἀπὸ μονάδος πρῶτος τέλειός ἐστιν ἰσούμενος τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μέρεσι καὶ συμπληρούμενος ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἡμίσους μὲν τριάδος, τρίτου δὲ δυάδος, ἕκτου δὲ μονάδος, καὶ ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἄρρην τε καὶ θῆλυς εἶναι πέφυκε κἀκ τῆς ἑκατέρου δυνάμεως ἥρμοσται·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.19c. AD 75–95

ἰστέον οὖν, ὅτι πάντων ἐκεῖνος ἀναγκαιότατον ἡγήσατο τῷ καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μέλλοντι βίον οἰκονομήσειν καλῶς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις νομοθετεῖν θεοῦ πρῶτον φύσιν κατανοῆσαι καὶ τῶν ἔργων τῶν ἐκείνου θεατὴν τῷ νῷ γενόμενον οὕτως παράδειγμα τὸ πάντων ἄριστον…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.13c. AD 100

λέγει δὲ κύριος: Ἰδού, ποιῶ τὰ ἔσχατα ὡς τὰ πρῶτα.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Cair. Zen. 3 59346Philadelphia? (Arsinoites)247 BC

Ἐφάρμοστος δέλφακας β οὓς Ἰναρῶς ἀπήγαγεν αὐτῶι εἰς Φιλάδελφον καὶ τούτων α ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης λογείας καὶ ἄλλος τῆς ἐσχάτης … δέλφακες β οὓς ἀπήνεγκε παρʼ Ἰμούθου εἰς Φιλάδελφον

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πρώτου λεπτοῦ χ … καὶ … σοῦχος ἡγεμὼν καὶ … υχος οὐραγὸς καὶ Πανεχῶτις

P.Amh. 2 112Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites)AD 128

Νήσῳ τῆς Ἡρακλείδου μερίδος τοῦ Ἀρσινοείτου νομοῦ. ὁμολογεῖ Πακῦσις Στοτοήτεως πρεσβυτέρου τοῦ Πανεφρίμεως ἱερεὺς πρώτης φυλῆς Σοκνοπαίου θεοῦ μεγάλου μεγάλου ὡς ἐτῶν μα οὐλὴ βραχίωνι ἀριστερῶι τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ὁμοπατρίωι

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
ἔσταιeimi he will be G1510 Verb · present · active · imperative · third person · singular
2,457× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew 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-PAM-3S — Verb · present · active · imperative · third person · singular
present active imperative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

See TESTAMENT.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ THE MENTAL FACULTY

Freedom of, recognized by God Ge 4:6-10; De 5:29; 1Ki 20:42; Isa 1:18-20; 43:26; Jer 36:3,7; Joh 7:17

See BLESSINGS, CONTINGENT UPON OBEDIENCE

See CHOICE

See CONTINGENCY

→ OF GOD, THE SUPREME RULE OF DUTY Mt 6:10; 12:50; 26:39,42; Mr 3:35; 14:36; Lu 11:2; 22:42; Joh 4:34; 5:30; 6:38-40; Ac…

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

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
ὑμῶνsu your G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · genitive · plural
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Matthew as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

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

P-2GP Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Genitive Number: Plural

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύyour2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

and who[ever] maybe shall wish among you to be first, he will be your slave;
δοῦλος·doulos slave; G1401 Noun · nominative · singular · masculine
126× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Matthew than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word also means a slave or servant, like in Romans 6:19 and Luke 1:38. It describes someone who is subject to another person or is in a state of subjection. This concept is about being under someone's control.
Amplified meaning
a servant subject to another
Tyndale gloss
slave
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δοῦλος (doulos) means a slave or servant, often indicating a person in a state of subjection. It can refer to both male and female slaves, with δούλη (doulē) specifically denoting a female slave. The term is used in various contexts in the New Testament, including literal servitude and metaphorical senses of spiritual bondage, as seen in Romans 6:19 and John 8:34.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament — θεράπων, δοῦλος, διάκονος, οἰκέτης, ὑπηρέτης from a scan

THE only passage in the N. T. in which θεράπων occurs is Heb. iii. 5: ‘‘ And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant” (ὡς θεράπων). The allusion here to Num. xii. 7 is manifest, where the Septuagint has given θεράπων as its rendering of 12; it has done the same elsewhere (Exod. iv. 10; Deut. iii. 24; Josh. i. 2), yet has not made this its constant rule, frequently rendering it not by θεράπων, but by δοῦλος, out of which latter rendering, no doubt, we have at Rev. xv. 8, the phrase, Μωῦσῆς ὃ δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ. It will 1 Lampe: ‘Christus est Vitis vera, ... et qua talis preponi, quin et opponi, potest omnibus aliis qui etiam sub hoe symbolo in scriptis propheticis pinguntur.’ Six) SYNONYUS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 20 not follow that there is no difference between δοῦλος and θεράπων ; nor yet that there may not be occasions when the one word would be far more fitly employed…

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δοῦλος, -η, -ον,

[in LXX, ὁ δ. nearly always for עֶבֶד; ἡ δ. chiefly for שִׁפְחָה ,אָמָה ;]

in bondage to, subject to: Ro 6:19.

As subst., ὁ, ἡ δ., a slave;

fem., ἡ δ., a female slave, bondmaid (Cremer, 702; DB, iii, 215): Lk 1:38, 48, Ac 2:18 (LXX);

masc., ὁ δ., a slave, bondman: Mt 8:9 18:23, al.; opp. to ἐλεύθερος, I Co 7:22 12:13, Ga 3:28, Eph 6:8, Col 3:11, Re 6:15 13:16…

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

δοῦλος, -η, -ον, (derived by most fr. δέω to tie, bind; by some fr. AEAQ to ensnare, capture, [(?) ἃ]. al.; οἵ. Vanitek p. 322]); serving, subject to: παρεστήσατε τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν δοῦλα τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ, Ro. vi. 19. Then substantively, ἡ δούλη a female slave, bondmaid, handmaid: τοῦ θεοῦ, τοῦ κυρίου, one who worships God and submits to him, Acts ii. 18 (fr. Joel ii. 29 (iii. 2)); Lk. i. 38, 48. ὁ δοῦλος, Sept. for 33; 1. a slave, bondman, man of servile condition; a. properly: opp. to ἐλεύθερος, 1 Co. vii. 21; xii. 13; Gal. iii. 28; Eph. vi. 8; Col. iii. 11; Rev. vi. 15; xiii. 16; xix. 18; opp. to κύριος, δεσπότης, οἶκοδεσπότης, Mt. x, 24; xiii. 27sq.; Lk. xii. 46; Jn. xv. 15; Eph. vi. 5; Col. ii. 22; iv.1; 1 Tim. vi. 1; Tit. ii. 9; and very often. b. metaph. a. one who gives himself up wholly to another’s will, 1 Co. vii. 23; or dominion, τῆς ἁμαρτίας, Jn. vill. 834; Ro. vi. 17, 20; τῆς…

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

| δόλος. For δόλος in the forensic sense, as Deut 2774, cf. the Jewish prayer for vengeance from Rheneia, Sy// 816% (ii/i B.c.) ἐπὶ τοὺς δόλωι φονεύσαντας : see Deissmann LAE, p. 423. Cf. the compound δολοφονέω, BGU II. 388i. 23 (ji/iii A.D.), Sy/Z 324° (i/B.c.). In BGU I. 3261-8 (a will—a pb. 189) we find ταύτῃ τῇ διαθήκῃ δόλος πονηρὸς ἀπέστη (?=améotw). Mommsen (Si/cungsherichte der Akad. su Berlin, phil.-hist. Klasse, 18 Jan. 1894, Ρ. 50) states that he has not met the phrase elsewhere in this connexion, and compares the common formula on graves, ab hoc monumento dolus A much earlier instance of δόλος πονηρός is Sy// 319% (ii/B.C.) μήτε να[υσὶν βοηθείτωσαν δημοσίαι βουλῇ μετὰ δόλου πονηροῦ: cf. OG/S 62912 (Δ.1.. 137) χωρὶ[ς] δόλου πο[νηροῦ, PSI III. 1587 (astrological —?iii/A.D.) διὰ μετεωρισμῶν καὶ κακῶν [δόλ]ων. malus abesto. The first of these inscriptions is about contemporaneous…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δοῦλος (doulos) — slave.

δοῦλος

__A, Cretan dialect δῶλος [Refs], ὁ:—properly born bondman or slave, opposed to one made a slave, τὰ ἀνδράποδα πάντα καὶ δοῦλα καὶ ἐλεύθερα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: then, generally, bondman, slave, opposed to δεσπότης (which see): not in [Refs 8th c.BC+], who twice has feminine δούλη, ἡ, bondwoman, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: frequently of Persians and other nations subject to a despot, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οὔ τινος δοῦλοι κέκληνται, of the Greeks, [Refs 4th c.BC+] slaves to money, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λιχνειῶν, λαγνειῶν, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.II adjective (not in [Refs 4th c.BC+], δοῦλος, η, ον, slavish, servile, subject, δ. πόλις [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σῶμα δ., opposed to νοῦς ἐλεύθερος, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δ. θάνατος, ζυγόν, πούς, [Refs 5th c.BC+] more…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

δοῦλος

doulos

from 1210; a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary;

frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or

subserviency):--bond(-man), servant.

see GREEK for 1210

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δοῦλος, ου, ὁ

Adj. & n.m.

a male slave

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δοῦλος doulos 126x

a male slave, or servant, of various degrees, Mt. 8:9, et al. freq.; a servitor, person of mean condition, Phil. 2:7; fem. δούλη, a female slave; a handmaiden, Lk. 1:38, 48; Acts 2:18; δοῦλος, used figuratively, in a bad sense, one involved in moral or spiritual thraldom, Jn. 8:34; Rom. 6:17, 20; 1 Cor. 7:23; 2 Pet. 2:19; in a good sense, a devoted servant or minister, Acts 16:17; Read the full entry →

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

N-NSM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
Easton's Bible Dictionary

Slave

Jer. 2:14 (A.V.), but not there found in the original. In Rev. 18:13 the word “slaves” is the rendering of a Greek word meaning “bodies.” The Hebrew and Greek words for slave are usually rendered simply “servant,” “bondman,” or “bondservant.” Slavery as it existed under the Mosaic law has no modern parallel. That law did not originate but only regulated the already existing custom of slavery (Ex. 21:20, 21, 26, 27; Lev. 25:44-46; Josh. 9:6-27). The gospel in its spirit and genius is hostile to slavery in every form, which under its influence is gradually disappearing from among men.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

The institution of slavery was recognized, though not established, by the Mosaic law with a view to mitigate its hardship and to secure to every man his ordinary rights. I. Hebrew slaves. -- The circumstances under which a Hebrew might be reduced to servitude were-- (1) poverty; (2) the commission of theft; and (3) the exercise of paternal authority. In the first case, a man who had mortgaged his property, and was unable to support his family, might sell himself to another Hebrew, with a view both to obtain maintenance and perchance a surplus sufficient to redeem his property. (Leviticus 25:25,39) (2) The commission of theft rendered a person liable to servitude whenever restitution could not be made on the scale prescribed by the law. (Exodus 22:1,3) The thief was bound to work…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Jer 2:14; Re 18:13. See SERVANT.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
41%servant
servant41% · 53×servants31% · 40×slaves11% · 14×slave11% · 14×other renderings7% · 9×

130 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
subject37%object22%predicate13%indirect object10%adverbial8%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 126 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
σύ
ἐκμέλοςa limb, memberεἰμίI am, exist
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegὅτιthat, since, becοὐκέτιNeg
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theἑαυτοῦ
ἄλλοςother, another, diff
ἀποστέλλωI send forth, seαὐτός
δοῦλος (II)slave;126×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theὅςλέγωI say, speak
Article the
ἀρχιερεύςhigh priest, chiθεόςGod, a godοἰκοδεσπότηςa head of a hous
ἐκεῖνος
ἐνὅςἀπολύωI release, let g
καίand, even, also, nam
φρόνιμοςintelligent, pruπαραδίδωμιI hand over, delὀκνηρόςslothful, backwa
σύ
δεσπότηςa lord, master, μετάδιά

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

Concordanceδοῦλος (II) · 126× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Revelation John Romans 1 Corinthians Mark Colossians Galatians Acts Ephesians 2 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament21 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 55 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 85c. AD 40

καὶ αἱ τοσαῦται τῶν τοσούτων ἀλκαί τε καὶ δυνάμεις εὐοπλούντων—ἔχουσι γὰρ τὰς ἐκ φύσεως παρασκευὰς αἷς ἀμύνονται—καθάπερ δοῦλοι δεσπότην κατεπτήχασι καὶ τὰ προσταττόμενα δρῶσι·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.11c. AD 75–95

Ἐκπεμφθεὶς μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπὶ συλλογῇ τῶν καρπῶν θέρους ἀκμάζοντος ὁρᾷ πολὺ τῶν κατὰ συνήθειαν ἐπιφοιτώντων κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ὀνειράτων διαφέρουσαν ὄψιν, ἣν περιεγερθεὶς τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὡς κρινοῦσιν αὐτῷ τὸ σημαινόμενον ἐξέθετο, λέγων…

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 19.7c. AD 100

οὐκ ἔσῃ διγνώμων οὐδὲ γλωσσώδης, ὑποταγήσῃ κυρίοις ὡς τύπῳ θεοῦ ἐν αἰσχύνῃ καὶ φόβῳ: οὐ μὴ ἐπιτάξῃς δούλῳ σου ἡ παιδίσκῃ ἐν πικρίᾳ, τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν θεὸν ἐλπίζουσιν, μή ποτε οὐ μὴ φοβηθήσονται τὸν ἐπ’ ἀμφοτέροις θεόν: ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν κατὰ πρόσωπον…

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
CdÉ 14 (1939), p. 161-Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 117–AD 118

ενοικ α 𐅵 … … Οὐεσπασιανοῦ ἐτῶν νζ ἄσημος Διόσκορος δοῦλος Λαβερίας τῆς Πασίωνος κατὰ τὸ 𐅵 μέρος ἀπὸ Ἑλληνίου οὗ τὸ λοιπὸν ἥμισυ μέρος

P.Athen.. 43 VoArsinoitesAD 131

ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς κη Ἥρων γέρων ἀσκαύλης ἐπιτηρήσεως δραχμὰς ιϛ ἡμῖν δραχμὰς ιη Διονυσιάδος Σαραπίων δοῦλος Παπυρίου ἐπὶ δραχμαῖς μη ἡμῖν δραχμὰς μη Πτολεμαῖος αὐλητὴς Φρεμεὶ ἐπὶ δραχμαῖς ιθ ἡμῖν

P.Fay. 203 descr.Bakchias (Arsinoites)AD 148–AD 150

ταύταις ταῖς ἀνεγνωσμέναις κρίσεσιν διαγορεύει … ἐν ἀνομοίᾳ ὑποθέσει. ἤκουσας τοὺς ἁπλῷ χρήματι πωλοῦντας δοῦλον … ἀνευθύνους εἶναι, ἐπειδάν τις αὐτοῖς τοιοῦτο ἔγκλημα ἐπενέγκῃ οἷον οὗτος· ἐὰν γὰρ μηδὲν

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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