Menu

Matthew 6:31 — Word Study

Depth

N1904μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

BSANot [not at all] thereforeoun [then, as a consequence] shall you be anxiousmerimnaō [be anxious, have cares] saying;legō Whattis [which thing] shall we eatphagein [take in as nourishment] Orē [as an alternative] whattis [which thing] shall we drinkpinō [swallow as a liquid] Orē [as another option] whattis [which thing] shall we wear?periballō [be clothed with]

Word
Listen & take awayMatthew 6
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 31 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 (periballō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Matthew 6:31quick helps
In a sentenceJesus instructs His followers not to worry about their basic needs.
Who is speakingJesus, teaching His disciples about faith and trust in God.
Where we areIn the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus addresses concerns about daily life.
The hard wordμεριμνήσητε
Take awayTrust in God alleviates the burden of anxiety.
5 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them › clause subjectλέγω verbμεριμνάω 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 6:31

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 Anxietygenerated

30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Matthew 6:31 is part of Jesus' teaching on anxiety and trust in God. He contrasts the concerns of the Gentiles with the assurance that God knows our needs. This passage encourages believers to prioritize seeking God's kingdom rather than being consumed by worry over daily necessities.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Matthew 4:4But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
2Matthew 15:33The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
3Leviticus 25:20–22Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’
42 Chronicles 25:9Amaziah asked the man of God, “What should I do about the hundred talents I have given to the army of Israel?” And the man of God replied, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”
5Psalm 37:3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

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


The Key Word μεριμνήσητε, merimnaōgenerated

The verb μεριμνάω means to be anxious or to worry. It is derived from the noun μέριμνα, which refers to care or concern. The parsing indicates that this is a subjunctive form, suggesting a hypothetical situation where the disciples might be tempted to worry.

In this context, Jesus is advising against anxiety regarding basic needs, emphasizing that such worries are unnecessary for those who trust in God.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as: 'Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’' This aligns with the KJV and ASV, which also convey a similar message about not being anxious.

However, the Young's Literal Translation and World English Bible use slightly different phrasing, such as 'What may we eat?' or 'What will we be clothed with?' The differences highlight variations in the translation of the subjunctive mood.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb in this verse is μεριμνήσητε, shall you be anxious, which governs the entire sentence. It is followed by a participial phrase λέγοντες, saying, that describes what the anxious thoughts concern.

The structure of the verse shows a series of questions introduced by the interrogative pronoun τί, what, indicating the specific worries about food, drink, and clothing.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

μὴ corresponds to the Hebrew אַל (H408), which serves as a negative particle in both the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible, indicating prohibition or negation.

οὖν aligns with the Hebrew עַתָּ֫ה (H6258), used to indicate a consequence or a point in time, reinforcing the connection between the teachings of Jesus and the Old Testament.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Matthew 6:31 teaches that we should not worry about what we will eat, drink, or wear. Jesus reminds us that God knows our needs and encourages us to focus on seeking His kingdom instead.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to not worry about food and clothing?

It means to trust that God will provide for our basic needs, as He cares for all of creation.

Why does Jesus mention the Gentiles in this teaching?

He contrasts the anxious behavior of the Gentiles, who seek after material needs, with the faith that His followers should have in God's provision.

How can we apply this teaching in our lives today?

By focusing on our relationship with God and prioritizing His kingdom, we can reduce our worries about daily necessities.

What does seeking the kingdom of God involve?

It involves putting God's will and righteousness first in our lives, trusting that He will take care of our needs.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. What are some worries I can hand over to God today?
  2. How can I remind myself of God's provision in my life?
  3. In what ways do I seek after material things instead of focusing on God's kingdom?
  4. How can I encourage others to trust in God for their needs?

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

The early church Fathers reference this verse to discuss the nature of anxiety and God's provision for His people. Their insights help illuminate the teachings of Jesus in this passage.

Glossa Ordinarianon occ. 12th c.
Having thus expressly cut off all anxiety concerning food and raiment, by an argument drawn from observation of the inferior creation, He follows it up by a further prohibition;
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 6 →
TertullianTo His Wife Book I c. 155–220
On the other hand, this worldly concupiscence (to which I referred) has, as its causes, glory, cupidity, ambition, want of sufficiency;
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 6 →
JeromeVerse 31 and following c. 347–420
Do not be anxious, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or with what shall we be clothed? For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Father knows that you need all these things.
Early Church Fathers on Matthew 6 →

Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Matthew 6:31 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Therefore take no thought,.... That is, for the morrow, as it is explained, Lu 6:34 for it is lawful to take proper care and thought for present food, drink, and raiment; but not to be anxiously

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

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Therefore take no thought ('solicitude'), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?

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

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Ver. 31. Therefore take no careful thought, &c.] From the afore named grounds, our Saviour here resumeth and enforceth the former exhortation. Sollicitudo est aegritudo cum cogitatione, saith the orator (Cic. Tusc. 4). Carefulness is a tormentful plodding upon businesses. It is, say divines, an act of fear and distrust, taking up not only the head, but chiefly the heart, to the very dividing and disturbing thereof; causing a man inordinately and overly eagerly to pursue his desires, and to perplex himself likewise with doubtful and fearful thoughts about success. Now our…

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

(31) Therefore . . .—The command which, in Matthew 6:25; Matthew 6:28, had before been given as general and abstract, is now enforced as the conclusion of a process of thought more or less inductive. A change in the tense, which we fail to express in English, indicates more special and personal application—“Do not take thought, do not be over-anxious now.”

Read Charles John Ellicott on Matthew 6 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 31. What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? c.] These three inquiries engross the whole attention of those who are living without God in the world. The belly and back of a worldling are his compound god and these he worships in the lust of the flesh, in the lust of the eye, and in the pride of life.

Read AdamClarke on Matthew 6 →

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

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

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

WEBWorld English Bible2000

“Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

NETBNew English Translation2006

So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

RVARevised Version, American1894

Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Therefore be not anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or, with what shall we be clothed?

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eate? or what shall we drinke? or where with shall we be clothed?

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Be not therefore careful, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we put on?

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

therefore ye may not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we put round?

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Therefore you may not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? Or, What may we drink? Or, [With] what may we be clothed?

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

Therefore do not be anxious and say, 'What will we eat?' or, 'What will we drink?' or, 'What clothes will we wear?'

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed?

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

So don't worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Then do not be full of care, saying, What are we to have for food or drink? or, With what may we be clothed?

Word by word, the decisions they made

λέγοντες·legō saying; G3004 2 different renderings
sayingASV BBE BSB DBY DRA FBV GNV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB RVA WEB YLT
sayULB
φάγωμενphagein shall we eat G5315 2 different renderings
shall we eatASV BSB DBY DRA FBV KJV MSB NWB RVA
eatLSV NETB ULB WEB YLT
πίωμενpinō shall we drink G4095 2 different renderings
shall we drinkASV BSB DBY DRA FBV KJV MSB NWB
drinkBBE LSV NETB RVA ULB WEB YLT

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.

clauseοὖνthereforeclauseadverbialμὴNotverbμεριμνήσητεbe anxiousclause · adverbialclauseverbλέγοντεςsayingclauseclauseobjectΤίWhatverbφάγωμενshall we eatOrclauseobjectΤίwhatverbπίωμενshall we drinkOrclauseobjectΤίwhatverbπεριβαλώμεθαshall we wear

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

Nolite ergo solliciti esse, dicentes : Quid manducabimus, aut quid bibemus, aut quo operiemur ?

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

ܠܐ ܗܟܝܠ ܬܐܨܦܘܢ ܐܘ ܬܐܡܪܘܢ ܡܢܐ ܢܐܟܘܠ ܐܘ ܡܢܐ ܢܫܬܐ ܐܘ ܡܢܐ ܢܬܟܣܐ

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

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε λέγοντες· τί φάγωμεν τί πίωμεν τί περιβαλώμεθα;

The printed tradition behind the King James Version.

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

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

Word by word, across the editions

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


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

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

Matthew 6:31μήNotNotμήοὖνthereforethereforeοὖνμεριμνάωshall you bshall you be anμεριμνάωλέγωsaying;saying;λέγωτίςWhatWhatτίςἐσθίωshall we eashall we eatἐσθίωOrOrτίςwhatwhatτίςπίνωshall we drshall we drinkπίνωOrOrτίςwhatwhatτίςπεριβάλλωshall we weshall we wear?περιβάλλωτὶςIndef.pr. Indef.pr. any oτὶςμέριμναn.f. care,n.f. care, worrμέριμναἐσθίωv. I eatv. I eatἐσθίωἤδηAdv now, aAdv now, alreadἤδηἤπερDisj.prt. Disj.prt. thanἤπερπερίPrep. abouPrep. about, coπερίοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐφημίv. I sayv. I sayφημίἆραIrg.prt. aIrg.prt. a partἆραεἶπονv. I say, v. I say, speakεἶπονἀδελφήn.f. a sisn.f. a sisterἀδελφήπότεIrg.prt. wIrg.prt. when, πότεφοβέωv. I fear,v. I fear, am tφοβέωἄραDisj.prt. Disj.prt. then,ἄραμένDisj.prt. Disj.prt. trulyμέναὔριονAdv tomorrAdv tomorrowαὔριονψυχήn.f. the sn.f. the soul, ψυχήἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήν
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 6:31

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.

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
μὴ Not G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× 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
Not is a word used to show that something is not true or is not happening, like in phrases that say 'lest' or 'God forbid', as seen in various parts of the New Testament.
Amplified meaning
not at all
Tyndale gloss
not
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μή,

subjective negative particle,

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

As a neg. adv., not;

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

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

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

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

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

μή (mē) — not.

μή,

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

μή

me

a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas 3756 expresses an

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

interrogative implying a negative answer (whereas 3756 expects an

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

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

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

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

3373, 3375, 3378.

see GREEK for 3756

see GREEK for 3362

see GREEK for 3363

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

see GREEK for 3373

see GREEK for 3375

see GREEK for 3378

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μή

Neg.prt.

not, lest

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μή mē 1x

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

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

PRT-N PaRTicle, disjunctive particle Negative

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
οὐNeg
καίand, even, also,σύἐγώ
ἵναin order that, so th
αὐτόςσύπροσεύχομαιI pray, pray for
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώαὐτόςεἰμίI am, exist
εἰCond
αὐτόςυἱόςa son, descendenκαίand, even, also,
Article the
καίand, even, also,εἰςδιά
μήNot1060×
what comes after →
Article the
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenσημεῖονa sign, miracle,
ἔχωI have, hold, posses
καίand, even, also,ποιμήνa shepherdβάθοςdepth, a depth,
εἰμίI am, exist
δίδωμιI offer, giveἐνμετά
τὶς
σύὑστερέωI am lacking, faγεννάωI beget, bring f
φοβέωI fear, am terrified
ἀπόArticle theμόνοςalone, but, only

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

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

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

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

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

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
οὖνoun therefore G3767 Conjunction
496× 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 means therefore or then, showing a consequence. It appears in Matthew 3:10 and Romans 5:9 to connect ideas and events.
Amplified meaning
then, as a consequence
Tyndale gloss
therefore/then
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word οὖν (oun) is a particle used to express consequence, sequence, or to resume a narrative. It translates to 'therefore,' 'then,' or 'accordingly,' and appears frequently in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:10 and Romans 5:9. It can also serve in exhortations and questions, indicating what follows logically from previous statements.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

οὖν,

particle expressing consequence or simple sequence (never standing first in a sentence),

wherefore, therefore, then: Mt 3:10, Lk 3:9, Jo 8:38, Ac 1:21, Ro 5:9, al.; in exhortations, Mt 3:8, Lk 11:35, Ac 3:19, Ro 6:12, al.; in questions, Mt 13:28, Mk 15:12, Jo 8:[5], Ro 6:1, al.; continuing a…

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

οὖν ἃ conj. indicating that something follows from another necessarily; [al. regard the primary force of the particle as confirmatory or continuative, rather than illative; cf. Passow, or L.andS.s. v.; Kiihner § 508, 1 ii. p- 707 sqq.; Biiumlein p. 173 sqq.; Kriiger § 69, 52; Donaldson p. 571; Rost in a program “ Ueber Ableitung ” u.s.w. p.2; Klotz p. 717; Hartung ii. 4]. Hence it is used in drawing a conclusion and in connecting sentences together logically, then, therefore, accordingly, consequently, these things being so, [ (Klotz, Rost, al., have wished to derive the word fr. the neut. ptep. ὄν (cf. ὄντως) ; but see Baumlein or Kiihner u.s.); ef. W. § 53, 8]: Mt. iii. 10; x. 32 (since persecutions are not to be dreaded, and consequently furnish no excuse for denying me [οἵ. W. 455 (424)]); Mt. xviii. 4; Lk. iii.9; xvi. 27; In. viii. 38 (καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν, and ye accordingly, i. e.…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

οὖν. This common particle, which occurs in the NT nearly 500 times, is used in our sources in a variety of connexions, the exact shade of meaning being determined by the context. (1) For the causal meaning ‘‘therefore” we may cite BGU II. 423" (ii/aA.p.) (= Sevectzons, p. 91) Kal καλῶς pol ἐστιν. ἐρωτῶ ce οὖν, κύριέ pou πατήρ, γράψον μοι ἐπιστόλιον πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας σου... , “it is well with me. I beg you, therefore, my lord father, write me a letter, first regarding your health ... ,” and P Oxy XIV. 16651 (iii/A.D.), where a son in urgent need of oil writes to his father—dvayxalws οὖν, ἐὰν ἔτι παρὰ σεαυτῷ χρ[ἴ]ον ἔχῃς, δήλωσον ἢ τῷ vie σου ἢ ᾧ ἐὰν σὺ βούλῃ τούτους μοι ἐν τάχει παρα[σ]χεῖν, ‘perforce, therefore, if you have still with you any unguent, instruct your son or any one else you wish to supply me with them speedily ” (Edd.). (2) Οὖν is very common in a looser…

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

οὖν (oun) — therefore/then.

οὖν,

Ionic dialect and Doric dialect ὦν (the latter in [Refs 8th c.BC+], adverb certainly, in fact, confirming something, frequently in contrast with something which is not confirmed, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] only in combination with γε (see. γοῦν), γάρ, οὔτε or μήτε, ὡς, ἐπεί, μέν, etc.:

1. really, φημὶ γὰρ οὖν κατανεῦσαι.. Κρονίωνα for I declare that Zeus did really promise.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τόφρα γὰρ οὖν ἑπόμεσθα.., ὄφρ᾽ for we followed them up to the very point, where.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐλέχθησαν λόγοι ἄπιστοι μὲν ἐνίοισι Ἑλλήνων, ἐλέχθησαν δ᾽ ὦν but they really were spoken, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Θηβαῖοι μὲν ταῦτα λέγουσι.., Πλαταιῆς δ᾽ οὐχ ὁμολογοῦσι.., ἐκ δ᾽ οὖν τῆς γῆς ἀνεχώρησαν at all events they did return, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so δ᾽ οὖν after a parenthesis; εἰ δή τις ὑμῶν οὕτως ἔχει,—οὐκ ἀξιῶ μὲν γὰρ ἔγωγε,—εἰ…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὖν

oun

apparently a primary word; (adverbially) certainly, or

(conjunctionally) accordingly:--and (so, truly), but, now (then), so

(likewise then), then, therefore, verily, wherefore.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὖν

Cj.

therefore, then

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὖν oun 499x

then, now then, Mt. 13:18; Jn. 19:29; then, thereupon, Lk. 15:28; Jn. 6:14; therefore, consequently, Mt. 5:48: Mk. 10:9; it also serves to mark the resumption of discourse after an interruption by a parenthesis, 1 Cor. 8:4. Sometimes it is not translated.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

οὖν really, at all events, used like γοῦν to dismiss a perplexing subject, οὔτ᾽ οὖν ἀγγελίῃς ἔτι πείθομαι, οὔτε θεοπροπίης ἐμπάζομαι Od.; ἐλέχθησαν λόγοι ἄπιστοι μὲν ἐνίοισι Ἑλλήνων, ἐλέχθησαν δ᾽ ὦν but they really were spoken, Hdt.; εἴτ᾽ οὖν, εἴτε μὴ γενήσεται whether it shall be really so, or no, Eur.; εἴτ᾽ οὖν ἀληθὲς εἴτ᾽ οὖν ψεῦδος Plat.; εἰ δ᾽ ἔστιν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἔστι, θεός if he is, as he surely is, a god, id. Plat.

added to indef. Pronouns and Advs., like Lat. cunque, ὅστις whoever, ὁστισοῦν whosoever; ὅπως how, ὁπωσοῦν howsoever; ἄλλος ὁστισοὖν another, be he who he may; so, ὁποιοσοῦν, ὁποσοσοῦν, ὁπωσοῦν, ὁποθενοῦν…

Read the full entry →
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
79%therefore
therefore79% · 428×then19% · 104×other renderings1% · 7×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 496 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
διακονέωI wait at table,ἔχωI have, hold, poΣατανᾶςan adversary, Sa
μένDisj
Article theεἰCondπολύςmuch, many, ofte
τίςIrg
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakδιά
Article the
ἸακώβPropὕδωρwater
σύ
καίand, even, also,δεῖit is necessary,ἐρωτάωI ask, question,
οὖνtherefore496×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusἸουδαῖοςJewishμαθητήςa learner, disci
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgἸησοῦςJesus
καίand, even, also, nam
νίπτωI washἕτεροςanother, differeὁράωI see, look upon
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theσύοὗτος
σύ
πονηρόςevil, bad, wickeτέλειοςperfect, full-grἨλίαςElijah

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

Concordanceοὖν · 496× in the New Testament
John Acts Matthew Romans Luke 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 Peter Galatians Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 110 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.6c. AD 75–95

ἤδη μὲν οὖν καὶ πρότερον διενοήθην, ὅτε τὸν πόλεμον συνέγραφον, δηλῶσαι τίνες ὄντες ἐξ ἀρχῆς Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ τίσι χρησάμενοι τύχαις ὑφʼ οἵῳ τε παιδευθέντες νομοθέτῃ τὰ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἄσκησιν ἀρετῆς πόσους τε πολέμους ἐν μακροῖς…

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 2 23Latopolites109 BC

χαίρειν. τοῦ παρʼ Ἑρμώνακτος τῶν ὁμοτίμων τοῖς συγγενέσι καὶ ὑποδιοικητοῦ χρηματισμοῦ ἀντίγραφον ὑπόκειται. κατακολουθήσας οὖν τοῖς διʼ αὐτοῦ σημαινομένοις χρημάτισον ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Παθύρει τραπέζης, συνυπογράφοντος Φίβιος τοῦ…

P.Grenf. 1 30Pathyris104 BC

δὲ καὶ αὐτοί. μεταλαβόντες τοὺς συντετελεσμένους πρὸς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς Ἑρμωνθίτας ἀγῶνας μεγάλως ἐχάρημεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν προκεχειρίκαμεν προστάτην τοῦ μεγίστου θεοῦ Νεχθφαραῦτος βεα … ρων … δια … στρατιωτῶν

Chrest.Wilck. 12Pathyris89 BC

ἐπιβεβληκέναι εἰς Μέμφιν, Ἱέρακα δὲ προκεχειρίσθαι μετὰ δυνάμεων μυρίων ἐπὶ καταστολὴν τῆς Θηβαίδος. ὅπως οὖν εἰδότες εὐθαρσεῖς ὑπάρχητε ἐκρίναμεν σημῆναι. ἔρρωσθε ἔτους λ Φαῶφι ιθ

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
μεριμνήσητεmerimnaō shall you be anxious G3309 Verb · aorist · active · subjunctive · second person · plural
19× 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
To worry or be anxious about something, as seen in Matthew 6:25-31 where Jesus tells us not to worry about our needs. It can also mean to care for something or someone, like the apostle Paul caring for the churches.
Amplified meaning
be anxious, have cares
Tyndale gloss
to worry
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μεριμνάω means to be anxious or to care for something, derived from μέριμνα. It covers a range of meanings from being troubled with cares to actively caring for others. The New Testament uses it in contexts like worrying about tomorrow (Mt 6:34) and being concerned for others (Phil 2:20). Some lexicons note a distinction in the nuance of anxiety, particularly in relation to over-anxiety.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μεριμνάω, -ῶ

(< μέριμνα),

[in LXX: Ps 37 (38):18 (דּאג), etc.;]

to be anxious: absol., Mt 6:27, 31, Lk 12:25; μηδὲν μ., Phl 4:6; c. dat. rei, Mt 6:25, Lk 12:22; seq. περί, Mt 6:28, Lk 10:41 12:26; πῶς, Mt 10:19, Lk 12:11; εἰς τὴν αὔριον, Mt 6:34.

to care for: c. acc., τὰ τ. κυριου, I Co 7:32-34; τὰ τ. κόσμου, I Co 7:34; τὰ περί ὑμῶν, Phl 2:20; seq. ὑπέρ,

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

μεριμνάω, -@; fut. μεριμνήσω; 1 aor. subj. 2 pers. plur. μεριμνήσητε; (μέριμνα) ; a. to be anxious; to be troubled with cares: absol., Mt. vi. 27, 31; Lk. xii. 25; μηδὲν pep. be anxious about nothing, Phil. iv. 6; with dat. of the thing for the interests of which one is solicitous [οἷ W. § 31, 1 b.]: τῇ ψυχῇ» about sustaining life, τῷ σώματι, Mt. vi. 25; Lk. xii. 22; thing, Mt. vi. 28; Lk. xii. 26; εἰς τὴν αὔριον, for the morrow, i.e. about what may be on the morrow, Mt. vi. 34; foll. by an indir. quest. πῶς ἢ τί, Mt. x.19; Lk. xii. 11 [here Tr mrg. om. Tr txt. WH br. ἢ τί] ; joined with τυρβάζεσθαι (θορυβάζ.) foll. by περὶ πολλά, Lk. x. 41 [WH mrg. om. | b. tocare for, look out for, (athing) ; to seek to promote one’s interests: τὰ ἑαυτῆς, Mt. vi. 34 Ree. ; περί τινος, about a τὰ τοῦ κυρίου, 1 Co. vii. 32-34; τὰ τοῦ κόσμου, 1 Co. vii. 34; ἑαυτῆς, Mt. vi. 34 LT Tr WH (a usage unknown to…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

μεριμνάω. The idea of ‘‘ over-anxiety,” which readily attaches to this verb, asin Mt 625, LXX Ps 3719 αἱ, is well seen in P Tebt ΤΙ. 315 (ii/A.D.) νῦν δὲ [μετὰ σ]π[ο]υδῆς γράφω ὅπως [μὴ μερ]ιμνῇς, ἐγὼ γάρ σε ἄσκυλ[τον] πο[ι]ήσω, “1 am now writing in haste to prevent your being anxious, for I will see that you are not worried” (Edd.): see also P Iand 139 (iv/A.D.) where a father writes to his βοη--βέλησον οἷν, [τέκνον, δηλῶσαι ἡμεῖν τὸ τῆς καταστάσεώς σου, καὶ με]ριμνείσεις (1. μεριμνήσεις) ἅπαντα τὰ κατὰ σὲ [δηλῶσαι, ἵνα] ἀμεριμνέσωμεν (1. ἀμεριμνήσωμεν). 866 αἴΞο the citations σεῦ, ἀμέριμνος, and add for the subst. ἀμεριμνία P Oxy XIV. 162779 (A.D. 342) πρὸς δὲ ἀμεριμνίαν cov τήνδε τὴν ὁμολογίαν σοι ἐξεδόμην, ‘and for your security I have issued to | you this contract.’’ On the force of the participle in Mt 627, see Moulton Proleg. p. 230. The verb sometimes means merely “am occupied…

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

μεριμνάω (merimnaō) — to worry.

μεριμν-άω,

care for, be anxious about, meditate upon, ἔργον μεριμνῶν ποῖον..; [Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially of philosophers, τὰ <μὲν ἀ>φανῆ μ. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πολλὰ μ. to be cumbered with many cares, [NT+5th c.BC+]: c.infinitive, to be careful to do, ὁ μεριμνήσας τὰ δίκαια λέγειν [NT+5th c.BC+]:—passive, to be treated with anxious care, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]; ἔννοια, ἀμφισβήτησις μ., [Refs 6th c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

μεριμνάω

merimnao

from 3308; to be anxious about:--(be, have) care(-ful), take thought.

see GREEK for 3308

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μεριμνάω

v.

I am anxious, distracted

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μεριμνάω merimnaō 19x

to be anxious, or solicitous, Phil. 4:6; to expend careful thought, Mt. 6:27, 28, 31, 34a; 10:19; Lk. 10:41; 12:11, 22, 25, 26; to concern one’s self, Mt. 6:25; 1 Cor. 12:25; to have the thoughts occupied with, 1 Cor. 7:32, 33, 34; to feel an interest in, Phil. 2:20*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μεριμνάω μεριμνάω, φυτ. -ήσω to care for, be anxious about, think earnestly upon, scan minutely, Lat. meditari, Soph., Xen.; πολλὰ μ. to be cumbered with many cares, Xen.:—c. inf. to be careful to do, Dem.

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

V-AAS-2P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Subjunctive Person: second Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
11%cares for
cares for11% · 2×being anxious11% · 2×you anxious?11% · 2×shall you be anxious11% · 2×may be anxious11% · 2×he cares for5% · 1×she cares for5% · 1×may have concern5% · 1×other renderings32% · 6×

19 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 14 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
verb90%adverbial11%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19 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
μήNeg
σύἐξουσίαpower, authority
σύ
ἐκπερί
οὖνtherefore, then
μήNeg
γαμέωI marry
δέbut, on the othe
τίςIrg
ἔνδυμαa garment, raime
μεριμνάωshall you be anxious19×
what comes after →
Article the
Article theψυχήthe soul, life, μέλοςa limb, member
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
προστίθημιI put to, add, dἐπί
πῶς
Disj
καταμανθάνωI understand, consid
Article the
λέγωI say, speak
τίςIrg

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

Concordanceμεριμνάω · 19× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Philippians
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
The Shepherd of Hermas
The Shepherd of HermasThe Shepherd of Hermas 3.11.3c. AD 140

ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι, μηκέτι ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα τοῦ ἀνανεῶσαι, οὐδὲν ἄλλο προσδοκῶσιν εἰ μὴ τὴν κοίμησιν αὐτῶν, οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς μαλακισθέντες ἀπὸ τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων παρεδώκατε ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τὰς ἀκηδίας καὶ οὐκ ἐπερίψατε ἑαυτῶν τὰς μερίμνας ἐπὶ τὸν…

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 5th c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Mich. 8 473Alexandria (?)AD 101–AD 125

Μηνᾷ. καὶ αὐτὸν φονεύσας εἶπέ γε ἐμοὶ μὴ πονεῖν, εἶπα Σατορνείλῳ ὅτι μὴ καθεῦδον μεριμνῶν. ὡς ἔβλαψάς με χιλίας διακοσίας δραχμάς, περίψημά μου τοῦ υἱοῦ ἀπέλθωσιν. καὶ κατέβην εἰς

P.Giss. 1 22Apollonopolites HeptakomiasAD 113–AD 120

εὐσεβείας μου ἀπολαμβανούσης σε ἀπρόσκοπον καὶ ἱλαρώτατον. ταῦτά μοι ἡ πᾶσα εὐχή ἐστι καὶ μέριμνα. ταῦτα καὶ θεοῖς ἀρέσκει διει … ε μοῦ καὶ νι… εαος εὐσεβεία.

P.Iand. 6 115AD 201–AD 300

πάντων εὔχομαί σε ὑγιαίνειν καὶ ὁλοκληρεῖν παρʼ οἷς ἐπιξενοῦμαι θεοῖς. ἐπεὶ μακράν σου γέγονα, μεριμνᾷς περὶ τῆς φιλίας ἡμῶν. ἐγὼ δὲ οὐδὲν πέπονθα εἰς ὄνομα τῆς φιλίας ἡμῶν· ἐὰν

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
λέγοντες·legō saying; G3004 Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
2,255× 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 means to say or speak, and it is used by Jesus and others in the New Testament to share teachings and tell stories. It appears in Matthew 9:34 and John 1:29.
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

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

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

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

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

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

λέγω (legō) — to say.

λέγω,

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

lego

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

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

5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech

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

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

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

shew, speak, tell, utter.

see GREEK for 2036

see GREEK for 5346

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 2980

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

λέγω

v.

I say, speak

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAP-NPM — Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked plural masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAP-NPM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
αὐτός
πρόςμαθητήςa learner, disciἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theοὗτοςἐγώ
ἸησοῦςJesus
Article theδέbut, on the otheγόνυa knee
ἀμήνHebr
ἀμήνHebrαὐτόςλέγωI say, speak
λέγωsaying;2255×
what comes after →
αὐτός
Article theτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
μαθητήςa learner, disciἸησοῦςJesusΠέτροςPeter
σύ
ὅτιthat, since, becοὐNegἐάνCond
δέbut, on the other ha
Article theπρόςαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theοὗτοςσύ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

P.Stras. 2 89Pathyris100 BC

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

P.Adl. 16Pathyris100 BC

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

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
τίtis What G5101 Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
562× 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 interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions like who, which, or what, as seen in Matthew 3:7 and Mark 11:28. It seeks information about a person or thing. This term is essential in direct and indirect questions.
Amplified meaning
which thing
Tyndale gloss
which?
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τίς is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'what,' used in both direct and indirect questions. It can function as a substantive, adjective, or adverb, appearing in various contexts throughout the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:7 and John 18:23. The neuter form τί also means 'what' or 'which.' There are instances where τίς may be used interchangeably with other pronouns like ποῖος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τίς, neut., τί, gen., τίνος, interrog. pron., [in LXX for מָה ,מִי ;] in masc. and fem.,

who, which, what?; in neut., which, what?, used both in direct and in indirect questions.

As subst.,

masc., fem.: τίς; who, what?, Mt 3:7 26:68; Mk 11:28, Lk 9:9, al. mult.; c. gen. partit., Ac 7:52, He 1:5, al; seq. ἐκ (= gen. partit.), Mt 6:27, Lk 14:28, Jo 8:46; = ποῖος, Mk 4:41 6:2, Lk 19:3,

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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

τίς (tis) — which?.

τίς

__B Interrog. pronoun τίς, Elean and Laconian dialect τίρ (which see), τί:—genitive Epic dialect and Ionic dialect τέο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect, Trag., and Attic dialect τίνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative Ionic dialect τέῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; no dative in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τῷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίῳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; τίνι first in [NT+8th c.BC+]; genitive Epic dialect τέων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and as monosyllable [Refs]; Trag. and Attic dialect τίνων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative τίσι first in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect τέοισι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίοισι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Megarian dialect σά [Refs 5th c.BC+]: of the plural [Refs 8th c.BC+] with genitive τέω; ποῖος (what? which?) is sometimes preferred (especially in neuter…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

τίς

tis

probably emphatic of 5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or

what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), +

no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, -

with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.

see GREEK for 5100

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τίς, τί

Irg.pr.

who, which, what

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Τίτιος Titios 1x

Titius, pr. name, Acts 18:7*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τίς in direct questions, who? which? neut. what? which? Lat. quis, quae, quid?, Hom., etc.: relating to other words in the same case, τίς δ᾽ οὗτος ἔρχεαι; who art thou that comest? Il.; τίν᾽ ὄψιν σὴν προσδέρκομαι; what face is this I see of thine? Eur.:— τίς ἄν or κεν, with the opt., expresses doubt, who could, who would do so? Hom.: —in double questions, τί λαβόντα τί δεῖ ποιεῖν; what has one received and what must one do? Dem.; so, τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; who and whence art thou? Od.

τίς with Particles: τίς γάρ; Lat. quisnam? why who? who possibly? Il., etc.; τίς δή; who then? Theogn.; τίς δῆτα; Soph.; τίς ποτε; who in the world? who ever? Xen.

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Interrog-ASN — Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

I-ASN Part of Speech: Interrogative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%what
what48% · 273×who21% · 117×why18% · 101×which5% · 29×whom5% · 29×other renderings3% · 19×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object30%adverbial25%predicate24%subject21%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπρόςἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existοὗτοςθεόςGod, a god
διά
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakεἶπονI say, speak
Disj
ἐσθίωI eatπῶςποιέωI do, make
τίςWhat562×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theοὗτοςκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spσημεῖονa sign, miracle,μαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδιώκωI pursue, persec
ποιέωI do, make
Article theἵναin order that, sὅτιthat, since, bec
οὖνtherefore, then
εἶπονI say, speakποιέωI do, makeεἰμίI am, exist

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

Concordanceτίς · 562× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Romans 1 Corinthians Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews Ephesians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 601 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

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

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

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

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
φάγωμενphagein shall we eat G5315 Verb · second aorist · active · subjunctive · first person · plural
93× 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 to eat, whether literally or figuratively, as seen in Matthew 14:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:21. It can also refer to partaking in food and drink, like in 1 Corinthians 9:4. The word is often used in the context of everyday life and community.
Amplified meaning
take in as nourishment
Tyndale gloss
to eat
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐσθίω (i.e., *esthio*) means 'to eat' and is used in various contexts, both literal and figurative. It is built from the root associated with eating and can imply consuming food in a regular manner or in a more metaphorical sense, such as devouring or squandering. The New Testament uses this term frequently, with a notable emphasis on eating in communal or ritual contexts.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

φάγομαι Hellenistic for cl. ἔδομαι, v.s. ἐσθίω.

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

ἐσθίω. P Giss I. 808 (ii/A.p.) τὰ [π]εριστερίδι[α καὶ ὀ]ρνυθάρια, ἃ οὐκ ἤωθα ἐσϑεῖν (1. ἐσθίειν), πέμ[ψον .. -, 25.19 ὅσα ποτὲ οὐκ ἔφαγον παρὰ σοῦ ἀφοσεστια (/. ἀφέστια 2), P Oxy IX. 118 519 (c. A.D. 200) παῖδα τὸν μεικρὸν δεῖ ἄρτον ἐσθίειν, and 76. X. 1297! (iv/A-D.) προ. εἰνάριον ἐλαίου, ἀνικαλύψαι (4 ἀνα-) αὐτὸν καὶ φάγαι, “fa . . . of oil for you to uncover and eat °—so the editors, who for the form φάγαι compare P Tor I. τ (p.c. 117) μετῆλθαι, BGU I. 2508 (time of Hadrian) ἐπενέγκαι. See also Sy// 807"* (after a.D. 138) ἄραι κόκκους στροβίλου καὶ φαγεῖν μετὰ μέλιτος ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἡμέρας. On the constative force of φαγεῖν as distinguished from the durative ἐσθίειν cf. Proleg. p. 111, and for φάγομαι as an Hellenistic mixture of ἔδομαι and ἔφαγον cf. 24. p. 184 η8. MGr φαγί, “eating,” ‘‘repast.” Thumb (Hed/entsmus, p. 128 n.?) doubts the necessity of finding a Hebraism in ἐσθίειν ἀπό (Mk…

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

φαγεῖν (phagein) — to eat.

φᾰγεῖν,

infinitive of ἔφαγον, with no present in use (except in late Gr., φαγεῖ [Refs]; φαγέοις in editions of [Refs 1st c.AD+], used as aorist 2 of ἐσθί; later 1st pers. plural ἐφάγαμεν [LXX]future is φάγομαι,[LXX+NT]; 2nd pers. singular φάγεσαι [LXX+NT]; future φαγήσω is see uncertain in [Refs 4th c.AD+]:—eat, devour, both of men and beasts, frequently in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: with genitive, eat of a thing, [LXX+8th c.BC+]

II. eat up, devour, squander, [Refs 8th c.BC+] and Sanskrit bhájati 'apportion, (middle) enjoy'.)

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐσθίω

phago

a primary verb (used as an alternate of 2068 in certain tenses); to

eat (literally or figuratively):--eat, meat.

see GREEK for 2068

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

φάγω

v.

I eat

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐσθίω esthiō 158x

to eat, Mt. 12:1; 15:27; ἐσθίειν καὶ πίνειν, to eat and drink, to eat and drink in the usual manner, follow the common mode of living, Mt. 11:18; also with the associated notion of supposed security, Lk. 17:27; to feast, banquet, Mt. 24:49; met. to devour, consume, Heb. 10:27; Jas. 5:3; from the Hebrew, ἄρτον ἐσθίειν, to eat bread, to take food, take the usual meals, Mt. 15:2

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAS-1P — Verb · second aorist · active · subjunctive · first person · plural
second aorist active subjunctive — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAS-1P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Subjunctive Person: first Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
31%eat
eat31% · 30×ate9% · 9×do eat7% · 7×you may eat5% · 5×they ate4% · 4×may eat4% · 4×they may eat3% · 3×eat?3% · 3×other renderings33% · 32×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb85%object8%adverbial5%subject2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 93 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
δίδωμιI offer, giveεἰμίI am, existἐνώπιονbefore the face
καίand, even, also, nam
θύωI sacrifice, kilεἰμίI am, existπορνεύωI fornicate, pra
τίςIrg
ἔχωI have, hold, poσύλέγωI say, speak
ἵναin order that, so th
ἑτοιμάζωI make ready, prΦαρισαῖοςa PhariseeπάσχαAram
μήNeg
οὐNegἐάνCondArticle the
ἐσθίωshall we eat93×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
πίνωI drink, imbibeχορτάζωI feed, satisfyἀπολύωI release, let g
Article the
πάσχαAramἄρτοςbread, a loaf, fσάρξflesh, body
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
καίand, even, also,κοινόςcommon, shared, Article the
ὅς
οὐNegσύ
ἐκ
Article theοὗτος

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

Concordanceἐσθίω · 93× in the New Testament
Luke Mark John Matthew 1 Corinthians Acts Revelation Romans 2 Thessalonians Hebrews James
Across the New Testament11 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 174 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 The Epistle of Barnabas Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.90c. AD 40

ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ βρώσει φάγῃ, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ γινώσκειν καλὸν καὶ πονηρὸν οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.3c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ ἀποδόσθαι τὸ πρεσβεῖον αὐτῷ τοῦ φαγεῖν συνεργῷ χρησάμενος τῇ πείνῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἠνάγκαζε, κἀκεῖνος ὑπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ προαχθεὶς παραχωρεῖ τῶν πρεσβείων αὐτῷ μεθʼ ὅρκων.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 7.5c. AD 100

ἐπειδὴ ἐμὲ ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν μέλλοντα τοῦ λαοῦ μου τοῦ καινοῦ προσφέρειν τὴν σάρκα μου μέλλετε ποτίζειν χολὴν μετὰ ὄξους, φάγετε ὑμεῖς μόνοι, τοῦ λαοῦ νηστεύοντος καὶ κοπτομένου ἐπὶ σάκκου καὶ σποδοῦ.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD 1st c. AD
SB 1 5252Nilopolis (Arsinoites)AD 65

δραχμῶν πεντακοσίων καὶ κεραμίων κενωμάτων πεντήκοντα καὶ κατὰ μῆνα ἄρτους πέντε καὶ ἡμικοτύλιον καὶ φαγεῖν ἐκθέτου οὔσης τῆς προθέσεως, τοῦ σπονδείου τοῦ Ἐπὶφ ἀφʼ ὥρας ὀγδόης τῆς ἐνάτης Αἰγυπτίων

BIFAO 41 (1941), p. 175-176 no. 19Wâdi FawâkhirAD 1–AD 200

ἐάν σοι δόξῃ πέμψαι μοι αὐτό, ἐπεὶ τὸ ἐμὸν ἔδωκα καὶ οὐκ ἔχω πόθεν φάγῃ ὁ ἵππος. οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι οὐ μὴ ὀμόσῃς κατὰ τοῦ δακτυλίου η εστιν μυρία

P.Mich. 8 473Alexandria (?)AD 101–AD 125

Ἀλεξάνδρειαν μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ μου. τούτου χάριν μανία αὐτὸν ἔσχηκεν, ἐπεὶ οὐκ εὐδόκηκεν αὐτὸν φαγεῖν τὰ ἐπιμήνια σὺν τοῖς παρʼ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν ὁ θεὸς θέλῃ καὶ λάβῃς τὰ ἐπιμήνια

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
ē Or G2228 Particle
343× 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
Or is a word used to show a choice between two things, like in Matthew 5:17 where it's either obey God's law or not. It's also used to compare things, like in Romans 1:21 where it's one thing or another.
Amplified meaning
as an alternative
Tyndale gloss
or
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word (ē) is a particle used to indicate distinction, functioning as a disjunctive 'or' and a comparative 'than.' It appears frequently in the New Testament, often in phrases like 'either...or' and in disjunctive questions. Notably, it can also express comparisons after comparative terms, such as in Matthew 10:15. The entries do not show any significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἤ, disjunctive and comparative particle (Bl., §36, 12; 77, 11);

disjunctive, or;

between single words: Mt 5:17, Mk 6:56, Lk 2:24, Jo 6:19, Ro 1:21, al.;

before a sentence expressing a variation, denial or refutation of a previous statement, freq. in interrog. form: Mt 7:4, 9, Mk 12:14, Lk 13:4, Ro 3:29 6:3 9:21, I Co 6:9, 16 9:6, II Co 11:7; ἢ . . . ἤ…

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

ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Χριστοῦ (NVWT ΒΗ Targ. Jonath. ad ᾿ς lili. 10), the kingdom of the Messiah, which will be founded by God through the Messiah and over which the Messiah will preside as God’s vicegerent; ἡ Bac. τῶν οὐρανῶν, only in Matthew, but very frequently [some 33 times], the kingdom of heaven, i. e. the kingdom which is of heavenly or divine origin and nature (in rabbin. writ. nown mao is the rule of God, the theocracy viewed universally, not the Messianic kingdom); sometimes simply ἡ βασιλεία : Mt. iv. 23, ete.; Jas. ii. 5; once ἡ Bac. τοῦ Δαυείδ, because it was supposed the Messiah would be one of David’s descendants and a king very like David, Mk. xi. 10; once also ἡ Bac. τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ, Eph. ν. 5. Relying principally on the prophecies of Daniel — who had declared it to be the purpose of God that, after four vast and mighty kingdoms had succeeded one another and the last of…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ἢ μή. The general distinction between οὐ and μή is that οὐ is objective, dealing only with facts, while μή is sudjectize, involving will and thought. But in late Greek μή has encroached very largely upon οὐ, with the result that in the NT οὐ is almost entirely confined to the indicative, while μή monopolizes the other moods (but see I. 5). A few exx. of some of the many uses of μή will make this clear. I. Μή negatives (1) the conjunctive (a) after ἐάν (4v)—P Oxy II. 294%? (A.D. 22) (= Selections, p. 36), where certain men are confined to prison, ἐὰν μή τι πίσωσι τὸν ἀρχιστάτορα δο[ῦν]αι etk(= ἱκ)ανόν, ‘* unless indeed they shall persuade the chief usher to give security,’’ BGU II. 5301” \i/a.D.) (= Selections, p. 61) alav (/. ἐὰν) μὴ ἔλθῃς, κινδυνεύω ἐκστῆvat od ἔχω [κλή]ρου, “if you do not come I run the risk of losing the lot (of land) which I possess ”—a father writes to Selections…

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

ἤ (ē) — or.

ἤ,

Epic dialect also ἠέ (in signification [Refs 4th c.BC+], conjunction with two chief senses, Disj. (or) and comparative (than).

__A DISJUNCTIVE, or, ἐγὼ.. ἢ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; θεόσυτος ἢ βρότειος ἢ κεκραμένη [Refs 4th c.BC+]

__A.2 ἢ.. ἤ either.. or, ἢ νῦν δηθύνοντ᾽ ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα [Refs 8th c.BC+], etc.; so ἢ.. ἤτοι.. [Refs 5th c.BC+] is emphasized, later no distinction is implied, [NT+2nd c.BC+]; ἤ repeated any number of times, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι ἢ τεὸν ἢ Αἴαντος ἰὼν γέρας ἢ Ὀδυσῆος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἤ is probably wrongly accented in codices of [Refs 8th c.BC+] adverb [Refs 4th c.BC+]

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

e

a primary particle of distinction between two connected terms;

disjunctive, or; comparative, than:--and, but (either), (n-)either,

except it be, (n-)or (else), rather, save, than, that, what, yea.

Often used in connection with other particles. Compare especially

2235, 2260, 2273.

see GREEK for 2235

see GREEK for 2260

see GREEK for 2273

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Disj.prt.

or, than

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἤ ē 343x

can function as a conj (298x), either, or, Mt. 6:24; after comparatives, and ἄλλος, ἕτερος, expressed or implied, than, Mt. 10:15; 18:8; Acts 17:21; 24:21; intensive after ἀλλά and πρίν, Lk. 12:51; Mt. 1:18; it also serves to point an interrogation, Rom. 3:29

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

PRT PaRTicle, disjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

or: The word is used once for either (1Sa 26:10), and is still in poetic use in this sense; as in, "Without or wave or wind" (Coleridge); "Or the bakke or some bone he breketh in his dzouthe" (Piers Plowman (B), VII, 93; compare Merchant of Venice, III, ii, 65). It is also used with "ever" for before (Ps 90:2; Ecclesiasticus 18:19), which the American Standard Revised Version substitutes in Ec 12:6 (compare 12:1,2); So 6:12; Da 6:24.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
84%or
or84% · 304×than13% · 47×other renderings4% · 13×

364 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
adverbial20%object18%subject12%predicate7%verb4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 343 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
σύ
πρόςχείρa handἁμαρτίαa sin
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theκακολογέωI speak evil of,Disj
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaἀνεκτόςendurable, tolerθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenβοῦςan ox
ἀδελφόςa brother
DisjArticle theἐάνCond
Or343×
what comes after →
Article the
μήτηρa motherπόλιςa cityδύο
τίςIrg
πίνωI drink, imbibeεἰμίI am, existλαλέωI speak, say
οὐNeg
οἶδαI know, rememberἀναγινώσκωI readδίδωμιI offer, give
ἐν
φυλακήa watching, guarτίςIrgποῖοςIrg
καίand, even, also, nam
ἰχθύςa fishαἰτέωI ask, request, πρός

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

Concordance · 343× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Acts Mark Romans 2 Corinthians John 1 Peter Galatians James Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament24 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 457 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.

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
τίtis what G5101 Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
562× 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 interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions like who, which, or what, as seen in Matthew 3:7 and Mark 11:28. It seeks information about a person or thing. This term is essential in direct and indirect questions.
Amplified meaning
which thing
Tyndale gloss
which?
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τίς is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'what,' used in both direct and indirect questions. It can function as a substantive, adjective, or adverb, appearing in various contexts throughout the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:7 and John 18:23. The neuter form τί also means 'what' or 'which.' There are instances where τίς may be used interchangeably with other pronouns like ποῖος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τίς, neut., τί, gen., τίνος, interrog. pron., [in LXX for מָה ,מִי ;] in masc. and fem.,

who, which, what?; in neut., which, what?, used both in direct and in indirect questions.

As subst.,

masc., fem.: τίς; who, what?, Mt 3:7 26:68; Mk 11:28, Lk 9:9, al. mult.; c. gen. partit., Ac 7:52, He 1:5, al; seq. ἐκ (= gen. partit.), Mt 6:27, Lk 14:28, Jo 8:46; = ποῖος, Mk 4:41 6:2, Lk 19:3,

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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

τίς (tis) — which?.

τίς

__B Interrog. pronoun τίς, Elean and Laconian dialect τίρ (which see), τί:—genitive Epic dialect and Ionic dialect τέο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect, Trag., and Attic dialect τίνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative Ionic dialect τέῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; no dative in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τῷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίῳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; τίνι first in [NT+8th c.BC+]; genitive Epic dialect τέων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and as monosyllable [Refs]; Trag. and Attic dialect τίνων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative τίσι first in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect τέοισι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίοισι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Megarian dialect σά [Refs 5th c.BC+]: of the plural [Refs 8th c.BC+] with genitive τέω; ποῖος (what? which?) is sometimes preferred (especially in neuter…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

τίς

tis

probably emphatic of 5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or

what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), +

no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, -

with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.

see GREEK for 5100

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τίς, τί

Irg.pr.

who, which, what

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Τίτιος Titios 1x

Titius, pr. name, Acts 18:7*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τίς in direct questions, who? which? neut. what? which? Lat. quis, quae, quid?, Hom., etc.: relating to other words in the same case, τίς δ᾽ οὗτος ἔρχεαι; who art thou that comest? Il.; τίν᾽ ὄψιν σὴν προσδέρκομαι; what face is this I see of thine? Eur.:— τίς ἄν or κεν, with the opt., expresses doubt, who could, who would do so? Hom.: —in double questions, τί λαβόντα τί δεῖ ποιεῖν; what has one received and what must one do? Dem.; so, τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; who and whence art thou? Od.

τίς with Particles: τίς γάρ; Lat. quisnam? why who? who possibly? Il., etc.; τίς δή; who then? Theogn.; τίς δῆτα; Soph.; τίς ποτε; who in the world? who ever? Xen.

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Interrog-ASN — Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

I-ASN Part of Speech: Interrogative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%what
what48% · 273×who21% · 117×why18% · 101×which5% · 29×whom5% · 29×other renderings3% · 19×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object30%adverbial25%predicate24%subject21%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπρόςἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existοὗτοςθεόςGod, a god
διά
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakεἶπονI say, speak
Disj
ἐσθίωI eatπῶςποιέωI do, make
τίςwhat562×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theοὗτοςκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spσημεῖονa sign, miracle,μαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδιώκωI pursue, persec
ποιέωI do, make
Article theἵναin order that, sὅτιthat, since, bec
οὖνtherefore, then
εἶπονI say, speakποιέωI do, makeεἰμίI am, exist

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

Concordanceτίς · 562× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Romans 1 Corinthians Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews Ephesians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 601 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

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

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

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

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
πίωμενpinō shall we drink G4095 Verb · second aorist · active · subjunctive · first person · plural
73× 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 drink means to swallow a liquid, like water or wine. In the Bible, drinking is often used as a symbol, like in John 6:53-54, where Jesus says to drink his blood. The word is used in many stories, including Luke 2:19 and Romans 14:21.
Amplified meaning
swallow as a liquid
Tyndale gloss
to drink
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

πίνω is a Greek verb meaning 'to drink,' used in both literal and figurative contexts. It appears frequently in the New Testament, often referring to drinking water, wine, or the blood of Christ. The word can also describe the earth absorbing rain. Notably, there are variations in its forms, such as πεῖν and πίομαι, which are mentioned in the entries.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

πίνω,

[in LXX chiefly for שׁתה;]

to drink: absol., Lk 2:19, Jo 4:7, al.; c. acc. rei, Mt 6:25, 31, Mk 14:25, al.; of habitual use, Lk 1:15, Ro 14:21, al.; by meton., τὸ ποτήριον, I Co 10:21, al.; of the earth absorbing rain (Hdt., al.), He 6:7; spiritually, of the blood of Christ, Jo 6:53, 54, 56; seq. ἐκ (of the vessel), Mt 26:27, al.; id. (of the drink; Bl., § 36, 1), Mt 26:29, Jo 4:13, 14, Read the full entry →

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

πίνω; impf. ἔπινον ; fut. πίομαι [cf. W. 90 sq. (86)], 2 pers. sing. πίεσαι (Lk. xvii. 8 [(see reff. in κατακαυχάοpa)}); pé. 3 pers. sing. (Rev. xviii. 3) πέπωκε RG, but LT WH org. plur. -καν, for which L ed. ster. Tr txt. WH txt. read πέπτωκαν (see γίνομαι) ; 2 aor. ἔπιον, impy. mie (Lk. xii. 19), inf. πιεῖν ([Mt. xx. 22; xxvii. 34 (not Tdf.); Mk. x. 38]; Acts xxiii. 12 [not WH], 21; Ro. xiv. 21 [not WH], ete.), and in colloquial form πῖν (Lehm. in Jn. iv. 9; Rev. xvi. 6), and πεῖν (T Tr WH in Jn. iv. 7,9 sq.; T WH in 1 Co. ix. 4; x. 7; Rev. xvi. 6; Tin Mt. xxvii. 34 (bis); WH in Acts xxiii. 12, 21; Ro. xiv. 21, and often among the var. of the codd.) —on these forms see [esp. WH. App. p. 170]; Fritzsche, De conformatione N. T. critica ete. p. 27 sq.; B. 66 (58) sq.; [Curtius, Das Verbum, ii. 103]; Sept. for 7nw; [fr. Hom. down]; to drink: absol., Lk. xii. 19; Jn. iv. 7, 10; 1 Co. xi.…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

πίνω. In P Par 4733 (as read in UPZ i. p. 332—B.c. 152-1) the strategus spends two days in the Anubieion πίνων, ‘‘ drinking,” apparently in connexion with some festival. The schoolboy who does not get his own way informs his father π-οὐ μὴ φάγω, οὐ μὴ πείνω" ταῦτα, “1 won't eat, I won't drink: there now!’’ (P Oxy I. 1191 (= Selections, p. 103) —ii/iii a.D.). And the magical P Lond 12118 (iii/a.p.) (=I. p. 90) supplies a recipe enabling a man πολλὰ πίνειν καὶ μὴ μεθύειν, ‘to drink much and not be drunk.” With 1 Cor 158? Deissmann (LAZ p. 296) compares a sepulchral epigram of the Imperial period in which the passer-by is exhorted—reive, βλέπις τὸ τέλος, “drink, thou seest the end.” Cf. Kazbe/ 6461 (iii/iv A.D.) οὐκ ὁ θανὼν πίεται, and Sy// 804 (=% 1170) (ii/A.D.) πιόντος pov γάλα μόνον, in connexion with a cure at the temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus. For Heb 67 cf. Anacreontea xxi. 1 ἣ…

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

πίνω (pinō) — to drink.

πίνω [ῑ],

Epic dialect infinitive πινέμεναι and -έμεν, [Refs 8th c.BC+]: Ionic dialect imperfect πίνεσκον [Refs 8th c.BC+]: future πίομαι [Refs 6th c.BC+]; also as falsa lectio in earlier authors, πιεῖσθαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; 2nd pers. singular πίεσαι [LXX+NT]aorist ἔπῐον, Epic dialect πίον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; 2nd pers. singular subjunctive πίῃσθα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; πίει, πίεις, Kretschmer [Refs]; infinitive πιεῖν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; later contraction πεῖν [Refs 1st c.AD+]; Epic dialect πῐέμεν [Refs 8th c.BC+] falsa lectio for{ὑπιέναι} in [Refs 5th c.BC+]; participle πῐών, πῐοῦσα, [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—middle, subjunctive πινώμεθα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: πίομαι [ῑ] as present middle, [Refs 6th c.BC+] (passive in [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:—passive, [Refs 8th c.BC+]imperfect πίνετο [Refs 8th c.BC+] —Other tenses are from πω- or πο-, perfect πέπωκα [Refs 4th c.BC+] —passive…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

πίνω

pino

pio pee'-o, which (together with another form)

poo po'-o

occurs only as an alternate in certain tenses; to imbibe (literally or

figuratively):--drink.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

πίνω

v.

I drink, imbibe

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

πίνω pinō 73x

to drink, Mt. 6:25, 31; 26:27, 29, et al. freq.; trop. of the earth, to drink in, imbibe, Heb. 6:7

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

πίνω to drink, Hom., etc.; π. ὕδωρ Αἰσήποιο to drink its water, i. e. live on its banks, Il.;—or c. gen. partit. to drink of a thing, π. οἴνοιο (as Fr. du vin), Od.; αἵματος ὄφρα πίω id. Od.:—also, πίνειν κρητῆρας οἴνοιο to drink bowls of wine, Il.; π. ἀπὸ κρήνης to drink of a spring, Theogn.; δέπα, ἔνθεν ἔπινον Od.; π. ἐκ ταὐτοῦ ποτηρίου Ar.; ἐξ ἀργύρου ἢ χρυσοῦ Plat.; ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ Xen.: —also, σκύφον ὧιπερ ἔπινον with which . . , Od.:— absol., Hom., etc.; πῖνε, πῖν᾽ ἐπὶ συμφοραῖς Ar.; διδόναι πιεῖν to give to drink, Hdt.; πιεῖν αἰτεῖν Xen.:— in perf. πέπωκα, to be drunk, Eur.; but, πίνοντά τε καὶ πεπωκότα drinking and having finished drinking…

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAS-1P — Verb · second aorist · active · subjunctive · first person · plural
second aorist active subjunctive — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAS-1P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Subjunctive Person: first Number: Plural

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

See FOOD; DRINK, STRONG.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Drink

The drinks of the Hebrews were water, wine, “strong drink,” and vinegar. Their drinking vessels were the cup, goblet or “basin,” the “cruse” or pitcher, and the saucer.

To drink water by measure (Ezek. 4:11), and to buy water to drink (Lam. 5:4), denote great scarcity. To drink blood means to be satiated with slaughter.

The Jews carefully strained their drinks through a sieve, through fear of violating the law of Lev. 11:20, 23, 41, 42. (See Matt. 23:24. “Strain at” should be “strain out.”)

Nave's Topical Bible

→ INTOXICATING

See ABSTINENCE, TOTAL

→ See DRUNKARD

→ See DRUNKENNESS

→ See WINE

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
28%drink
drink28% · 21×drinking15% · 11×may drink5% · 4×shall i drink5% · 4×drink?4% · 3×i may drink4% · 3×they drank3% · 2×they were drinking3% · 2×other renderings33% · 25×

75 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 28 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
verb93%object6%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 73 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐσθίωI eatἐσθίωI eatσάρξflesh, body
αὐτός
ὅτανwhen, whensoeverμήNegδίδωμιI offer, give
ἐγώ
ὅςδίδωμιI offer, giveποτήριονa drinking cup
μήNeg
οὐNeg
μήτεNeg
ἐσθίωI eatἐσθίωI eatἄρτοςbread, a loaf, f
πίνωshall we drink73×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
λέγωI say, speakArticle theπνεῦμαwind, breath, sp
Article the
ποτήριονa drinking cupδέbut, on the otheπαρά
ἐκ
Article theαὐτός
Disj
Article theτίςIrg
οἶνοςwine
μετάκαίand, even, also,μηδέNeg

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

Concordanceπίνω · 73× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew 1 Corinthians John Mark Acts Revelation Hebrews Romans
Across the New Testament9 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 141 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 2.29c. AD 40

ἐὰν δὲ ὁ λόγος ἰσχύσῃ ἀνακαθᾶραι τὸ πάθος, οὔτε πίνοντες μεθυσκόμεθα οὔτε ἐσθίοντες ἐξυβρίζομεν διὰ κόρον, ἀλλὰ δίχα τοῦ ληρεῖν νηφάλια σιτούμεθα.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.249c. AD 75–95

τούτων ἀκροασάμενος ἔχαιρέ τε τοῖς γεγονόσι καὶ τοῖς εἰρημένοις τὸν θεὸν οὕτως ὁρῶν αὐτῷ τῆς ὁδοῦ σαφῶς συλλαμβάνοντα, καὶ προκομίσας ὁρμίσκον τε καί τινας κόσμους, οὓς εὐπρεπὲς φορεῖν παρθένοις, ἀνεδίδου τῇ κόρῃ τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ πιεῖν χάριτος ἀμοιβὴν…

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 3.1c. AD 96

Πᾶσα δόξα καὶ πλατυσμὸς ἐδόθη ὑμῖν, καὶ ἐπετελέσθη τὸ γεγραμμένον: Ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔπιεν, καὶ ἐπλατύνθη, καὶ ἐπαχύνθη, καὶ ἀπελάκτισεν ὁ ἠγαπημένος.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 4th c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Mich. 8 465Bostra (Arabia)AD 108

μάλιστα δέ ἐστί μοι διʼ εὐχῆς. ὁσάκι γὰρ ἐὰν μνησθῶ ὑμῶν οὔτε ἔσθω οὔτε πίνω ἀλλὰ κλαίω … … νηση … … … σο … ιου ἐμοὶ μόνῳ

P.Brem. 10Hermopolis (?)AD 113–AD 120

Πρόκλου πρός σε σπεύδειν. ἡδέως σε, ἄδελφε, ἀσπάζομαι καὶ ἐντυγχάνω ἐμὲ θεῶν ἐπιτρεπόντων τὸ ἐπιὸν καὶ σὲ τ … … … υσα … ἐκ γράμματος … … ι

P.Stras. 6 547Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)AD 161–AD 169

δὲ τῇ τοῦ κγ ἔτους ἀπογραφῇ καὶ … τὸν ἐπικρινόμενον ἡμῶν υἱὸν … … πίων γεγυμνασιαρχηκὼς … … σεσημείωμαι Πωλίων ἀποδεδειγμένος γυμνασίαρχος … … … δης γεγυμνασιαρχηκὼς

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
ē Or G2228 Particle
343× 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
Or is a word used to show a choice between two things, like in Matthew 5:17 where it's either obey God's law or not. It's also used to compare things, like in Romans 1:21 where it's one thing or another.
Amplified meaning
as another option
Tyndale gloss
or
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word (ē) is a particle used to indicate distinction, functioning as a disjunctive 'or' and a comparative 'than.' It appears frequently in the New Testament, often in phrases like 'either...or' and in disjunctive questions. Notably, it can also express comparisons after comparative terms, such as in Matthew 10:15. The entries do not show any significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἤ, disjunctive and comparative particle (Bl., §36, 12; 77, 11);

disjunctive, or;

between single words: Mt 5:17, Mk 6:56, Lk 2:24, Jo 6:19, Ro 1:21, al.;

before a sentence expressing a variation, denial or refutation of a previous statement, freq. in interrog. form: Mt 7:4, 9, Mk 12:14, Lk 13:4, Ro 3:29 6:3 9:21, I Co 6:9, 16 9:6, II Co 11:7; ἢ . . . ἤ…

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

ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Χριστοῦ (NVWT ΒΗ Targ. Jonath. ad ᾿ς lili. 10), the kingdom of the Messiah, which will be founded by God through the Messiah and over which the Messiah will preside as God’s vicegerent; ἡ Bac. τῶν οὐρανῶν, only in Matthew, but very frequently [some 33 times], the kingdom of heaven, i. e. the kingdom which is of heavenly or divine origin and nature (in rabbin. writ. nown mao is the rule of God, the theocracy viewed universally, not the Messianic kingdom); sometimes simply ἡ βασιλεία : Mt. iv. 23, ete.; Jas. ii. 5; once ἡ Bac. τοῦ Δαυείδ, because it was supposed the Messiah would be one of David’s descendants and a king very like David, Mk. xi. 10; once also ἡ Bac. τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ, Eph. ν. 5. Relying principally on the prophecies of Daniel — who had declared it to be the purpose of God that, after four vast and mighty kingdoms had succeeded one another and the last of…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

ἢ μή. The general distinction between οὐ and μή is that οὐ is objective, dealing only with facts, while μή is sudjectize, involving will and thought. But in late Greek μή has encroached very largely upon οὐ, with the result that in the NT οὐ is almost entirely confined to the indicative, while μή monopolizes the other moods (but see I. 5). A few exx. of some of the many uses of μή will make this clear. I. Μή negatives (1) the conjunctive (a) after ἐάν (4v)—P Oxy II. 294%? (A.D. 22) (= Selections, p. 36), where certain men are confined to prison, ἐὰν μή τι πίσωσι τὸν ἀρχιστάτορα δο[ῦν]αι etk(= ἱκ)ανόν, ‘* unless indeed they shall persuade the chief usher to give security,’’ BGU II. 5301” \i/a.D.) (= Selections, p. 61) alav (/. ἐὰν) μὴ ἔλθῃς, κινδυνεύω ἐκστῆvat od ἔχω [κλή]ρου, “if you do not come I run the risk of losing the lot (of land) which I possess ”—a father writes to Selections…

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

ἤ (ē) — or.

ἤ,

Epic dialect also ἠέ (in signification [Refs 4th c.BC+], conjunction with two chief senses, Disj. (or) and comparative (than).

__A DISJUNCTIVE, or, ἐγὼ.. ἢ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν [Refs 8th c.BC+]; θεόσυτος ἢ βρότειος ἢ κεκραμένη [Refs 4th c.BC+]

__A.2 ἢ.. ἤ either.. or, ἢ νῦν δηθύνοντ᾽ ἢ ὕστερον αὖτις ἰόντα [Refs 8th c.BC+], etc.; so ἢ.. ἤτοι.. [Refs 5th c.BC+] is emphasized, later no distinction is implied, [NT+2nd c.BC+]; ἤ repeated any number of times, ἐγὼ δέ κεν αὐτὸς ἕλωμαι ἢ τεὸν ἢ Αἴαντος ἰὼν γέρας ἢ Ὀδυσῆος [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἤ is probably wrongly accented in codices of [Refs 8th c.BC+] adverb [Refs 4th c.BC+]

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

e

a primary particle of distinction between two connected terms;

disjunctive, or; comparative, than:--and, but (either), (n-)either,

except it be, (n-)or (else), rather, save, than, that, what, yea.

Often used in connection with other particles. Compare especially

2235, 2260, 2273.

see GREEK for 2235

see GREEK for 2260

see GREEK for 2273

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

Disj.prt.

or, than

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἤ ē 343x

can function as a conj (298x), either, or, Mt. 6:24; after comparatives, and ἄλλος, ἕτερος, expressed or implied, than, Mt. 10:15; 18:8; Acts 17:21; 24:21; intensive after ἀλλά and πρίν, Lk. 12:51; Mt. 1:18; it also serves to point an interrogation, Rom. 3:29

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

PRT PaRTicle, disjunctive particle

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

or: The word is used once for either (1Sa 26:10), and is still in poetic use in this sense; as in, "Without or wave or wind" (Coleridge); "Or the bakke or some bone he breketh in his dzouthe" (Piers Plowman (B), VII, 93; compare Merchant of Venice, III, ii, 65). It is also used with "ever" for before (Ps 90:2; Ecclesiasticus 18:19), which the American Standard Revised Version substitutes in Ec 12:6 (compare 12:1,2); So 6:12; Da 6:24.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
84%or
or84% · 304×than13% · 47×other renderings4% · 13×

364 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
adverbial20%object18%subject12%predicate7%verb4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 343 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
σύ
πρόςχείρa handἁμαρτίαa sin
πατήρfather, Father, ance
Article theκακολογέωI speak evil of,Disj
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaἀνεκτόςendurable, tolerθεόςGod, a god
αὐτός
πατήρfather, Father, υἱόςa son, descendenβοῦςan ox
ἀδελφόςa brother
DisjArticle theἐάνCond
Or343×
what comes after →
Article the
μήτηρa motherπόλιςa cityδύο
τίςIrg
πίνωI drink, imbibeεἰμίI am, existλαλέωI speak, say
οὐNeg
οἶδαI know, rememberἀναγινώσκωI readδίδωμιI offer, give
ἐν
φυλακήa watching, guarτίςIrgποῖοςIrg
καίand, even, also, nam
ἰχθύςa fishαἰτέωI ask, request, πρός

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

Concordance · 343× in the New Testament
Matthew 1 Corinthians Luke Acts Mark Romans 2 Corinthians John 1 Peter Galatians James Ephesians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament24 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 457 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.

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
τίtis what G5101 Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
562× 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 interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions like who, which, or what, as seen in Matthew 3:7 and Mark 11:28. It seeks information about a person or thing. This term is essential in direct and indirect questions.
Amplified meaning
which thing
Tyndale gloss
which?
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

τίς is an interrogative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'what,' used in both direct and indirect questions. It can function as a substantive, adjective, or adverb, appearing in various contexts throughout the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:7 and John 18:23. The neuter form τί also means 'what' or 'which.' There are instances where τίς may be used interchangeably with other pronouns like ποῖος.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

τίς, neut., τί, gen., τίνος, interrog. pron., [in LXX for מָה ,מִי ;] in masc. and fem.,

who, which, what?; in neut., which, what?, used both in direct and in indirect questions.

As subst.,

masc., fem.: τίς; who, what?, Mt 3:7 26:68; Mk 11:28, Lk 9:9, al. mult.; c. gen. partit., Ac 7:52, He 1:5, al; seq. ἐκ (= gen. partit.), Mt 6:27, Lk 14:28, Jo 8:46; = ποῖος, Mk 4:41 6:2, Lk 19:3,

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

τὶς, τὶ. ἘΣ what follows, εἰ καί lays less emphasis upon it; although it is evident that εἰ καί can often be substituted for καὶ ei.” Cf. Herm. Vig. p. 829 sq.; W. 444 (413); Ellic. on Phil. ii. 17; Schmalfeld, Griech. Syntax, § 41; Paley, Grk. Particles, p. 31]. 8. εἰ μή, a. in a conditional protasis, with the same sequence of moods and tenses as the simple εἰ, see 1. above, if not, unless, except, [W. 477 (444) sqq.; B. 345 (297)]: Mt. xxiv. 22; Jn. ix. 33; | xv. 22, 24; Ro. vii. 7, ete. b. it serves, with the entire. following sentence, to limit or correct what has just been said, only, save that, (Lat. nisi quod), [B. 359 (308) ]: Mk. vi. 5; 1 Co. vii. 17 (where Paul by the addition εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ κτλ. strives to prevent any one in applying what had been said a little while before, viz. οὐ δεδούλωται . . ἐν τοιούτοις to his own case, from going too far) ; in ironical answers, unless…

Read the full entry →
Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament from a scan

τις (indef. pron.), ‘* someone, something’’: P Vat ΑἸ (B.c. 168) (= UPZi. p. 303) πᾶς τις πειρᾶται. . ., P Lond 421° (B.C. 168) (= Selections, p. 10) εἰς πᾶν τι ἐληλυθυῖα διὰ, τὴν τοῦ σίτου τιμήν, ‘having come to the last extremity because of the high price of corn,’’ P Oxy IV. 7421° (B.c. 2) ἐάν τι δύνῃ... δὸς ἐργασίαν, “if you can, give your attention to it’’ (Edd.), 2d. I. 120% (iv/a.D.) τινα ὁρῶντα αἱαυτὸν (/. ἑαυτὸν) ἐν δυστυχίᾳ, ““α man finding himself in adversity,’ 13 ἀποστῖλόν pot τινα ἢ Γοῦνθον ἢ ᾿Αμμώνιον, “send someone to me, either Gunthus or Ammonius” (Edd.). P Oxy VI. 937°" (ili/A.D.) γ]ράψον ἐκεῖ TO kat’ εἶδος ὅτι τι kal τι εἴληφας is translated by the editors ‘* write the list there, that you have received so and so.” They 3) ες remark that it is simpler to take τι καί τι as analogous to τὸ καὶ τό than ‘‘to take τί kal τί as an indirect interrogative, ὅτι being…

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

τίς (tis) — which?.

τίς

__B Interrog. pronoun τίς, Elean and Laconian dialect τίρ (which see), τί:—genitive Epic dialect and Ionic dialect τέο [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τοῦ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect, Trag., and Attic dialect τίνος [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative Ionic dialect τέῳ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; no dative in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Trag. and Attic dialect τῷ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίῳ [Refs 7th c.BC+]; τίνι first in [NT+8th c.BC+]; genitive Epic dialect τέων [Refs 8th c.BC+], and as monosyllable [Refs]; Trag. and Attic dialect τίνων [Refs 5th c.BC+]; dative τίσι first in [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect τέοισι [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect τίοισι [Refs 7th c.BC+]; Boeotian dialect τά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Megarian dialect σά [Refs 5th c.BC+]: of the plural [Refs 8th c.BC+] with genitive τέω; ποῖος (what? which?) is sometimes preferred (especially in neuter…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

τίς

tis

probably emphatic of 5100; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or

what (in direct or indirect questions):--every man, how (much), +

no(-ne, thing), what (manner, thing), where (-by, -fore, -of, -unto, -

with, -withal), whether, which, who(-m, -se), why.

see GREEK for 5100

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

τίς, τί

Irg.pr.

who, which, what

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

Τίτιος Titios 1x

Titius, pr. name, Acts 18:7*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

τίς in direct questions, who? which? neut. what? which? Lat. quis, quae, quid?, Hom., etc.: relating to other words in the same case, τίς δ᾽ οὗτος ἔρχεαι; who art thou that comest? Il.; τίν᾽ ὄψιν σὴν προσδέρκομαι; what face is this I see of thine? Eur.:— τίς ἄν or κεν, with the opt., expresses doubt, who could, who would do so? Hom.: —in double questions, τί λαβόντα τί δεῖ ποιεῖν; what has one received and what must one do? Dem.; so, τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; who and whence art thou? Od.

τίς with Particles: τίς γάρ; Lat. quisnam? why who? who possibly? Il., etc.; τίς δή; who then? Theogn.; τίς δῆτα; Soph.; τίς ποτε; who in the world? who ever? Xen.

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Interrog-ASN — Interrogative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
accusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular neuter.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

I-ASN Part of Speech: Interrogative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
48%what
what48% · 273×who21% · 117×why18% · 101×which5% · 29×whom5% · 29×other renderings3% · 19×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object30%adverbial25%predicate24%subject21%

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakπρόςἐπερωτάωI interrogate, q
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςἸησοῦςJesusκαίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existοὗτοςθεόςGod, a god
διά
αὐτόςλέγωI say, speakεἶπονI say, speak
Disj
ἐσθίωI eatπῶςποιέωI do, make
τίςwhat562×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theοὗτοςκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
Article the
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spσημεῖονa sign, miracle,μαθητήςa learner, disci
ἐγώ
καίand, even, also,λέγωI say, speakδιώκωI pursue, persec
ποιέωI do, make
Article theἵναin order that, sὅτιthat, since, bec
οὖνtherefore, then
εἶπονI say, speakποιέωI do, makeεἰμίI am, exist

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

Concordanceτίς · 562× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Romans 1 Corinthians Revelation 2 Corinthians Hebrews Ephesians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 601 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

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

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

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

ὅτι λιμοῦ τὴν Χαναναίαν καταλαβόντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀπῆρε καὶ διατρίψας ἐν αὐτῇ τινα χρόνον ὑπέστρεψεν ὀπίσω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 2.5c. AD 100

πλήρης εἰμὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων, καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα ταύρων καὶ τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, οὐδ̓ ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι, τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησεν ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν;

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

ἂν ὦσι γείτονες πάντοθεν· μὴ ἐξέστω δὲ τῷ καθόλου ἐπὶ τὴν διαθήκην ταύτην ἄλλῳ τινὶ ἐπέρχεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἄκυρον ἔστω καὶ προσαποτεισάτω ὁ ἐπιφέρων ὕστερον … ἄλλον τῆς

P.Cair. Cat. 10364 descr.Pathyris126 BC–102 BC

προγεγραμμένου ἵππου, καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσεσθαί σοι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. ἐὰν δὲ ἐπέλθωμεν ἢ ἄλλος τις ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἥ τʼ ἔφοδος ἄκυρος ἔσται καὶ προσαποτείσομέν σοι χαλκοῦ τάλαντα πέντε.

BGU 6 1260Pathyris102 BC

σημαινομένης ἀρούρης μιᾶς , καὶ μὴ ἐπελεύσασθαι Νεχθανοῦπιν καὶ τοὺς τούτου υἱοὺς μηδʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Πετεαρσεμθεία μηδʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῦ περὶ

Not therefore shall you be anxious saying; What shall we eat Or what shall we drink Or what shall we wear?
περιβαλώμεθα;periballō shall we wear? G4016 Verb · second aorist · middle · subjunctive · first person · plural
23× 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
To clothe or invest someone with something, like putting on clothes or a palisade, as seen in Matthew 25:36 and Luke 23:11. This can also mean to array or put on something, like a garment or a defense.
Amplified meaning
be clothed with
Tyndale gloss
to clothe
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

περιβάλλω means to throw around or over, often used in the context of clothing or wrapping oneself. It can also refer to surrounding or enclosing something, as seen in various New Testament passages like Matthew 25:36 and Luke 23:11. The word is built from the prefix περί (around) and βάλλω (to throw). There is a notable usage in Revelation, where it describes being wrapped or clothed in various contexts.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

περι-βάλλω,

[in LXX chiefly for כּסה pi., also for לבשׁ, עטה, etc.;]

to throw around or over, put on or over;

of siege or defensive works: χάρακά σοι, Lk 19:43 (WH, mg.; παρεμβ-, WH, txt.);

of clothing, to put on, wrap about, clothe with: c. acc. rei, Lk 23:11; c. acc. pers., Mt 25:36, 38, 43; c. dupl. acc. (not cl.; Bl., § 34, 4), Jo 19:2; pf. pass., to have wrapped round one: c. acc. rei (cl.), Mk 14:51 16:5, Re 7:9, 13 10:1 11:3 12:1 17:4 18:16 19:13; c. dat. rei, Re 4:4 (WH, txt.; seq. ἐν, WH, mg.); fut., seq. ἐν (cf.

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

περι-βάλλω : fut. περιβαλῶ ; 2 aor. περιέβαλον ; pf. pass. ptep. περιβεβλημένος ; 2 aor. mid. περιεβαλόμην ; 2 fut. mid. περιβαλοῦμαι ; fr. Hom. down; Sept. chiefly for D3 to cover, cover up; also for way to clothe, and πιὸ» to veil; to throw around, to put round; a. UNG

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

περιβάλλω. For a good parallel to the TR of Lk 19% cr. P Oxy IV. 70782 (¢. A.D. 136) where a man is charged with neglecting a vineyarl—pySt τὰς πλάτας περιβεβληκέναι, “not even to have built the enclosing walls.” For the meaning ‘‘ wrap about,” ‘* clothe myself,’’ as in Mk 1451 (cf. Field Mores, p. 40), see P Fay 1218 (c, n.c. 103) ἐξέδυσαν ὃ περ[ιεἸβεβλήμην ἱμάτιον, ‘they stripped me of the garment in which I was clothed,” P Grenf I. 384 (ii/iB.c.) (asemended Berichtigungen, Ῥ. 182) ὅ τε περιεβλήμην ὀθόνιον κατέρηξεν, aud the

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

περιβάλλω (periballō) — to clothe.

περιβάλλω,

future -βᾰλῶ: aorist περιέβᾰλον (see. below):— throw round, about, or over, put on or over, with accusative of things, φίλας περὶ χεῖρε βαλόντε [Refs 8th c.BC+]; π. τινὶ δεσμά, βρόχους, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; π. τινὰ χαλκεύματι put him round the sword, i. e. stab him, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; also περὶ τὰ στέρνα θώρηκας π. [Refs 5th c.BC+]; περὶ ἕρμα π. ναῦν wreck it on.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]:—middle, throw round or over oneself, put on, with accusative of things, περιβαλλόμενοι τεύχεα putting on their arms, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; εἷμα, φᾶρος περιβάλλεσθαι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; frequently of defences, τεῖχος καὶ σωτηρίην περιβαλέσθαι τοῖς τε χρήμασι καὶ τοῖς σώμασιν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λιμένι τεῖχος, χάρακα τῇ παρεμβολῇ, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; also περὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον τεῖχος π. [Refs 5th c.BC+] build a wall round it, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: in perfect…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

περιβάλλω

periballo

from 4012 and 906; to throw all around, i.e. invest (with a palisade

or with clothing):--array, cast about, clothe(-d me), put on.

see GREEK for 4012

see GREEK for 906

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

περιβάλλω

v.

I cast around, clothe

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

περιβάλλω periballō 23x

to cast around; to clothe, Mt. 25:36, 38, 43; mid. to clothe one’s self, to be clothed, Mt. 6:29, 31; Lk. 23:11; Jn. 19:2; Acts 12:8; Rev. 4:4

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

περιβάλλω fut. -βα^λῶ aor2 -έβα^λον to throw round, περὶ χαῖρε βαλών having thrown his arms round him, Od.; χέρας π. τινί Eur.; περὶ δ᾽ ὠλένας δέρᾳ βάλοιμι id. Eur.; π. τινὶ δεσμά Aesch.; π. ναῦν περὶ ἕρμα to wreck it on a reef, Thuc.:—Mid. to throw round oneself, put on, c. acc. rei, τεύχεα περιβαλλόμενοι putting on their arms, Od.; π. ἔρυμα, ἕρκος, τείχεα to throw round oneself for defence, Hdt.; c. dupl. acc., τεῖχος περιβάλλεσθαι πόλιν to build a wall round it, id. Hdt.:—in perf. pass. to have a thing put round one, Plat.; περιβεβλημένος τὸ τεῖχος having his wall around him, id. Plat.

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AMS-1P — Verb · second aorist · middle · subjunctive · first person · plural
second aorist middle subjunctive — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AMS-1P Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Middle Mood: Subjunctive Person: first Number: Plural

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
13%having clothed themselves with
having clothed themselves with13% · 3×having been clothed with9% · 2×do yourself wrap around4% · 1×will be clothed4% · 1×you may be clothed4% · 1×having clothed themselves4% · 1×having clothed himself with4% · 1×having clothed themselves in4% · 1×other renderings52% · 12×

23 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 20 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 23 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
δόξαhonor, renown, gσυνακολουθέωI accompanyλέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also, nam
γυμνόςwearing only the
ἵναin order that, so th
λευκόςwhite, brightαὐτός
Article the
οὗτοςμέγας
τίςIrg
Disj
περιβάλλωshall we wear?23×
what comes after →
Article the
ἱμάτιονouter garmentστολήa long robeἥλιοςthe sun, sunligh
ὡςas, like as, how, wh
εἷςone
ἐγώ
ἀσθενέωI am weak, sickἀσθενήςweak, infirm, si
στολήa long robe
λευκόςwhite, bright
ἐν
ἱμάτιονouter garment

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

Concordanceπεριβάλλω · 23× in the New Testament
Revelation Matthew Luke Mark Acts John
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 39 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
Philo of AlexandriaOn Noah's Work as a Planter 65c. AD 40

ἤδη τινὰ τῶν παλαιῶν φασι καθάπερ ἐκπρεπεστάτης γυναικὸς τῷ σοφίας ἐπιμανέντα κάλλει πολυτελεστάτης πομπῆς θεασάμενον παρασκευὴν ἄφθονον, ἀπιδόντα πρός τινας τῶν συνήθων εἰπεῖν „ἴδετε, ὦ ἑταῖροι, ὅσων χρείαν οὐκ ἔχω“, καίτοι γε ἔξω τῶν ἀναγκαίων…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.270c. AD 75–95

ἐπεὶ δʼ εὐτρεπὲς ἦν τὸ δεῖπνον, ἐρίφου δέρματι τὸν βραχίονα περιβαλών, ἵνα πιστεύοιτο παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ διὰ τὴν δασύτητα Ἡσαῦς εἶναι, τὰ γὰρ ἄλλα πάντʼ ὢν ὅμοιος διὰ τὸ εἶναι δίδυμος τούτῳ μόνῳ διέφερε, καὶ φοβηθεὶς μὴ πρὶν γενέσθαι τὰς εὐχὰς εὑρεθεὶς…

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Heid. 2 217Kerkeosiris? (Arsinoites)201 BC–102 BC

μέρος τοῦ σώματος καὶ διέκοψάν μου τὴν κεφαλὴν ῥάβδοις κραναίναις καὶ ἐξέδυσαν μηλωτὴν ἣν περιβεβλημένος ἱμάτιον ἔσχον ἀξίαν δραχμῶν ρε ὥς με διαφυγεῖν καὶ κινδυνεύειν με τῷ βίωι· ἐπιδίδωμι

P.Cair. Masp. 1 67005Antinoopolis (?)AD 568

Ἱερημίου τινος τῆς κώμης βοηθοῦ· ἀκουόμενος … του … θαλμου καὶ … σιν θανασίμοις περιβαλὼν ὁ εἰρημένος τιμωρητὴς Σενούθης ἀνείλετο αὐτόν· ἐκ δευτέρου δὲ κατὰ μηχανοπανουργίας τρόπον … σε

P.Lond. 5 1729SyeneAD 584

μελετῆσαί τινα κατὰ σοῦ ὡς μετὰ τὴν ἐμὴν τελευτὴν ἐνάγειν σοι ὁμολογῶ ὁμνύων τὸ περιβεβλημένον μοι σχῆμα ὅτι οὐδὲν μοι χρεωστεῖς οὔτε δέδωμεν σοι τί ποτε ἢ πεπράσκειν σοί

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.

Everything we make is available for free because of a generous community of supporters.

Donate