Mark 4:14 — Word Study
N1904ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
BSAThe [one]ho sowingspeirō▸ [sower, the one scattering seed] theho wordlogos [Logos, divine message, declaration of God's truth] sows.speirō▸ [scatters, spreads abroad]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| ὁ | The [one] | Article, nominative, singular |
| σπείρων | sowing | Verb, present, active |
| τὸν | the | Article, accusative, singular |
| λόγον | word | Noun, accusative, singular |
| σπείρει. | sows. | Verb, present, active |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | The farmer sows the word. |
| KJV | ¶ The sower soweth the word. |
| ASV | The sower soweth the word. |
| YLT | He who is sowing doth sow the word; |
| WEB | The farmer sows the word. |
| BBE | The seed is the word. |
Where they part company is σπείρων — see How Translations Differ.
This is a simple structure with a single main clause, making the message clear and direct.
4 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
subjectὁ
verbσπείρω
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the New Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — ὁ, 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 — Mark 4:14
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 — The Parable of the Sowergenerated
Mark 4:14 presents Jesus explaining the Parable of the Sower, where He describes how the farmer sows the word. This parable illustrates how different people receive the message of God, highlighting the importance of understanding and responding to it. The surrounding verses further elaborate on the various responses to the word sown, emphasizing the significance of the heart's condition in receiving God's truth.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark 4:3 | “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. |
| 2 | Isaiah 32:20 | Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters, who let the ox and donkey range freely. |
| 3 | Matthew 13:19–37 | When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. |
| 4 | Luke 8:11 | Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. |
| 5 | Mark 2:2 | they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — σπείρων, speirōgenerated
The word σπείρω (*speirō*) is a present active participle meaning 'sowing'. It is derived from the root that conveys the act of scattering seed, whether in a literal agricultural sense or metaphorically, as in sharing the message of God. Here, it specifically refers to the act of spreading the word of God.
This participle describes the ongoing action of the farmer, indicating that sowing is not a one-time event but a continuous process. In the context of the parable, it emphasizes the active role of the sower in disseminating the divine message.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The primary wording in the Berean Standard Bible is sows, which is also reflected in the KJV and ASV. These versions maintain the focus on the act of sowing as a continuous action.
However, some translations, like the BBE, use the seed is the word, which shifts the focus from the act of sowing to the nature of the word itself. This difference highlights how translations can emphasize different aspects of the message.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb in the verse is σπείρει, sows, which governs the entire clause. The structure consists of a subject noun phrase, ὁ σπείρων (the sower), and an object noun phrase, τὸν λόγον (the word).
This construction illustrates a straightforward subject-verb-object arrangement typical in Greek, allowing for clarity in the action being described.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
σπείρω is used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word for sowing, zāraʿ (זָרַע), which means to scatter seed. This connection emphasizes the agricultural imagery present in both the Old and New Testaments.
The use of σπείρω in the New Testament reflects a continuity in the metaphor of sowing as it relates to the dissemination of God's word, paralleling its usage in the Septuagint.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Mark 4:14 tells us that the farmer sows the word, illustrating how the message of God is shared. This parable shows that different people respond to this message in various ways, highlighting the importance of understanding and accepting God's truth.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It means that the act of sharing God's message is like a farmer scattering seed, with the hope that it will take root and grow in the hearts of those who hear it.
Jesus uses this imagery because it is relatable to His audience, illustrating the process of spreading the message of God and the various responses it can receive.
You can apply this message by actively sharing your faith and being mindful of how others may receive it, understanding that not everyone will respond in the same way.
In this parable, the word represents the message of God, which is meant to be shared and has the power to transform lives.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways can I actively sow the word of God in my daily life?
- How can I be more aware of the different responses people have to the message of God?
- What are some barriers that prevent people from receiving God's word, and how can I help overcome them?
- How does understanding the role of the sower change my perspective on sharing my faith?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early Church Fathers reflect on this verse to discuss the nature of divine truth and its reception among people.
The Greek culture, along with its philosophy, was preparatory. By this it is made clear how obliquely, not with a straight direction, gifts have come from God to humanity—in that miscellaneous way that showers fall down on the good land,Early Church Fathers on Mark 4 →
The reading of the holy Gospel which you have just heard, dearest brothers, does not need exposition, but exhortation. For human frailty does not presume to examine what Truth itself has expounded.Early Church Fathers on Mark 4 →
Commentators on this verse — 4 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Mark 4:14 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThe sower soweth the word. Though our Lord thought fit to give the above gentle rebuke to his disciples for their dulness; yet he condescends to favour them with an interpretation of the above
Read John Gill on Mark 4 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThe sower soweth the word. The sower soweth the word - or, as in Luke (Luke 8:11), "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God." But who is "the sower?" This is not expressed here, because
Read Robert Jamieson on Mark 4 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersIV. (1-20) He began.—See Notes on Matthew 13:1-23.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Mark 4 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges14. The sower] This is applicable to (i) Christ, who “came forth from the Father and was come into the world” (John 16:28); (ii) His Apostles; (iii) all who go forth in His Name, and with His authority. For other comparisons of the relations of the teacher and the taught to those between the sower and the soil, comp. 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:9.
Read Cambridge on Mark 4 →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
The farmer sows the word.
The farmer sows the word.
The farmer sows the word.
The sower sows the word.
Tyndale line
¶ The sower soweth the word.
The sower soweth the word.
The sower soweth the word.
The sower soweth the word.
The sower soweth the worde.
Strictly literal
The sower sows the word:
He who is sowing doth sow the word;
He who is sowing sows the word;
The farmer who sows his seed is the one who sows the word.
From the Latin
He that soweth, soweth the word.
Simplified
The sower sows the word.
The seed is the word.
Word by word, the decisions they made
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.
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.
Qui seminat, verbum seminat.
Jerome revised the Old Latin against the Greek from AD 382; the Latin west read this text for a thousand years.
ܙܪܘܥܐ ܕܙܪܥ ܡܠܬܐ ܙܪܥ
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.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
The standard critical text of the New Testament.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
The previous edition, still widely cited.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
An independent critical text built from the oldest witnesses then known.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.
ὁ σπείρων τὸν λόγον σπείρει.
The printed tradition behind the King James Version.
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.
Lexicons — every word in Mark 4:14
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Greek lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. Imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, the full Liddell-Scott-Jones, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate LSJ, Robinson and Packard on the Greek, Webster and Cawdrey on the English the translators were using. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
The definite article — the commonest word in the Greek New Testament at 19,867 occurrences. Greek uses it more freely than English does and can drop it deliberately, so its presence and its absence both carry weight for a translator; but no single occurrence carries a message of its own. Here it simply gathers “the things” into one definite bundle.
ὁ, ἡ, τό,
the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.
As demonstr. pron.
As freq. in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Ac 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).
ὁ 435 ὁ tives of quantity, ὅλος, πᾶς, πολύς, see each in its own place. d. What has been said concerning adjectives holds true also of all other limitations added to substantives, as ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Ro. ix. 11; ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, Ro. xi. 27; 6 λόγος 6 τοῦ σταυροῦ, 1 Co. i. 18; ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις, Col. ii. 5; on the other hand, ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 1 Th. i. 8; τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 2 Co. viii. 4; see many other exx. of each usage in W. 131 (124) sqq.; [B. 91 (80) sqq.]. e. The noun has the article before it when a demonstrative pronoun (υὗτος, ἐκεῖνος) belonging to it either precedes or follows [W. § 18, 4; B. § 127, 29-31]; as, ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, Jn. ix. 24 [οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρ. 1, Tr mrg. WH); Acts vi. 13; xxii. 26; ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, Mt. xv. 8; 6 vids σου οὗτος, Lk. xv. 30; plur. Lk. xxiv. 17, and numberless other exx.; οὗτος 6 ἄνθρωπος, Lk. xiv. 30; οὗτος ὁ…
Read the full entry →ὃ, ἡ τό. (1) Apart from connexion with μέν or δέ (see below) the demonstrative use of the art. in the NT is confined to a poetical quotation Ac 1778, but it is not uncommon in the papyri, e.g. P Par 45® (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski®, p. 85) τὰ (for ἃ) πράσεις (Δ πράσσεις), P Oxy VIII. 1160! (iii/iv A.D.) Ta (for ἃ) σεσύλληχα (for συνείληχα) δὲ κέρμα {ταν τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “1 am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.). For the distributive Opéev.. - 6 8€, as in 1 Cor7’, cf. P Lond 535 (B.c. 161) (=I. p. 19, U.P.Z. i. p. 239) kal τὰ μὲν ἡμῶν ἐληφότων εἰς τὴν γινομένην ἡμῖν συντάξειν, τὰ δ᾽ ἔτι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων {(.. ... > παρελκομένων. (2) The use of the art. as a relative, of which there is no trace in the NT, may again be illustrated by the following papyrus citations from ¢c. A.D. 346—P Lond 414® (= II. Ῥ. 292) γεινῴσκιν oe θέλω περὶ τοῦ βρεουίου…
Read the full entry →ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.
ὁ,
ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,
__A demonstrative Pronoun.
__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.
__C in Epic dialect, the so-called postpositive Article, = relative Pronoun, ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.—The nominative masculine and feminine singular and plural, ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, have no accent in codices and most printed books, except when used as the relative; but ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ differ only in writing from ὃ, ἣ, οἳ, α; the nominative forms of the article are said by Hdn.Gr.1.474 to be oxytone, and by [Refs 2nd c.AD+] in Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] genitive and dative dual τοῖιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]— In Doric dialect and all other dialects except Attic dialect and Ionic dialect the feminine forms preserve the old ᾱ instead of changing it to η, hence Doric dialect etc. ἁ, τάν, τᾶ; the genitive plural τάων contracts in many dialects to τᾶ; the genitive…
ὁ ἡ τό
ho
he hay, and the neuter
to to
in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be
supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one,
he, she, it, etc.
ὁ, ἡ, τό
Article
the
ὁ ho 19x
the prepositive article, answering, to a considerable extent, to the English definite article; but, for the principle and facts of its usage, consult a grammar; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; Heb. 7:5, 6, 20, 21, 23, 24; pl. some ... others, Mt. 13:23; 22:5, 6; ὁ δέ, but he, Mt. 4:4; 12:48; οἱ δέ, but others, Mt. 28:17; used, in a poetic quotation, for a personal pronoun, Acts 17:28
ὁ the, that
ὁ, ἡ, τό, is
demonstr. Pronoun.
the definite Article.
in epic, the relative Pronoun, when it is written with the accent ὅ, ἥ, τό ῀ ὅς, ἥ, ὅ. Besides the common forms, note epic gen. sg. τοῖο for τοῦ; pl. nom. τοί, ταί; gen. fem. τάων [α^], dat. τοῖσι, τῇς and τῇσι; dual gen, and dat. τοῖιν:— in Trag. we find τοὶ μέν . . , τοὶ δέ . . , for οἱ μέν . . , οἱ δέ . . ; dat. pl. also τοῖσι, ταῖσι: the dual has commonly but one gender, τώ for τά, τοῖν for ταῖν.
DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:
joined with a Subst., not as the Art., but like Lat. ille, ὁ Τυδείδης Tydeus's famous son, Il.; Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων Nestor— that aged man, id. Il.; τιμῆς τῆς Πριάμου for honour, namely that of Priam, id. Il.
Art-NSM — Article · nominative · singular · masculinenominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
T-NSM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine
wun.
See NUMBER.
20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.
Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.
← what comes before
what comes after →
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
40 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →
Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.
ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.
Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.
r βασιλεύοντος Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν
ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος Νεχούτου.
βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν
The Greek word σπείρω (*speirō*) means 'to sow' and is used in various contexts, including agricultural and metaphorical senses. It can refer to sowing seed, begetting offspring, or scattering in a broader sense. The New Testament employs this term in passages like Matthew 6:26 and 13:3-4, often in parables about sowing seeds of faith or instruction.
* σπείρω
[in LXX chiefly for זרע ;]
to sow (seed): absol., Mt 6:26 13:3, 4, 18 25:24, 26, Mk 4:3, 4, Lk 8:5 12:24, Jo 4:36, II Co 9:10; c. acc. rei, Mt 13:24, 27, 37, 39, Mk 4:32, Lk 8:5, I Co 15:36, 37; seq. εἰς, Mt 13:22, Mk 4:18; ἐν, Mt 13:24, 31; ἐπί, c. gen., Read the full entry →
σπείρω ; [impf. 2 pers. sing. ἔσπειρες, Mt. xiii. 27 Tr]; 1 aor. ἔσπειρα; Pass., pres. σπείρομαι; pf. pass. ptep. éorappévos; 2 aor. ἐσπάρην ; [derived fr. the quick, jerky, motion of the hand; cf. our spurn (of the foot); Curtius § 389]; fr. Hesiod down; Sept. for p11; to sow, scatter seed; a. prop.: absol., Mt. vi. 26; xiii. 3 sq. 18sq.; Mk. iv. 3sq. 14; Lk. viii. 5; xii. 24; [Jn. v. 36 sq. (see in b.)]; 2Co.ix.10; with an ace. of the thing, as σπέρμα, ζιζάνια, κόκκον, [ef. B. §131, 5]: Mt. xiii. 24 sq. [but in 25 L T Tr WH have ἐπισπ.], 27, 37,39; Mk. iv. 32; Lk. viii.5; 1 Co.xv. 36sq.; with specifications of place: εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, Mt. xiii. 22; Mk. iv. 18; ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, Mt. xiii. 24, [31]; ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, MK. iv. 31; ἐπί ν΄. an ace. of place, Mt. xiii. 20, 23; Mk. iv. 16, 20; mapa τὴν ὁδόν, Mt. xiii. 19. absol., Mt. xxv. 24,26; Lk. xix. 21 sq.; Jn. ἵν. 31; 2Co. ix. 6; τί, Gal. vi. 7…
Read the full entry →σπείρω, “ρον ἦ: cf. P Hamb I. 247 (B.c. 222) ἐσπαρκέναι ἐν τῶι ἰδίωι [κλήρωι, P Oxy II. 277° (B.C. 19) ὥστε σπεῖραι εἰς τὸ δωδέκατον ἔτος πυρῶι, ὁ. 2801" (A.D. 88-0) σπεῖραι καὶ ξυλαμῆσαι (“‘reap”), BGU I. 1017 (A.D. 114-5) σπείρειν καὶ καρπίζεσθαι kal ἀποφέρειν εἰς τὸ ἴδιον, P Ry! II. 2439 (ii/A.D.) ἐλπίζοντες σὺν θεῷ τὸ πεδείον σπαρῆναι, P Fay 339 (ii/A.D.) ἐσπίαρμένου) ἐδ(άφους), P Flor I. 2115 (A.D. 239) εἰς THY ἐν TupH σπειρομέν[η]ν γῆν, and the late 76. 13127 (vi/vii A.D.) καθ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν σπείρω τὴν οὐσίαν pov.
σπείρω (speirō) — to sow.
σπείρω,
Aeolic dialect σπέρρω[Refs]: Ionic dialect imperfect σπείρεσκον [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future σπερῶ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect σπέρσω [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἔσπειρα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἔσπαρκα [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:—middle, aorist infinitive σπείρασθαι [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; aorist 2 σπαρέσθαι uncertain reading in [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:—passive, future σπᾰρήσομαι [LXX+1st c.BC+]aorist ἐσπάρην [ᾰ] [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἔσπαρμαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]:— sow,
I. sow seed, with accusative, [κέγχρους] [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of Cadmus, σ. γηγενῆ στάχυν [Refs] (so in middle, σπείρασθαι ὀδόντας [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: absolutely, sow, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; opposed to θερίζω, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; καρπὸν ὧν ἔσπειρε θερίζειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σ. κατὰ πετρῶν, i.e. εἰς…
σπείρω
speiro
probably strengthened from 4685 (through the idea of extending); to
scatter, i.e. sow (literally or figuratively):--sow(- er), receive
seed.
see GREEK for 4685
σπείρω
v.
I sow, spread, scatter
σπείρω speirō 52x
to sow seed, Mt. 6:26; 13:3, 4, 18, 24, 25, 27, 37, 3
σπείρω to sow:
to sow seed, Hes., attic
to sow children, to engender, beget them, Soph.:—Pass. to be born, id. Soph., Eur.
to scatter like seed, strew, throw about, χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον Hdt.; δρόσον Eur.:—to spread abroad, as Virgil spargere voces, Soph.:—Pass. to be scattered, dispersed, Eur., Thuc.
to sow a field, Hes., Hdt., etc.: Pass., ἡ σπειρομένη Αἴγυπτος the arable part of Egypt, Hdt.
proverb., πόντον σπείρειν, of lost labour, Theogn.
Verb-PAP-NSM — Verb · present · active · participle · nominative · singular · masculinenominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
V-PAP-NSM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine
52 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 16 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.
Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 53 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.
← what comes before
what comes after →
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
Counted over the 46 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.
τὴν οὖν ἐπίγειον ἀρετὴν σπείρει καὶ φυτεύει τῷ θνητῷ γένει ὁ θεὸς μίμημα καὶ ἀπεικόνισμα οὖσαν τῆς οὐρανίου·
εἶναι δὲ καθαρὰ τὰ σπέρματα καὶ ἀνεπίμικτα, καὶ μὴ σύνδυο καὶ τρία σπείρειν·
ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων καὶ ἔβαλεν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἕκαστον τῶν σπερμάτων, ἅτινα πεσόντα εἰς τὴν γῆν ξηρὰ καὶ γυμνὰ διαλύεται: εἶτ̓ ἐκ τῆς διαλύσεως ἡ μεγαλειότης τῆς προνοίας τοῦ δεσπότου ἀνίστησιν αὐτά, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς πλείονα αὔξει καὶ ἐκφέρει καρπόν.
, ἧς παράσημος ἶβις, διὰ ἐπίπλου Σέκτος Ἀτίνιος κεντυρίας Ἀρίου λεγιῶνος δευτέρας καὶ εἰκοστῆς σπείρας δευτέρας Ἀκουσιλάῳ σιτολόγῳ δημοσίῳ Λυσιμαχίδων β τῷ παρὰ Λουκίου Μαρίου ἀπελευθέρου … του Σεβαστοῦ
Ἑρμῆι Διδύμου. παρὰ Πολέμωνος τοῦ Εὑρήμωνος Πέρσου τῆς ἐπιγονῆς. βούλομαι μισθώσασθαι παρά σου τὸν ἐσπαρμένον ὑπό σου ἐν τῶι ἐνεστῶτι δευτέρωι ἔτει Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Νέρουα Τραιανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ Γερμανικοῦ ἐν
δύο ἀνυπολόγων καὶ ἀκινδύνων. καὶ ἐπιτελέσω τὰ κατʼ ἔτος τοῦ κλήρου γεωργικὰ ἔργα πάντα σπείρων κατʼ ἔτος οἷς ἐὰν αἱρῶμαι πλὴν κνήκου. τὰ δὲ κατʼ ἔτος ἐκφόρια ἀποδώσω ἐν
The definite article — the commonest word in the Greek New Testament at 19,867 occurrences. Greek uses it more freely than English does and can drop it deliberately, so its presence and its absence both carry weight for a translator; but no single occurrence carries a message of its own. Here it simply gathers “the things” into one definite bundle.
ὁ, ἡ, τό,
the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.
As demonstr. pron.
As freq. in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Ac 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).
ὁ 435 ὁ tives of quantity, ὅλος, πᾶς, πολύς, see each in its own place. d. What has been said concerning adjectives holds true also of all other limitations added to substantives, as ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Ro. ix. 11; ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, Ro. xi. 27; 6 λόγος 6 τοῦ σταυροῦ, 1 Co. i. 18; ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις, Col. ii. 5; on the other hand, ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 1 Th. i. 8; τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 2 Co. viii. 4; see many other exx. of each usage in W. 131 (124) sqq.; [B. 91 (80) sqq.]. e. The noun has the article before it when a demonstrative pronoun (υὗτος, ἐκεῖνος) belonging to it either precedes or follows [W. § 18, 4; B. § 127, 29-31]; as, ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, Jn. ix. 24 [οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρ. 1, Tr mrg. WH); Acts vi. 13; xxii. 26; ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, Mt. xv. 8; 6 vids σου οὗτος, Lk. xv. 30; plur. Lk. xxiv. 17, and numberless other exx.; οὗτος 6 ἄνθρωπος, Lk. xiv. 30; οὗτος ὁ…
Read the full entry →ὃ, ἡ τό. (1) Apart from connexion with μέν or δέ (see below) the demonstrative use of the art. in the NT is confined to a poetical quotation Ac 1778, but it is not uncommon in the papyri, e.g. P Par 45® (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski®, p. 85) τὰ (for ἃ) πράσεις (Δ πράσσεις), P Oxy VIII. 1160! (iii/iv A.D.) Ta (for ἃ) σεσύλληχα (for συνείληχα) δὲ κέρμα {ταν τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “1 am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.). For the distributive Opéev.. - 6 8€, as in 1 Cor7’, cf. P Lond 535 (B.c. 161) (=I. p. 19, U.P.Z. i. p. 239) kal τὰ μὲν ἡμῶν ἐληφότων εἰς τὴν γινομένην ἡμῖν συντάξειν, τὰ δ᾽ ἔτι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων {(.. ... > παρελκομένων. (2) The use of the art. as a relative, of which there is no trace in the NT, may again be illustrated by the following papyrus citations from ¢c. A.D. 346—P Lond 414® (= II. Ῥ. 292) γεινῴσκιν oe θέλω περὶ τοῦ βρεουίου…
Read the full entry →ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.
ὁ,
ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,
__A demonstrative Pronoun.
__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.
__C in Epic dialect, the so-called postpositive Article, = relative Pronoun, ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.—The nominative masculine and feminine singular and plural, ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, have no accent in codices and most printed books, except when used as the relative; but ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ differ only in writing from ὃ, ἣ, οἳ, α; the nominative forms of the article are said by Hdn.Gr.1.474 to be oxytone, and by [Refs 2nd c.AD+] in Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] genitive and dative dual τοῖιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]— In Doric dialect and all other dialects except Attic dialect and Ionic dialect the feminine forms preserve the old ᾱ instead of changing it to η, hence Doric dialect etc. ἁ, τάν, τᾶ; the genitive plural τάων contracts in many dialects to τᾶ; the genitive…
ὁ ἡ τό
ho
he hay, and the neuter
to to
in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be
supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one,
he, she, it, etc.
ὁ, ἡ, τό
Article
the
ὁ ho 19x
the prepositive article, answering, to a considerable extent, to the English definite article; but, for the principle and facts of its usage, consult a grammar; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; Heb. 7:5, 6, 20, 21, 23, 24; pl. some ... others, Mt. 13:23; 22:5, 6; ὁ δέ, but he, Mt. 4:4; 12:48; οἱ δέ, but others, Mt. 28:17; used, in a poetic quotation, for a personal pronoun, Acts 17:28
ὁ the, that
ὁ, ἡ, τό, is
demonstr. Pronoun.
the definite Article.
in epic, the relative Pronoun, when it is written with the accent ὅ, ἥ, τό ῀ ὅς, ἥ, ὅ. Besides the common forms, note epic gen. sg. τοῖο for τοῦ; pl. nom. τοί, ταί; gen. fem. τάων [α^], dat. τοῖσι, τῇς and τῇσι; dual gen, and dat. τοῖιν:— in Trag. we find τοὶ μέν . . , τοὶ δέ . . , for οἱ μέν . . , οἱ δέ . . ; dat. pl. also τοῖσι, ταῖσι: the dual has commonly but one gender, τώ for τά, τοῖν for ταῖν.
DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:
joined with a Subst., not as the Art., but like Lat. ille, ὁ Τυδείδης Tydeus's famous son, Il.; Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων Nestor— that aged man, id. Il.; τιμῆς τῆς Πριάμου for honour, namely that of Priam, id. Il.
Art-ASM — Article · accusative · singular · masculineaccusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
T-ASM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine
THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.
1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.
This he calls the preaching of the cross.
2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.
3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.
Th' adorning thee with so much art,
Is but a barb'rous skill.
20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.
Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.
← what comes before
what comes after →
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
40 inflected forms — one of the commonest words in the New Testament. Full distribution →
Τῶν ἄλλων νομοθετῶν οἱ μὲν ἀκαλλώπιστα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ νομισθέντα παρ’ αὐτοῖς εἶναι δίκαια διετάξαντο, οἱ δὲ πολὺν ὄγκον τοῖς νοήμασι προσπεριβαλόντες ἐξετύφωσαν τὰ πλήθη μυθικοῖς πλάσμασι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπικρύψαντες.
ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.
Χαίρετε, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἐν εἰρήνῃ.
r βασιλεύοντος Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν Φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιε, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν
ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος Νεχούτου.
βασιλευόντων Πτολεμαίου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Βερενίκης τῆς ἀδελφῆς θεῶν φιλομητόρων ἔτους ιϛ, ἐφʼ ἱερέων καὶ ἱερειῶν
λόγος (logos) is a Greek word meaning 'word' or 'speech,' derived from the verb λέγω (lego). It encompasses a range of meanings including a saying, statement, discourse, or even the inward thought itself. In the New Testament, it often refers to the word of God or teachings, appearing in verses like Matthew 8:8 and John 1:1. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement regarding its meanings.
On these words, and on their relation to one another, very much has been written by the Greek grammarians and natural philosophers (see Lersch, Sprachphilosophie der Alten, vol. iii. pp. 85, 45, and passim). Φωνή, from φάω, ds φωτίζουσα τὸ νοούμενον (Plutarch, De Plac. Phil. 19), rendered in our Version ‘ voice’ (Matt. ii. 18), ‘sound’ (John iii. 8), ‘noise’ (Rev. vi. 1), is distinguished from ψόφος, in that it is the cry of a living creature (ἡ δὲ φωνὴ ψόφος τίς ἐστιν ἐμψύχου, Aristotle, De Anima, 2. 8. 14), being sometimes ascribed to God (Matt. ui. 17), to men (Matt. iii. 3), to animals (Rev. ix. 9), and, though improperly, to inanimate objects as well (1 Cor. xiv. 7), as to the trumpet (Matt. xxiv. 31), to the wind (John iii. 8), to the thunder (Rev. vi. 1; οἵ. Ps. lxxvi. 19). But λόγος, a word, saying, or rational utterance of the νοῦς, whether spoken (προφορικός, and thus φωνὴ τῶν…
Read the full entry →λόγος, -ου, ὁ (< λέγω),
[in LXX chiefly for
דָּבָר, also for אֵמֶר, מִלָּה, etc.;]
Of that by which the inward thought is expressed, Lat. oratio, sermo, vox, verbum.
a word, not in the grammatical sense of a mere name (ἔπος, ὄνομα, ῥῆμα), but a word as embodying a conception or idea: Mt 8:8, Lk 7:7, I Co 14:9, 19, He 12:19, al.
λόγος, -ov, 6, (λέγω), [fr. Hom. down], Sept. esp. for 425, also for 798 and 799; prop. ὦ collecting, collection, (see Aéyw), —and that, as well of those things which are put together in thought, as of those which, having been thought i. e. gathered together in the mind, are expressed in words. Accordingly, a twofold use of the term is to be distinguished: one which relates to speaking, and one which relates to thinking. I. As respects SPEECH: 1. a word, yet not in the grammatical sense (i. q. vocabulum, the mere name of an object), but language, voz, i. e. a word which, uttered by the living voice, embodies a conception or idea; (hence it differs from ῥῆμα and ἔπος [q. v.; cf. also λαλέω, ad init.]): Heb. xii. 19; ἀποκριθῆναι λόγον, Mt. xxii. 46; εἰπεῖν λόγῳ, Mt. viii. 8 [Rec. λόγον (cf. εἶπον, 3 a. fin.)]; Lk. vii. 7; λαλῆσαι πέντε, μυρίους, λόyous, 1 Co. xiv. 19; διδόναι λόγον…
Read the full entry →λόγος “Λόγον διδόναι with reference to judgment, as in Rom 14!2, occurs in such a passage as BGU I. 164?! (ii/iii A.D.) ὡς σοῦ μέλλοντος λόγον διδόναι τῷ λαμπροτάτῳ ἡγεμόνι, and λόγον ἀποδιδόναι (cf. Mt 1255, Lk 162, Heb 1.317} in 20. 98% (a.p. 211) κελεῦσαι αὐτὸν ἀχθῆναι ἐπὶ σὲ λόγον ἀποδώσοντα περὶ See also the Christianized imprecations against violators of tombs cited by Ramsay (Zzke, p- 396), one probably from Lycaonia and belonging to iv/a.p., /HS xxii. (1902), p. 354 ὃς δ᾽ ἐὰν ἐπισβιάσητε, δώσει θεῷ λόγον, “‘whosoever shall force an entrance, shall give account to God,”” and another from Laodicea, Athen. Mitthetl. xiii. Pp. 249 (¢. A.D. 400) ἤ τις δ᾽ ἕτερον ἐπενβάλῃ τῷ τάφῳ κριτῇ τῷ ζῶντι λόγον ἔνδικον πο[ι]ή[σει, ‘and if any one shall lay another in the tomb, he shall render judicial account to the | living Judge.”’ tions, p. 56), where so much is paid εἰς λόγον διατροφῆς, | “το…
Read the full entry →λόγος (logos) — word.
λόγος, ὁ,
verbal noun of λέγω (B), with senses corresponding to λέγω (B) II and III (on the various senses of the word see [Refs 2nd c.AD+] 111, compareinfr. VI. 1 a:
I. computation, reckoning (compare λέγω (B) II).
I.1. account of money handled, σανίδες εἰς ἃς τὸν λ. ἀναγράφομεν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; συνᾶραι λόγον μετά τινος settle accounts with, [NT]; δεύτεροι λ. a second audit, [Refs 4th c.AD+]; ὁ τραπεζιτικὸς λ. banking account, Theo Sm.p.73 H.: metaphorically, οὐκ ἂν πριαίμην οὐδενὸς λ. βροτόν [Refs 5th c.BC+]
I.1. b public accounts, i. e. branch of treasury, ἴδιος λ., in Egypt, [Refs]; also as title of treasurer, [Refs 1st c.BC+]; δημόσιος λ., = Latin fiscus, [Refs 1st c.AD+], etc. (but later, = aerarium, [Refs 4th…
λόγος
logos
from 3004; something said (including the thought); by implication, a
topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or
motive; by extension, a computation; specially, (with the article in
John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):--account, cause,
communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent,
matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove,
say(-ing), shew, X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these
things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.
see GREEK for 3004
λόγος, ου, ὁ
n.m.
a word, speech, divine utterance, analogy
λόγος logos 330x
a word, a thing uttered, Mt. 12:32, 37; 1 Cor. 14:19; speech, language, talk, Mt. 22:15; Lk. 20:20; 2 Cor. 10:10; Jas. 3:2; converse, Lk. 24:17; mere talk, wordy show, 1 Cor. 4:19, 20; Col. 2:23; 1 Jn. 3:18; language, mode of discourse, style of speaking, Mt. 5:37;
λόγος λόγος, ὁ, λέγω3 (A) the word or that by which the inward thought is expressed, Lat. oratio; and, (B) the inward thought itself, Lat. ratio.
Lat. vox, oratio, that which is said or spoken:
a word, pl. words, i. e. language, talk, Hom., etc.; λόγου ἕνεκα, Lat. dicis causa, merely for talking's sake, Plat.; λόγῳ in word, in pretence, opp. to ἔργῳ (in deed, in reality), Hdt., attic
a word, saying, statement, Thuc.: an oracle, Pind., Plat.:— a saying, maxim, proverb, Pind., Aesch.
an assertion, promise, Soph.
a resolution, κοινῷ λ. by common consent, Hdt.
a condition, ἐπὶ λόγῳ τοιῷδε id. Hdt.
a command, Aesch.
speech, discourse, conversation, εἰς λόγους ἐλθεῖν, συνελθεῖν, ἀφικέσθαι τινί Hdt., attic; λόγου μεῖζον, κρεῖσσον beyond expression, Hdt., Thuc.; λόγου ἄξιον worth mention…
Noun-ASM — Noun · accusative · singular · masculineaccusative — the one it is done to — the object.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
N-ASM Part of Speech: Noun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine
wurd: The commonest term in the Old Testament for "word" is dabhar (also "matter" "thing"); in the New Testament logos ("reason," "discourse," "speech"); but also frequently rhema. Rhema is a "word" in itself considered; logos is a spoken word, with reference generally to that which is in the speaker's mind. Some of the chief applications of the terms may thus be exhibited:
(1) We have the word of Yahweh (or God; see below)
(a) as the revelation to the patriarch, prophet, or inspired person (Ge 15:1; Ex 20:1; Nu 22:38, etc.);
One of the titles of the second person of the Trinity, indicating perhaps that by his acts and teachings God is revealed, somewhat as thought is by words, 1Jo 1:1 5:7 Re 19:13. "The word of the Lord" was a common phrase in the Old Testament, always denoting some revelation of Jehovah. Long before the coming of Christ, the Jewish paraphrasts of the Bible used "The Word" in the passage where Jehovah occurred in the original; and the term was familiar to Jewish writers as the name of a divine being, the Son of God.
To show its true meaning and its application to our Savior, was of great importance to John, the last of the inspired writers, in whose later years certain errors as to the person of Christ, borrowed from Eastern philosophy, had begun to creep into the Christian church. He describes "The Word" as a personal and divine Being…
332 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 29 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.
Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 331 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.
← what comes before
what comes after →
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
Every reference is on the Strong's page.
Counted over the 536 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.
καὶ γὰρ λόγον καὶ ἀκοὴν ὑπερβάλλει μείζω καὶ σεμνότερα ὄντα ἢ ὡς θνητοῦ τινος ὀργάνοις ἐναρμοσθῆναι.
τινὲς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιδεικνύμενοι λόγων δεινότητα καὶ τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς θηρευόμενοι δόξαν ἐπὶ τοῦτο τῆς παιδείας τὸ μέρος ὁρμῶσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ χάριν ἐκείνοις φέροντες, περὶ ὧν τὴν ἀναγραφὴν εἶναι συμβέβηκε, τὸν εἰς αὐτὴν πόνον καὶ παρὰ δύναμιν ὑπέστησαν·
ὅτι πρῶτον τὸ παιδίον μέλιτι, εἶτα γάλακτι ζωοποιεῖται: οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τῇ πίστει τῆς ἐπαγγελίας καὶ τῷ λόγῳ ζωοποιούμενοι ζήσομεν κατακυριεύοντες τῆς γῆς.
ἔτους λε Μεσορὴ ἰδίου λόγου Δρύτωνος. ἐκ τῆς νήσου πρὸς Λαμένθιν δέδωκα πυροῦ ιδ κριθῆς β ἐμβαδικὸν δραχμὰς λ
Μοσχίων Πετεαρσένθει χαίρειν. ἔχω εἰς τὸν Ἑρμίου λόγον περὶ πῆς τοπογραμματείας τοῦ νγ ἔτους χαλκοῦ τάλαντα δέκα. γίνεται τάλαντα ι. καὶ περὶ
Ἑλληνικῶν ἃ ἐξέτεισε Παοῦς ὁ Ὥρου πατὴρ καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς Ὧρος εἰς τὸν Ταρεήσιος λόγον τῆς αὐτοῦ μητρὸς τοῖς δανεισταῖς Χαιρήμωνι καὶ Ἐσθλαδᾷ καὶ Πνήφει γυναικὶ καὶ ἀδελφῇ· καὶ
The Greek word σπείρω (*speirō*) means 'to sow' and is used in various contexts, including agricultural and metaphorical senses. It can refer to sowing seed, begetting offspring, or scattering in a broader sense. The New Testament employs this term in passages like Matthew 6:26 and 13:3-4, often in parables about sowing seeds of faith or instruction.
* σπείρω
[in LXX chiefly for זרע ;]
to sow (seed): absol., Mt 6:26 13:3, 4, 18 25:24, 26, Mk 4:3, 4, Lk 8:5 12:24, Jo 4:36, II Co 9:10; c. acc. rei, Mt 13:24, 27, 37, 39, Mk 4:32, Lk 8:5, I Co 15:36, 37; seq. εἰς, Mt 13:22, Mk 4:18; ἐν, Mt 13:24, 31; ἐπί, c. gen., Read the full entry →
σπείρω ; [impf. 2 pers. sing. ἔσπειρες, Mt. xiii. 27 Tr]; 1 aor. ἔσπειρα; Pass., pres. σπείρομαι; pf. pass. ptep. éorappévos; 2 aor. ἐσπάρην ; [derived fr. the quick, jerky, motion of the hand; cf. our spurn (of the foot); Curtius § 389]; fr. Hesiod down; Sept. for p11; to sow, scatter seed; a. prop.: absol., Mt. vi. 26; xiii. 3 sq. 18sq.; Mk. iv. 3sq. 14; Lk. viii. 5; xii. 24; [Jn. v. 36 sq. (see in b.)]; 2Co.ix.10; with an ace. of the thing, as σπέρμα, ζιζάνια, κόκκον, [ef. B. §131, 5]: Mt. xiii. 24 sq. [but in 25 L T Tr WH have ἐπισπ.], 27, 37,39; Mk. iv. 32; Lk. viii.5; 1 Co.xv. 36sq.; with specifications of place: εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας, Mt. xiii. 22; Mk. iv. 18; ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, Mt. xiii. 24, [31]; ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, MK. iv. 31; ἐπί ν΄. an ace. of place, Mt. xiii. 20, 23; Mk. iv. 16, 20; mapa τὴν ὁδόν, Mt. xiii. 19. absol., Mt. xxv. 24,26; Lk. xix. 21 sq.; Jn. ἵν. 31; 2Co. ix. 6; τί, Gal. vi. 7…
Read the full entry →σπείρω, “ρον ἦ: cf. P Hamb I. 247 (B.c. 222) ἐσπαρκέναι ἐν τῶι ἰδίωι [κλήρωι, P Oxy II. 277° (B.C. 19) ὥστε σπεῖραι εἰς τὸ δωδέκατον ἔτος πυρῶι, ὁ. 2801" (A.D. 88-0) σπεῖραι καὶ ξυλαμῆσαι (“‘reap”), BGU I. 1017 (A.D. 114-5) σπείρειν καὶ καρπίζεσθαι kal ἀποφέρειν εἰς τὸ ἴδιον, P Ry! II. 2439 (ii/A.D.) ἐλπίζοντες σὺν θεῷ τὸ πεδείον σπαρῆναι, P Fay 339 (ii/A.D.) ἐσπίαρμένου) ἐδ(άφους), P Flor I. 2115 (A.D. 239) εἰς THY ἐν TupH σπειρομέν[η]ν γῆν, and the late 76. 13127 (vi/vii A.D.) καθ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν σπείρω τὴν οὐσίαν pov.
σπείρω (speirō) — to sow.
σπείρω,
Aeolic dialect σπέρρω[Refs]: Ionic dialect imperfect σπείρεσκον [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future σπερῶ [Refs 5th c.BC+]; Aeolic dialect σπέρσω [Refs 5th c.BC+]: aorist ἔσπειρα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἔσπαρκα [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:—middle, aorist infinitive σπείρασθαι [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; aorist 2 σπαρέσθαι uncertain reading in [Refs 2nd c.AD+]:—passive, future σπᾰρήσομαι [LXX+1st c.BC+]aorist ἐσπάρην [ᾰ] [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect ἔσπαρμαι [Refs 5th c.BC+]:— sow,
I. sow seed, with accusative, [κέγχρους] [Refs 8th c.BC+]; of Cadmus, σ. γηγενῆ στάχυν [Refs] (so in middle, σπείρασθαι ὀδόντας [Refs 3rd c.BC+]: absolutely, sow, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; opposed to θερίζω, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; καρπὸν ὧν ἔσπειρε θερίζειν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; σ. κατὰ πετρῶν, i.e. εἰς…
σπείρω
speiro
probably strengthened from 4685 (through the idea of extending); to
scatter, i.e. sow (literally or figuratively):--sow(- er), receive
seed.
see GREEK for 4685
σπείρω
v.
I sow, spread, scatter
σπείρω speirō 52x
to sow seed, Mt. 6:26; 13:3, 4, 18, 24, 25, 27, 37, 3
σπείρω to sow:
to sow seed, Hes., attic
to sow children, to engender, beget them, Soph.:—Pass. to be born, id. Soph., Eur.
to scatter like seed, strew, throw about, χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον Hdt.; δρόσον Eur.:—to spread abroad, as Virgil spargere voces, Soph.:—Pass. to be scattered, dispersed, Eur., Thuc.
to sow a field, Hes., Hdt., etc.: Pass., ἡ σπειρομένη Αἴγυπτος the arable part of Egypt, Hdt.
proverb., πόντον σπείρειν, of lost labour, Theogn.
Verb-PAI-3S — Verb · present · active · indicative · third person · singularpresent active indicative — an action in progress.
V-PAI-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Singular
52 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 16 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.
Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 53 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.
← what comes before
what comes after →
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
Counted over the 46 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.
τὴν οὖν ἐπίγειον ἀρετὴν σπείρει καὶ φυτεύει τῷ θνητῷ γένει ὁ θεὸς μίμημα καὶ ἀπεικόνισμα οὖσαν τῆς οὐρανίου·
εἶναι δὲ καθαρὰ τὰ σπέρματα καὶ ἀνεπίμικτα, καὶ μὴ σύνδυο καὶ τρία σπείρειν·
ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων καὶ ἔβαλεν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἕκαστον τῶν σπερμάτων, ἅτινα πεσόντα εἰς τὴν γῆν ξηρὰ καὶ γυμνὰ διαλύεται: εἶτ̓ ἐκ τῆς διαλύσεως ἡ μεγαλειότης τῆς προνοίας τοῦ δεσπότου ἀνίστησιν αὐτά, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς πλείονα αὔξει καὶ ἐκφέρει καρπόν.
, ἧς παράσημος ἶβις, διὰ ἐπίπλου Σέκτος Ἀτίνιος κεντυρίας Ἀρίου λεγιῶνος δευτέρας καὶ εἰκοστῆς σπείρας δευτέρας Ἀκουσιλάῳ σιτολόγῳ δημοσίῳ Λυσιμαχίδων β τῷ παρὰ Λουκίου Μαρίου ἀπελευθέρου … του Σεβαστοῦ
Ἑρμῆι Διδύμου. παρὰ Πολέμωνος τοῦ Εὑρήμωνος Πέρσου τῆς ἐπιγονῆς. βούλομαι μισθώσασθαι παρά σου τὸν ἐσπαρμένον ὑπό σου ἐν τῶι ἐνεστῶτι δευτέρωι ἔτει Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Νέρουα Τραιανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ Γερμανικοῦ ἐν
δύο ἀνυπολόγων καὶ ἀκινδύνων. καὶ ἐπιτελέσω τὰ κατʼ ἔτος τοῦ κλήρου γεωργικὰ ἔργα πάντα σπείρων κατʼ ἔτος οἷς ἐὰν αἱρῶμαι πλὴν κνήκου. τὰ δὲ κατʼ ἔτος ἐκφόρια ἀποδώσω ἐν