Menu

1 Corinthians 15:36 — Word Study

Depth

N1904ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

BSAFoolaphrōn you yourselfsu [foolish, unwise] Whathos, hē [that which thou sowest] you sowspeirō [scatter seed, plant] notou does come to lifezōopoieō [is not quickened, sprout into life] onlyean [if, except] unless it may die;apothnēskō [the seed, itself, to stop living, pass away, undergo death]

Word
Listen & take away1 Corinthians 15
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 36 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 (apothnēskō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
1 Corinthians 15:36quick helps
In a sentencePaul addresses a foolish misunderstanding about resurrection, using the metaphor of sowing seed.
Who is speakingPaul, speaking directly to the Corinthians, uses strong language to make his point.
Where we areThis verse is part of Paul's explanation of the resurrection, addressing questions about how the dead are raised.
The hard wordἄφρων
Take awayDeath is a necessary part of the process of resurrection.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectσύ verbσπείρω 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 — 1 Corinthians 15:36

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 Resurrection of the Deadgenerated

35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”
36You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37And what you sow is not the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else.
38But God gives it a body as He has designed, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body.

1 Corinthians 15:36 is part of a larger discourse where Paul explains the nature of resurrection. He anticipates questions about how the dead will be raised and uses agricultural imagery to illustrate his points. Paul emphasizes that just as a seed must die to bring forth new life, so too must the body undergo death to be raised in a new form. This teaching is foundational to understanding Christian hope in the resurrection.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
2Luke 24:25Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
3Romans 1:22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,
4Ephesians 5:15Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
5John 12:24Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 5 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word ἄφρων, aphrōngenerated

The term ἄφρων (*aphrōn*) is an adjective meaning 'foolish' or 'senseless.' It is used vocatively here to directly address the person being spoken to, suggesting a lack of understanding or reason. This word appears in several New Testament passages, including Luke 11:40 and Romans 2:20.

The use of ἄφρων in this context serves to highlight the absurdity of questioning the resurrection, as Paul aims to correct a misunderstanding among his audience. The term implies a deeper ignorance of the spiritual truths Paul is teaching.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses the term fool. Other translations like the KJV and ASV also use fool, while others like the BBE and WEB opt for foolish.

The translations differ on how they render the Greek terms. For example, σπείρεις is translated as you sow in the BSB, while the WEB uses sow. Similarly, ζῳοποιεῖται is rendered as is not quickened in the KJV, while the FBV translates it as sprout into life.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is σπείρεις, you sow, which governs the entire sentence. It is followed by a noun phrase , what, that specifies the object of sowing, and a series of clauses that explain the conditions of coming to life.

The structure reveals a clear cause-and-effect relationship: the act of sowing must be followed by death for new life to emerge. This is articulated in a conditional format, emphasizing that life follows death.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἄφρων corresponds to the Hebrew word כְּסִיל (i.e., *kĕsil*), meaning 'foolish' or 'senseless.' This connection highlights a consistent biblical theme regarding wisdom and folly.

σπείρω is linked to the Hebrew זָרַע (i.e., *zāra*), which means 'to sow' or 'scatter seed.' This agricultural imagery is prevalent in the Old Testament, reinforcing the metaphor used by Paul.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

1 Corinthians 15:36 shows Paul addressing a misunderstanding about resurrection. He uses the example of a seed that must die before it can grow into something new, illustrating that death is necessary for new life.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does Paul mean by 'You fool!'?

Paul is emphasizing the foolishness of misunderstanding the resurrection, indicating that the questioner lacks insight into spiritual truths.

Why does Paul use agricultural imagery?

Agricultural imagery is relatable and illustrates the principle of death leading to new life, making the concept of resurrection easier to understand.

What does it mean for a seed to die?

In this context, it means that the physical body must undergo death to be transformed into a new, resurrected body.

How does this verse relate to the concept of resurrection?

This verse teaches that resurrection is a process that requires death, just as a seed must die to bring forth new life, which is central to Christian belief.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways do I struggle with understanding the concept of resurrection?
  2. How can I apply the principle of death leading to new life in my own life?
  3. What examples of transformation have I seen that mirror the metaphor of sowing and reaping?
  4. How can I help others understand the significance of resurrection in their faith?

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

Early church writers cited this verse to discuss resurrection and the necessity of death for new life. Their insights are included here.

IrenaeusAgainst Heresies Book V c. 130–202
For he declares, "That which thou sowest cannot be quickened, unless first it die."
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 15 →
TertullianOn the Resurrection of the Flesh c. 155–220
And with a felicitous sally he proceeds at once to illustrate the point, as if an objector had plied him with some such question.
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 15 →
CyprianTreatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews c. 200–258
That no one should be made sad by death; since in living is labour and peril, in dying peace and the certainty of resurrection.
Early Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 15 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 1 Corinthians 15:36 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Thou fool,.... Not transgressing the law of Christ, which makes him that calls his brother a fool in danger of hell fire; for the apostle said not this in anger, and from a malevolent disposition, as

Read John Gill on 1 Corinthians 15 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: Fool - with all thy boasted philosophy (Psalms 14:1).

Read Robert Jamieson on 1 Corinthians 15 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

He saith not: Thou fool, in anger, (which is that using of this term which our Saviour saith, brings a man under the danger of hell fire), but in the way of a grave and authoritative reproof, calling them fools for their want of a due understanding of the things and ways of God. He lets them know, that they might as well ask, how the grain of wheat, which they ordinarily sowed in their field, did rise again; for that grain also rotteth under the clods of the earth, under which it is buried, before it again riseth.

Read Matthew Poole on 1 Corinthians 15 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: Ver. 36. Thou fool] A hard knot must have a hard wedge, a dead heart a rousing reproof. He confutes atheists from the course of nature, which they ascribe so much unto.

Read John Trapp on 1 Corinthians 15 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(36) Thou fool.—Better, Fool, or more literally, Senseless one. The word in the Greek has not the sense of opprobrium conveyed in the word translated “fool” in Matthew 5:22; Matthew 23:17; Matthew 23:19. You who with your own hand sow seed, ask such a question as that! The Apostle now proceeds to show, by the analogies in Nature, how a resurrection of a body is possible, how substantial identity may be preserved under variation of form. The Apostle does not here prove anything. Analogy cannot ever be regarded as logically conclusive as an argument. The object of analogy is to show how a difficulty is not insuperable. The doctrine of the resurrection has been logically established. A…

Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Corinthians 15 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 36. Thou fool] αφρον. If this be addressed, as it probably is, to the false apostle, there is a peculiar propriety in it; as this man seems to have magnified his own wisdom, and set it up against both God and man; and none but a fool could act so. At the same time, it is folly in any to assert the impossibility of a thing because he cannot comprehend it. That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die] I have shown the propriety of this simile of the apostle in the note on John 12:24, to which I must refer the reader. A grain of wheat, c., is composed of the body or lobes, and the germ. The latter forms an inconsiderable part of the mass of the grain the body, lobes, or…

Read AdamClarke on 1 Corinthians 15 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

36. Thou fool] Literally, O man without understanding. Insipiens, Vulg. Unwise man, Wiclif. The stronger term fool (ìùñüò) (except in ch. 1 Corinthians 3:18, 1 Corinthians 4:10) seems in the Scriptures to imply moral as well as intellectual error.that which thou sowest] The word thou is emphatic in the original: “Thou who art mortal and perishing.’ Chrysostom. “The force or emphasis may be gathered thus. If God doth give a body unto that seed which thou sowest for thine own use and benefit, much more will the same God give a body unto the seed which He himself doth sow.” Dr J. Jackson.is not quickened, except it die] “Thus what they made a sure sign of our not rising again he makes a proof…

Read Cambridge on 1 Corinthians 15 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou fool - Foolish, inconsiderate man! The meaning is, that it was foolish to make this objection, when the same difficulty existed in an undeniable fact which fell under daily observation.

Read Albert Barnes on 1 Corinthians 15 →

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

You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

You foolish one, that which you yourself sow is not made alive unless it dies.

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

NETBNew English Translation2006

Fool! What you sow will not come to life unless it dies.

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die:

RVARevised Version, American1894

Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened, except it die:

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not vivified except it die:

GNVGeneva Bible1599

O foole, that which thou sowest, is not quickened, except it die.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

Fool; what thou sowest is not quickened unless it die.

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

unwise! thou — what thou dost sow is not quickened except it may die;

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

Unwise! You—what you sow is not quickened except it may die;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

You are so ignorant! What you sow will not start to grow unless it dies.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Senseless man, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die first.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

What a foolish question! What you sow doesn't sprout into life unless it dies.

BBEBible in Basic English1949

Foolish man, it is necessary for the seed which you put into the earth to undergo death in order that it may come to life again:

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἄφρων,aphrōn Fool G878 2 different renderings
foolBSB DBY KJV MSB NETB NWB
foolishASV BBE FBV RVA WEB
σπείρεις,speirō you sow G4687 2 different renderings
you sowBSB FBV LSV MSB NETB ULB
sowWEB YLT
ζῳοποιεῖταιzōopoieō does come to life G2227 2 different renderings
is not quickenedASV DBY DRA GNV KJV LSV RVA YLT
sprout into lifeFBV
ἀποθάνῃ·apothnēskō it may die; G599 3 different renderings
dieASV DBY DRA GNV KJV LSV NWB RVA YLT
diesBSB FBV MSB NETB ULB WEB
undergo deathBBE

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.

clauseclauseἄφρωνFoolclausenoun phrase · subjectclauseobjectWhatsubjectσὺyouverbσπείρειςyou sowadverbialοὐnotverbζωοποιεῖταιdoes come to lifeclauseἐὰνifclauseadverbialμὴnotverbἀποθάνῃit dies

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

Insipiens, tu quod seminas non vivificatur, nisi prius moriatur :

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

ܣܟܠܐ ܙܪܥܐ ܕܙܪܥ ܐܢܬ ܐܢ ܠܐ ܡܐܬ ܠܐ ܚܝܐ

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

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἄφρων, σὺ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ·

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.

1 Corinthians 15:36ἄφρωνFoolFoolἄφρωνσύyou yourselyou yourselfσύὅςWhatWhatὅςσπείρωyou sowyou sowσπείρωοὐnotnotοὐζῳοποιέωdoes come tdoes come to liζῳοποιέωἐάνonlyonlyἐάνμήunlessunlessμήἀποθνῄσκωit may die;it may die;ἀποθνῄσκωἄλφαletter theletter the firsἄλφασπάωv. I draw v. I draw (as aσπάωεἰCond. ifCond. ifεἰἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόArticle thArticle theοὗAdv where,Adv where, whitοὗμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήζῷονn.n. an ann.n. an animalζῷονποιέωv. I do, mv. I do, makeποιέωοὐNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. no, noοὐγίνομαιv. I come v. I come into γίνομαιγάρCj. forCj. forγάρἀμήνHebr. veriHebr. verily, tἀμήνἄνDisj.prt. Disj.prt. an unἄνἄχριAdv as farAdv as far as, ἄχριθερίζωv. I reap,v. I reap, gathθερίζωἔξεστι(ν)v. it is pv. it is permitἔξεστι(ν)μόνοςAdv alone,Adv alone, but,μόνος
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 1 Corinthians 15:36

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.

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
ἄφρων,aphrōn Fool G878 Adjective · vocative · singular · masculine
11× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
It describes someone as foolish or mindless, implying ignorance or stupidity, like in Luke 11:40 and Romans 2:20.
Tyndale gloss
foolish
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἄφρων (i.e., *aphrōn*) means senseless or foolish, derived from a negative prefix and a word for 'mind.' It describes a lack of reason or intelligence, often implying rashness or inconsideration. The term appears in several New Testament passages, including Luke 11:40 and Romans 2:20, and is contrasted with terms like φρόνιμος (i.e., *phronimos*), meaning wise.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἄφρων, -ον gen. -ονος

(< φρήν),

[in LXX for כְּסִיל, נָבָל, etc.;]

without reason, senseless, foolish, expressing "want of mental sanity and sobriety, a reckless and inconsiderate habit of mind" (Hort; cf. MM, s.v.): Lk 11:40 12:20, Ro 2:20, I Co 15:36, II Co 11:16 12:6, 11, I Pe 2:15; opp. to φρόνιμος, II Co 11:19; to συνιέντες, Eph 2:17.†

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

ἄφρων, -ovos, ὁ, 7), -ov, τό, (fr. a priv. and φρήν, cf. εὖὔῴρων, σώφρων), [fr. Hom. down], prop. without reason ([εἴδωλα, Xen. mem. 1, 4, 4]; of beasts, ibid. 1, 4, 14), senseless, foolish, stupid ; without reflection or intelligence, acting rashly: Lk. xi. 40; xii. 20; Ro. ii. 20; 1 Co. xv. 36; 2 Co. xi. 16, 19 (opp. to φρόνιμος, asin Prov. xi. 29) ; 2 Co. xii. 6,11; Eph. ν. 17 (opp. to συνιέντες); 1 Pet. ii. 15. [A strong term; cf. Schmidt ch. 147 § 17.]

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

ἄφρων. P Fay 124! (ii/A.D.) πάνυ yap μοι δοκεῖς ἄφρων τις εἴ[ν]αι, ‘indeed you appear to me to be quite mad” (Edd.) —a remonstrance addressed to a man who was defrauding his mother of some allowance. The adj. occurs in the literary P Grenf I. 119 (ii/b.c.) ἐὰν δ᾽ ἑνὶ προσκαθεῖ μόνον, ἄφρων ἔσει : see note.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἄφρων (aphrōn) — foolish.

ἄφρων, ον,

genitive ονος, (φρήν) senseless, of statues, [Refs 5th c.BC+]:— and so, crazed, frantic, ἄφρονα κούρην[Refs 8th c.BC+]; silly, foolish, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τὸ ἄ., ={ἀφροσύνη}, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τῶ φρονίμῳ τῆς γνώμης παύοντες τὸ ἄ. [τῆς ῥώμης] [Refs 5th c.BC+]: comparative -έστερος[Refs 5th c.BC+]: superlative -έστατος[Refs 5th c.BC+]. adverb -νως senselessly, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; opposed to νοῦν ἐχόντως, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: comparative -εστέρως[Refs 5th c.BC+] -έστερον [Refs 4th c.AD+]

2. ἄφρων, ={κώνειον}, Ps.-[Refs 1st c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἄφρων

aphron

from 1 (as a negative particle) and 5424; properly, mindless, i.e.

stupid, (by implication) ignorant, (specially) egotistic,

(practically) rash, or (morally) unbelieving:--fool(-ish), unwise.

see GREEK for 1

see GREEK for 5424

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἄφρων, ονος, ον

Adj

senseless, foolish, inconsiderate

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἄφρων aphrōn 11x

unwise, inconsiderate, simple, foolish, Lk. 11:40; 12:20; 1 Cor. 15:36; ignorant, religiously unenlightened, Rom. 2:20; Eph. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:15; boastfully foolish, vain, 2 Cor. 11:16, 19

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἄφρων φρήν without sense, of statues, Xen.:— crazed, frantic, or silly, foolish, Hom., attic: τὸ ἄφρον ῀ ἀφροσύνη, Thuc. adv. ἀφρόνως, senselessly, Soph.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-VSM — Adjective · vocative · singular · masculine
vocative — the one being addressed.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-VSM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Vocative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Any person who does not act wisely, that is, does not follow the warnings and requirements of God, which are founded in infinite wisdom. Hence "a fool" is put for a wicked man, an enemy or neglecter of God, Ps 14:1 Pr 19:1. So folly is put for wickedness, 2Sa 13:12,13 Ps 38:5, foolish lusts for wicked lusts, etc. Foolish talking, foolish questions, are vain, empty, unprofitable conversation, 2Ti 2:23.

Nave's Topical Bible

→ General scriptures concerning Ps 5:5; 14:1; 53:1; 74:18-22; 107:17; Pr 1:7,22; 3:35; 9:6-8,13-17; 10:1,8,10,13,14,18,23; 14:1,7-9,15; 15:7,20,21; 17:24,25; 18:2,6,7; 19:13; 20:3; 21:20; 26:3-12; 29:9,11; Ec 4:5; 7:9; 10:11-15; Mt 7:26,27; Tit 3:3

→ PARABLES OF

Of the foolish virgns Mt 25:1-13

Of the rich fool Lu 12:16-20

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
45%fool
fool45% · 5×foolish27% · 3×fools9% · 1×fools!9% · 1×fool!9% · 1×

11 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
predicate46%object27%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 11 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ἀνέχωI endure, bear wArticle the
γίνομαιI come into being, a
μήNeg
θεόςGod, a god
Article the
παιδευτήςan instructor
δοκέωI think, seem, appea
ἐγώ
ἄφρωνFool11×
what comes after →
σύ
ὅςἐγώ
οὐNeg
Article the
οὗτος
Article the
διδάσκαλοςa teacher
νήπιοςan infant, child
εἰμίI am, exist
εἰCond

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

Concordanceἄφρων · 11× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Luke 1 Corinthians 1 Peter Ephesians Romans
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 70 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 Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome Josephus
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.75c. AD 40

ἀφροσύνῃ δὲ κύριον ὄνομά ἐστιν ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι ὁ ἄφρων νοῦς ἀνεφίκτων ἐρῶν ἑκάστοτε ἐν ὠδῖσίν ἐστιν, ὅτε χρημάτων ἐρᾷ, [ὠδίνει,] ὅτε δόξης, ὅτε ἡδονῆς, ὅτε ἄλλου τινός.

JosephusThe Jewish War 1.630c. AD 75–95

πῶς ὁ πανοῦργος ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὕτως ἄφρων ἐγενόμην, ὡς μὴ νοεῖν, ὅτι λαθεῖν οὐδʼ ἀνθρώπους ῥᾴδιον τηλικοῦτον μύσος ἐνσκευαζόμενον, τὸν δʼ ἀπʼ οὐρανοῦ δικαστὴν ἀμήχανον, ὃς ἐφορᾷ πάντα καὶ πανταχοῦ πάρεστιν;

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 3.3c. AD 96

οὕτως ἐπηγέρθησαν οἱ ἄτιμοι ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐντίμους, οἱ ἄδοξοι ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐνδόξους, οἱ ἄφρονες ἐπὶ τοὺς φρονίμους, οἱ νέοι ἐπὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD
P.Fay. 124Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 101–AD 200

περαιότερον ἐγχειρήσω ποιεῖν, ἐάνπερ μὴ εὐγνωμονῇς τὰ πρὸς τὴν μητέρα. πάνυ γάρ μοι δοκεῖς ἄφρων τις εἶναι τοῦ ὄντος μηνὸς μὴ φυλάσσειν σου τὴν δεξιάν, εἴπερ εἰ καὶ γράμματα

BGU 1 241Karanis (Arsinoites)AD 177

χρηματιστῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κριτηρίων παρὰ Ἀπολλωνίου τοῦ Ἀπολλωνίου προτομαφόρου σπείρης πρώτης Οὐλπίας Ἀφρῶν ἑκατονταρχίας Ἱέρακος καὶ παρὰ τούτου ἀδελφιδοῦ Κάστορος Κάστορος τοῦ Ἀπολλωνίου μητρὸς … ἀπὸ κώμης

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
σὺsu you yourself G4771 Personal pronoun · second person · nominative · singular
2,892× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'you' and is used to address someone directly, like in John 1:30 and Matthew 26:64. It's a way to emphasize or contrast the person being spoken to. The KJV Bible translates it as 'thou'.
Amplified meaning
foolish, unwise
Tyndale gloss
you
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

σύ,

pron. of 2nd pers.,

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

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

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

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

σύ (su) — you.

σύ [ῠ],

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

σύ

su

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

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

see GREEK for 4675

see GREEK for 4571

see GREEK for 4671

see GREEK for 5209

see GREEK for 5210

see GREEK for 5213

see GREEK for 5216

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σύ, σοῦ, σοί, σέ

Pers.pr.

you

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σύ sy 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Pron-2NS — Personal pronoun · second person · nominative · singular
nominative — the one doing it — the subject.
Agrees with anything else marked singular.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

P-2NS Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Person: second Case: Nominative Number: Singular

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

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
ἀμήνHebrδέbut, on the otheἐγώ
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώοὕτωthus, so, in thiμήNeg
ἐν
Article theεἰμίI am, existγίνομαιI come into bein
πρός
ἔρχομαιI come, goἐγώπέμπωI send
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakπαρακαλέωI summon, entreaθέλωI will, wish, de
σύyou yourself2892×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godἐνἁμαρτίαa sin
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεἰρήνηpeace, peace of οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐν
ἐν
Article theποῖοςIrgΧριστόςanointed, the Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.101c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Grenf. 1 41Thebais3 BC

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

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
hos, hē What G3739 Relative pronoun · accusative · singular · neuter
1,407× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The word which is a pronoun used to ask for or identify something, as seen in John 5:11. It can also be used to describe a person or thing, such as in Mark 15:23. This word helps to clarify or specify what is being talked about.
Amplified meaning
that which thou sowest
Tyndale gloss
which
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

the postpositive article (ἄρθρον ὑποτακτικόν).

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

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

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

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

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

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

ὅς (hos, hē) — which.

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ,

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

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

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅς ἥ ὅ

hos

he hay, and neuter

ho ho

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

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

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

etc. See also 3757.

see GREEK for 3588

see GREEK for 3757

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅς, ἥ, ὅ

Rel.pr.

who, which, what, that

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅς hos 1x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Rel-ASN — Relative 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

R-ASN Part of Speech: Relative pronoun Case: Accusative Number: Singular Gender: Neuter

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

1,430 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 60 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
object40%subject29%adverbial26%indirect object3%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,407 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
ἐν
ἡμέραa dayαὐτόςἵναin order that, s
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςἔχωI have, hold, poυἱόςa son, descenden
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἀπόλλυμιI destroy, lose,δοῦλος (II)
διά
ἐκεῖνοςΧριστόςanointed, the Meαὐτός
εἰς
καίand, even, also,ἐγώοἰκίαa house, househo
ὅςWhat1407×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theμεθερμηνεύωI translate, intκαίand, even, also,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existἔξεστι(ν)it is permitted,γινώσκωI come to know,
Article the
θεόςGod, a godυἱόςa son, descendenκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
καίand, even, also, nam
σύποιέωI do, makeαὐτός
δέbut, on the other ha
ἄνDisjἑξήκονταIndecτριάκονταIndec

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

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

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 33c. AD 40

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

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

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

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 3rd c. BC 2nd c. BC
P.Grenf. 1 32Pelusion103 BC

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

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

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

P.Adl. 17Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC

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

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
σπείρεις,speirō you sow G4687 Verb · present · active · indicative · second person · singular
53× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To sow means to scatter seed, either literally or figuratively. Jesus uses this term in parables, like in Matthew 13:3-4 and Mark 4:3-4.
Amplified meaning
scatter seed, plant
Tyndale gloss
to sow
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

* 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 →

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

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

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.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

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…

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

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

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

σπείρω

v.

I sow, spread, scatter

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

σπείρω speirō 52x

to sow seed, Mt. 6:26; 13:3, 4, 18, 24, 25, 27, 37, 3

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

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.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-PAI-2S — Verb · present · active · indicative · second person · singular
present active indicative — an action in progress.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-PAI-2S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: second Number: Singular

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sou.

See SWINE.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

[SWINE]

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
29%sowing
sowing29% · 15×having been sown12% · 6×sown10% · 5×it is sown8% · 4×you sow6% · 3×sow6% · 3×having sown6% · 3×sowed4% · 2×other renderings21% · 11×

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.

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 53 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
ἐξέρχομαιI go out, come oἐνσπείρωI sow, spread, s
οὐNeg
ὅπουwhere, whitherὅςὅτιthat, since, bec
πετρώδηςrocky, stony
Article the
ἄκανθαa thorn-bush
Article the
ἄνθρωποςa man, one of the hu
οὐρανόςthe sky, the heaλαμβάνωI receive, take
σπείρωyou sow53×
what comes after →
Article the
σπείρωI sow, spread, sλόγοςa word, speech, καλόςbeautiful, good,
ἐν
Article theφθοράcorruption, destἀτιμίαdisgrace, dishon
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, exist
καίand, even, also, nam
συνάγωI gather togetheἄλλοςother, another, ἄρτοςbread, a loaf, f
αὐτός
ὅςεἰμίI 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

Concordanceσπείρω · 53× in the New Testament
Matthew Mark 1 Corinthians Luke 2 Corinthians Galatians John James
Across the New Testament8 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

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.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.45c. AD 40

τὴν οὖν ἐπίγειον ἀρετὴν σπείρει καὶ φυτεύει τῷ θνητῷ γένει ὁ θεὸς μίμημα καὶ ἀπεικόνισμα οὖσαν τῆς οὐρανίου·

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.228c. AD 75–95

εἶναι δὲ καθαρὰ τὰ σπέρματα καὶ ἀνεπίμικτα, καὶ μὴ σύνδυο καὶ τρία σπείρειν·

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 24.5c. AD 96

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.

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 7th c. AD 1st c. AD
P. Lond. 2 p. 98-99 no. 256 Ro aPtolemais Euergetis bzw. Lysimachis (Arsinoites)AD 15

, 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

P.Fam.Tebt. 5ArsinoitesAD 98

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

P.Hamb. 1 64Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 103

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

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
οὐou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This is a strong 'no', used to deny something completely. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 13:29 and John 1:21. It is a negative answer to a question.
Tyndale gloss
no
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

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

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

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

[in LXX for לֹא, אַיִן, אֵין;]

neg. particle,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

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

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

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

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

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

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

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

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
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
82%not
not82% · 1383×certainly6% · 96×surely4% · 70×no longer3% · 50×no2% · 39×other renderings3% · 51×

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

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

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

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
εἰμίI am, existἐγώαὐτός
ὅς
ἐγώθερίζωI reap, gatherδέbut, on the othe
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐνἐπί
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforὅς
οὐnot1622×
what comes after →
εἰμίI am, exist
ἐκArticle theἐγώ
μήNeg
παρέρχομαιI pass byεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inπίνωI drink, imbibe
οἶδαI know, remember
ὅτιthat, since, becArticle theτίςIrg
γάρfor
εἰμίI am, existθέλωI will, wish, deArticle the
δύναμαιI am powerful, am ab
ἔρχομαιI come, goσῴζωI save, healArticle the

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

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

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

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

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.11c. AD 75–95

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

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

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

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

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

C.Erbstreit16Diospolis Magna (Theben)135 BC

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

P.Adl. 2Pathyris125 BC

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

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
ζῳοποιεῖταιzōopoieō does come to life G2227 Verb · present · passive · indicative · third person · singular
11× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To make alive means to give life or vitality, as seen in John 5:21 and Romans 4:17 where God gives life to those who believe. It's about creating or restoring life. This concept is central to the Bible's message of salvation and redemption.
Amplified meaning
is not quickened, sprout into life
Tyndale gloss
to make alive
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ζῳοποιέω (i.e., *zoopoieo*) means to make alive or give life. It is derived from roots meaning 'life' and 'to make.' This term appears in both the Septuagint and the New Testament, where it conveys the idea of revitalization or quickening, particularly in a spiritual sense. Notably, it is used in several key New Testament passages, including Romans and Corinthians.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ζωο-ποιέω, ῶ

[in LXX for חיה pi., hi., Jg 21:14, IV Ki 5:7, Ne 9:6, Jb 36:6, Ps 70:20, Ec 7:13(12)*;]

in cl. (= ζωογονέω), to produce alive.

In LXX and NT, to make alive, cause to live, quicken (DCG, ii, 606a; Cremer, 275): Jo 5:21 6:53, Ro 4:17 8:11, I Co 15:45, II Co 3:6, Ga 3:21. Pass., I Co 15:22, 36,

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

ζωοποιέω. The adj. ζωοποιός is a frequent attribute of the Trinity in late papyri, e.g. P Flor I. 381 (vi/a.p.) ἐν ὀνόματι] τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ζωοποιοῦ Kal ὁμοουσίου [τριάδος πατ]ρὸς Kal υἱ[ο]Ἱῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος. For the verb see Aristeas 16 δι᾿ ὃν (sc. θεὸν) ζῳοποιοῦντα τὰ πάντα Kal γίνεται.

Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ζωοποιέω (zōopoieō) — to make alive.

ζωοποι-έω,

= ζωογονέω [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. make alive, θανατῶς α καὶ ζ. [LXX+NT]; bring to life, νεκρά [Refs 5th c.BC+]; endow with life, ἑαυτό [Refs 5th c.AD+] —passive [Refs]

II.2. preserve alive, [LXX]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ζῳοποιέω

zoopoieo

from the same as 2226 and 4160; to (re-)vitalize (literally or

figuratively):--make alive, give life, quicken.

see GREEK for 2226

see GREEK for 4160

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ζῳοποιέω

v.

I make to live

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ζῳοποιέω zōiopoieō 11x

pr. to engender living creatures; to quicken, make alive, Rom. 4:17; 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:36; in NT met. to quicken with the life of salvation, Jn. 6:63; 2 Cor. 3:6

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

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

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lif (chayyim, nephesh, ruach, chayah; zoe, psuche, bios, pneuma):

I. THE TERMS

II. THE OLD TESTAMENT TEACHING

1. Popular Use of the Term

2. Complexity of the Idea

III. IN THE APOCRYPHA

IV. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

1. In the Synoptic Gospels

2. In the Fourth Gospel

3. In the Ac of the Apostles

4. In the Writings of Paul

5. In the Writings of John

6. In the Other Books of the New Testament

LITERATURE

I. The Terms.

Of the Hebrew terms, chayah is the verb which means "to live," "to have life," or the vital principle, "to continue to live," or "to live prosperously." In the Piel it signifies "to give life, or preserve, or quicken and restore life." The Hiphil is much like the Piel. The noun hayyim generally used in the plural is an abstract noun meaning "life," i.e. the possession of the vital principle with its energies and activities. Nephesh often means "living being" or "creature." Sometimes it has the…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Life

Generally of physical life (Gen. 2:7; Luke 16:25, etc.); also used figuratively (1) for immortality (Heb. 7:16); (2) conduct or manner of life (Rom. 6:4); (3) spiritual life or salvation (John 3:16, 17, 18, 36); (4) eternal life (Matt. 19:16, 17; John 3:15); of God and Christ as the absolute source and cause of all life (John 1:4; 5:26, 39; 11:25; 12:50).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

In the Bible, is either natural, Ge 3:17; spiritual, that of the renewed soul, Ro 8:6; or eternal, a holy and blissful immortality, Joh 3:36 Ro 6:23. Christ is the great Author of natural life, Col 1:16; and also of spiritual and eternal life; Joh 14:6 6:47. He has purchased these by laying down his own life; and gives them freely to his people, Joh 10:11,28. He is the spring of all their spiritual life on earth, Ga 2:20; will raise them up at the last day; and…

Nave's Topical Bible

→ MISCELLANY OF MINOR SUB-TOPICS

Breath of Ge 2:7

Called SPIRIT OF GOD Job 27:3

Tree of Ge 2:9; 3:22,24; Pr 3:18; 13:12; Re 2:7

→ (SACREDNESS OF, an inference from what is taught in the law concerning murder)

See HOMICIDE

Long life promised to obedient children Ex 20:12; De 5:16

To those who keep the commandments De 4:40; 22:7

Vanity of Ec 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7

Hated Ec 2:17

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
27%gives life
gives life27% · 3×giving life18% · 2×will give life9% · 1×will be made alive9% · 1×does come to life9% · 1×life-giving9% · 1×impart life9% · 1×having been made alive9% · 1×

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

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
verb82%adverbial9%object9%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 11 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
Article the
εἰμίI am, existθεόςGod, a god
πνεῦμαwind, breath, spirit
εἰςδέbut, on the othe
καίand, even, also, nam
νεκρόςdead, a corpse
θέλωI will, wish, desire
ὅς
ἸησοῦςJesus
Χριστόςanointed, the Me
ζῳοποιέωdoes come to life11×
what comes after →
Article the
σάρξflesh, bodyνεκρόςdead, a corpse
οὕτωthus, so, in this ma
καίand, even, also,
καίand, even, also, nam
Article the
ἐάνCond
μήNeg
ὄντωςreally, truly
ἐκ

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

Concordanceζῳοποιέω · 11× in the New Testament
1 Corinthians John Romans 1 Peter 2 Corinthians Galatians
Across the New Testament6 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
The Epistle of Barnabas
The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 6.17c. AD 100

ὅτι πρῶτον τὸ παιδίον μέλιτι, εἶτα γάλακτι ζωοποιεῖται: οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τῇ πίστει τῆς ἐπαγγελίας καὶ τῷ λόγῳ ζωοποιούμενοι ζήσομεν κατακυριεύοντες τῆς γῆς.

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
ἐὰνean only G1437 Conditional particle
339× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This word means 'if' and is used to show uncertainty or possibility, as in Matthew 6:22 and Romans 2:25, to express conditions or circumstances.
Amplified meaning
if, except
Tyndale gloss
if
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἐάν is a conditional particle formed from εἰ (if) and ἄν. It indicates uncertainty or a hypothetical situation, often followed by the subjunctive mood. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, such as in Matthew 6:22 and Romans 2:25. It can also appear with other particles, enhancing its conditional meaning.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐάν, contr. fr. εἰ ἄν,

conditional particle,

representing something as "under certain circumstances actual or liable to happen," but not so definitely expected as in the case of εἰ c. ind. (Bl., §65, 4; cf. Jo 13:17, I Co 7:36), if haply, if;

c. subjc. (cl.);

pres.: Mt 6:22, Lk 10:6, Jo 7:17, Ro 2:25, 26 al.;

aor. (= Lat. fut. pf.): Mt 4:9 16:26 (cf. ptcp. in Lk 9:25; M, Pr., 230), Mk 3:24, Lk 14:34, Jo 5:43,

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

ἐάν ; I. aconditional particle (derived fr. εἰ ἄν), which makes reference to time and to experience, introducing something future, but not determining, before the event, whether it is certainly to take place; if, in case, (Lat. si; Germ. wenn; im Fall, dass; falls; wofern); οἴ.» among others, Hermann ad Viger. p.832; Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2 p- 450 sqq.; W. 291 (273) sq. It is connected 1. with the Subjunctive, according to the regular usage of the more ancient and elegant classic writers. a. with the subjunc. Present: Mt. vi. 22 (ἐὰν οὖν ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ἁπλοῦς 7, if it be the case, as to which I do not know, that thine eye etc.); ibid. 23; xvii. 20; Lk. x. 6; Jn. vii. 17; viii. 54 [RGL mrg.]; ix. 31; xi. 9,10; Acts v. 38; xiii. 41; Ro. ii. 25 sq.; 1 Co.ix.16; Gal. v. 2; 1 Tim. i. 8 [not Lehm.]; Heb. xiii. 23; 1 Jn. i. 9; ii. 3, 15 ete. Ὁ. with the subjunc. Aorist, corresponding to the Lat.…

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

ἐάν (ean) — if.

ἐάν

(so early Attic Inscrr., as [Refs 4th c.BC+], also contraction ἤν and ἄν, see at {ἤν},{ἄν} (B) [ᾱ], which by crasis with καί become κἄν:—if haply, if, regularly followed by subjunctive: for its use and for examples, see at {εἰ} [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. in Hellenistic and late Greek, ={ἄν} after relative Pronouns and Conjunctions, as ὃς ἐάν whosoever, [LXX+5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐάν ἐάνπερ

ean

from 1487 and 302; a conditional particle; in case that, provided,

etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote

indefiniteness or uncertainty:--before, but, except, (and) if, (if)

so, (what-, whither-)soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to

whom, (who-)so(-ever). See 3361.

see GREEK for 1487

see GREEK for 302

see GREEK for 3361

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐάν

Cond.

if

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐάν ean 350x

if, ἐὰν μή, except, unless; also equivalent to ἀλλά, Gal. 2:16. Ἐάν, in NT as in the later Greek, is substituted for ἄν after relative words, Mt. 5:19. Tends to be an indicator for the subjunctive mood.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐάν compounded of εἰ ἄν ἐα?ν contracts into ἤν and ἄν if haply, if, followed by subj. (whereas εἰ is foll. by ind. or opt.), epic εἴ κε, αἴ κε.

in NTest. ἐάν is used just like the adverb ἄν after relative Pronouns and Conjunctions, as ὃς ἐάν whosoever, ὅσος ἐάν, ὅστις ἐάν, ὅπου ἐάν, etc.

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

COND CONDitional particle or conjunction

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
74%if
if74% · 255×only14% · 49×maybe8% · 26×other renderings4% · 15×

345 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 12 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
adverbial11%subject8%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 339 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
ὅς
καίand, even, also,εἰμίI am, existδῶρονa gift, present
καίand, even, also, nam
ἁμαρτάνωI sinεἷςoneαὐτός
ὅτιthat, since, because
σύαὐτόςγάρfor
σύ
λέγωI say, speakπρόςποιέωI do, make
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakἐπίδέbut, on the othe
ἐάνonly339×
what comes after →
μήNeg
μετανοέωI repent, changeτὶςεἰμίI am, exist
τὶς
σύἀδελφόςa brotherArticle the
δέbut, on the other ha
καίand, even, also,Article theμήNeg
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastφωνήa sound, noise, ἐντολήan ordinance, in
θέλωI will, wish, desire
δύναμαιI am powerful, aArticle theἵναin order that, s

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

Concordanceἐάν · 339× in the New Testament
Matthew John 1 Corinthians Mark Luke 1 John Romans Acts Revelation Hebrews 2 Corinthians Galatians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

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

Counted over the 746 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 Shepherd of Hermas Josephus Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 79c. AD 40

τουτὶ δὲ συμβήσεται, ἐὰν μήτε αἱ ἄλογοι ἡδοναὶ ψυχῆς δυναστεύσωσι γαστριμαργίαν καὶ λαγνείαν ἐπιτειχίσασαι μήτε αἱ δόξης ἢ χρημάτων ἢ ἀρχῆς ἐπιθυμίαι τὸ τοῦ βίου κράτος ἀνάψωνται μήτε στείλωσι καὶ κάμψωσι διάνοιαν αἱ λῦπαι μήθ’ ὁ κακὸς σύμβουλος…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 4.252c. AD 75–95

ἐὰν δέ που μόνῃ περιπεσὼν βιάσηται μηδενὸς βοηθοῦ παρόντος, μόνος ἀποθνησκέτω.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.5c. AD 100

λογισάμενος οὖν τοῦτο, ὅτι ἐὰν μελήσῃ μοι περὶ ὑμῶν τοῦ μέρος τι μεταδοῦναι ἀφ̓ οὗ ἔλαβον, ὅτι ἔσται μοι τοιούτοις πνεύμασιν ὑπηρετήσαντι εἰς μισθόν, ἐσπούδασα κατὰ μικρὸν ὑμῖν πέμπειν, ἵνα μετὰ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν τελείαν ἔχητε τὴν γνῶσιν.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 1st c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Adl. 10Pathyris102 BC

δεδανεισμένος Πανᾶς Ἀγαθίνωι καὶ Πατῆτι τοῖς δανείζουσιν ἐν μηνὶ Ἐπεὶφ εἰκάδος τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἀποτεισάτω καθὰ γέγραπται παραχρῆμα ἐπάναγκον· ἡ δὲ

P.Adl. 15Pathyris (?)101 BC

ποιησάτω ἐν μηνὶ Παχὼν τοῦ αὐτοῦ ιε ἔτους, καὶ ἀποτεισάτω ἑκάστης ἀρτάβης πυροῦ ἧς ἐὰν μὴ ἀποδῶι χαλκοῦ δραχμὰς δισχιλίας τετρακοσίας , κριθῆς χιλίας τετρακοσίας , καὶ ἑβδόμην μερίδα

P.Adl. 19Pathyris99 BC

τοῦτο ἀποδότω ὁ δεδανεισμένος τῶι δανείζοντι ἐν μηνὶ Μεσορὴ λ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ιϛ ἔτους· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀποδῶι ἐν τῶι ὡρισμένωι χρόνωι ἢ μὴ ποιήσηι καθὰ γέγραπται ἀποτεισάτω ἐν

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
μὴ unless G3361 Particle · negative
1,060× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 1 Corinthians than 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.
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
μήunless1060×
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.

Fool you yourself What you sow not does come to life only unless it may die;
ἀποθάνῃ·apothnēskō it may die; G599 Verb · second aorist · active · subjunctive · third person · singular
112× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 1 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To stop living, or pass away, as seen in John 6:50 and Romans 8:13. It can be a natural death or a spiritual one.
Amplified meaning
the seed, itself, to stop living, pass away, undergo death
Tyndale gloss
to die
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

ἀποθνῄσκω is a verb meaning 'to die,' used for both natural and violent deaths, including Christ's death. It can also refer to spiritual death and metaphorical uses, such as dying to sin. The word is built from the prefix ἀπό and the root θνῄσκω. It appears frequently in the New Testament, notably in contexts discussing mortality and spiritual separation.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀπο-θνῄσκω,

[in LXX chiefly for מוּת;]

to die: of natural death, Mk 5:35, al.; of violent death (pass. of ἀποκτείνω), esp. of Christ, Mt 26:35, Jo 12:33, He 10:28, al.; of spiritual death, Jo 6:50, Ro 8:13, al.; c. dat. ref., Ro 6:2, 10 14:7, 8, Ga 2:19; acc., ὅ, Ro 6:10; seq. ἐν, Mt 8:32, Jo 8:21, 24, I Co 15:22, He 11:37, Read the full entry →

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

ἀποθνήσκω, impf. ἀπέθνησκον (Lk. viii. 42); 2 aor. ἀπέθανον ; fut. ἀποθανοῦμαι, Ro. ν. 7; Jn. viii. 21, 24, (see θνήσκω) ; found in Grk. writ. fr. Hom. down; to die (ἀπό, so as to be no more; [cf. Lat. emorior; Eng. die of f or out, pass away]; Germ. ab sterben, ver sterben) ; I. used properly 1. of the natural death of men: Mt. ix. 24; xxii. 24; Lk. xvi. 22; Jn. iv.47; Ro. vii. 2, and very often; ἀποθνήσκοντες ἄνθρωποι subject to death, mortal, Heb. vii. 8 [B. 206 (178) }. 2. of the violent death — both of animals, Mt. viii. 32, and of men, Mt. xxvi. 35; Acts xxi. 13 ete.; 1 Pet. iii. 18 L T Tr WH txt.; ev φόνῳ μαχαίρας, Heb. xi. 37; of the punishment of death, Heb. x. 28; often of the violent death which Christ suffered, as Jn. xii. 33; Ro. v. 6, ete. 3. Phrases: ἀποθνήσκ. ἔκ twos to perish by means of something, [ef. Eng. to die of], Rev. viii. 11; ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις…

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

ἀποθνήσκω. On the reason why the perfect of this verb was τέθνηκα, hot ἀποτέθνηκα, see Pro/eg. p. 114. Marcus Aurelius, it is true, uses ἀποτέθνηκα, a natural result of levelling when the simplex had become obsolete ; but the editor of P Iand 09> (ii/A.D.) is not thereby justified in restoring ἀπο]τεθνῶτ[ος. No other part of the simplex survives, and no other compound. An interesting instance of the word occurs in P Par 477® (c. B.C. 153) (= Selections, p. 22) οἱ παρὰ σὲ θεοὶ. . . ὅτι ἐνβέβληκαν ὑμᾶς εἰς ὕλην μεγάλην Kal od δυνάμεθα ἀποθανεῖν, “your gods (are false) because they have cast us into a great forest, where we may possibly die.” As a parallel to the Pauline usage in 1 Cor 15% may be noted the touching letter P Giss I. 179 (time of Hadrian), where a slave writes to her absent master, ἀποθνήσκομεν ὅτι οὐ βλέπομέν σε καθ᾽ ἡμέραν. The use of the present tense justifies one more…

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

ἀποθνήσκω (apothnēskō) — to die.

ἀποθνήσκω,

future -θᾰνοῦμαι, Ionic dialect -θανέομαι or -εῦμαι[Refs 5th c.BC+] —strengthened for θνῄσκω, die, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; in Comedy texts and Prose the usual form of the present; σεῦ ἀποτεθνηῶτος[Refs 8th c.BC+]; νόσῳ[Refs 5th c.BC+]; to be ready to die, of laughter, etc., [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. serving as passive of ἀποκτείνω, to be put to death, slain, ὑπό τινος[Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially by judicial sentence, ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ τῆς πόλεως[Refs 5th c.BC+]

III. renounce, νόμῳ[NT]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀποθνῄσκω

apothnesko

from 575 and 2348; to die off (literally or figuratively):--be dead,

death, die, lie a-dying, be slain (X with).

see GREEK for 575

see GREEK for 2348

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀποθνῄσκω

v.

I am dying, am about to die

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀποθνῄσκω apothnēskō 111x

to die, Mt. 8:32; to decay, rot, as seeds, Jn. 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:36; to wither, become dry, as a tree, Jude 12; met. to die the death of final condemnation and misery, Jn. 6:50; 8:21, 24; to die to a thing by renunciation or utter separation, Rom. 6:2; 1 Cor. 15:31; Gal. 2;19; Col. 3:3

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀποθνήσκω to die off, die, Hom., attic:— to be ready to die of laughter, Ar.

serving as Pass. of ἀποκτείνω, to be put to death, to be slain, ὑπό τινος Hdt., Plat.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-2AAS-3S — Verb · second aorist · active · subjunctive · third person · singular
second aorist active subjunctive — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-2AAS-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: second Aorist Voice: Active Mood: Subjunctive Person: third Number: Singular

Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(muth, gawa`; apothnesko, teleutao): "To die," etc., is of very frequent occurrence, and in the Old Testament is generally the translation of muth, meaning perhaps originally, "to be stretched out" or "prostrate." "To die," should be the consequence of eating the forbidden fruit (Ge 2:17; compare Ge 20:7; 2Ki 1:4,6). "Die" is commonly used of natural death (Ge 5:8; 25:8). It is used also of violent death (Ge 26:9,11; Ex 21:20); punitive (Ex 19:12; 21:12,14; 28:43; Nu…

Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 273 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 Ignatius of Antioch Clement of Rome The Shepherd of Hermas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 1.101c. AD 40

ἐκεῖ μὲν γάρ φησιν „ἀπὸ παντὸς φάγῃ“, ἐνταῦθα δὲ „οὐ φάγεσθε“ καὶ „ᾗ δ’ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγητε“, οὐχὶ φάγῃς, καὶ „ἀποθανεῖσθε“, οὐχὶ ἀποθανῇ.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.151c. AD 75–95

τούτων Ἀράνης μὲν υἱὸν καταλιπὼν Λῶτον καὶ Σάρραν καὶ Μελχὰν θυγατέρας ἐν Χαλδαίοις ἀπέθανεν ἐν πόλει Οὐρῆ λεγομένῃ τῶν Χαλδαίων, καὶ τάφος αὐτοῦ μέχρι νῦν δείκνυται.

Clement of RomeFirst Clement 25.2c. AD 96

ὄρνεον γάρ ἐστιν, ὃ προσονομάζεται φοῖνιξ: τοῦτο μονογενὲς ὑπάρχον ζῇ ἔτη πεντακόσια, γενόμενόν τε ἤδη πρὸς ἀπόλυσιν τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν αὐτό, σηκὸν ἑαυτῷ ποιεῖ ἐκ λιβάνου καὶ σμύρνης καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρωμάτων, εἰς ὃν πληρωθέντος τοῦ χρόνου εἰσέρχεται καὶ…

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. AD 7th c. AD 8th c. AD 2nd c. BC
SB 1 5761Arsinoites ?AD 89–AD 91

λυτον … ὀνόματι τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς ἃ μὲν διηρπακέναι προφάσει περιλύσεως δανείων τῶν τοῦ ἀποθανόντος πατρὸς αὐτῆς, ἃ δὲ καὶ πεπρακέναι Ἀπίαι τῆι ἀντιδίκωι ὑποβλήτωι οὔσηι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ

P.Oxy. 22 2342OxyrhynchosAD 102

α τρισχιλίων καὶ ἄλλαι ἐπʼ οἴνωι πεντακισχιλίαι . ἰδὼν αὐτὴν ψευδομένην ᾔτησε τὴν τοῦ ἀποθανόντος ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς Πασίωνος ἐφημερίδα ἣν πολλάκις ἐπέφερεν αὐτὸς ὄντων παντὸς λόγου γραπτῶν ἀριθμῷ

P.Giss. 1 17Apollonopolites HeptakomiasAD 113–AD 120

ἀπρόσκοπον. παρακαλῶ σε, κύριε, ἐάν σοι δόξῃ, καὶ πέμψαι ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς, εἰ δὲ μή, ἀποθνήσκομεν ὅτι οὐ βλέπομέν σε καθʼ ἡμέραν. ὤφελον εἰ ἐδυνάμεθα πετᾶσθαι καὶ ἐλθεῖν καὶ προσκυνῆσαί

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