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2 Corinthians 4:9 — Word Study

Depth

N1904διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

BSAbeing persecuteddiōkō [pursued, cruelly attacked] butalla notou [never] being forsaken,egkataleipō [abandoned, left behind] being struck downkataballō [cast down, thrown down, badly wounded] butalla notou [never] being destroyed;apolluō [killed, lost completely]

Word
Listen & take away2 Corinthians 4
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 9 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 (apolluō) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
2 Corinthians 4:9quick helps
In a sentencePaul describes the hardships faced by believers, emphasizing resilience through faith.
Who is speakingThe Apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthian church.
Where we areIn a section discussing the trials and perseverance of Christians.
The hard wordsδιωκόμενοι, ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι, ἀπολλύμενοι
Take awayThough believers face persecution and suffering, they are never abandoned or destroyed.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subjectδιώκω verbδιώκω 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 — 2 Corinthians 4:9

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 Trials of the Apostolic Ministrygenerated

8We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
11For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.

2 Corinthians 4:9 highlights the struggles of Paul and his companions as they endure persecution and hardship in their ministry. This verse is part of a larger discourse where Paul contrasts the challenges faced by believers with the hope and strength they find in Christ. The apostle reassures the Corinthians that despite their afflictions, they are not forsaken by God, reflecting the enduring nature of their faith amidst trials.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Psalm 9:10Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
2Psalm 22:1My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
3Psalm 37:25–28I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
4Isaiah 62:4No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.
5Hebrews 13:5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 11 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word διωκόμενοι, diōkōgenerated

The word διώκω (diōkō) means to pursue or chase, often with hostile intent, as seen in contexts of persecution. Here, it describes the ongoing experience of being pursued or attacked for one's faith.

The present passive participle form indicates that this is a continuous action affecting the subject, the believers, who are being persecuted but remain steadfast.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The verse is rendered in the Berean Standard Bible as 'persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.' This wording is consistent across several translations, including the KJV and YLT.

However, the ASV and WEB use 'pursued' instead of 'persecuted', while the BBE opts for 'cruelly attacked', highlighting different nuances of the same Greek term.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The verse consists of two main clauses, each with contrasting elements. The finite verbs are διωκόμενοι and καταβαλλόμενοι, both followed by negations that emphasize the resilience of believers.

The structure presents a series of participial phrases that describe the conditions of the believers, showcasing the ongoing nature of their struggles while affirming their unwavering faith.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

διώκω appears in the Septuagint, where it translates the Hebrew רָדַף (H7291), which also conveys the sense of pursuing or chasing, often in a hostile context.

ἐγκαταλείπω corresponds to the Hebrew עָזַב (H5800), meaning to leave behind or forsake, emphasizing the abandonment felt in times of distress.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

2 Corinthians 4:9 shows that believers may face persecution and be struck down, but they are assured that they are never abandoned by God. This verse reassures Christians that despite their struggles, they remain under God's care and protection.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean to be persecuted but not forsaken?

It means that while believers may face intense opposition and suffering, God remains with them and does not abandon them.

How can believers be struck down but not destroyed?

This indicates that even in their lowest moments, believers can find hope and strength in their faith, ensuring their ultimate survival and victory.

What are some examples of persecution faced by early Christians?

Early Christians faced various forms of persecution, including imprisonment, physical violence, and social ostracism, as described in the New Testament.

How does this verse relate to the overall message of 2 Corinthians?

This verse encapsulates the theme of enduring faith amidst suffering, a central message in Paul's letter to the Corinthians, where he encourages them to remain steadfast in their faith.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways have I experienced God's presence during difficult times in my life?
  2. How can I encourage others who are facing persecution or hardship?
  3. What does it mean for me to be 'struck down but not destroyed' in my own challenges?
  4. How can I apply the resilience shown by Paul and his companions in my daily life?

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

Ambrosiaster comments on this verse, emphasizing God's protective presence during trials faced by believers.

AmbrosiasterCOMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES fl. c. 366–384
God was with them, like a shepherd, when they were in need. He looked after their interests, so that their enemies would not get the better of them.
Early Church Fathers on 2 Corinthians 4 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on 2 Corinthians 4:9 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

Persecuted, but not forsaken,.... Pursued from place to place, and followed with menaces, curses, and reproaches; laid hold on, proscribed, imprisoned, and threatened with the severest tortures, and

Read John Gill on 2 Corinthians 4 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Not forsaken - by God and man. Jesus was forsaken by both: so much do His sufferings exceed those of His people (Matthew 27:46).

Read Robert Jamieson on 2 Corinthians 4 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Persecuted; violently pursued and prosecuted by such as are the adversaries of the gospel, and enemies to our Lord Jesus, because of our profession of him, and preaching his gospel; but yet not forsaken of God, nor wholly of men; God, by the inward influences of his Holy Spirit, supporting, upholding, and comforting us; and also, by his providence, raising us up some friends that stick by us. Cast down, either in our own thoughts, (as it is the nature of worldly troubles and afflictions to sink men’ s thoughts), or cast down by the violence of men, thrown to the earth; but not destroyed; but yet we live, and are by the mighty power of God preserved, that we are not utterly destroyed.

Read Matthew Poole on 2 Corinthians 4 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Ver. 9. Persecuted, but not forsaken] The Church may be shaken, not shivered; persecuted, not conquered. ( Concuti, non excuti.) Roma cladibus animosior, said one; it is more true of the Church. She gets by her losses, and, as the oak, she taketh heart to grace from the maims and wounds given her. Duris ut ilex tonsa bipennibus. " Niteris incassum Christi submergere navem: Fluctuat, at nunquam mergitur illa ratis:" as the pope wrote once to the Great Turk. Cast down, but not destroyed] Impellere possunt, said Luther of his enemies, sed totum prosternere non possunt: crudeliter me tractare possunt, sed non extirpare: dentes…

Read John Trapp on 2 Corinthians 4 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9) Persecuted, but not forsaken.—Better, perhaps, as expressing in both terms of the clause the condition of a soldier on the field of battle, pursued, yet not abandoned. The next clause is again distinctly military, or, perhaps, agonistic: stricken down (as the soldier by some dart or javelin), yet not perishing. In the “faint, yet pursuing,” of Judges 8:4, we have an antithesis of the same kind in a narrative of actual warfare.

Read Charles John Ellicott on 2 Corinthians 4 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 9. Persecuted, but not forsaken] Διωκομενοι, αλλ' ουκεγκαταλειπομενοι. The διωκομενοι, pursued, is peculiar to the δρομος, or race, when one being foremost others pursue, and get up close after him, endeavouring to outstrip him, but cannot succeed: this is the meaning of ουκεγκαταλειπομενοι, not outstripped, or outgone, as the word implies. So in PLUTARCH: τουςαπολειφθενταςουστεφανουσι, they do not crown them that are distanced or left behind. So says the apostle, 1 Corinthians 9:24: All run, but only ONE receiveth the PRIZE. Cast down, but not destroyed.] Καταβαλλομενοιαλλ' ουκαπολλυμενοι. This also belongs to wrestlers, where he that throws the other first is conqueror. And so…

Read AdamClarke on 2 Corinthians 4 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

9. cast down, but not destroyed] i.e. struck or thrown down, as in warfare or wrestling, but not yet deprived of life, and therefore not unable to renew the conflict.

Read Cambridge on 2 Corinthians 4 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Persecuted - Often persecuted, persecuted in all places. The Book of Acts shows how true this was.

Read Albert Barnes on 2 Corinthians 4 →

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

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

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

WEBWorld English Bible2000

pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed;

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

NETBNew English Translation2006

we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed,

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;

RVARevised Version, American1894

pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed;

NWBWebster's Bible1833

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

GNVGeneva Bible1599

We are persecuted, but not forsaken: cast downe, but we perish not.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

persecuted, but not abandoned; cast down, but not destroyed;

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

We are persecuted but not forsaken. We are struck down but not destroyed.

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

We suffer persecution, but are not forsaken; we are cast down, but we perish not:

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

We are persecuted, but never abandoned by God. We are knocked down, but not dead yet!

BBEBible in Basic English1949

We are cruelly attacked, but not without hope; we are made low, but we are not without help;

Word by word, the decisions they made

διωκόμενοιdiōkō being persecuted G1377 3 different renderings
persecutedBSB DBY FBV GNV KJV LSV MSB NETB NWB ULB YLT
pursuedASV RVA WEB
cruelly attackedBBE

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.

clauseclauseclauseclauseprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνinπαντὶevery [way]verbθλιβόμενοιbeing hard pressedἀλλ’butclauseadverbialοὐnotverbστενοχωρούμενοιbeing crushedclauseclauseverbἀπορούμενοιbeing perplexedἀλλ’butclauseadverbialοὐκnotverbἐξαπορούμενοιdespairingclauseclauseverbδιωκόμενοιbeing persecutedἀλλ’butclauseadverbialοὐκnotverbἐγκαταλειπόμενοιbeing forsakenclauseclauseverbκαταβαλλόμενοιbeing struck downἀλλ’butclauseadverbialοὐκnotverbἀπολλύμενοιbeing destroyedclauseadverbialπάντοτεalwaysnoun phrase · objectτὴνthenoun phraseνέκρωσινdeathnoun phraseτοῦ-Ἰησοῦ[of] Jesusprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνinnoun phraseτῷ[our]σώματιbodyverbπεριφέροντεςcarrying aroundclauseἵναso thatclausenoun phrase · subjectκαὶalsonoun phrasethenoun phraseζωὴlifenoun phraseτοῦ-Ἰησοῦof Jesusprepositional phrase · adverbialἐνinnoun phraseτῷthenoun phraseσώματιbodyἡμῶνof usverbφανερωθῇshould be manifested

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

persecutionem patimur, sed non derelinquimur : dejicimur, sed non perimus :

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

ܡܬܪܕܦܝܢܢ ܐܠܐ ܠܐ ܡܫܬܒܩܝܢܢ ܡܣܬܚܦܝܢܢ ܐܠܐ ܠܐ ܐܒܕܝܢܢ

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

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

διωκόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι, καταβαλλόμενοι ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι·

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.

2 Corinthians 4:9διώκωbeing persebeing persecuteδιώκωἀλλάbutbutἀλλάοὐnotnotοὐἐγκαταλείπωbeing forsabeing forsaken,ἐγκαταλείπωκαταβάλλωbeing strucbeing struck doκαταβάλλωἀλλάbutbutἀλλάοὐnotnotοὐἀπόλλυμιbeing destrbeing destroyedἀπόλλυμιἄλλοςAdj other,Adj other, anotἄλλοςμήNeg.prt. nNeg.prt. not, lμήἐνPrep. in, Prep. in, on, aἐνκατάPrep. downPrep. down fromκατάἀπόPrep. fromPrep. from, awaἀπόδειλόςAdj cowardAdj cowardly, tδειλόςδιάκονοςn.f. & n.mn.f. & n.m. a wδιάκονοςμόνοςAdv alone,Adv alone, but,μόνοςἐμαυτοῦRefl.pr. oRefl.pr. of mysἐμαυτοῦἔξεστι(ν)v. it is pv. it is permitἔξεστι(ν)ΣαούλProp.n. SaProp.n. SaulΣαούλεὐλογέωv. I blessv. I blessεὐλογέωοὔτεNeg.cj. anNeg.cj. and notοὔτεἀλλάCj. but, eCj. but, exceptἀλλάἀσκόςn.m. a winn.m. a wine-skiἀσκόςψυχήn.f. the sn.f. the soul, ψυχή
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 2 Corinthians 4:9

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.

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
διωκόμενοιdiōkō being persecuted G1377 Verb · present · passive · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
45× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To pursue or follow someone, which can be done with or without hostile intent, as seen in Matthew 5:10-12 and Luke 17:23. It can also mean to persecute, as in Acts 26:11 and Revelation 12:13. This word is used to describe chasing after something or someone.
Amplified meaning
pursued, cruelly attacked
Tyndale gloss
to pursue
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

διώκω (diōkō) means to pursue or chase, often with a sense of hostility, as in persecution. It can also refer to following eagerly after something, such as righteousness or peace. The New Testament uses it in various contexts, including persecution (e.g., Matthew 5:10-12) and the pursuit of virtues (e.g., Romans 12:13). The lexicons do not show significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

διώκω

[in LXX chiefly for רדף ;]

to put to flight, drive away: Mt 23:34.

to pursue;

of persons; c. acc, without hostility, to follow after: Lk 17:23; with hostile purpose: Ac 26:11, Re 12:13. Hence, to persecute: Mt 5:10-12, 44 10:23, Lk 11:49 21:12, Jo 5:16 15:20, Ac 7:52 9:4, 5 22:4, 7, 8 26:14, 15, Ro 12:14, I Co 4:12 15:9, II Co 4:9,

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

διώκω ; impf. ἐδίωκον ; fut. διώξω (Mt. xxiii. 34; Lk. xxi. 12; Jn. xv. 20; 2S. xxii. 38; Sap. xix. 2; a rarer form for the more com. Attic διώξομαι, ef. Bitm. Ausf. Spr. ii. 154; W.84 (80); [B. 53 (46); esp. Veitch s. v.; Rutherford, New Phryn. p. 377]); 1 aor. ἐδίωξα ; Pass., [pres. διώκομαι]; pf. ptep. dediwypevos; 1 fut. διωχθήσομαι; (fr. δίω to flee) ; Sept. commonly for 17; 1. to run or flee, put to flight, drive away: (τινὰ) ἀπὸ πόλεως εἰς πόλιν, Mt. xxiii. 34, cf. x. 23 Grsb. 2. to run swiftly in order to catch some person or thing, to run after; absol. (Hom. Il. 23, 8344; Soph. El. 738, ete.; διώκειν δρόμῳ, Xen. an. 6, 5, 25; ef. 7, 2, 20), to press on: fig. of one who in a race runs swiftly to reach the goal, Phil. iii. 12 (where distinguished fr. καταλαμβάνειν, [cf. Hdt. 9, 58; Leian. Hermot. 77]), vs. 14. fo pursue (in a hostile manner): τινά, Acts xxvi. 11; Rev. xii. 138.…

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

διώκω. P Fay 11139 (A.D. 95-6) (= Sevections, p. 67) τὸν λ[ι]μνασμ[ὸν] δ[(Ποξον τῶν [ἐ]ϊλα[ι]ώνίων τ]ῶν πάντον, “hasten with the flooding of all the olive-yards " (Edd.), 76, 1125 (A.D. 99) εὖ πυήσις διῶξαι τοὺς σκαφήτρους τῶν ἐλαιώνον, ‘please carry forward the digging of the olive-yards’’ (Edd.). For διώκω = ‘pursue,’” cf. OG/S 532° (B.C. 3) ὅπλο[ις τε] καὶ σιδήρωι διώξειν, and the moral tale in P Grenf II. 84? (v/vi A.D.) where a patricide, fleeing into the desert, ἐδιόκαιτο (2. ἐδιώκετο) ὑπὸ λέωντος, ‘was pursued by a kon.” The phrase δίωκε τὸν λόγον = ‘‘ pursue the recital of the formula’’ is common in the magic papyri: see the editor’s note on P Lond 46" (iv/A.D.) (=I. p. 78). We may add two exx. of the verb from Christian amulets. The first, P Oxy VIII. 1151 (? v/A.D.) opens, Φεῦγε πν(εῦμ)ᾳ μεμισιμένον, Χιριστό)ς σε διώκει, ** Fly, hateful spirit ! Christ In the second, BGU III.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

διώκω (diōkō) — to pursue.

διώκω,

Epic dialect infinitive διωκέμεναι, -έμεν (see. below): future -ξω[Refs 7th c.BC+]aorist ἐδίωξα: aorist 2 ἐδιώκαθον (see. διωκάθω): perfect δεδίωχα [Refs 4th c.BC+] —middle (see. below):—passive, future διωχθήσομαι [Refs 1st c.BC+]; but διώξομαι in passive sense, [LXX+1st c.BC+]: aorist ἐδιώχθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect δεδίωγμαι [NT]; see at {δίω}):—cause to run, set in quick motion, opposed to φεύγω:

1. pursue, chase, in war or hunting, φεύγοντα διώκειν [Refs 8th c.BC+] —middle, διώκεσθαί τινα πεδίοιο, δόμοιο, chase one over or across.., [Refs 8th c.BC+]

1. b with accusative person, of a lover, [Refs 7th c.BC+] [same place]; follow, [NT+5th c.BC+]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

διώκω

dioko

a prolonged (and causative) form of a primary verb dio (to flee;

compare the base of 1169 and 1249); to pursue (literally or

figuratively); by implication, to persecute:--ensue, follow (after),

given to, (suffer) persecute(-ion), press forward.

see GREEK for 1169

see GREEK for 1249

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

διώκω

v.

I pursue, persecute

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

διώκω diōkō 45x

to put in rapid motion; to pursue; to follow, pursue the direction of, Lk. 17:23; to follow eagerly, endeavor earnestly to acquire, Rom. 9:30, 31; 12:13; to press forwards, Phil. 3:12, 14; to pursue with malignity, persecute, Mt. 5:10, 11, 12, 44

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

διώκω δίω II to pursue aperson, to chase, hunt, Il., etc.:—so in Mid., διώκεσθαί τινα πεδίοιο to chase one over or across the plain, Hom.: — to be a follower of a person, attach oneself to him, Xen.

to pursue an object, seek after, Od., etc.; δ. τὰ συμβάντα to follow or wait for the event, Dem.

to drive or chase away, banish, Od., Hdt.

of the wind, to drive a ship, of rowers, to impel, speed on her way, Od.; of a chariot, to drive, Orac. ap. Hdt.; δ. πόδα to urge on, Aesch.:—then, intr. to drive, drive on, Il.: to gallop, speed, run, Aesch.

as law-term, to prosecute, bring an action against a man, ὁ διώκων the prosecutor (opp. to ὁ φεύγων the defendant), Hdt., etc.; ὁ διώκων τοῦ ψηφίσματος he who impeaches the words of the decree, Dem.; c. gen. poenae, θανάτου or περὶ θανάτου δ. τινά, Lat. capitis accusare, Xen.: but c. gen. criminis, to…

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
18%persecuting
persecuting18% · 8×do pursue9% · 4×pursuing7% · 3×persecuted4% · 2×persecute you?4% · 2×i was persecuting4% · 2×being persecuted4% · 2×they may persecute4% · 2×other renderings44% · 20×

45 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 26 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%adverbial2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 45 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
σύἀποκτείνωI put to death, αὐτός
Article the
μακάριοςhappy, blessedὑπέρεὐλογέωI bless
ἐγώ
τίςIrgεἰCond
σύ
ὅςκαίand, even, also,
δέbut, on the other ha
ὅτανwhen, whensoeverἸσραήλProp
διώκωbeing persecuted45×
what comes after →
Article the
ἐκκλησίαan assembly, conπροφήτηςa prophet, poetἸουδαῖοςJewish
καίand, even, also, nam
λέγωI say, speakσύArticle the
δέbut, on the other ha
δικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesεἰCond
σύ
ἐν
εἰς
Article theἀλλήλων

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

Concordanceδιώκω · 45× in the New Testament
Acts Matthew Galatians Romans 1 Corinthians John Luke Philippians 2 Timothy 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy
Across the New Testament15 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 43 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 Didache Clement of Rome Polycarp
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Posterity of Cain 18c. AD 40

διοιχθέντων γὰρ τῶν διανοίας ὀμμάτων ὀξυδερκέστερον εἶδεν ὅτι ἐπὶ τὴν δυσαλώτου πράγματος θήραν ἀναδέδυκεν ἐξαναχωροῦντος αἰεὶ καὶ μακρὰν ἀφισταμένου καὶ φθάνοντος ἀπείρῳ τῷ μεταξὺ διαστήματι τοὺς διώκοντας.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.178c. AD 75–95

Ἅβραμος δὲ διώκων εἵπετο μέχρι καὶ δευτεραίους συνήλασεν αὐτοὺς εἰς Ὠβὰ τῆς Δαμασκηνῶν γῆς, ἐπιδείξας ὅτι τὸ νικᾶν οὐκ ἐν τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῇ πολυχειρίᾳ κεῖσθαι συμβέβηκεν, ἀλλὰ προθυμία τῶν μαχομένων καὶ τὸ γενναῖον κρατεῖ παντὸς ἀριθμοῦ, τριακοσίοις…

Clement of RomeSecond Clement 20.4c. AD 96

εἰ γὰρ τὸν μισθὸν τῶν δικαίων ὁ θεὸς συντόμως ἀπεδίδου, εὐθέως ἐμπορίαν ἠσκοῦμεν καὶ οὐ θεοσέβειαν: ἐδοκοῦμεν γὰρ εἶναι δίκαιοι, οὐ τὸ εὐσεβές, ἀλλὰ τὸ κερδαλέον διώκοντες.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 5th c. AD 3rd c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
BGU 11 2129Alexandria (?)AD 101–AD 200

σε ὑγιαίνειν μετὰ τῶν σῶν πάντων, καὶ ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ἔρρωμαι. ἐξελθὼν ἀφʼ ὑμῶν πολλὰ ἐδίωξα θέλων καταλαβεῖν τὸ πλοῖόν μου ἵνα πέμψω ὑμῖν τὸ περὶ τῶν οὐετρανῶν, καὶ οὐ

P.Wisc. 2 48AD 154–AD 159

ἔβαλόν μοι τὰ μὲν ἔρριπτον καὶ γὰρ ἄν τινας οἵτινες μήτε … ἐξ ὅσων ἐδίωξαν μήτε στρατοπεδάρχου μήτε ἑκατον… … ου κελεύσαντι … δι … … … χαρισθέντες ἔδησάν

P.Ross.Georg. 3 2AlexandriaAD 270

τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ … τρου ἀηδῶς ἔσχον. ἀλλὰ ἀνθρώπινον· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς τοῦτο διώκομεν. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τὸν Μάρκον παρεμυθησάμεθα λυπούμενον ἤτε διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτὴν ἤτε διὰ

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
ἀλλ᾽alla but G235 Conjunction
638× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
But is a strong opposing word, used in Matthew 5:15 and John 7:16. It shows contrast or surprise, like in the phrase 'but God' in Romans 3:31.
Tyndale gloss
but
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀλλά (alla) is an adversative particle, meaning 'but' or 'otherwise.' It is derived from the neuter plural of ἄλλος and is used to introduce opposition or contrast in sentences. In the New Testament, it often appears in contexts that involve negation or exceptions, such as in Matthew 5:15 and John 16:2. The lexicons note its stronger adversative force compared to δέ.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀλλά (ἀλλ’ usually bef. α and υ, often bef. ε and η, rarely bef. ο and ω, never bef. ι; Tdf., Pr., 93 f.; WH, App., 146),

adversative particle,

stronger than δέ; prop. neuter pl. of ἄλλος, used adverbially, with changed accent; hence prop. otherwise, on the other hand (cf. Ro 3:31);

opposing a previous negation, but: οὐ (μὴ) . . . ἀ., Mt 5:15, 17 Mk 5:39, Jo 7:16, al.; rhetorically subordinating but not entirely negativing what precedes, οὐ . . . ἀ., not so much . . . as, Mk 9:37, Mt 10:20, Jo 12:44, al.; with ellipse of the negation, Mt 11:7-9

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

ἀλλά, an adversative particle, derived from ἄλλα, neut. of the adj. ἄλλος, which was originally pronounced ἀλλός (cf. Klotz ad Dévar. ii. p. 1 sq.), hence properly, other things se. than those just mentioned. It differs from δέ, as the Lat. at and sed from autem, [ef. W. 441 sq. (411)]. 1. But. So related to the preceding words that it serves to introduce 1. an opposition to concessions; nevertheless, notwithstanding: Mt. xxiv. 6; Mk. xiii. 20; xiv. 28; Jn. xvi. 7, 20; Acts iv. 17; vii. 48; Ro. v. 14 sq.; x. 16; 1 Co. iv. 4; 2 Co. vii. 6; Phil. ii. 27 (ἀλλ᾽ ὁ θεός etc.), ete. 2. an objection: Jn. vii. 27; Ro. x. 18 sq.; 1 Co. xv. 35; Jas. ii. 18. 3. an exception: Lk. xxii. 53; Ro. iv. 2; 1 Co. viii. 7; xe 29: 4. a restriction: Jn. xi. 42; Gal. iv. 8; Mk. xiv. 36. 5. an ascensive transition or gradation, nay rather, yea moreover: Jn. xvi. 2; 2 Co. i. 9; esp. with καί added, Lk. xii. 7…

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

ἀλλά. The closeness οἱ ἀλλά to πλήν appears in more uses than one. Armitage Robinson, Zp/estans, p. 205, has a note on a quasi-resumpltive use of ἀλλά in Eph 524 which is closely paralleled by that of πλήν in ver. 33. Then there are instances of ἀλλά = ‘‘except.” ‘This is clear where we have ἀλλ᾽ ἤ (as in 2 Cor 13%): thus P Petr 11. 9 (3)® (B.c. 24139) ὥστε μηθένα εἶναι ἐνταῦθα ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἡμᾶς, ‘ There is no one left here except ourselves” (Ed.), 2d. 46 (α)" (B.C. 209) καὶ μὴ ὑποκεῖσθαι πρὸς ἄλλο μηδὲν add’ ἢ τὴν mpoyeypap[μέν]ην ἐγγύην, “has not been pledged for any other purpose than the aforesaid security” (1α.), P Lond 89738 (a.p. 84) (=TIII. p. 207) ὃ μέντοιγε οὐ θέλων. ἀλλὰ ἢ ἀνάγκηι. In P Tebt I. το 419 (B.c. 92) μὴ ἐξέστω Φιλίσκωι γυναῖκα ἄλλην. μ γυ…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀλλά (alla) — but.

ἀλλά,

conjunction, originally neuter plural of ἄλλος, otheruise: used adversatively to limit or oppose words, sentences, or clauses, stronger than δέ:

I. in simple oppositions, but,

I.1. after negative clauses, οὐ κακός, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθός[Refs 8th c.BC+]

I.1. b after a simple negative, ἦ παραφρονεῖ; οὔκ, ἀλλ᾽ ὕπνος μ᾽ ἔχει[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.1. c frequently after οὐ μόνον, μὴ μόνον, with or without καί, οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀ. πολλάκις[Refs 5th c.BC+], either, not only.. but.., μὴ ὅτι ἰδιώτην τινά, ἀλλὰ τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα[Refs 5th c.BC+]; or, not only not.. but.., οὐχ ὅπως κωλυταὶ.. γενήσεσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ.. περιόψεσθε[Refs 5th c.BC+]; the negative form is ἀλλ᾽ οὐδέ, μὴ ὅτι ὑπὲρ ἄλλου, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ δίκην εἴρηκα[Refs 4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀλλά

alla

neuter plural of 243; properly, other things, i.e. (adverbially)

contrariwise (in many relations):--and, but (even), howbeit, indeed,

nay, nevertheless, no, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet.

see GREEK for 243

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀλλά

Cj.

but, except

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀλλά alla 638x

but; however; but still more; ἀλλάγε, at all events; ἀλλή, unless, except. Ἀλλά also serves to introduce a sentence with keenness and emphasis, Jn. 16:2; Rom. 6:5; 7:7; Phil. 3:8

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀλλά Conjunct., properly neut. pl. of ἄλλος (with changed accent) otherwise, but, stronger than δέ:

to oppose single clauses, but, Lat. autem, the preceding clause being negat., οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις Plat.; so, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅτι, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅπως, are followed by ἀλλά or ἀλλά καὶ . . . , not only . . . , but . . .

after a negative ἀλλά sometimes = ἀλλ᾽ ἤ, except, but, ἔπαισεν οὔτις ἀλλ᾽ ἐγώ Soph.

to oppose whole sentences, but, yet, Lat. at:— used by Hom., with imperat. or subj., to remonstrate, encourage, persuade, like Lat. tandem, ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι, ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε, ἀλλὰ ἴωμεν, Hom.

joined with other Particles, ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα, or, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν, but then, however, Hdt., etc.

ἀλλὰ γάρ, Lat. enimvero, but really, certainly, attic

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
92%but
but92% · 591×instead2% · 15×other renderings4% · 25×other renderings2% · 12×

643 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 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
adverbial10%object6%predicate3%subject2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 638 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
οἶδαI know, rememberκατεργάζομαιI work out, prodἐπιγινώσκωI come to know,
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγράφωI writeἐν
ἐγώ
ἀπόκρατέωI lay hold of, oθέλημαwill, wish, desi
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegοὐδείςno one, none, noΜωϋσῆςMoses
θεόςGod, a god
Article theἄνομοςlawless, sinful,
ἀλλάbut638×
what comes after →
Article the
Article theπέμπωI sendθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ἐν
οὐNeg
πᾶςall, the whole, ἐνδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐν
πᾶςall, the whole, Article theδύναμιςmight, power, ma
ἵναin order that, so th
φανερόωI make clear, viπληρόωI fill, fulfill,σῴζωI save, heal

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

Concordanceἀλλά · 638× in the New Testament
John 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Mark Matthew Luke Acts Galatians 1 Peter Hebrews Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament27 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 5c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.1c. AD 75–95

Τοῖς τὰς ἱστορίας συγγράφειν βουλομένοις οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁρῶ τῆς σπουδῆς γινομένην αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ πολλὰς καὶ πλεῖστον ἀλλήλων διαφερούσας.

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 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P. Grenf. 1 21Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτους ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος, ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 44Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτει ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

νῦν οὐδενός … ς ἀξιοῦμεν … ἀνθρώπου ἀλόγως … ὀφείλει ἡμῖν διάφορα … θαι ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας κατὰ κοινόν … ἐπίσκεψιν ποιησάσθαι. … τούτων γὰρ

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
οὐκou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 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.
Amplified meaning
never
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…

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

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

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

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

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

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

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
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

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι,egkataleipō being forsaken, G1459 Verb · present · passive · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
10× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To leave behind means to abandon or desert someone, like in Matthew 27:46 where Jesus feels abandoned by God. This word can also mean to leave something or someone in a place. It is used to describe forsaking or leaving something behind.
Amplified meaning
abandoned, left behind
Tyndale gloss
to leave behind
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐγκαταλείπω (i.e., *egkataleipo*) is built from the prefix ἐν- and the verb καταλείπω. It means to leave behind, abandon, or forsake, and is used in various contexts, including both positive and negative senses. In the New Testament, it appears in verses such as Matthew 27:46 and Hebrews 13:5. The lexicons agree on its general meaning, but some emphasize different nuances of abandonment.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐγ-κατα-λείπω,

[in LXX chiefly for עזב ;]

to leave behind: ἡμῖν σπέρμα, Ro 9:29 (LXX).

to abandon, desert, forsake: c. acc. pers., Mt 27:46 (LXX), Mk 15:34 (ib.), Ac 2:27 (LXX) (WH, ἐνκ-), II Ti 4:10, 16 He 13:5 (LXX); τ. ἐπισυναγωγήν (cf. MM, Exp., xi), He 10:25. Pass., Ac 2:31 (WH, ἐνκ-), II Co 4:9.†

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

ἐγκαταλείπω. P Par 468 (B.c. 153) (= Witkowski?, p. 86) ὁ ἀδελφός σου... ληστῶν ἐπικειμένων ἐνκατελελοίπει pe ἀποδημήσας is a good ex. of the prevailing NT sense of this verb —to ‘leave in the lurch” one whois in straits: cf. P Oxy IT. 28174 (A.D. 20-50) ἐνκατέλιπέ pe λειτὴν καθεστῶσαν, “he deserted me, leaving me in a state of destitution” (Edd.). With a place as object, see P Ryl II. 128 (¢. a.p. 30) ἀλλότρια φρονήσασα ἐνκαταλιποῦσα τὸ ἐλαιούργιον ἀπηλλάγη, ‘‘changed her mind, left the mill, and departed”’ (Edd.). So P Oxy VIII. 112418 (A.D. 26) τοῦ δ᾽ ἐνκαταλιπεῖν τὴϊν γε]ωργία[ν] . . . ἐπίτιμον, ‘the penalty of abandoning the cultivation”’ (Ed.), Chvest. I. 72® (A.D. 234) μηδένα δὲ τῶν ἱερέων ἢ] ἱερωμένων ἐνκαταλελοιπέναι τὰς [θρ]ησκείας : cf. Heb τοῦδ. For the subst., which is found in the LXX, see P Petr II. 4 (11)? (B.C. 255-4) ἐγκατάλειμμα γέγονεν, ‘a silting up has taken place”…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐγκαταλείπω (egkataleipō) — to leave behind.

ἐγκατα-λείπω,

leave behind, παῖδα [Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἐ. τὸ κέντρον, of a bee, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: hence of Pericles, τὸ κέντρον ἐγκατέλιπε τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. leave in the lurch, [NT+5th c.BC+]; abandon, νεκροὺς [Refs 5th c.BC+]

3. leave out, omit, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

4. leave traces behind, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

II. passive, to be left behind in a race, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

II.2. leave residual symptoms or sequelae, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐγκαταλείπω

egkataleipo

from 1722 and 2641; to leave behind in some place, i.e. (in a good

sense) let remain over, or (in a bad sense) to desert:--forsake,

leave.

see GREEK for 1722

see GREEK for 2641

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐγκαταλείπω

v.

I abandon, desert

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐγκαταλείπω enkataleipō 10x

to leave, leave behind; to forsake, abandon, Mt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34; Acts 2:27, 30; Rom. 9:29; 2 Cor. 4:9; 2 Tim. 4:10, 16; Heb. 10:25; 13:5* See abandon; desert; forsake.

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐγκαταλείπω fut. ψω to leave behind, Hes., Thuc., etc.

to leave in the lurch, id. Thuc., etc.

to leave out, omit, Hdt.

Pass. to be left behind in a race, id. Hdt.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
10%you will abandon
you will abandon10% · 1×he left behind10% · 1×had left10% · 1×being forsaken10% · 1×has deserted10% · 1×deserted10% · 1×forsaking10% · 1×shall i forsake10% · 1×other renderings20% · 2×

10 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 10 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 10 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
ἐγώ
τίςIrgγάρforπᾶςall, the whole,
οὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, becἀλλάbut, except
τίςIrg
εἰς
οὔτεNeg
ὅτιthat, since, bec
ΣαβαώθHebr
κύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐγκαταλείπωbeing forsaken,10×
what comes after →
ἐγώ
σπέρμαseed, offspring
Article the
ψυχήthe soul, life, ἐπισυναγωγήa gathering toge
εἰς
ᾅδηςHades
καταβάλλωI cast, lay down
ἀλλάbut, except
ἀγαπάωI love
Article 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

Concordanceἐγκαταλείπω · 10× in the New Testament
2 Timothy Acts Hebrews 2 Corinthians Matthew Mark Romans
Across the New Testament7 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 90 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 Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn Flight and Finding 197c. AD 40

„ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπον πηγὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ὤρυξαν ἑαυτοῖς λάκκους συντετριμμένους, οἳ οὐ δυνήσονται συσχεῖν ὕδωρ“ (Ier.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2.40c. AD 75–95

ὁ δὲ τούτων τε ἀπέλαυε καὶ τὴν ἀρετήν, ἥτις ἦν περὶ αὐτόν, οὐδʼ ὑπὸ τῆς μεταβολῆς ἐγκατέλιπεν, ἀλλὰ διέδειξε τὸ φρόνημα κρατεῖν τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ δυσκόλων δυνάμενον, οἷς ἂν παρῇ γνησίως καὶ μὴ πρὸς τὰς εὐπραγίας τὰς κατὰ καιρὸν μόνον ἡρμοσμένον.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 11.2c. AD 100

λέγει γὰρ ὁ προφήτης: Ἔκστηθι οὐρανέ, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ πλεῖον φριξάτω ἡ γῆ, ὅτι δύο καὶ πονηρὰ ἐποίησεν ὁ λαὸς οὗτος: ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπον, πηγὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἑαυτοῖς ὤρυξαν βόθρον θανάτου.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 5th c. AD
PSI 5 490Philadelphia Arsinoites Ägypten258 BC

ν τὰ μὲν σπέρματα ἐμετρήσαντο κοινῆι, ἀπιδόντες δὲ … τὴν γενομένην σκωληκόβρωτον ἀποκεχωρήκασιν ἐγκαταλείποντες τοὺς γεωργοῦντας τὴν γῆν. γέγραφα οὖν σοι περὶ τούτων ὅπως εἰδῆις. ἔρρωσο. ἔτους κη,

τιμιωτάτῳ … ηγητῷ χαίρειν. τὸν ὄνον … ὅπως ἐσθʼ ὑμῶν … … λες οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπεν σημεῖον … ευς ἔγραψέν μοι. καὶ ἐὰν περὶ τῆς … ᾖμεν ἐπὶ σὲ περὶ

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
καταβαλλόμενοιkataballō being struck down G2598 Verb · present · passive · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
2× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To throw or lay something down, like casting down idols or laying down a foundation in Hebrews 6:1. It can be physical or metaphorical.
Amplified meaning
cast down, thrown down, badly wounded
Tyndale gloss
to lay/throw down
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word καταβάλλω (i.e., *kataballō*) means to throw down or cast down. It encompasses a range of meanings, including to lay down, put in a lower place, and even to pay down. In the New Testament, it appears in contexts such as laying a foundation (Hebrews 6:1) and being cast down (2 Corinthians 4:9). The lexicons do not present significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

κατα-βάλλω,

[in LXX chiefly for נפל hi.;]

to cast down, prostrate: metaph., pass., II Co 4:9.

to put down, lay down: metaph., mid., c. acc., θεμέλιον, He 6:1.†

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

κατα-βάλλω: Pass. and Mid. pres. ptep. καταβαλλόpevos; 1 aor. pass. κατεβλήθην ; [fr. Hom. down]; Sept. for DDN; 1. to cast down: τινά, pass., Rev. xii. 10 Ree. ; to throw to the ground, prostrate: pass., 2 Co. iv. 9 (where the metaph. is taken from an athlete or combatant). 2. to put in a lower place: in the phrase 6eμέλιον καταβάλλομαι, to lay (down) a foundation (Joseph. antt. 11, 4, 4; 15,11,3; Dion. H. antt. 3, 69; al.), Heb. vi. 1.

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

καταβάλλω is used of a woman ‘‘stricken”’ with sickness in P Oxy VIII. 11219 (A.D. 295) νόσῳ κατα[β]Ἰλ[η]θεῖσα. The classical meaning ‘‘ pay’ is common in the papyri of all periods, and especially so in Byzantine documents (cf. Os¢r. i. p. 89): see e.g. P Hib I. 29° (c. B.C. 265) καταβαλ[ὼν] τὰ γινόμενα τέλη, ‘fon payment of the usual taxes,’ P Fay 1255 (c. B.c. 103) καταβαλὼν διὰ Πτολεμαίου τραπαιζίτί ου, ‘paying through Ptolemaeus the banker,’ 26. 631 (A.D. 240) κατέβαNev εἰς τὸν ᾿ΑἸντωνίου Φιλοξένου... λόγον “‘he paid into the account of Antonius Philoxenus,” and so P Strass I. 6? (A.D. 255-61) : also P Eleph 3? (B.c, 284-3), 26. 1772 (B.C. 223-2), BGU IV. 11587 (B.c. 9), and P Petr II. 11(1)® (iii/B.c.) cited s.v. δάνειον, and Sy// 936° cited s.v.…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

καταβάλλω (kataballō) — to lay/throw down.

καταβάλλω,

future -βᾰλῶ: aorist κατέβᾰλον; Epic dialect 3rd.pers. singular κάββαλε [Refs 8th c.BC+]:—throw down, overthrow, κατὰ πρηνὲς βαλέειν Πριάμοιο μέλαθρον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; κ. [τινὰ] ἐνθάδε [Refs 8th c.BC+]; κ. τὰ οἰκήματα, τὰ ἀγάλματα, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κ. ἐς τὸ μηδέν to bring down to nothing, opposed to ἐξᾶραι ὑψοῦ, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; κάββαλλε τὸν Χείμωνα confound, defy the storm, [Refs 7th c.BC+]

2. κ. ἑαυτόν throw oneself down to sleep, [Refs 1st c.AD+]

3. strike down with a weapon, slay, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; by a blow, κ. πατάξας [Refs 5th c.BC+]; especially of slaying victims, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

Read the full entry →
Strong's Greek Dictionary

καταβάλλω

kataballo

from 2596 and 906; to throw down:--cast down, lay.

see GREEK for 2596

see GREEK for 906

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

καταβάλλω

v.

I cast, lay down

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

καταβάλλω kataballō 2x

to cast down, 2 Cor. 4:9; mid. to lay down, lay a foundation, Heb. 6:1*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

καταβάλλω fut. -βα^λῶ aor2 κατέβα^λον epic 3rd sg. κάββαλε to throw down, overthrow, Hom., etc.; κ. εἰς τὸ μηδέν to bring down to nothing, Hdt.

to strike down with a weapon, to slay, Il., Hdt., etc.

to throw or bring into a certain state, Eur., Plat.

to cast down or away, cast off, reject, Xen.

in milder sense, to let fall, drop down, Hom.; κ. ἱστία to lower sail, Theogn.; τὰς ὀφρῦς κ. Eur.

to lay down, set down, Lat. deponere, Il., Ar.

to bring or carry down, esp. to the sea-coast, Hdt.

to pay down, yield or bring in, id. Hdt.:— to pay down, pay, Thuc., etc.:—Mid. to cause to be deposited, Dem.

to put in, render, μαρτυρίαν id. Dem.

to throw down seed, sow, id. Dem.; κ. φάτιν, Lat. spargere voces, Hdt.

to lay down as a foundation, mostly in Mid., Eur.:—Pass., καταβεβλημένος laid down, ordinary, Arist.

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

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%being struck down
being struck down50% · 1×laying50% · 1×

2 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 2 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
ἐγκαταλείπωI abandon, desert
οὐNeg
θεμέλιοςbelonging to the fou
πάλινagain, further,
καταβάλλωbeing struck down
what comes after →
ἀλλάbut, except
οὐNeg
μετάνοιαrepentance, a change
ἀπό

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

Concordanceκαταβάλλω · 2× in the New Testament
2 Corinthians Hebrews
Across the New Testament2 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 24 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.

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
ἀλλ᾽alla but G235 Conjunction
638× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 Corinthians than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
But is a strong opposing word, used in Matthew 5:15 and John 7:16. It shows contrast or surprise, like in the phrase 'but God' in Romans 3:31.
Tyndale gloss
but
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀλλά (alla) is an adversative particle, meaning 'but' or 'otherwise.' It is derived from the neuter plural of ἄλλος and is used to introduce opposition or contrast in sentences. In the New Testament, it often appears in contexts that involve negation or exceptions, such as in Matthew 5:15 and John 16:2. The lexicons note its stronger adversative force compared to δέ.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀλλά (ἀλλ’ usually bef. α and υ, often bef. ε and η, rarely bef. ο and ω, never bef. ι; Tdf., Pr., 93 f.; WH, App., 146),

adversative particle,

stronger than δέ; prop. neuter pl. of ἄλλος, used adverbially, with changed accent; hence prop. otherwise, on the other hand (cf. Ro 3:31);

opposing a previous negation, but: οὐ (μὴ) . . . ἀ., Mt 5:15, 17 Mk 5:39, Jo 7:16, al.; rhetorically subordinating but not entirely negativing what precedes, οὐ . . . ἀ., not so much . . . as, Mk 9:37, Mt 10:20, Jo 12:44, al.; with ellipse of the negation, Mt 11:7-9

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

ἀλλά, an adversative particle, derived from ἄλλα, neut. of the adj. ἄλλος, which was originally pronounced ἀλλός (cf. Klotz ad Dévar. ii. p. 1 sq.), hence properly, other things se. than those just mentioned. It differs from δέ, as the Lat. at and sed from autem, [ef. W. 441 sq. (411)]. 1. But. So related to the preceding words that it serves to introduce 1. an opposition to concessions; nevertheless, notwithstanding: Mt. xxiv. 6; Mk. xiii. 20; xiv. 28; Jn. xvi. 7, 20; Acts iv. 17; vii. 48; Ro. v. 14 sq.; x. 16; 1 Co. iv. 4; 2 Co. vii. 6; Phil. ii. 27 (ἀλλ᾽ ὁ θεός etc.), ete. 2. an objection: Jn. vii. 27; Ro. x. 18 sq.; 1 Co. xv. 35; Jas. ii. 18. 3. an exception: Lk. xxii. 53; Ro. iv. 2; 1 Co. viii. 7; xe 29: 4. a restriction: Jn. xi. 42; Gal. iv. 8; Mk. xiv. 36. 5. an ascensive transition or gradation, nay rather, yea moreover: Jn. xvi. 2; 2 Co. i. 9; esp. with καί added, Lk. xii. 7…

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

ἀλλά. The closeness οἱ ἀλλά to πλήν appears in more uses than one. Armitage Robinson, Zp/estans, p. 205, has a note on a quasi-resumpltive use of ἀλλά in Eph 524 which is closely paralleled by that of πλήν in ver. 33. Then there are instances of ἀλλά = ‘‘except.” ‘This is clear where we have ἀλλ᾽ ἤ (as in 2 Cor 13%): thus P Petr 11. 9 (3)® (B.c. 24139) ὥστε μηθένα εἶναι ἐνταῦθα ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἡμᾶς, ‘ There is no one left here except ourselves” (Ed.), 2d. 46 (α)" (B.C. 209) καὶ μὴ ὑποκεῖσθαι πρὸς ἄλλο μηδὲν add’ ἢ τὴν mpoyeypap[μέν]ην ἐγγύην, “has not been pledged for any other purpose than the aforesaid security” (1α.), P Lond 89738 (a.p. 84) (=TIII. p. 207) ὃ μέντοιγε οὐ θέλων. ἀλλὰ ἢ ἀνάγκηι. In P Tebt I. το 419 (B.c. 92) μὴ ἐξέστω Φιλίσκωι γυναῖκα ἄλλην. μ γυ…

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

ἀλλά (alla) — but.

ἀλλά,

conjunction, originally neuter plural of ἄλλος, otheruise: used adversatively to limit or oppose words, sentences, or clauses, stronger than δέ:

I. in simple oppositions, but,

I.1. after negative clauses, οὐ κακός, ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθός[Refs 8th c.BC+]

I.1. b after a simple negative, ἦ παραφρονεῖ; οὔκ, ἀλλ᾽ ὕπνος μ᾽ ἔχει[Refs 5th c.BC+]

I.1. c frequently after οὐ μόνον, μὴ μόνον, with or without καί, οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀ. πολλάκις[Refs 5th c.BC+], either, not only.. but.., μὴ ὅτι ἰδιώτην τινά, ἀλλὰ τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα[Refs 5th c.BC+]; or, not only not.. but.., οὐχ ὅπως κωλυταὶ.. γενήσεσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ.. περιόψεσθε[Refs 5th c.BC+]; the negative form is ἀλλ᾽ οὐδέ, μὴ ὅτι ὑπὲρ ἄλλου, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ δίκην εἴρηκα[Refs 4th…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀλλά

alla

neuter plural of 243; properly, other things, i.e. (adverbially)

contrariwise (in many relations):--and, but (even), howbeit, indeed,

nay, nevertheless, no, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet.

see GREEK for 243

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀλλά

Cj.

but, except

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀλλά alla 638x

but; however; but still more; ἀλλάγε, at all events; ἀλλή, unless, except. Ἀλλά also serves to introduce a sentence with keenness and emphasis, Jn. 16:2; Rom. 6:5; 7:7; Phil. 3:8

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀλλά Conjunct., properly neut. pl. of ἄλλος (with changed accent) otherwise, but, stronger than δέ:

to oppose single clauses, but, Lat. autem, the preceding clause being negat., οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις Plat.; so, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅτι, οὐχ (or μὴ) ὅπως, are followed by ἀλλά or ἀλλά καὶ . . . , not only . . . , but . . .

after a negative ἀλλά sometimes = ἀλλ᾽ ἤ, except, but, ἔπαισεν οὔτις ἀλλ᾽ ἐγώ Soph.

to oppose whole sentences, but, yet, Lat. at:— used by Hom., with imperat. or subj., to remonstrate, encourage, persuade, like Lat. tandem, ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι, ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε, ἀλλὰ ἴωμεν, Hom.

joined with other Particles, ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα, or, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν, but then, however, Hdt., etc.

ἀλλὰ γάρ, Lat. enimvero, but really, certainly, attic

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

CONJ CONJunction or conjunctive particle

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
92%but
but92% · 591×instead2% · 15×other renderings4% · 25×other renderings2% · 12×

643 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 15 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
adverbial10%object6%predicate3%subject2%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 638 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
αὐτός
οἶδαI know, rememberκατεργάζομαιI work out, prodἐπιγινώσκωI come to know,
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγράφωI writeἐν
ἐγώ
ἀπόκρατέωI lay hold of, oθέλημαwill, wish, desi
εἰμίI am, exist
οὐNegοὐδείςno one, none, noΜωϋσῆςMoses
θεόςGod, a god
Article theἄνομοςlawless, sinful,
ἀλλάbut638×
what comes after →
Article the
Article theπέμπωI sendθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ἐν
οὐNeg
πᾶςall, the whole, ἐνδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐν
πᾶςall, the whole, Article theδύναμιςmight, power, ma
ἵναin order that, so th
φανερόωI make clear, viπληρόωI fill, fulfill,σῴζωI save, heal

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

Concordanceἀλλά · 638× in the New Testament
John 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Mark Matthew Luke Acts Galatians 1 Peter Hebrews Philippians

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament27 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 5c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.1c. AD 75–95

Τοῖς τὰς ἱστορίας συγγράφειν βουλομένοις οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁρῶ τῆς σπουδῆς γινομένην αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ πολλὰς καὶ πλεῖστον ἀλλήλων διαφερούσας.

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 4th c. AD 3rd c. BC 6th c. AD
P. Grenf. 1 21Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτους ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος, ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 44Pathyris127 BC

ἐπὶ Διονυσίου ἀγορανόμου ἐν τῶι ϛ ἔτει ἐπὶ τοῦ Φιλομήτορος ἣ διασαφεῖ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ἐπίτροπον Ἑρμ … φιλον ὄντα συγγενῆ κατέστησεν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκετικῶν σωμάτων δ

P.Grenf. 1 37Thebais109 BC

νῦν οὐδενός … ς ἀξιοῦμεν … ἀνθρώπου ἀλόγως … ὀφείλει ἡμῖν διάφορα … θαι ἀλλʼ ἀποστερέσαι … ησας ἀλλά … τας κατὰ κοινόν … ἐπίσκεψιν ποιησάσθαι. … τούτων γὰρ

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
οὐκou not G3756 Particle · negative
1,622× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in 2 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.
Amplified meaning
never
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…

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

οὐ (ou) — no.

οὐ,

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

I. as the negative of single words,

II. as the negative of the sentence.

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

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

οὐ

ou

ouk ook, and (before an aspirate)

ouch ookh

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

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

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

3364, 3372.

see GREEK for 3361

see GREEK for 3364

see GREEK for 3372

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

οὐ

Neg.prt.

no, not

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

οὐ ou 1x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
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

being persecuted but not being forsaken, being struck down but not being destroyed;
ἀπολλύμενοι·apolluō being destroyed; G622 Verb · present · middle or passive deponent · participle · nominative · plural · masculine
90× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in 2 Corinthians as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means to destroy or lose something completely, and is used in the Bible to describe physical or spiritual destruction, such as in Matthew 10:28 and John 6:39. It can also mean to perish or die. Jesus uses it to warn against causing others to stumble.
Amplified meaning
killed, lost completely
Tyndale gloss
to destroy
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἀπόλλυμι (*apollumi*) is built from the prefix ἀπ- and a root meaning to destroy. It covers a range of meanings including to destroy, kill, lose, or perish, both literally and metaphorically. In the New Testament, it is used to describe destruction and loss of life, as seen in verses like Matthew 10:28. The lexicons do not present significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἀπ-όλλυμι and ἀπολλύω,

[in LXX for אבד, etc. (38 words in all)].

Act.,

to destroy utterly, destroy, kill: Mk 1:24, 9:22, al.; τ. ψνχήν, Mt 10:28, al.;

to lose utterly: Mt 10:42, al.; metaph., of failing to save, Jo 6:39 18:9.

Mid.,

to perish;

of things: Mt 5:29, Jo 6:12, He 1:11(LXX), al.;

of persons: Mt 8:26, al. Metaph., of loss of eternal life, Jo 3:15, 16 10:28 17:12, Ro 2:12, I Co 8:11 15:18,

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

ἀπόλλυμι. One or two instances of the literal use of this common verb will suffice—P Petr III. 51° τὸ ἀργύριον ὃ ὥιοντο ἀπολωλέναι, “the money which they thought had been lost,” P Oxy IV. 743°% (B.c. 2) ἐγὼ ὅλος διαπον[ο]ῦμαι εἰ Ἕλενος χαλκοῦς ἀπόλε[σ]εν, “1 am quite upset at Helenos’ loss of the money” (Edd.). In P Fay 111° (a.p. 95-6) we have it of destroying life: μένφομαί σαι μεγάλως ἀπολέσας X[v]piSia δύω ἀπὸ τοῦ ckvApod τῆς ὡδοῦ, “1 blame you greatly for the loss of two pigs owing to the fatigue of the journey” (Edd.). (Probably the writer meant ἀπολέσαντα, but the nom. will construe.) So in the dreams of Ptolemy, son of Glaucias, the helper of the Temple twins, P Par 50° (p.c. 160) Λέγω: Μηθαμῶς ἐργῇς (?) ἢ ἀπολέσῃ σου τὸν παῖδα’ κύριος οὐκ ἀπολύει (-- ἀπολλύει, presumably) τὸν αὑτοῦ παῖδα. Cf. P Petr III. 36 (a) verso*® δεόμενος μή pe ἀπολέσηι τῶι λιμῶι ἐν τῆι φυλακῆι : so Lk…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἀπολλύω (apolluō) — to destroy.

Included with: ἀπόλλῡμι

or ἀπολλύω [Refs 5th c.BC+]; the form is rejected by [Refs 5th c.BC+], imperfect ἀπώλλυν[Refs 5th c.BC+]future ἀπολέσω, Epic dialect ἀπολέσσω, Attic dialect ἀπολῶ, Ionic dialect ἀπολέω[Refs 5th c.BC+]aorist ἀπώλεσα, Epic dialect ἀπόλεσσα: perfect ἀπολώλεκα:—frequently in tmesi in Epic dialect; preposition postponed in [Refs 8th c.BC+] —stronger form of ὄλλυμι, destroy utterly, kill, in [Refs 8th c.BC+] mostly of death in battle, ἀπώλεσε λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν[Refs]; also of things, demolish, lay waste, ἀπώλεσεν Ἴλιον ἱρήν [Refs], etc.; generally, βίοτον δ᾽ ἀπὸ πάμπαν ὀλέσσει will waste my substance, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; οἵ μ᾽ ἀπωλλύτην sought to destroy me (imperfect sense), [Refs 5th c.BC+]; in pregnant sense, ἐπεί με γᾶς ἐκ πατρίας ἀπώλεσε drove me ruined from.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τῆς παρ᾽ ἡμέραν χάριτος τὰ μέγιστα τῆς…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἀπόλλυμι

apollumi

from 575 and the base of 3639; to destroy fully (reflexively, to

perish, or lose), literally or figuratively:--destroy, die, lose, mar,

perish.

see GREEK for 575

see GREEK for 3639

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἀπόλλυμι

v.

I destroy, lose, am perishing

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἀπόλλυμι apollymi 90x

to destroy utterly; to kill, Mt. 2:13; to bring to nought, make void, 1 Cor. 1:19; to lose, be deprived of, Mt. 10:42; to be destroyed, perish, Mt. 9:17; to be put to death, to die, Mt. 26:52; to be lost, to stray, Mt. 10:6

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἀπόλλυμι to destroy utterly, kill, slay, and of things, to destroy, demolish, waste, Hom., attic; in pregnant sense, γᾶς ἐκ πατρίας ἀπ. to drive me ruined from my fatherland, Eur.; λόγοις ἀπ. τινά Soph.:— to talk or bore one to death, Ar.

to lose utterly, πατέρα, νόστιμον ἦμαρ Hom.

Mid. ἀπόλλυμαι, fut. -ολοῦμαι, ionic -ολέομαι with part. ἀπολεύμενος: aor2 -ωλόμην: perf. -όλωλα: plup. ἀπολώλειν:— to perish utterly, die, Il.; c. acc. cogn., ἀπ. κακὸν μόρον, αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον Od.; to be undone, id. Od.; ἀπόλωλας you are done for, lost, ruined, Ar.; as an imprecation, κάκιστ᾽ ἀπολοίμην id. Ar.; in fut. part., ὦ κάκιστ᾽ ἀπολούμενε oh destined to a miserable end! i. e. oh villain, scoundrel! Ar.

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

V-PEP-NPM Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Present Voice: Either middle or passive Mood: Participle Case: Nominative Number: Plural Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
7%destroy
destroy7% · 7×may perish7% · 7×perishing6% · 6×destroyed6% · 6×will lose6% · 6×will perish5% · 5×having been lost4% · 4×perished3% · 3×other renderings53% · 50×

94 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 43 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

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

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 90 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
πρόβατονa sheepἐνπαιδίονa little child,
αὐτός
ψυχήthe soul, life, ὅπωςhow, in order thστράτευμαan army
καίand, even, also, nam
ἔρχομαιI come, goπρόβατονa sheepζάωI live
μήNeg
οὐNegαὐτόςἐγώ
ἵναin order that, so th
σύοὐρανόςthe sky, the heaὕδωρwater
ἀπόλλυμιbeing destroyed;90×
what comes after →
Article the
ψυχήthe soul, life, μισθόςwages, rewardγεωργόςa worker of the
αὐτός
καίand, even, also,ὅςἀλλάbut, except
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theεὑρίσκωI findπᾶςall, the whole,
ἀλλάbut, except
βάλλωI cast, throw, rἔχωI have, hold, poArticle the
εἷςone
Article 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

Concordanceἀπόλλυμι · 90× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians 2 Peter Acts James Jude Romans 1 Peter
Across the New Testament16 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 219 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 Clement of Rome Ignatius of Antioch
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.25c. AD 40

κρύπτεται μὲν ἀεὶ καὶ φυλάττεται τὰ πάθη ἐν Σικίμοις — ὠμίασις δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται, ὁ γὰρ πονούμενος περὶ τὰς ἡδονὰς φυλακτικὸς τῶν ἡδονῶν ἐστιν —, ἀπόλλυται δὲ καὶ διαφθείρεται παρὰ τῷ σοφῷ, οὐ πρὸς βραχύν τινα χρόνον, ἀλλ’ „ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας“,…

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.59c. AD 75–95

τοῦ δὲ μὴ θηρίοις ἀλώμενος περιπέσῃ δεδιότος καὶ τοῦτον ἀπόληται τὸν τρόπον, ἐκέλευε μηδὲν ὑφορᾶσθαι σκυθρωπὸν ἀπὸ τοιαύτης αἰτίας, ἀλλʼ ἕνεκα τοῦ μηδὲν αὐτῷ ἐκ θηρίων γενέσθαι δεινὸν διὰ πάσης ἀδεῶς χωρεῖν γῆς·

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 5.4c. AD 100

τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι δικαίως ἀπολεῖται ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἔχων ὁδοῦ δικαιοσύνης γνῶσιν ἑαυτὸν εἰς ὁδὸν σκότους ἀποσυνέχει.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
3rd c. BC 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 6th c. AD
P.Ryl. 2 141Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 37

βλάβους κατανεμήσεως διὰ τῶν ἑαυτῶν προβάτων ἔδωκάν μοι πληγὰς πλείους ἀναιδευόμενοι μὴ ἀποδοῦναι, καὶ ἀπώλεσα ἃς εἶχον ἀπὸ τιμῆς ὀπίου ἀργυρίου δραχμὰς μ καὶ ζώνην . διὸ ἀξιῶ ἀντιλήμψεως

P.Ryl. 2 144Euhemeria (ArsinoitesAD 38

τοῦ ἐναντίου ἄλογον ἀηδίαν μοι ἐπιχειρήσας παρεχρήσατό μοι πολλὰ καὶ ἄσχημα καὶ ἐνειλούμενός μοι ἀπώλεσα πινακίδα καὶ ἀργυρίου δραχμὰς ξ, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐτόλμησεν φθόνου μοι ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ

P.Laur. 3 72Ptolemais Euergetis (Arsinoites)?AD 118–AD 138

τακτα βαλ … αι … … … Εὐτυχῆς ἀπολέσθαι … … τοῦ προκειμένου ἐλαιῶνος … θ … … δεσμῶν ἑπτακοσίων

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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