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Romans 9:12 — Word Study

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N1904ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

BSA[12] it was saiderō [it was said to her, spoken] to herautos thathoti Theho [the Lord, God] oldermegas [greater, elder] will servedouleuō [be a slave, obey] theho younger;elassōn [lesser, younger one]

Word
Listen & take awayRomans 9
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 12 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 (elassōn) — no per-word recordings of the Greek exist to link to.
Take it away
Romans 9:12quick helps
In a sentenceGod's choice is not based on human effort; instead, it is His calling that determines the order of service between the brothers.
Who is speakingThe Lord is the one who speaks, conveying His divine plan.
Where we areThis verse is part of Paul's explanation of God's sovereign choice in the context of Jacob and Esau.
The hard wordεἶπον
Take awayDivine election is established apart from human deeds.
8 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them › clause subject verbεἶπον 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 — Romans 9:12

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 — God's Sovereign Choicegenerated

11Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,
12not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”
13So it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not!

Romans 9:12 is part of Paul's discourse on God's sovereignty in choosing individuals for His purposes. Here, he cites God's declaration regarding Jacob and Esau to illustrate that God's choices are not based on human merit or actions, but rather on His divine will. This aligns with the broader theme in Romans where Paul emphasizes faith over works, highlighting God's grace and calling as the foundation of salvation.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Genesis 25:22–23But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the LORD,
22 Samuel 8:14He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
31 Kings 22:47And there was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 3 references, hung on the phrase they belong to


The Key Word εἶπον, erōgenerated

The verb ἐρρέθη is the aorist passive indicative form of εἶπον, meaning 'it was said'. This form indicates that the action of speaking was completed in the past, and it emphasizes the authority of the statement made.

The passive voice suggests that the subject receiving the action (the statement) is not the speaker but rather the one to whom it was said. This construction underscores the importance of divine revelation in the context of God's promises.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

The Berean Standard Bible phrases it as it was said to her, which is echoed in the KJV and ASV. The YLT opts for a more succinct the greater shall serve the less.

Different translations vary on the rendering of μείζων as older (BSB, BBE) versus elder (KJV, ASV). The phrase δουλεύσει is rendered as will serve in the BSB and serve in the KJV.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is ἐρρέθη, it was said, which governs the clause about what was communicated. The structure includes a noun phrase indicating the subject of the statement, along with an adjective phrase describing the relationship between the older and younger brothers.

The sentence is complex, with multiple clauses that elaborate on the divine declaration, showcasing the interrelation of God's choice and the roles of Jacob and Esau.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

ἐρρέθη corresponds to the Hebrew word כֹּה in the Septuagint, which means 'thus' or 'here'. This connection emphasizes the authoritative nature of the statement made by God.

The term δουλεύσει in the LXX is often used in contexts of servitude, aligning with its usage here to indicate the relationship between the elder and the younger.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Romans 9:12 explains that God's choice of Jacob over Esau was not based on their actions but on His divine calling. It emphasizes that the older brother will serve the younger, illustrating God's sovereign plan.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that the older will serve the younger?

This indicates a reversal of the expected order in which the elder typically holds a place of honor. It shows God's sovereign choice in determining roles and destinies.

Why is this statement significant in the context of God's election?

It highlights that God's choices are not based on human merit or works, but rather on His purpose and calling, which is a central theme in Paul's letter to the Romans.

How does this verse relate to the overall message of Romans?

It illustrates the principle of grace over works, emphasizing that salvation and God's favor are granted through His calling, not human efforts.

What can we learn from God's choice of Jacob?

We learn that God's plans often defy human expectations and that His purposes are fulfilled according to His divine will.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. In what ways have I seen God's sovereignty at work in my life?
  2. How can I trust in God's calling over my own efforts?
  3. What does it mean for me to serve others as the younger brother did?
  4. How can I apply the principle of grace over works in my daily life?

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

Early Church Fathers reference Romans 9:12 to discuss themes of divine election and grace. Their insights help illuminate the theological implications of this verse.

Augustine of HippoTO SIMPLICIAN ON VARIOUS QUESTIONS 1.2.3 354–430
No one could say that Jacob had conciliated God by meritorious works before he was born, so that God should say this of him.… Nor had Isaac conciliated God by any previous meritorious works,
Early Church Fathers on Romans 9 →
PelagiusPELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS c. 354–418
Here Paul shows that the people who came afterward belonged to the promise after the manner of Isaac.
Early Church Fathers on Romans 9 →

Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Romans 9:12 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

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

It was said unto her,.... To Rebecca, Genesis 25:23, the elder shall serve the younger, or "the greater shall serve the lesser", an Hebrew way of speaking; so Japheth is called הגדול, "the great",

Read John Gill on Romans 9 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. No JFB commentary on this verse.

Read Robert Jamieson on Romans 9 →
Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible

This verse is to be read with ,11 being a parenthesis. Then when she resorted to the Lord for counsel, about the struggling of the children in her womb, it was told her, or revealed to her of God, that the elder should serve the younger: of the sense of which words, sea annotations on , where they are recorded.

Read Matthew Poole on Romans 9 →
John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. Ver. 12. Shall serve] Servitude came in with a curse, and figureth reprobation, Genesis 9:25; John 8:34-35 Galatians 4:30.

Read John Trapp on Romans 9 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(12) The elder shall serve the younger.—The margin gives as an alternative rendering, “the greater shall serve the lesser.” The quotation is taken from the LXX., in which there is the same ambiguity. This ambiguity also appears to exist in the Hebrew, where it is a disputed question whether the words refer to age or to the comparative strength of the two peoples. In either case, it is the nations that should spring from Esau and Jacob that are meant.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Romans 9 →
AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

Verse 12. The elder shall serve the younger] These words, with those of Malachi, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated, are cited by the apostle to prove, according to their typical signification, that the purpose of God, according to election, does and will stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; that is, that the purpose of God, which is the ground of that election which he makes among men, unto the honour of being Abraham's seed, might appear to remain unchangeable in him; and to be even the same which he had declared unto Abraham. That these words are used in a national and not in a personal sense, is evident from this: that, taken in the latter sense they are not true, for…

Read AdamClarke on Romans 9 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12. The elder, &c.] Verbatim as LXX. of Genesis 25:23—Of both Hebrew and Greek the literal rendering is The greater shall he bondsman to the less.shall serve] In the personal history of Esau and Jacob this was not literally fulfilled; but it was so in spirit, in the subjection of Esau’s interests and privileges to those of Jacob. In the history of their descendants it was repeatedly fulfilled to the letter; and prophecy (as in other cases, e.g. that of Abraham,) regarded the ancestor and his descendants as solidaire.

Read Cambridge on Romans 9 →
Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the Bible

It was said unto her - By Yahweh; see Genesis 25:23. The elder - The oldest son, which was Esau. By the law of primogeniture among the Hebrews, he would have been entitled to special honors and privileges.

Read Albert Barnes on Romans 9 →

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

not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”

WEBWorld English Bible2000

it was said to her, “The elder will serve the younger.”

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

not by works but by Him who calls, she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”

NETBNew English Translation2006

it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

RVARevised Version, American1894

it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

NWBWebster's Bible1833

It was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger.

GNVGeneva Bible1599

It was said vnto her, The elder shall serue the yonger.

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

it was said to her, The greater shall serve the less:

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

'The greater shall serve the less;'

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

it was said to her, “The greater will serve the less”;

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.”

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

Not of works, but of him that calleth, it was said to her: The elder shall serve the younger.

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

she was told, “The older brother will serve the younger one.”

BBEBible in Basic English1949

It was said to her, The older will be the servant of the younger.

Word by word, the decisions they made

ἐρρέθηerō [12] it was said G2046 2 different renderings
it was said to herBBE DBY DRA LSV NETB NWB ULB WEB
it was saidASV GNV KJV RVA
μείζωνmegas older G3173 3 different renderings
elderASV DRA GNV KJV NWB RVA WEB
olderBBE BSB FBV MSB NETB ULB
greaterDBY LSV YLT
δουλεύσειdouleuō will serve G1398 2 different renderings
serveASV DBY DRA KJV NWB RVA YLT
will serveBSB FBV LSV MSB NETB ULB WEB
ἐλάσσονι·elassōn younger; G1640 3 different renderings
youngerASV BBE BSB DRA KJV MSB NETB NWB RVA ULB WEB
lessDBY LSV YLT
younger oneFBV

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.

clauseγὰρforclauseclauseadverbialμήπωnot yetverbγεννηθέντωνhaving been bornμηδὲnorclauseverbπραξάντωνhaving donenoun phrase · objectτιanythingadjective phraseἀγαθὸνgoodorφαῦλονevilclauseἵναso thatclausenoun phrase · subjectthenoun phraseprepositional phraseκατ’according toἐκλογὴνelectionnoun phraseπρόθεσιςpurposenoun phraseτοῦ-Θεοῦof Godverbμένῃmight standprepositional phrase · adverbialοὐκnotprepositional phraseἐξofἔργωνworksἀλλ’butprepositional phraseἐκofnoun phraseτοῦthe [One]clauseverbκαλοῦντοςcallingclauseverbἐρρέθηit was saidindirect objectαὐτῇto herclauseὅτι-clausenoun phrase · subjectTheμείζωνolderverbδουλεύσειwill servenoun phrase · objectτῷtheἐλάσσονιyounger

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

non ex operibus, sed ex vocante dictum est ei quia major serviet minori,

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

ܐܬܐܡܪ ܓܝܪ ܕܩܫܝܫܐ ܢܗܘܐ ܥܒܕܐ ܠܙܥܘܪܐ

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

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

The standard critical text of the New Testament.

Nestle-Aland 27th edition1993 · Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

The previous edition, still widely cited.

SBL Greek New Testament2010 · Michael Holmes

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

The Society of Biblical Literature edition, freely licensed.

Westcott–Hort1881 · Westcott and Hort

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

The edition that turned scholarship toward the earliest manuscripts.

Tregelles1857–1879 · Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

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

Tyndale House Greek NT2017 · Tyndale House, Cambridge

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

A recent critical edition following documentary evidence closely.

Byzantine majority text2018 · Robinson–Pierpont

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

The reading of the majority of surviving manuscripts.

Textus Receptus1550/1894 lineage

ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι·

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.

Romans 9:12εἶπον[12] it was[12] it was saiεἶποναὐτόςto herto herαὐτόςὅτιthatthatὅτιTheTheμέγαςolderolderμέγαςδουλεύωwill servewill serveδουλεύωthetheἐλάσσωνyounger;younger;ἐλάσσωνδοῦλος (II)Adj. & n.mAdj. & n.m. a mδοῦλος (II)ἀήρn.m. airn.m. airἀήρἑαυτοῦRefl.pr. hRefl.pr. himselἑαυτοῦὅστιςRel.pr. whRel.pr. whosoevὅστιςἐλάχιστοςAdj least,Adj least, smalἐλάχιστοςἨσαΐαςn.m. Isaian.m. IsaiahἨσαΐαςπληρόωv. I fill,v. I fill, fulfπληρόωἐπερωτάωv. I interv. I interrogatἐπερωτάωοἶδαv. I know,v. I know, remeοἶδαγινώσκωv. I come v. I come to knγινώσκωσεισμόςn.m. an ean.m. an earthquσεισμόςΒαβυλώνn.f. Babyln.f. BabylonΒαβυλώνμαμωνᾶςn.m. richen.m. riches, moμαμωνᾶςδύναμαιv. I am pov. I am powerfuδύναμαι
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 Romans 9:12

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.

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
ἐρρέθηerō [12] it was said G2046 Verb · aorist · passive · indicative · third person · singular
96× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Romans than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To say or speak, like in Matthew 9:34 or John 1:29. This word is an alternate way of saying 'to utter' or 'to speak' in certain situations.
Amplified meaning
it was said to her, spoken
Tyndale gloss
to say
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

εἶπον is the aorist form of λέγω, which means 'to say' or 'to speak.' It encompasses a range of uses, including direct speech, narration, and the expression of thoughts. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as in Matthew 27:11 and Mark 15:2. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings or applications.

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

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

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Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

λέγω,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐρῶ (erō) — to say.

ἐρῶ,

Attic dialect future of εἴρω (B), [Refs 5th c.BC+], Ionic dialect and Epic dialect ἐρέω (later as present, [Refs 2nd c.BC+]; optative ἐροίην [Refs 5th c.BC+]imperfect ἤρεον (variant{εἴρεον}) [Refs 5th c.BC+]: perfect active εἴρηκα [Refs 5th c.BC+]: pluperfect εἰρήκειν [Refs 1st c.AD+]:—passive, perfect εἴρημαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; Ionic dialect 3rd.pers. plural εἰρέαται [Refs 5th c.BC+], contraction εἰρῆται [Refs 4th c.BC+]; participle εἰρημένος, Cretan dialect ϝερημένος [Refs]: pluperfect εἴρητο [Refs 8th c.BC+]: aorist 1 passive ἐρρήθην [Refs 5th c.BC+]: future ῥηθήσομαι [Refs 5th c.BC+] mostly in 3rd.pers. singular -ήσεται[Refs 8th c.BC+]; participle -όμενος[Refs 8th c.BC+]future ἐρέω, 3rd.pers. singular perfect and pluperfect passive, with participle εἰρημένος, aorist participle ῥήθείς in the phrase ἐπὶ ῥηθέντι δικαίῳ (see. below), and future passive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

λέγω

ereo

probably a fuller form of 4483; an alternate for 2036 in certain

tenses; to utter, i.e. speak or say:--call, say, speak (of), tell.

see GREEK for 4483

see GREEK for 2036

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐρεῶ

v.

I say, speak

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

λέγω legō 2x

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

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-API-3S — Verb · aorist · passive · indicative · third person · singular
aorist passive indicative — a completed action, viewed as a whole.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

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

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
22%having been spoken
having been spoken22% · 11×it was said20% · 10×spoken6% · 3×he has said6% · 3×having been spoken of6% · 3×you have spoken4% · 2×he has spoken4% · 2×said4% · 2×other renderings27% · 13×

49 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 19 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 96 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
πληρόωI fill, fulfill,εἰμίI am, existκατά
καίand, even, also, nam
ἐγώλευκόςwhite, bright
ὅτιthat, since, because
ἀκούωI hear, listenἸησοῦςJesus
οὖνtherefore, then
τίςIrg
ὅς
πᾶςall, the whole, ἐνἐγώ
εἶπον[12] it was said96×
what comes after →
διά
Article theἨσαΐαςIsaiahἸερεμίαςJeremiah
Article the
ἀρχαῖοςoriginal, primitἀδελφόςa brotherθεριστήςa reaper, harves
αὐτός
ἵναin order that, sἀμήνHebrπατήρfather, Father,
σύ
ὑπόἐνοὐNeg
ὅτιthat, since, because
Article theπρίνformerly, beforeδίδωμιI offer, give

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

Concordanceεἶπον · 96× in the New Testament
Matthew Luke Romans Acts Hebrews John Revelation 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Mark Galatians James
Across the New Testament13 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 303 Old Testament verses where this Greek word stands: which Hebrew word keeps standing there too. A correspondence of verses rather than a word-by-word alignment, so read the percentage as strength of evidence, not as a claim about any single verse.

Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 65c. AD 40

ὃν δὲ τρόπον, μικρὸν ὕστερον ἐρῶ πρότερον ἐκεῖνο δηλώσας, ὅτι παγκάλῳ τῷ τῆς ἀκολουθίας εἱρμῷ κέχρηται, καθ’ ἣν ὑφηγήσατο ζῳογονίαν.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.133c. AD 75–95

μετʼ οὐ πολὺ δʼ ἐροῦμεν τὴν αἰτίαν, διʼ ἣν αὐτὴν καὶ Ἀφρικὴν προσαγορεύεσθαι συμβέβηκε.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 3.5c. AD 100

τότε βοήσεις, καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐπακούσεταί σου, ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρεῖ: Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι: ἐὰν ἀφέλῃς ἀπὸ σοῦ σύνδεσμον καὶ χειροτονίαν καὶ ῥῆμα γογγυσμοῦ, καὶ δῷς πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον σου ἐκ ψυχῆς σου καὶ ψυχὴν τεταπεινωμένην ἐλεήσῃς.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 1st c. AD 7th c. AD
Aegyptus 22 (1942), p. 62Theadelphia (Arsinoites)AD 3

ἐδάφη ἀνέσπασάν με καὶ παρέδωκαν εἰς τὸν τοῦ Σωτηρίχου λόγον ἁπλῶς μηδέν μου ὡς εἴρηται δικαίου ἐπι

P.Fay. 111Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 95

κώμῃ ἐργατικὰ κτήνη δέκα . Ἡρακλίδας ὁ ὀνηλάτης τὸ αἰτίωμα περιεποίησε λέγων ὅτι σὺ εἴρηκας πεζῶι τὰ χοιρίδια ἐλάσαι. περισσὸν ἐνετειλάμην σοι εἰς Διονυσιάδα μεῖναι δύο ἡμέρας ἕως ἀγοράσῃς

P.Fay. 123Euhemeria (Arsinoites)AD 100

καὶ βούλομαι πρὸς Σαβεῖνον ἀπελθεῖν. οὔτε γὰρ εἴρηκε ἡμῖν ἀγόμενος ἵνα ἀπολυθῇ, ἀλλὰ αἰφνιδίως εἴρηκεν ἡμῖν σήμερον. γνώσομαι γὰρ εἰ ἀληθῶς λέγει. ἔρρωσο. ἀσπάζου τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς Λύκον καὶ

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
αὐτῇautos to her G846 Personal pronoun · dative · singular · feminine
5,550× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Romans than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This pronoun refers to a person or thing, like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is used in the Bible to emphasize a person or thing, like in John 2:25 where it says 'he himself knew'.
Tyndale gloss
it/s/he
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

αὐτός is a pronoun meaning 'self' or 'the same,' used to emphasize distinction or opposition. It can function as a reflexive pronoun and appears frequently in the New Testament, often in contexts that highlight contrast or identity, such as in Luke 5:37 and John 2:25. The entries indicate that it can also be used in various grammatical constructions, including with articles to denote sameness.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

αὐτός, -ή, -ό,

determinative pron., in late Gk. much more freq. than in cl. (WM, 178 f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399).

Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., v. infr., iii);

self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Lk 5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jo 2:25; αὐ. ὑμεῖς, Jo 3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Ro 15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jo 2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ, Mk 2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mk 6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mt 3:4, Mk 6:17, Jo 16:27, I Th 3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes…

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

αὐτός, -7, -d, pron. (“derived from the particle αὖ with the added force of a demonstrative pronoun. In itself it signifies nothing more than again, applied to what has either been previously mentioned or, when the whole discourse is looked at, must necessarily be .upplied.” Klotz ad Devar. ii. p. 219; [see Vaniéek p. 268]). It is used by the bibl. writ. both of the O. T. and of the N. T. far more frequently than the other pronouns; and in this very frequent and almost inordinate use of it, they deviate greatly from prof. auth.; cf. B. § 127, 9. [On classic usage ef. Hermann, Opusce. i. 308 sqq., of which dissertation a summary is given in his edition of Viger pp- 732-736.] I. self, as used (in all persons, genders, numbers) to distinguish a person or thing from or contrast it with another, or to give him (it) emphatic prominence. ik When used to express Opposition or Distinction, it is…

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

αὐτός. The weakening of the old distinction between αὐτὸς 6 and ὁ αὐτός, especially in Luke, is noted in Proleg. p. 91, and paralleled from Hellenistic. We may add (cf. Linleitung p. 145f.) Sy// 8071 (ii/A.D.) αὐταῖς ταῖς ἡμέραις, where Dittenberger remarks ‘‘expectaveris ταῖς αὐταῖς," OG/S 383! (Antiochus of Commagene, i/8.c.) τὴν αὐτήν τε κρίσιν, for which Ditt. desiderates ταύτην τὴν κρίσιν, P Iib I. 30° (B.c. 265) αὐτὸς Ὧρος “the said H.,’’ P Lille I. 238 (B.C, 221) οὗ μ[ισ]θωτὴς Ἡρώδ[ης] ὁ αὐτός “ce méme L.,”’ P Oxy VI. 892% (A.D. 338) τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως, 26. VIII. 1105 (A.D. 254) τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφοδογραμματέως “the said a.’’: all these seem to be practically identical, with αὐτός differing little from ἐκεῖνος. The combination αὐτὸ τοῦτο may be illustrated by P Grenf I. 114 (literary, ii/B.c.) “ for this reason ” (Ed.) as in 2 Pet 1°, P Ryl 11. 77°9 (a.p. 192) καὶ αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀσφαλίσομαι…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

αὐτός (autos) — it/s/he.

αὐτός

(Cretan dialect ἀϝτός [Refs] (also αὐτόν[Refs], reflexive pronoun, self:—in oblique cases used for the personal pronoun, him, her, it:—with Article, ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (also ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

I. self, myself, thyself, etc., accusative to the person of the Verb: frequently joined with ἐγώ, σύ, etc. (see. below 10),

I.1. one's true self, the soul, not the body, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; reversely, body, not soul, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; oneself, as opposed to others who are less prominent, as king to subject, [Refs]; man to wife and children, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; warrior to horses, [Refs 8th c.BC+], or to weapons, [Refs]; shepherd to herd, [Refs 8th c.BC+]; seamen to ships, [Refs]: generally, whole to parts,[Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, the Master, as in the [Refs 4th c.BC+]…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

αὐτός

autos

from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea

of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used

(alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the

proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one,

the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy-

)self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at,

- by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man),

those, together, very, which. Compare 848.

see GREEK for 109

see GREEK for 1438

see GREEK for 848

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

αὐτός, αὐτή, αὐτό

Pers.pr.

he, she, it, they, them, same

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

αὐτός autos 5x

self, very; alone, Mk. 6:31; 2 Cor. 12:13; of one’s self, of one’s own motion, Jn. 16:27; used also in the oblique cases independently as a personal pron. of the third person; ὁ αὐτός, the same; unchangeable, Heb. 1:12; κατὰ τὸ αὐτό, at the same time, together, Acts 14:1; ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, in one and the same place, Mt. 22:34; at the same time, together, Acts 3:1

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

αὐτός self, Lat. ipse:— in the oblique cases simply for the personal Pron., him, her, it:— with the Artic. ὁ αὐτός, ἡ αὐτή, τὸ αὐτό (or ταὐτόν), etc., the very one, the same.

self, myself, thyself, etc., acc. to the person of the Verb., Hom., etc.:

oneself, one's true self, the soul, not the body, Od.; or opp. to others, as king to subjects, parent to children, man to wife, etc., Hom.; hence absol. for the master, τίς οὗτος;—Αὐτός, i. e. Socrates, Ar.; similarly in neut. αὐτὸ δείξει the result will shew, Eur.

of oneself, of one's own accord, Lat. sponte, Hom., Soph.

by oneself, alone, αὐτός περ ἐών although alone, Il.; αὐτοί ἐσμεν we are by ourselves, i. e. among friends, Ar.

in Plat., τὸ δίκαιον αὐτό right in itself, the idea of right, etc.; cf. αὐτοάνθρωπος.

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

P-DSF Part of Speech: Personal pronoun Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Feminine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
52%him
him52% · 3025×them25% · 1488×it6% · 323×her4% · 250×other renderings10% · 587×other renderings3% · 188×

5,861 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 92 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
object33%adverbial28%indirect object19%subject18%predicate3%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 5,561 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
λέγωI say, speak
καίand, even, also,δέbut, on the otheἸησοῦςJesus
πρός
λέγωI say, speakἔρχομαιI come, goδέbut, on the othe
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςεὑρίσκωI find
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakοὗτοςὁράωI see, look upon
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςσύθεόςGod, a god
αὐτόςto her5550×
what comes after →
Article the
ἸησοῦςJesusμαθητήςa learner, disciθεόςGod, a god
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakαὐτός
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςτίςIrgκύριοςlord, Lord, mast
ἐν
Article theαὐτόςὅς
εἰς
Article theδικαιοσύνηjustice, justnesἹεροσόλυμαJerusalem

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

Concordanceαὐτός · 5,550× in the New Testament
Luke Matthew John Mark Acts Revelation Romans Hebrews 1 John 1 Corinthians Ephesians 2 Corinthians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Josephus Philo of Alexandria The Shepherd of Hermas Clement of Rome The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 1c. AD 40

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

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

περὶ τοῦ γένους Ἀδάμου καὶ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ δέκα γενεῶν τῶν μέχρι τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ.

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

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

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

Πακοίβιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν μ εὐμεγέθης μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μερίδα γῆς σιτοφόρου ἐν τῷ περὶ Παθῦρειν πεδίωι σφραγίδων τεσσάρων , ἣν καὶ αὐτὸς

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

1 ἔτους ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος ἢ ἐλασσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
ὅτιhoti that G3754 Conjunction
1,293× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Romans as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
This Greek word means 'that' or 'because', used to introduce a reason or explanation. It appears in the New Testament, such as in Matthew 3:9 and Romans 8:38. It helps to show cause and effect in sentences.
Tyndale gloss
that/since: that
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ὅτι (hoti) is a conjunction primarily meaning 'that' or 'because.' It introduces objective clauses, often following verbs of perception or declaration, and can also serve as a causal particle. The New Testament frequently employs it in this way, such as in Matthew 5:4-12. There is some variation in how lexicons describe its usage, particularly regarding its pleonastic function in direct discourse.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὅτι,

conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις).

As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that;

after verbs of seeing, knowing, thinking, saying, feeling: Mt 3:9 6:32 11:25, Mk 3:28, Lk 2:49, Jo 2:22, Ac 4:13, Ro 1:13 8:38 10:9, Phl 4:15, Ja 2:24, al.; elliptically, Jo 6:46, Phl 3:12, al.

After εἶναι (γίνεσθαι): defining a demonstr. or pers. pron., Jo 3:19 16:19, Ro 9:6, I Jo 3:16 al.; c. pron. interrog., Mt 8:27, Mk 4:41,

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

ὅτι [properly neut. of ὅστις], a conjunction [fr. Hom. down], (Lat. quod [ef. W. § 53,8 b.; B. § 139, 51; § 149, 87), marking I. the substance or contents (of a statement), that; 1. joined to verbs of saying and declaring (where the ace. and infin. is used in Lat.) : ἀναγγέλλειν, Acts xiv. 27; διηγεῖσθαι, Acts ix. 273; εἰπεῖν, Mt. xvi. 20; xxviii. 7,13; Jn. vii. 42; xvi. 15; 1Co.i.15; λέγειν, Mt. iii. 9; vill. 11; Mk. iii. 28; Lk. xv.7; Jn. xvi. 20; Ro. iv. 9 [T Tr WH om. L br. ὅτι}; ix. 2, and very often; προεἰρηκέναι, 2 Co. vii. 3; before the ὅτι in Acts xiv. 22 supply λέγοντες, contained in the preceding παρακαλοῦντες [ef. B. §151, 11]; ὅτι after γράφειν, 1 Co. ix.10; 1 Jn. 11. 12-14; μαρτυρεῖν, Mt. xxiii. 31; Jn. i. 34; iii. 28; iv. 44; ὁμολογεῖν, Heb. xi. 13; δεικνύειν, Mt. xvi. 21; δηλοῦν, 1 Co. i. 11; διδάσκειν, 1 Co. xi. 14. after ἐμφανίζειν. Heb. xi. 14; δῆλον (ἐστίν), 1 Co.…

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

οτι. (1) For ὅτι, ‘‘that,” introducing an objective clause after verbs of knowing, saying, etc., cf. P Tebt II. 4098 (A.D. 5) εἰδὼ[ς ὅ]τι ἐξίι)ουσίαν αὐτῶν ἔχει kal Λυσίμαχος kal σύ, ΚΕ knew that both you and Lysimachus had plenty of them” (Edd.), P Fay 109° (early i/A.D.) νομίσας ὅτι (cf. Mt 517) κιχρᾷς por αὐτούς, ““ consider that you are lending them (sc. staters) to me’’ (Edd.), BGU III. 8464* (ii/a.p.) (= Selections, p. 93) γεινώσκειν σαι θέλω, ὅτι οὐχ [HA] Lov, ὅτι ἀναβένις (1. ἀναβαίνεις) els τὴν μητρόπολιν, “1 wish you to know that I had no hope that you were coming up to the metropolis,” 74.9 αἴγραψά σοι, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμει, “1 wrote you that I am naked,” and P Tebt II. 420+ (iii/A.D.) οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπὸ ζημίας ἠμί, ‘‘ You know that I am blameless.” Ὅτι, however, is frequently omitted, e.g. BGU IIL. 8153(ii/a.p.) γεινόσκιν σε θέλω [τὴ]ν ἐπιστολήν σου ἔλαβε (corrected by another hand…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὅτι (hoti) — that/since: that.

ὅτῐ,

Epic dialect ὅττῐ (both in [Refs 8th c.BC+]: conjunction, to introduce an objective clause, that, after Verbs of seeing or knowing, thinking or saying; in [Refs 8th c.BC+] —Usage:

I. when ὅτι introduces a statement of fact:

I. a in [Refs 8th c.BC+] always with indicative, the tense following the same rules as in English, ἤγγειλ᾽ ὅττι ῥά οἱ πόσις ἔκτοθι μίμνε πυλάων [Refs 8th c.BC+]

I. b in Attic dialect, ὅτι takes indicative after primary tenses, indicative or optative after secondary tenses, e.g. ἐνδείκνυμαι ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σοφός [Refs 5th c.BC+] news came that Megara had (literal has) revolted, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: sometimes optative and indicative are found in the same sentence, ἔλεγον, ὅτι Κῦρος μὲν τέθνηκεν, Ἀριαῖος δὲ πεφευγὼς.. εἴη [Refs 5th c.BC+].. and the accusative with infinitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὅτι

hoti

neuter of 3748 as conjunction; demonstrative, that (sometimes

redundant); causative, because:--as concerning that, as though,

because (that), for (that), how (that), (in) that, though, why.

see GREEK for 3748

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὅτι

Cj.

that, since, because

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὅτι hoti 1x

originally was the neuter of ὅστις, that, Mt. 2:16, 22, 23; 6:5, 16; often used pleonastically in reciting another’s words, Mt. 9:18; Lk. 19:42; Acts 5:23; as a causal particle, for that, for, because, Mt. 2:18; 5:3, 4, 5; 13:13; because, seeing that, since, Lk. 23:40; Acts 1:17

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
64%that
that64% · 856×because19% · 252×for16% · 209×other renderings1% · 12×

1,329 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 8 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
adverbial16%object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 1,293 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
σύ
λέγωI say, speakγάρforδέbut, on the othe
λέγωI say, speak
αὐτόςσύδέbut, on the othe
οἶδαI know, remember
οὐNegκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakμαθητήςa learner, disciπερί
γινώσκωI come to know, lear
οὗτοςκαίand, even, also,αὐτός
ὅτιthat1293×
what comes after →
Article the
θεόςGod, a godκύριοςlord, Lord, mastπατήρfather, Father,
οὐNeg
εἰμίI am, existοἶδαI know, rememberδύναμαιI am powerful, a
ἐγώ
εἰμίI am, existοὐNegArticle the
οὗτος
εἰμίI am, existArticle theποιέωI do, make
πᾶςall, the whole, ever
Article theῥῆμαa thing spokenζητέωI seek, search f

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

Concordanceὅτι · 1,293× in the New Testament
John Luke Matthew Acts Mark 1 John Revelation 1 Corinthians Romans 2 Corinthians Galatians Philippians

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

Across the New Testament27 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
Outside the New Testamentthe same word in the Greek of its own century
Philo of Alexandria Josephus The Shepherd of Hermas The Epistle of Barnabas Clement of Rome
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 8c. AD 40

Μωυσῆς δὲ καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐπ’ αὐτὴν φθάσας ἀκρότητα καὶ χρησμοῖς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ συνεκτικώτατα τῶν τῆς φύσεως ἀναδιδαχθεὶς ἔγνω δή, ὅτι ἀναγκαιότατόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι τὸ μὲν εἶναι δραστήριον αἴτιον, τὸ δὲ παθητόν, καὶ ὅτι τὸ μὲν δραστήριον ὁ τῶν ὅλων…

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

ὅτι τῶν ἐθνῶν ἕκαστον ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκισάντων προσηγορεύθη.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 1.3c. AD 100

ὅτι ἀληθῶς βλέπω ἐν ὑμῖν ἐκκεχυμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλουσίου τῆς πηγῆς κυρίου πνεῦμα ἐφ̓ ὑμᾶς.

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
C.Erbstreit14Diospolis Magna (Theben)187 BC

καὶ τὴν εἰκοστὴν τοῦ ἐγκυκλίου καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ καθήκοντα. … ται Προῖτος, καθʼ ὅτι πρόκειται … ἑξήκοντα ἓξ τετρωβόλου καὶ τῆς … … τοπογραμματέως τοῦ Παθυρίτου … ἀρουρῶν

P.Grenf. 1 10 p. 24Hermonthis149 BC

ι τοῖς ἐνκαλουμένοις τὸ ἀντίγραφον τῆς ἐντεύξεως λαβεῖν παρ … τ … … πίστιν ὅτι ἀπαντησα … ἐπὶ τὸ ἐν τῆι αὐλῆι κριτήριον ἐν ἡμέραις λ οὐκ ο

P.Bour. 10Pathyris89 BC

δʼ ἐπιχειροῦντας μὴ ὑπακούειν σου … υτέραι στάσει ἐχομένους ἀσφαλισάμενος μέχρι τοῦ καὶ ἡμᾶς ὅτι τάχος ἐπιβαλεῖν πρὸς σέ. ἔρρωσοἔρρωσο ἔτους κϛ Φαμενὼθ ιϛ

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
ho The G3588 Article · nominative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Romans as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Amplified meaning
the Lord, God
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The definite article — the commonest word in the Greek New Testament at 19,867 occurrences. Greek uses it more freely than English does and can drop it deliberately, so its presence and its absence both carry weight for a translator; but no single occurrence carries a message of its own. Here it simply gathers “the things” into one definite bundle.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.

As demonstr. pron.

As freq. in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Ac 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).

Distributive, ὁ μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, the one . . . the other: I Co 7:7, Ga 4:22; pl., Ac 14:4, 17:32, Phl 1:16, al.; οἱ μὲν . . . ἄλλοι δέ, Mt 16:14, Jo 7:12; οἱ μεν̀ . . . ὁ δέ, He 7:21, 23.

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

ὁ 435 ὁ tives of quantity, ὅλος, πᾶς, πολύς, see each in its own place. d. What has been said concerning adjectives holds true also of all other limitations added to substantives, as ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Ro. ix. 11; ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, Ro. xi. 27; 6 λόγος 6 τοῦ σταυροῦ, 1 Co. i. 18; ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις, Col. ii. 5; on the other hand, ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 1 Th. i. 8; τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 2 Co. viii. 4; see many other exx. of each usage in W. 131 (124) sqq.; [B. 91 (80) sqq.]. e. The noun has the article before it when a demonstrative pronoun (υὗτος, ἐκεῖνος) belonging to it either precedes or follows [W. § 18, 4; B. § 127, 29-31]; as, ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, Jn. ix. 24 [οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρ. 1, Tr mrg. WH); Acts vi. 13; xxii. 26; ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, Mt. xv. 8; 6 vids σου οὗτος, Lk. xv. 30; plur. Lk. xxiv. 17, and numberless other exx.; οὗτος 6 ἄνθρωπος, Lk. xiv. 30; οὗτος ὁ…

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

ὃ, ἡ τό. (1) Apart from connexion with μέν or δέ (see below) the demonstrative use of the art. in the NT is confined to a poetical quotation Ac 1778, but it is not uncommon in the papyri, e.g. P Par 45® (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski®, p. 85) τὰ (for ἃ) πράσεις (Δ πράσσεις), P Oxy VIII. 1160! (iii/iv A.D.) Ta (for ἃ) σεσύλληχα (for συνείληχα) δὲ κέρμα {ταν τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “1 am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.). For the distributive Opéev.. - 6 8€, as in 1 Cor7’, cf. P Lond 535 (B.c. 161) (=I. p. 19, U.P.Z. i. p. 239) kal τὰ μὲν ἡμῶν ἐληφότων εἰς τὴν γινομένην ἡμῖν συντάξειν, τὰ δ᾽ ἔτι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων {(.. ... > παρελκομένων. (2) The use of the art. as a relative, of which there is no trace in the NT, may again be illustrated by the following papyrus citations from ¢c. A.D. 346—P Lond 414® (= II. Ῥ. 292) γεινῴσκιν oe θέλω περὶ τοῦ βρεουίου…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

__C in Epic dialect, the so-called postpositive Article, = relative Pronoun, ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.—The nominative masculine and feminine singular and plural, ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, have no accent in codices and most printed books, except when used as the relative; but ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ differ only in writing from ὃ, ἣ, οἳ, α; the nominative forms of the article are said by Hdn.Gr.1.474 to be oxytone, and by [Refs 2nd c.AD+] in Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] genitive and dative dual τοῖιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]— In Doric dialect and all other dialects except Attic dialect and Ionic dialect the feminine forms preserve the old ᾱ instead of changing it to η, hence Doric dialect etc. ἁ, τάν, τᾶ; the genitive plural τάων contracts in many dialects to τᾶ; the genitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be

supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one,

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

the prepositive article, answering, to a considerable extent, to the English definite article; but, for the principle and facts of its usage, consult a grammar; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; Heb. 7:5, 6, 20, 21, 23, 24; pl. some ... others, Mt. 13:23; 22:5, 6; ὁ δέ, but he, Mt. 4:4; 12:48; οἱ δέ, but others, Mt. 28:17; used, in a poetic quotation, for a personal pronoun, Acts 17:28

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

in epic, the relative Pronoun, when it is written with the accent ὅ, ἥ, τό ῀ ὅς, ἥ, ὅ. Besides the common forms, note epic gen. sg. τοῖο for τοῦ; pl. nom. τοί, ταί; gen. fem. τάων [α^], dat. τοῖσι, τῇς and τῇσι; dual gen, and dat. τοῖιν:— in Trag. we find τοὶ μέν . . , τοὶ δέ . . , for οἱ μέν . . , οἱ δέ . . ; dat. pl. also τοῖσι, ταῖσι: the dual has commonly but one gender, τώ for τά, τοῖν for ταῖν.

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

joined with a Subst., not as the Art., but like Lat. ille, ὁ Τυδείδης Tydeus's famous son, Il.; Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων Nestor— that aged man, id. Il.; τιμῆς τῆς Πριάμου for honour, namely that of Priam, id. Il.

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

T-NSM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.

3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%the
the64% · 13160×<the>28% · 5846×those3% · 597×other renderings4% · 788×other renderings1% · 294×

20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject34%adverbial32%object24%predicate5%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
The19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

Concordance · 19,783× in the New Testament
Matthew Acts Luke John Revelation Mark Romans 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος Νεχούτου.

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
μείζωνmegas older G3173 Adjective · nominative · singular · masculine
243× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
rarer in Romans than elsewhere in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for great, describing something big or intense, like a large stone in Matthew 2:60 or a strong wind in John 6:18. It's used to show importance or magnitude. In the Bible, it's often used to describe God's power and love.
Amplified meaning
greater, elder
Tyndale gloss
great
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

μέγας is an adjective meaning 'great' or 'large,' used to describe size, intensity, or importance. It can refer to physical dimensions, such as a stone or city, or to abstract qualities like love or fear. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, including Matthew 2:10 and Revelation 11:8. The word has comparative and superlative forms: μείζων (greater) and μέγιστος (greatest).

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

μέγας, μεγάλη, μέγα,

[in LXX chiefly for גָּדוֹל, also for רַב, מַרְבֶּה (incl. μείζων), רֹב (μέγιστος);]

great;

of external form, bodily size, measure, extent: λίθος, Mt 2:60; δράκων, Re 12:3; ἰχθῦς, Jo 21:11; πόλις, Re 11:8; μάχαιρα, Re 6:4, al.

Of intensity and degree: δύναμις, Ac 4:33; φόβος, Mk 4:41; ἀγάπη, Jo 15:13; ἄνεμος, Jo 6:18; κραυγή, Ac 23:9; φῶς, Mt 4:16; πυρετός,

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

μέγας, μεγάλη, μέγα, [(τοϊαϊοα to Lat. magnus, ADEE Goth. maist (cf. τὸ πλεῖστον), etc.; Vaniéek p. 682; Cur tius ὃ 462)], ace. μέγαν. μεγάλην, μέγα; plur. pokes ται, -a; comp. μείζων, -ον, (acc. πιᾶξο. and fem. μείζονα, once contr. μείζω, Jn. v. 36 [RG T WH, but L Tr μείζων (cf. Tdf. Proleg. p. 119)]; neut. plur. μείζονα, once contr. μείζω, Jn. i. 50 (51)) and pectorepos, 3 Jn. 4 (fr. the compar. μείζων), a poet. compar., on which see the remark quoted under ἐλαχιστότερος, cf. Matthiae § 136; superl. μέγιστος (found only in 2 Pet. i. 4); [fr. Hom. down]; Sept. for ὮΥΤΔ; also for 31; great; 1. predicated a. of the external form or sensible appearance of things (or of persons); in particular, of space and its dimensions, — as respects a. mass and weight: λίθος, Mt. xxvii. 60; Mk. xvi. 4; Rev. xviii. 21; ὄρος, Rey. viii. 8; ἀστήρ, ibid. 10; δράκων Rev. xii. 3,9; ἀετός, ibid. 14; δένδρον…

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

μέγας (B.C. 112) (= Selections, p. 30) μεγαλοίυϊπρεπέστερον ἐγδεχθήτωι, ‘let him be received with special magnificence ” (Edd.), PSI V. 4818 (v/vi a.p.) Tavptvyos ὃ μεγαλοπρεπέστί(ατος), and P Amh II. 154° (vi/vii A.D.) τοῦ peyadoπρε(πεστάτου) χαρτουλαρίου, ‘the most magnificent secretary.” For the subst. as a title of address cf. P Oxy VIII. 1163* (v/a.D.) ἐρωτηθὶς παρὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ μεγαλοπρεπίας ὅσα ἐχρῆν ἀνεδίδαξα αὐ τ]ὸν περὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας μεγαλο| πρεπίας, ‘Son the inquiry of his magnificence I told him what was fitting about your magnificence,” 76. I. 155° (vi/A.D.) ἐπειδὴ αἱ προσκυνοῦσαι τὴν ὑμετέραν μεγαλοπρί(έπειαν) καὶ τὰ παιδία ἀρρωστοῦσιν, ὡς ἔθος ἔχει τὸ ὑμῶν μέγεθος χαρίζεσθαί μου τοῦ λογαρίου, ‘since your magnificence’s obedient servants and their children are ill, I hope your highness will excuse my account” (Edd.). | , μεγαλύνω. With the use of this verb in the pass. in Phil…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

μέγας (megas) — great.

μέγᾰς, μεγάλη [ᾰ], μέγα [ᾰ],

genitive μεγάλου, ης, ου, dative μεγάλῳ, ῃ, ῳ, accusative μέγᾰν, μεγάλην, μέγα [ᾰ]; dual μεγάλω, α, w; plural μεγάλοι, μεγάλαι, μεγάλα, etc.: the stem μεγάλο- is never used in singular nominative and accusative masculine and neuter, and only once in vocative masculine,

__A ὦ μεγάλε Ζεῦ [Refs 4th c.BC+]

__A.I big, of bodily size: frequently of stature, εἶδος.. μ. ἦν ὁράασθαι [Refs 8th c.BC+]; φῶτα μέγαν καὶ καλόν[Refs 5th c.BC+]; φύσιν τίν᾽ εἶχε φράζ; Answ. μέγας [Refs 5th c.BC+]

__A.I.b full-grown, of age as shown by stature, νῦν δ᾽ ὅτε δὴ μ. εἰμί [Refs 8th c.BC+]; later, elder of two persons of the same name, Wilcken [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; Σκιπίων ὁ…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

μέγας

megas

(including the prolonged forms, feminine megale, plural

megaloi, etc.; compare also 3176, 3187); big (literally or

figuratively, in a very wide application):--(+ fear) exceedingly,

great(-est), high, large, loud, mighty, + (be) sore (afraid), strong,

X to years.

see GREEK for 3176

see GREEK for 3187

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

μέγας, μεγάλη, μέγα

Adj. & Comp.adv.

large, great

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

μέγας megas 243x

great, large in size, Mt. 27:60; Mk. 4:32; great, much, numerous, Mk. 5:11; Heb. 11:26; great, grown up, adult, Heb. 11:24; great, vehement, intense, Mt. 2:10; 28:8; great, sumptuous, Lk. 5:29; great, important, weighty, of high importance, 1 Cor. 9:11; 13:13; great, splendid, magnificent, Rev. 15:3; extraordinary, wonderful, 2 Cor.…

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Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

μέγας Radic. sense, opp. to μικρός, σμικρός, big, great, of men's stature, tall, Hom.; of women, καλή τε μεγάλη τε Od.:—also, great, full-grown, of age as shewn by stature, id. Od., Aesch.

vast, high, οὐρανός, ὄρος, πύργος Hom.

vast, spacious, wide, πέλαγός, αἰγιαλός, etc., id. Hom.

of Degree, great, strong, mighty, of gods, id. Hom., etc.; μεγάλα θεά, of Demeter and Proserpine, Soph.; μέγας ηὐξήθη rose to greatness, Dem.; βασιλεὺς ὁ μέγας, i. e. the King of Persia, le grand monarque, Hdt.; βασιλεὺς μέγας Aesch.; ὁ μ. ἐπικληθεὶς Ἀντίοχος the Great, Polyb.

great, strong, violent, etc., ἄνεμος, λαῖλαψ Hom.; of properties, passions, etc., id. Hom., etc.

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

A-NSM-C Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Nominative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine Degree: Comparative

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
56%great
great56% · 137×greater15% · 36×loud14% · 34×greatest3% · 7×other renderings9% · 21×other renderings4% · 11×

246 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 27 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
subject27%adverbial26%predicate24%object22%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 243 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
πόλιςa cityκαίand, even, also,ΒαβυλώνBabylon
φωνήa sound, noise, voic
κράζωI cry aloud, shrἐνφωνέωI crow, shout, s
καίand, even, also, nam
ποιέωI do, makeἀποθήκηa repository, grτέDisj
γάρfor
τίςIrgεἰμίI am, exist
φόβοςfear, terror, revere
φοβέωI fear, am terriγίνομαιI come into beinὅτιthat, since, bec
μέγαςolder243×
what comes after →
καίand, even, also, nam
Article theλέγωI say, speakθαυμαστόςwonderful, marve
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastἌρτεμιςthe Persian or EκάθημαιI sit, am seated
εἰμίI am, exist
Article theὧδεhereἐν
ἐν
Article theγεννητόςbegotten, bornσύ
ἐπί
Article theπᾶςall, the whole, ὅλοςall, the whole,

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

Concordanceμέγας · 243× in the New Testament
Revelation Luke Acts Matthew John Mark Hebrews 1 Corinthians 1 John James 1 Timothy 2 Peter

Every reference is on the Strong's page.

Across the New Testament19 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 340 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 The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaOn the Creation of the World 4c. AD 40

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

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.7c. AD 75–95

ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ μείζων ἦν ἡ τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου περιβολή, κατʼ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον χωρίσας ταῖς ἰδίαις ἀρχαῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ τέλει τὴν γραφὴν συνεμέτρησα·

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

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

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
2nd c. AD 2nd c. BC 6th c. AD 3rd c. AD 7th c. AD
P.Stras. 2 85Pathyris114 BC

καὶ θεοῦ Φιλοπάτορος Νέου καὶ θεοῦ Εὐεργέτου καὶ θεῶν Φιλομητόρων Σωτήρων, ἱεροῦ πώλου Ἴσιδος μεγάλης μητρὸς θεῶν, ἀθλοφόρου Βερενίκης Εὐεργέτιδος, κανηφόρου Ἀρσινόης Φιλαδέλφου, ἱερείας Ἀρσινόης Φιλοπάτορος τῶν ὄντων ἐν

μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτὴν τῶν λοιπῶν κρατουσῶν, Ἀρίστων Ἀθηνοδότου τῶν ἀπὸ Διὸς πόλεως τῆς μεγάλης βιαιότερον ἐμβατεύσας εἰς τὸ δηλούμενον ἔδαφος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος καὶ εἰς τὰ συνκύροντα τούτωι ἐν

P.Grenf. 2 33Pathyris101 BC

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

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
δουλεύσειdouleuō will serve G1398 Verb · future · active · indicative · third person · singular
25× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Romans than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
To be a slave means to serve or be subject to someone or something, as seen in Matthew 6:24 and Romans 7:6. It can be voluntary or involuntary, like serving God or being a slave to sin.
Amplified meaning
be a slave, obey
Tyndale gloss
be a slave
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

δουλεύω (douleuō) means to be a slave or to serve, derived from the word for slave, δοῦλος (doulos). It covers both literal and figurative senses of servitude, including obedience to God or other authorities. In the New Testament, it appears in various contexts, such as serving God (Mt 6:24) and being subject to sin (Ro 6:6). The lexicons do not present significant disagreement.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

δουλεύω

(< δοῦλος),

[in LXX for עבד, as Ge 14:4, exc. Da TH 7:14, 27 (פְּלַח), Is 56:6 (שׁרת pi.)* ;]

to be a slave, be subject to, serve: absol., Ro 7:6, Ga 4:25, I Ti 6:2; c. dat pers., Mt 6:24, Lk 15:29 16:13, Ro 9:12 (LXX); of nations, Jo 8:33, Ac 7:7 (LXX); θεῷ, τ. κυρίῳ, Mt 6:24, Lk 16:13, Ac 20:19,

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

δουλεύω; fut. δουλεύσω; 1 aor. ἐδούλευσα; pf. δεδούλευκα; (δοῦλος) ; Sept. for 733; 1. prop. to be a slave, serve, do service: absol., Eph. vi.7; 1 Tim. vi. 2; τινί, Mt. vi. 24; Lk. xvi. 13; Ro. ix. 12; said of nations in subjection to other nations, Jn. viii. 33; Acts vii. 7; men are said δουλεύειν who bear the yoke of the Mosaic law, Gal. iv. 25 (see δουλεία). 2. metaph. to obey, submit to; a. in a good sense: absol. to yield obedience, Ro. Vil. 6; τινί. to obey one’s commands and render to him the services due, Lk. xv. 29; God: Mt. vi. 24; Lk. xvi. 13; 1 Th. 1. 9: κυρίῳ and τῷ κυρίῳ, Acts xx. 19; Ro. xii. 11 (not Ree.*, see below); Eph. vi. 7; Christ: Ro. xiv. 18; Col. iii. 24; νόμῳ θεοῦ, acc. to the context, feel myself bound to, Ro. vii. 25; τοῖς θεοῖς, to worship gods, Gal. iv. 8; τῷ καιρῷ (Anth. 9,441, 6), wisely adapt one’s self to, Ro. xii. 11 Ree." (see above), cf. Fritzsche…

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

δουλεύω. We can cite no example of δ. used in a religious sense from pagan literature, but the syncretistic occult P Leid W τῷ σῷ ἀγγέλῳ. Note also the mention of the ἱερόδουλοι in connexion with the Serapeum in P Leid Di 2 (p.c. 162) σοὶ δὲ γίνοιτο, ἀνθ᾽ ὧν πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ὁσίως διάκ[ει)σαι καὶ τῶν ἱεροδούλων καὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ πάντων ἀντιλαμβάνῃ, ἐπαφροδισία, χάρις κτλ., and in P Tebt I. 635 (B.c. 140--30) where reference is made to the revenues accruing to the priests from various sources including the ἱερόδουλοι. The mention immediately afterwards of *‘ the so-called ἀφροδίσια " leads the editors to believe that these ἱερόδουλοι were ἑταῖραι, like the votaries of Aphrodite at Corinth; but cf. Otto (Przester i, p. 118), who understands simply a ‘‘ lower ” order of priests in contrast to the tribal priests. See Grenfell-Hunt’s note on P Tebt Zc. Δουλεύω in MGr = *©work,’’…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

δουλεύω (douleuō) — be a slave.

δουλ-εύω,

(δοῦλος) to be a slave, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. serve, be subject, τό τ᾽ ἄρχειν καὶ τὸ δ. δίχα [Refs 4th c.BC+]; δ. ζεύγλαις[Refs 5th c.BC+]; δ. γαστρί, ὕπνῳ, λαγνείᾳ, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τῇ γῇ δ. make oneself a slave to one's land, i. e. give up rights that one may keep it, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; δ. τῷ καιρῷ accommodate oneself to the occasion, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]

3. render a service, τινά [Refs 6th c.AD+]

Strong's Greek Dictionary

δουλεύω

douleuo

from 1401; to be a slave to (literal or figurative, involuntary or

voluntary):--be in bondage, (do) serve(-ice).

see GREEK for 1401

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

δουλεύω

v.

I am a slave, am subject to, obey

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

δουλεύω douleuō 25x

to be a slave or servant; to be in slavery or subjection, Jn. 8:33; Acts 7:7; Rom. 9:12; to discharge the duties of a slave or servant, Eph. 6:7; 1 Tim. 6:2; to serve, be occupied in the service of, be devoted, subservient, Mt. 6:24; Lk. 15:29; Acts 20:19; Rom. 14:18; 16:18; met. to be enthralled, involved in a slavish service, spiritually or morally, Read the full entry →

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

δουλεύω δοῦλος to be a slave, τινί to one, Plat., etc.; παρά τινι Dem.; c. acc. cogn., δουλείαν δ. Xen.

to serve or be subject to, opp. to ἄρχω, Hdt., etc.; τῆι γῆι δ. to be a slave to one's land, i. e. submit to indignities that one may keep it, Thuc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Verb-FAI-3S — Verb · future · active · indicative · third person · singular
future active indicative — an action still to come.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

V-FAI-3S Part of Speech: Verb Tense: Future Voice: Active Mood: Indicative Person: third Number: Singular

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
32%serve
serve32% · 8×serving16% · 4×they will be in bondage4% · 1×being enslaved4% · 1×will serve4% · 1×you were enslaved4% · 1×be enslaved4% · 1×she is in slavery4% · 1×other renderings28% · 7×

25 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
verb100%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 25 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
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
δύοArticle the
θεόςGod, a god
δύναμαιI am powerful, aοἶδαI know, remember
ἔτοςa year
τοσοῦτος
οὐδείςno one, none, nothin
καίand, even, also,
ἐάνCond
ὅς
δουλεύωwill serve25×
what comes after →
Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, mastἐλάσσωνless, smaller, iΧριστόςanointed, the Me
Disj
γάρfor
καίand, even, also, nam
μαμωνᾶςriches, money, p
ἐγώ
Article theἐν
σύ
καίand, even, also,

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

Concordanceδουλεύω · 25× in the New Testament
Romans Galatians Luke Acts Matthew 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy Colossians Ephesians John Philippians Titus
Across the New Testament12 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 73 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 The Epistle of Barnabas
Philo of AlexandriaAllegorical Interpretation of Genesis 3.88c. AD 40

ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πορεύεται ἡ ὑπομονητικὴ ψυχὴ Ῥεβέκκα πυθέσθαι παρὰ θεοῦ, ἀποκρίνεται αὐτῇ, ὅτι „δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σού ἐστι, καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται, καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει, καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι“ (Gen.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 1.173c. AD 75–95

δώδεκα μὲν οὖν ἔτη δουλεύοντες καὶ τοὺς ἐπιταχθέντας αὐτοῖς φόρους τελοῦντες ὑπέμειναν, τῷ δὲ τρισκαιδεκάτῳ ἀπέστησαν, καὶ διαβαίνει στρατὸς Ἀσσυρίων ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς στρατηγούντων Ἀμαραψίδου Ἀριόχου Χοδολαμόρου Θαδάλου.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 13.2c. AD 100

εἶτα ἐξῆλθεν Ῥεβέκκα πυθέσθαι παρὰ κυρίου, καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτήν: Δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σου καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ σου, καὶ ὑπερέξει λαὸς λαοῦ καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 4th c. AD 2nd c. AD 5th c. AD

Μαξίμωι τῷ ἀδελφῷ πλεῖστα χαίρειν. πρὸ τῶν ὅλων ἐρρῶσθαί σε εὔχομαι. μετέλαβον, ὅτι βαρέως δουλεύετε τὴν κυρίαν ἡμῶν μητέρα. ἐρωτηθείς, ἄδελφε γλυκύτατε, ἐν μηδενὶ αὐτὴν λύπει. εἰ δέ τις

P.Stras. 4 180AD 301–AD 400

ταῦτα αὐτὰ αὐτῷ εἶπον τοῦ ἀνασχέσθαι ἕως ἂν ἐκβῶ τοῦ ἐργοῦ· οὐ γὰρ προθεσμία δουλεύει τὰ τῆς ἀποδόσεως παρ … … … … καὶ πάντως ἀπ

P.Fuad I Univ. 16HerakleopolisAD 365

ποκλεπτιν τὸν ἔλεγχον τῆς δουλίας … αιτει ἑαυτοῦ προνοήσασθαι πραγμάτων … ἀναγνωρίσαι τύχην δουλεύουσιν οὖν τὰ σὺν … … ουσιν κ … … … γὰρ ἴσασιν τὴν οἰκίας

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
τῷho the G3588 Article · dative · singular · masculine
19,783× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
about as common in Romans as anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
The Greek word for 'the' or 'this', used to point out a specific person or thing, like in Acts 17:28. It can also mean 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
Tyndale gloss
the/this/who
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The definite article — the commonest word in the Greek New Testament at 19,867 occurrences. Greek uses it more freely than English does and can drop it deliberately, so its presence and its absence both carry weight for a translator; but no single occurrence carries a message of its own. Here it simply gathers “the things” into one definite bundle.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ὁ, ἡ, τό,

the prepositive article (ἄρθρον προτακτικόν), originally a demonstr. pron. (so usually in Hom.), in general corresponding to the Eng. definite article.

As demonstr. pron.

As freq. in Hom., absol., he (she, it), his (etc.): Ac 17:28 (quoted from the poet Aratus).

Distributive, ὁ μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, the one . . . the other: I Co 7:7, Ga 4:22; pl., Ac 14:4, 17:32, Phl 1:16, al.; οἱ μὲν . . . ἄλλοι δέ, Mt 16:14, Jo 7:12; οἱ μεν̀ . . . ὁ δέ, He 7:21, 23.

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

ὁ 435 ὁ tives of quantity, ὅλος, πᾶς, πολύς, see each in its own place. d. What has been said concerning adjectives holds true also of all other limitations added to substantives, as ἡ κατ᾽ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις, Ro. ix. 11; ἡ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, Ro. xi. 27; 6 λόγος 6 τοῦ σταυροῦ, 1 Co. i. 18; ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις, Col. ii. 5; on the other hand, ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεόν, 1 Th. i. 8; τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους, 2 Co. viii. 4; see many other exx. of each usage in W. 131 (124) sqq.; [B. 91 (80) sqq.]. e. The noun has the article before it when a demonstrative pronoun (υὗτος, ἐκεῖνος) belonging to it either precedes or follows [W. § 18, 4; B. § 127, 29-31]; as, ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, Jn. ix. 24 [οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρ. 1, Tr mrg. WH); Acts vi. 13; xxii. 26; ὁ λαὸς οὗτος, Mt. xv. 8; 6 vids σου οὗτος, Lk. xv. 30; plur. Lk. xxiv. 17, and numberless other exx.; οὗτος 6 ἄνθρωπος, Lk. xiv. 30; οὗτος ὁ…

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

ὃ, ἡ τό. (1) Apart from connexion with μέν or δέ (see below) the demonstrative use of the art. in the NT is confined to a poetical quotation Ac 1778, but it is not uncommon in the papyri, e.g. P Par 45® (B.C. 153) (= Witkowski®, p. 85) τὰ (for ἃ) πράσεις (Δ πράσσεις), P Oxy VIII. 1160! (iii/iv A.D.) Ta (for ἃ) σεσύλληχα (for συνείληχα) δὲ κέρμα {ταν τηρῶ αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν δίκην, “1 am keeping for the trial the money that I have collected” (Ed.). For the distributive Opéev.. - 6 8€, as in 1 Cor7’, cf. P Lond 535 (B.c. 161) (=I. p. 19, U.P.Z. i. p. 239) kal τὰ μὲν ἡμῶν ἐληφότων εἰς τὴν γινομένην ἡμῖν συντάξειν, τὰ δ᾽ ἔτι διὰ τὴν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων {(.. ... > παρελκομένων. (2) The use of the art. as a relative, of which there is no trace in the NT, may again be illustrated by the following papyrus citations from ¢c. A.D. 346—P Lond 414® (= II. Ῥ. 292) γεινῴσκιν oe θέλω περὶ τοῦ βρεουίου…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ὁ (ho) — the/this/who.

ὁ,

ἡ, τό, is, when thus written,

__A demonstrative Pronoun.

__B in Attic dialect, definite or prepositive Article.

__C in Epic dialect, the so-called postpositive Article, = relative Pronoun, ὅς, ἥ, ὅ.—The nominative masculine and feminine singular and plural, ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ, have no accent in codices and most printed books, except when used as the relative; but ὁ, ἡ, οἱ, αἱ differ only in writing from ὃ, ἣ, οἳ, α; the nominative forms of the article are said by Hdn.Gr.1.474 to be oxytone, and by [Refs 2nd c.AD+] in Aeolic dialect accusative to [Refs 8th c.BC+] genitive and dative dual τοῖιν [Refs 8th c.BC+]— In Doric dialect and all other dialects except Attic dialect and Ionic dialect the feminine forms preserve the old ᾱ instead of changing it to η, hence Doric dialect etc. ἁ, τάν, τᾶ; the genitive plural τάων contracts in many dialects to τᾶ; the genitive…

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ὁ ἡ τό

ho

he hay, and the neuter

to to

in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be

supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one,

he, she, it, etc.

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ὁ, ἡ, τό

Article

the

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ὁ ho 19x

the prepositive article, answering, to a considerable extent, to the English definite article; but, for the principle and facts of its usage, consult a grammar; ὁ μὲν ... ὁ δέ, the one ... the other, Phil. 1:16, 17; Heb. 7:5, 6, 20, 21, 23, 24; pl. some ... others, Mt. 13:23; 22:5, 6; ὁ δέ, but he, Mt. 4:4; 12:48; οἱ δέ, but others, Mt. 28:17; used, in a poetic quotation, for a personal pronoun, Acts 17:28

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ὁ the, that

ὁ, ἡ, τό, is

demonstr. Pronoun.

the definite Article.

in epic, the relative Pronoun, when it is written with the accent ὅ, ἥ, τό ῀ ὅς, ἥ, ὅ. Besides the common forms, note epic gen. sg. τοῖο for τοῦ; pl. nom. τοί, ταί; gen. fem. τάων [α^], dat. τοῖσι, τῇς and τῇσι; dual gen, and dat. τοῖιν:— in Trag. we find τοὶ μέν . . , τοὶ δέ . . , for οἱ μέν . . , οἱ δέ . . ; dat. pl. also τοῖσι, ταῖσι: the dual has commonly but one gender, τώ for τά, τοῖν for ταῖν.

DEMONSTR. PRONOUN:

joined with a Subst., not as the Art., but like Lat. ille, ὁ Τυδείδης Tydeus's famous son, Il.; Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων Nestor— that aged man, id. Il.; τιμῆς τῆς Πριάμου for honour, namely that of Priam, id. Il.

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Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Art-DSM — Article · dative · singular · masculine
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

T-DSM Part of Speech: definite arTicle Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

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

THE, an adjective or definitive adjective.

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. the independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. the sun is the source of light and heat.

This he calls the preaching of the cross.

2. the is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. the fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.

3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel.

Th' adorning thee with so much art,

Is but a barb'rous skill.

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
64%the
the64% · 13160×<the>28% · 5846×those3% · 597×other renderings4% · 788×other renderings1% · 294×

20,685 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 83 different ways. The commonest English word for it is not its meaning — it is one translator's decision, repeated.

What it does in the sentencefrom the Nestle 1904 treebank
subject34%adverbial32%object24%predicate5%indirect object4%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 19,783 occurrences — a word inside a phrase counts towards whatever that phrase is doing.

The phrases it lives inwhat stands either side of it, across the New Testament
← what comes before
καίand, even, also, nam
αὐτόςεἰμίI am, existἐγώ
ἐν
καίand, even, also,αὐτόςArticle the
εἰς
αὐτόςεἰσέρχομαιI go in, come inἔρχομαιI come, go
αὐτός
λέγωI say, speakδέbut, on the otheπρός
εἰμίI am, exist
οὗτοςσύἐγώ
the19783×
what comes after →
θεόςGod, a god
Article theκαίand, even, also,ἐγώ
δέbut, on the other ha
λέγωI say, speakἸησοῦςJesusἀποκρίνομαιI answer, reply
ἸησοῦςJesus
λέγωI say, speakκαίand, even, also,Article the
κύριοςlord, Lord, master,
ἐγώἸησοῦςJesusArticle the
πατήρfather, Father, ance
ἐγώσύαὐτός

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

Concordance · 19,783× in the New Testament
Matthew Acts Luke John Revelation Mark Romans 1 Corinthians Hebrews 2 Corinthians Ephesians 1 John

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

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

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

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

τοῦ κόσμου σύστασις καὶ διάταξις τῶν στοιχείων.

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

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

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

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

P.Adl. 11Pathyris99 BC

ιζ Θῶυθ κη ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Φίβιος καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸ ὕπαρχον αὐτοῖς ἥμισυ περιστερῶνος τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῶι ἀπὸ βορρᾶ μέρει Παθύρεως χαλκοῦ Γ. ἐπρίατο Ὧρος Νεχούτου.

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

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

[12] it was said to her that The older will serve the younger;
ἐλάσσονι·elassōn younger; G1640 Adjective · dative · singular · masculine
4× in the NT scale is logarithmic — ὁ, the commonest word, appears 19,867×
commoner in Romans than anywhere else in the New Testament
In plain English
Meaning
Lesser refers to something or someone that is smaller or inferior in size, quantity, age, or quality, as seen in John 2:19 and Romans 9:12. This term is used to compare things or people, highlighting their differences.
Amplified meaning
lesser, younger one
Tyndale gloss
lesser
Greek lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Greek word ἐλάσσων (lemma: elasson) means 'less' or 'smaller' and is a comparative form derived from ἐλαχύς. It can refer to age, rank, or quality, indicating inferiority or a smaller quantity. In the New Testament, it appears in John 2:10, Romans 9:12, Hebrews 7:7, and 1 Timothy 5:9, where it conveys meanings like younger or inferior.

Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon of the NT

ἐλάσσων (-ττων, He 7:7, WH, 1 Ti 5:9), -ον

(formed, with superl. ἐλάχιστος, from the epic ἐλαχύς, little, and serving as compar. of μικρός),

[in LXX for מָעַט, etc. ;]

less, in age, rank or quality: Jo 2:19, Ro 9:12 (LXX), He 7:7; neut., -ον, adverbially: I Ti 5:9.†

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

ἐλάσσων [in Jn., Ro.] or -rrwy [in Heb., 1 Tim.; ef. B. 7], τον, (compar. of the Epic adj. ἐλαχύς equiv. to μικρός), [fr. Hom. down], less, —either in age (younger), Ro. ix. 12; or in rank, Heb. vii. 7; or in excellence, worse (opp. to καλός), Jn. ii. 10. Neuter ἔλαττον, adverbially, less [se. than ete., A. V. under; cf. W. 239 (225); 595 sq. (654); B. 127 sq. (112)]: 1 Tim. v. 9-

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

ἐλάσσων. In P Petr III. 32(/)!° a complaint is brought against a tax-collector that he makes agreements ‘‘ at too low a rate ’’ with certain persons who are liable to the police tax—éet ἐλάττ[ονο]ς συνχωρήσεις ποιεῖται: cf. P Par 6378 (B.c. 165) (=P Petr III. Ρ. 20) ἕκαστον αὐτῶν γεω[ργ]ήσειν ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλασσον, ‘‘that each man is personally liable for field labour on the smaller assessment ’’ (Mahaffy), 26.120 (= zd. p- 28) τοῖς δυναμένοις οὐκ ἔλασσον τούτου μεριστέον, ‘not less than this (assessment) is to be allotted to those who are capable” (zd@.), and P Oxy II. 237¥ii- 0 (4... 186) ἐπ᾿ ἐλλάτTovt συμβήσεσθαι, “to accept less than the full amount’’ (Edd.). So P Giss I. 6118 (a.p. 119) ἀξιοῦμεν]... τὴν ἐξέτασιν ποιήσασθαι πρὸς Td μηδὲν ἔλασσον τῶι φίσ[κωι] ἐπακολουθῆσαι, with which the editor contrasts P Oxy II. 2798 (A.D. 44-5) πλεῖον περιποιῆσαι τοῖς δη[μοσ]ίοις. For a direct…

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Liddell-Scott-Jones, full edition

ἐλάσσων (elassōn) — lesser.

ἐλάσσ-ων,

Attic dialect ἐλάττων, ον, genitive ονος: superlative ἐλάχιστος (which see): — smaller, less, formed from ἐλαχύς (which see), but serving as comparative to μικρός, δουρηνεκὲς ἢ καὶ ἔλασσον [Refs 8th c.BC+]; τοὔλασσον ἔχειν to have the worse, be worse off, πάντῃ [Refs 6th c.BC+]; ἐλάττω νομίσας τὴν ἀρχὴν ἢ κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ φύσιν εἶναι too small for.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, too small, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; below the average in height, [Refs]

2. with genitive person, worse than, inferior to, [Refs 5th c.BC+]: but with genitive of things, giving way to, subservient to, σιτίων [Refs 5th c.BC+]: absolutely, worse, inferior, τόποι [Refs]

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Strong's Greek Dictionary

ἐλάσσων

elasson

or elatton el-at-tone'

comparative of the same as 1646; smaller (in size, quantity, age or

quality):--less, under, worse, younger.

see GREEK for 1646

Dodson Greek-English Lexicon

ἐλάσσων, ον

Adj

less, smaller, inferior

Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary

ἐλάσσων elassōn 4x

ἐλάττων (G1784) is the Attic form of this word. Twice it is used with σσ (Jn. 2:10; Rom. 9:12) and twice with ττ (1 Tim. 5:9; Heb. 7:7). It is used as the comparative of μικρός, less; less in age, younger, Rom. 9:12; less in dignity, inferior, Heb. 7:7; less in quality, inferior, worse, Jn. 2:10; 1 Tim. 5:9*

Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones

ἐλάσσων smaller, less, formed from ἐλαχύς (with Sup. ἐλάχιστος, q. v.), but serving as comp. to μικρός, Il.: ἔλασσον ἔχειν to have the worse, be worse off, τινί in a thing, Hdt., Dem.; so, ἐλάττω γίγνεσθαι Ar.

c. gen. pers. worse than, inferior to, Thuc., etc.; but c. gen. rei, like ἥσσων, subservient to, Xen.

in neut. with Preps., περὶ ἐλάσσονος ποιεῖσθαι to consider of less account, Hdt.; παρ᾽ ἔλαττον ἡγεῖσθαι Plat.; δι᾽ ἐλάττονος at less distance, Thuc.

of Number, fewer, οἱ ἐλάσσονες the smaller number, Hdt., Thuc.

neut. ἔλασσον, as adv. less, Aesch., etc.

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Adj-DSM — Adjective · dative · singular · masculine
dative — to, for, with — the one it is done to or by.
Agrees with anything else marked singular masculine.
Robinson's Morphological Analysis Codes

A-DSM Part of Speech: Adjective Case: Dative Number: Singular Gender: Masculine

Into Englishhow translators actually render it
50%inferior
inferior50% · 2×younger25% · 1×less25% · 1×

4 occurrences in the New Testament, rendered 3 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
object50%adverbial25%subject25%

Parsing tells you the form; the treebank tells you the job. Counted over all 4 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
μεθύωI am drunkδουλεύωI am a slave, amἀντιλογίαcontradiction, c
μήNeg
καταλέγωI enter in a lis
ἐλάσσωνyounger;
what comes after →
σύ
τηρέωI keep, guard, o
ἔτοςa year
ἑξήκονταIndec
ὑπό
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

Concordanceἐλάσσων · 4× in the New Testament
1 Timothy Hebrews John Romans
Across the New Testament4 of 27 books
MtMkLkJnAcRo1Co2CoGaEphPhpCol1Th2Th1Ti2TiTitPhmHebJas1Pe2Pe1Jn2Jn3JnJudRev
The Hebrew behind itwhat the Septuagint translators were rendering

Counted over the 18 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 the Creation of the World 145c. AD 40

Τοῦ μὲν οὖν πρώτου φύντος ἀνθρώπου τὸ καθ’ ἑκάτερον ψυχήν τε καὶ σῶμα κάλλος, εἰ καὶ πολλῷ τῆς ἀληθείας ἔλαττον, ἀλλ’ οὖν κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν δύναμιν ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν εἴρηται.

JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 6.194c. AD 75–95

τούτων δὲ ἀκούων ὁ βασιλεύς, ὡς τὸ μὲν ἔλαττον τῆς μαρτυρίας αὐτὸς λάβοι, τὸ δὲ τῶν μυριάδων πλῆθος ἀνατεθείη τῷ νεανίσκῳ, καὶ λογισάμενος μηδὲν οὕτω μετὰ λαμπρὰν εὐφημίαν ἢ τὴν βασιλείαν ὑστερεῖν αὐτῷ φοβεῖσθαι καὶ ὑποπτεύειν ἤρξατο τὸν Δαυίδην.

The Epistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas 13.2c. AD 100

εἶτα ἐξῆλθεν Ῥεβέκκα πυθέσθαι παρὰ κυρίου, καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτήν: Δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σου καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ σου, καὶ ὑπερέξει λαὸς λαοῦ καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι.

In the everyday Greek (the secular world, not the church)letters, leases, receipts — nobody writing one is trying to sound biblical
6th c. AD 2nd c. AD 3rd c. AD 5th c. AD 2nd c. BC
P.Lond. 3 p. 18 no. 678Krokodilopolis (Pathyrites)100 BC–99 BC

ἄνω τοπαρχίας τοῦ Παθυρίτου. ἀπέδοτο Πετεσοῦχος Σχώτου ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν νδ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ἀδύνατος ὄμμασι τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτῶι ἐν τῶι ἄνω πεδίωι περὶ Πάθυριν

P.Grenf. 2 35Pathyris99 BC

ἀπέδοτο Νεχούτης Σχώτου τοῦ Φιμήνιος ἱερεὺς Σούχου καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἐτῶν νε μέσος ἢ ἐλάσσων μελίχρως μακροπρόσωπος εὐθύριν ὑπόσκνιφος, καὶ Πετεαρσοῆρις Σχώτου τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων ὡς ἐτῶν ν μέσος

P.Lond. 2 p. 163-165 no. 354Soknopaiu Nesos (Arsinoites8 BC–5 BC

σι φανῶμεν ἀπολῦσαι, ὅπως γενομένων ἡμῶν περὶ τὴν τῶν ἐδαφῶν γεωργίαν μηδὲν τοῖς δημοσίοις ἔλαττον ἐπακολουθήσῃ, διαλάβη δὲ … πονηρὸν περιπεσόντων αὐτῶν τῇ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους κολάσει, ἵνʼ ὦμεν

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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