Select; by implication, favorite
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Ἐκλεκτός (eklektos) means chosen or selected. Jesus closes the wedding banquet with “many are called, but few are chosen,” requiring the parable's warning about receiving the king's invitation on his terms.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐκλεκτός (G1588) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἐκλεκτός (eklektos) means chosen or selected. Jesus closes the wedding banquet with “many are called, but few are chosen,” requiring the parable's warning about receiving the king's invitation on his terms.
The BSB source-word alignment has 22 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include elect (12), chosen (4), [are] a chosen (1), [the] elect (1), a chosen (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 22:14. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Peter (4), Matthew (4), Mark (3), 2 John (2).
Ἐκλεκτός (eklektos) means chosen or selected. Jesus closes the wedding banquet with “many are called, but few are chosen,” requiring the parable's warning about receiving the king's invitation on his terms. In the discourse of distress, the Lord shortens days for the sake of the elect whom He chose, grounding preservation in divine regard. Jesus promises justice for God's chosen ones who cry day and night.
Paul answers every accusation against God's elect with God's justifying verdict. Colossians addresses chosen, holy, beloved people and commands them to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Election is God's gracious choice, not a badge for pride, speculation, or moral passivity. Each context joins chosen identity to preservation, prayer, justification, warning, or transformed communal conduct.
Ἐκλεκτός names those chosen by God. Its passages connect election with faithful reception of the kingdom, preservation in distress, persistent prayer for justice, freedom from accusation, and compassionate holiness.
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The wedding parable's final contrast between many called and few chosen warns hearers that proximity to invitation cannot replace receiving the king's provision faithfully.
If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short.
The Lord cuts short devastating days for the sake of the elect whom He chose, making divine preservation central amid severe tribulation.
Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay in helping them?
God's chosen ones cry to Him day and night, and Jesus uses their persistence to assure disciples that the righteous Judge will bring justice.
Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
No charge can stand against God's elect because God Himself justifies, placing assurance in His verdict rather than in the absence of accusers.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Chosen, holy, and beloved identity becomes the ground for putting on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Chosen by God for covenant relationship and privilege, not merely selected for excellence or merit
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 23 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
chosen, elect, choice, select
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 9 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 7 selected witnesses from 23 lexical occurrence verses.
ἐκλεκτός is built from this root:
Affirms that those chosen and justified by God cannot be successfully accused.1 Peter 1:1-12
Affirms sovereign preservation.Luke 18:1–8
Highlights covenant relationship with God.Mark 13:14–23
Anchors believer identity in God’s initiative rather than circumstance.Romans 8:31-39
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Election places hope in God's gracious purpose rather than human distinction. The wedding feast warns that hearing a call is not a basis for presumption; the king defines fitting participation. Mark anchors survival in the Lord's action for those He chose, while Luke shows chosen people crying persistently for justice rather than becoming passive. Romans gives election its courtroom assurance: accusations may be voiced, but none overturns the God who justifies through Christ.
Colossians prevents chosen identity from becoming abstraction or superiority. Those called chosen are also holy and beloved, and therefore must wear compassion, patience, forgiveness, and love. Churches should teach election as doxology and comfort, not factional status. God's choice humbles recipients, sustains prayer, steadies them under accusation, and forms a community whose conduct displays the beloved identity it has received.
Matt.22.14
Ἐκλεκτός is an adjective meaning chosen or select and may function substantivally for chosen people. Passive sense highlights selection by another; surrounding clauses identify the chooser, purpose, and resulting identity.
God chooses Israel in love, selects servants for His purpose, identifies the Messiah as chosen, and forms a people in Christ whose election produces holiness and praise.