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G3000 is a verb for serving or worshiping in religious devotion. Its 21 governed forms include service directed to the true God, idolatrous service to created things or the host of heaven, temple worship, gospel labor, and the worship of God's servants in Revelation.
Reader summary
Full entry for λατρεύω (G3000) · Open the biblical lexicon
G3000 is a verb for serving or worshiping in religious devotion. Its 21 governed forms include service directed to the true God, idolatrous service to created things or the host of heaven, temple worship, gospel labor, and the worship of God's servants in Revelation.
The BSB source-word alignment has 21 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include serve (4), I serve (3), worship (3), [but] worshiped (1), as they earnestly serve [ God ] (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 4:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (6), Acts (5), Luke (3), Revelation (2).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
G3000 is a verb for serving or worshiping in religious devotion. Its 21 governed forms include service directed to the true God, idolatrous service to created things or the host of heaven, temple worship, gospel labor, and the worship of God's servants in Revelation. The verb identifies religious service but does not by itself declare that service true, acceptable, Spirit-enabled, or saving.
Matthew 4:10 and Romans 1:25 distinguish the rightful object from a false one. Romans 1:9, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 12:28, and other passages supply their own ministry, cleansing, gratitude, reverence, and covenant claims. Teachers should therefore preserve both the word's devotional force and each passage's judgment about the person served and the manner of service.
Twenty-one exact G3000 forms occur across the Gospels, Acts, Romans, Philippians, 2 Timothy, Hebrews, and Revelation. The contexts include both faithful worship and false religious service.
Away from Me, Satan! Jesus told him. For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’
The quotation makes the exclusivity of service part of Jesus' answer to temptation.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
The same verb can name religious devotion that Paul condemns because its object is created rather than Creator.
I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect.
Paul describes his worship within a public defense of his faith and hope.
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
The verse attaches service to the cleansing accomplished through Christ's self-offering.
Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
The passage defines the response by gratitude, acceptability, reverence, and awe.
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him.
The final occurrence places the servants' worship in the restored city before the divine throne.
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.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Sacred service to God or gods involving worship and devotion, not merely hired labor.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 21 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
Read verseI serve, worship
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 mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
How this verb appears across 20 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 21 lexical occurrence verses.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G3000 does not divide neatly into sacred ritual on one side and ordinary ministry on the other. Anna worships at the temple, Paul serves God in gospel proclamation, Hebrews speaks of service after conscience cleansing, and Revelation depicts God's servants before the throne. Yet Acts 7 and Romans 1 use the same verb for false worship. The central question is therefore not whether an activity can be labeled service, but whom it serves and how the passage evaluates it.
Jesus' answer in Matthew 4 makes allegiance exclusive. Romans exposes devotion to the creature as exchange and error. Hebrews joins service to Christ's work and calls for gratitude, reverence, and awe. Preaching should retain these contextual judgments instead of treating the lexeme as an automatic approval of every religious act or every form of labor.
Matt.4.10
The governed forms span several voices, moods, and tenses, and English renderings include both serve and worship. Syntax and context identify the object and characterize the service.
Several occurrences explicitly reach into Israel's Scriptures and worship history. Matthew 4 cites the command to serve God alone, Acts 7 recounts both promised service and service to the host of heaven, and Hebrews discusses covenant worship. Each New Testament use should retain the specific argument made from that background.