To keep/guard: observe
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Phylasso means to guard, keep, watch, preserve, obey, or be on one's guard. The Pastoral Epistles use it for Timothy's care of the gospel deposit, the Lord's power to guard what is entrusted, the Holy Spirit's enabling presence, and prudent watchfulness toward a dangerous opponent.
Reader summary
Full entry for φυλάσσω (G5442) · Open the biblical lexicon
Phylasso means to guard, keep, watch, preserve, obey, or be on one's guard. The Pastoral Epistles use it for Timothy's care of the gospel deposit, the Lord's power to guard what is entrusted, the Holy Spirit's enabling presence, and prudent watchfulness toward a dangerous opponent.
The BSB source-word alignment has 31 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include guard (3), I have kept (3), keep (2), preserved (2), to guard (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 19:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (8), Luke (6), 2 Timothy (3), John (3).
Phylasso means to guard, keep, watch, preserve, obey, or be on one's guard. The Pastoral Epistles use it for Timothy's care of the gospel deposit, the Lord's power to guard what is entrusted, the Holy Spirit's enabling presence, and prudent watchfulness toward a dangerous opponent. Guarding is not possession, secrecy, or resistance to all questions. The gospel remains God's gift, publicly proclaimed and preserved through faithful teaching, character, and communal accountability.
Nor does confidence in divine keeping cancel Timothy's responsibility. Churches guard truth by accurate Scripture handling, transparent correction, qualified leaders, safe records, and protection of people, while refusing censorship, retaliation, and institutional self-preservation disguised as defending the faith.
Phylasso joins divine preservation, Spirit-enabled stewardship, guarded teaching, and practical watchfulness. The entrusted gospel is kept through faithful public ministry rather than hidden control.
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”
First Timothy 6:20 tells Timothy to guard the deposit and turn from profane empty chatter and opposing claims falsely called knowledge.
For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
Second Timothy 1:12 expresses Paul's confidence that the Lord is able to guard what Paul has entrusted to Him until that day. Divine keeping anchors suffering faith.
Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
Second Timothy 1:14 commands Timothy to guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who dwells in believers. Stewardship depends on divine presence.
You too should beware of him, for he has vigorously opposed our message.
Second Timothy 4:15 tells Timothy to be on guard against Alexander because he strongly opposed the message. Prudence names a specific evidenced threat.
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. To guard actively and protectively, whether persons, things, or divine commandments; implies vigilant preservation.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 30 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
Read verseI keep, guard, observe
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 31 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 7 selected witnesses from 31 lexical occurrence verses.
φυλάσσω is built from this root:
Indicates active, ongoing obedience.1 Timothy 6:20-21
Indicates restrained yet permitted living situation.2 Timothy 1:13-14
Faithful ministry requires vigilance to ensure the gospel message remains uncorrupted.2 Timothy 1:8-12
Paul’s confidence rests in God’s ability to safeguard what has been entrusted until the final day.2 Timothy 4:9-15
Timothy must remain spiritually vigilant against those who oppose the gospel.Acts 28:11-16
The gospel requires vigilant protection against corruption.Luke 11:27–28
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Phylasso refuses to separate trust in God from responsible stewardship. Paul can entrust himself to the Lord's keeping while Timothy must guard the gospel through the indwelling Spirit. The deposit is not a private secret controlled by an elite; it is the apostolic good news proclaimed, taught, embodied, and handed on. Timothy also watches a named opponent whose resistance is concrete, not imaginary.
Churches should preserve doctrinal clarity, accurate records, financial and safeguarding controls, and fair processes for correction. They should not call reputation management gospel defense or classify truthful reports as attacks on the deposit. Faithful guarding keeps Christ's message available and uncorrupted, protects vulnerable people, and remains open to examination by the same Scripture it serves.
2Tim.1.14
Phylasso can mean guard, watch, keep, preserve, obey, or be on guard. Its object and voice determine whether the emphasis is protection, observance, custody, or caution.
Watchmen, temple guards, covenant keeping, and God's own preservation provide distinct Old Testament patterns. Each requires attention to who guards what and why.