Gold
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G5553 names gold as material, ornament, money, or wealth. Acts 3:6 records Peter saying he has no silver or gold before giving what he has in Jesus' name, distinguishing ministry authority from financial possession.
Reader summary
Full entry for χρυσίον (G5553) · Open the biblical lexicon
G5553 names gold as material, ornament, money, or wealth. Acts 3:6 records Peter saying he has no silver or gold before giving what he has in Jesus' name, distinguishing ministry authority from financial possession.
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include gold (8), gold [jewelry] (1), gold-covered (1), than gold (1), with gold (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 3:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (5), 1 Peter (3), Acts (2), 1 Timothy (1).
G5553 names gold as material, ornament, money, or wealth. Acts 3:6 records Peter saying he has no silver or gold before giving what he has in Jesus' name, distinguishing ministry authority from financial possession. First Peter 1:18 says believers were not redeemed with perishable silver or gold, placing redemption beyond purchase. First Peter 3:3 includes gold jewelry in a warning against making outward adornment the defining source of beauty.
Revelation 18:16 laments Babylon's lost luxury, where gold belongs to an exploitative commercial order under judgment. G5553 does not forbid all jewelry or money, nor does it baptize wealth. It exposes the limits of purchased status, religious commerce, and imperial splendor while allowing created material to remain material. The word helps churches teach contentment, generosity, honest finance, noncommercial ministry, and the incomparable gift of redemption.
G5553 appears as money, ornament, sanctuary material, refined wealth, and imperial luxury. The New Testament repeatedly compares gold with gifts and realities that cannot be bought, especially healing, redemption, character, and enduring faith.
But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
Peter lacks silver and gold yet ministers in Jesus' name, preventing financial resources from becoming the measure or source of apostolic authority.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
Redemption from futile inherited ways is not purchased with perishable silver or gold, but the passage directs attention to Christ's costly self-giving.
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,
Gold adornment appears within a contrast between outward display and the enduring character of the inner person, not a complete dress code detached from the letter.
Saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
Merchants lament Babylon's vanished gold and luxury, exposing an economic order whose splendor depended on exploitation and could not escape judgment.
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. gold
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
Read versea golden ornament
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 5 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.
χρυσίον is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G5553 repeatedly marks the boundary of money's reach. Peter has no gold to offer at the temple gate, but that does not romanticize poverty or remove the disabled man's material needs; it locates healing authority in Jesus rather than payment. First Peter says redemption cannot be bought with perishable treasure. The contrast does not devalue material creation but declares that liberation from futile ways comes through Christ's life, not a spiritual market.
The letter's adornment warning also requires care. It directs attention from status display toward enduring character; it should not become gendered surveillance that scrutinizes women's appearance while ignoring pride, coercion, or luxury among leaders. Revelation exposes a system whose gold and magnificence are inseparable from exploitation. Churches shaped by these texts will refuse to sell access, prayer, prophecy, healing, or divine favor.
They will disclose finances, challenge extractive luxury, assist people materially, and value character over branded display. G5553 is useful, finite material. It can serve neighbors, but it cannot redeem, guarantee healing, authenticate authority, or protect an unjust system from God's judgment.
1Pet.1.18
G5553 is a Greek neuter noun for gold, a piece or object of gold, and by extension gold wealth or ornament. Its concrete companion nouns and economic or adornment context identify the active sense.
Old Testament gold can serve worship or idolatry and remains subject to covenant justice. New Testament G5553 texts emphasize what gold cannot buy, expose status display and oppressive luxury, and subordinate material resources to Christ's redemption and neighbor-serving ministry.