What does διαστρέφω (diastréphō) mean in the Bible?
διαστρέφω (diastréphō): To twist or distort, especially morally or doctrinally; describing those who corrupt truth or teaching.
Greek · G1294
διαστρέφω
To pervert
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διαστρέφωG1294
Pronunciationdiastréphō
What does διαστρέφω (diastréphō) mean in the Bible?
διαστρέφω (diastréphō): To twist or distort, especially morally or doctrinally; describing those who corrupt truth or teaching.
Full entry for διαστρέφω (G1294) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1294?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include perverse (3), [and] distort (1), perverting (1), subverting (1), to turn (1).
Where does διαστρέφω (diastréphō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 17:17. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (3), Luke (2), Matthew (1), Philippians (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itperverse3×Matthew 17:17, Luke 9:41, Philippians 2:15
[and] distort1×Acts 20:30
perverting1×Acts 13:10
subverting1×Luke 23:2
to turn1×Acts 13:8
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 17:17διεστραμμένηtoperverseVerb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Vocative Feminine SingularLuke 9:41διεστραμμένηtoperverseVerb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Vocative Feminine SingularLuke 23:2διαστρέφονταtosubvertingVerb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine SingularActs 13:8διαστρέψαιtoto turnVerb - Aorist Infinitive ActiveActs 13:10διαστρέφωνtopervertingVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularActs 20:30διεστραμμέναto[and] distortVerb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Neuter PluralPhilippians 2:15διεστραμμένηςtoperverseVerb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 17:17
Aligned rows7
Books represented4
Matthew1Luke2Acts3Philippians1
Source forms
διεστραμμένη2xdiestrammenēMatthew 17:17, Luke 9:41
διαστρέφοντα1xdiastrephontaLuke 23:2
διαστρέφων1xdiastrephōnActs 13:10
διαστρέψαι1xdiastrepsaiActs 13:8
διεστραμμένα1xdiestrammenaActs 20:30
διεστραμμένης1xdiestrammenēsPhilippians 2:15
Parsing patterns
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Vocative Feminine Singular2xMatthew 17:17, Luke 9:41
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active1xActs 13:8
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Neuter Plural1xActs 20:30
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Feminine Singular1xPhilippians 2:15
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular1xLuke 23:2
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1xActs 13:10
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To twist or distort, especially morally or doctrinally; describing those who corrupt truth or teaching.
Strong'sG1294
Lexical occurrences7 versesGreek text appearances7 timesWord forms2 forms7 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to pervert
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To twist or distort, especially morally or doctrinally; describing those who corrupt truth or teaching.
to distort, twist; metaphorically, to distort, pervert: Luk.23:2, Act.13:8, 10; διεστραμμένος, perverse: Mat.17:17, Luk.9:41, Act.20:30, Php.2:15.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 17:17Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
διεστραμμένη,diestrammenh
I pervert, corrupt, oppose
Read verseLuke 9:41Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
διεστραμμένη,diestrammenh
I pervert, corrupt, oppose
Read verseLuke 23:2Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
διαστρέφονταdiastrefonta
I pervert, corrupt, oppose
Read verseActs 13:8Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
διαστρέψαιdiastreyai
I pervert, corrupt, oppose
Read verseActs 13:10Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
διαστρέφωνdiastrefwn
I pervert, corrupt, oppose
Read verseActs 20:30Verb Perfect Passive Participle Accusative Plural Neuter
διεστραμμένα,diestrammena
I pervert, corrupt, oppose
Read versePhilippians 2:15Verb Perfect Passive Participle Genitive Singular Feminine
διεστραμμένης,diestrammenhv
I pervert, corrupt, oppose
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.
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form groups2Aligned forms7TensesPerfect, Present, AoristVoicesPassive, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality6×
Perfect PassiveMatt 17:17 · Luke 9:41 · Acts 20:30 · Phil 2:154×
Present ActiveLuke 23:2 · Acts 13:102×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract1×
Aorist ActiveActs 13:81×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
perfect4present2aorist1
Voice
passive4active3
Mood
participle6infinitive1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 17:17διεστραμμένηperfect passive participleparticipleLuke 9:41διεστραμμένηperfect passive participleparticipleLuke 23:2διαστρέφονταpresent active participleparticipleActs 13:10διαστρέφωνpresent active participleparticipleActs 13:8διαστρέψαιaorist active infinitiveinfinitiveActs 20:30διεστραμμέναperfect passive participleparticiplePhilippians 2:15διεστραμμένηςperfect passive participleparticiple
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 Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 23:1–5διαστρέφονταdiastréphō
Misleading, perverting
Luke 9:37–43aδιεστραμμένηdiastréphō
Perverse, twisted
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
διαστρέφω is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.