What does ἐγώ (egṓ) mean in the Bible?
Ἐγώ is the Greek first-person pronoun. It can mean I, me, we, or us according to form and context, and it often helps readers identify who is speaking, who is acting, or whose testimony is being emphasized.
Greek · G1473
ἐγώ
:--I, me.
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ἐγώ G1473
Pronunciation egṓ
What does ἐγώ (egṓ) mean in the Bible?
Ἐγώ is the Greek first-person pronoun. It can mean I, me, we, or us according to form and context, and it often helps readers identify who is speaking, who is acting, or whose testimony is being emphasized.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐγώ (G1473) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1473?
The BSB source-word alignment has 2,585 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include me (612), My (467), I (365), us (261), Our (235).
Where does ἐγώ (egṓ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:23. Its strongest book concentrations include John (513), Acts (310), Luke (283), Matthew (261).
Are there verse guides for ἐγώ (egṓ)?
This entry includes 30 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Ἐγώ is the Greek first-person pronoun. It can mean I, me, we, or us according to form and context, and it often helps readers identify who is speaking, who is acting, or whose testimony is being emphasized.
Pastorally, ἐγώ matters because Scripture frequently turns on the speaker. John the Baptist says, "I baptize you," Jesus says, "I am," Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ." The pronoun does not create the theology by itself, but it helps readers hear the personal agency, confession, contrast, and witness that the passage already presents.
This keeps application personal without making every first-person statement about the modern reader. The teacher should name the original speaker first, then trace how the passage invites faithful response.
Lexical sourcegrammatical
How the Bible Uses It
ἐγώ is currently counted about 2,572 times in the local Greek artifact. It marks first-person speech or reference, from ordinary testimony to high-stakes self-identification in the words of Christ and the apostles.
- Matt.3.11
I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
John distinguishes his own baptism from the greater One who comes after him. The pronoun helps mark speaker, humility, and contrast.
- John.10.30
I and the Father are one.”
Jesus speaks in the first person alongside the Father. The pronoun serves the statement, but the whole clause supplies the Christological force.
- John.14.6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus names Himself as the way, truth, and life. The first-person form makes the claim personal and direct.
- Gal.2.20
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Paul uses first-person language to describe union with Christ, death to the old self, and life by faith.
- John.15.5
I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
Jesus uses first-person speech to identify Himself as the vine and to define dependence on Him.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It me 612× Matthew 3:11, Matthew 3:14, Matthew 4:9, Matthew 4:19
My 467× Matthew 2:15, Matthew 3:17, Matthew 8:6, Matthew 8:8
I 365× Matthew 3:11, Matthew 3:14, Matthew 5:22, Matthew 5:28
us 261× Matthew 1:23, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:13
Our 235× Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 8:17
we 136× Matthew 6:12, Matthew 9:14, Matthew 17:19, Matthew 19:27
. . . 83× Matthew 8:2, Matthew 8:31, Matthew 10:18, Matthew 10:39
of our 52× Matthew 23:30, Mark 11:10, Luke 1:78, Acts 3:13
to me 52× Matthew 2:8, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 7:22, Matthew 11:27
- 28× Matthew 12:44, Matthew 21:25, Mark 16:3, Luke 8:21
to us 26× Matthew 13:36, Matthew 15:15, Matthew 20:12, Matthew 26:68
for us 22× Matthew 3:15, Matthew 17:4, Matthew 19:27, Matthew 25:11
vvv 22× Matthew 25:27, Matthew 25:35, Mark 10:38, Luke 1:48
for Me 16× Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45, Luke 1:25, Luke 1:49
of My 13× Matthew 2:6, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 12:50, Romans 7:23
of us 10× Acts 2:8, Acts 17:27, Acts 28:2, Romans 4:16
I [am] 9× Mark 12:26, John 1:23, John 14:10, John 14:11
of Mine 7× Matthew 7:24, Matthew 7:26, Matthew 20:21, Matthew 25:40
with Me 7× Matthew 15:32, Matthew 20:13, Mark 5:7, Mark 8:2
with us 6× Matthew 8:29, Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34, Luke 24:32
of Me 5× Matthew 10:37, Matthew 10:38, Mark 6:23, 2 Timothy 1:8
to my 5× Luke 20:42, John 20:17, Acts 22:1, Philippians 2:25
I am 4× Romans 7:24, 2 Corinthians 11:23, Galatians 4:18, Philippians 1:13
in me 4× Acts 24:20, Romans 7:13, 2 Corinthians 12:6, Revelation 2:13
Mine 4× Luke 22:21, Romans 12:19, 2 Corinthians 11:10, Hebrews 10:30
ours 4× Mark 12:7, Luke 20:14, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Philemon 1:6
{will} I 3× Matthew 21:27, Mark 11:33, Luke 20:8
on me 3× Luke 18:13, Luke 22:29, Philippians 2:27
than I 3× Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7, Luke 3:16
[and] we 2× Acts 3:15, Hebrews 3:6
[that] I 2× Acts 23:6, Acts 24:21
by My 2× Acts 15:17, Romans 9:1
I {am} 2× Luke 15:17, 2 Timothy 4:6
me [ that does it ] 2× Romans 7:17, Romans 7:20
Me {to stumble} 2× Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42
on our behalf 2× 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 6:20
we [exist] 2× 1 Corinthians 8:6
[against] us 1× 3 John 1:10
[am] I 1× Hebrews 2:13
[As surely as] I 1× Romans 14:11
[because] I 1× 2 Corinthians 2:13
[both] us 1× 2 Corinthians 1:21
[But] our 1× Acts 7:39
[for] us 1× Acts 6:2
[He did] to us 1× Acts 15:8
[If] we 1× Hebrews 10:26
[It is] my 1× Acts 15:19
[it is] to us 1× Acts 13:26
[it is] we 1× Philippians 3:3
[it was] I 1× 1 Corinthians 15:11
[since] we 1× Hebrews 12:1
[So] we 1× 2 Corinthians 4:18
[that] we 1× Romans 6:6
[the rest of] us 1× Acts 16:17
[the] 1× Luke 11:24
[then] {make} my 1× Philippians 2:2
[want] with me 1× Luke 8:28
[when] I 1× Acts 22:17
[who has been a mother] to me 1× Romans 16:13
[will] we [escape] 1× Hebrews 12:25
[Your] 1× John 8:52
{as} I 1× Romans 11:13
{do} we 1× 1 Corinthians 15:30
{Does} our 1× John 7:51
{Have} I 1× John 6:70
{in} My 1× Revelation 2:26
{Let} us 1× John 11:16
{may} our 1× 1 Thessalonians 3:11
{over} to me 1× John 18:35
{should} my 1× 1 Corinthians 10:29
{while} we 1× Matthew 28:13
about me 1× Acts 22:5
against me 1× Acts 25:11
am I 1× Luke 1:43
as for me 1× Galatians 6:14
as ours 1× 2 Peter 1:1
as we 1× Acts 16:16
at my side 1× Philippians 4:3
at us 1× Acts 3:12
before Me 1× Romans 14:11
business of mine [is it] 1× 1 Corinthians 5:12
but I 1× John 7:29
by us 1× Acts 10:41
could we [find] 1× Matthew 15:33
do I 1× John 8:11
for [both] us 1× Matthew 25:9
for my 1× Philippians 1:19
from Me 1× Acts 26:16
his 1× Acts 2:8
I [face] 1× 2 Corinthians 11:28
I [was] 1× Romans 16:7
I [will] 1× Matthew 21:30
I {do} 1× John 14:27
I do not have 1× Acts 3:6
I had 1× Philippians 1:30
I myself 1× Philippians 3:4
I still have 1× Philippians 1:30
in my [apostleship] 1× Galatians 2:8
in our 1× Romans 8:26
is spoken 1× 2 Corinthians 1:20
Me [ discuss ] 1× Acts 1:4
Me [alone] 1× John 12:44
me [say] 1× 2 Timothy 2:2
me [to it] 1× 2 Corinthians 12:11
Me {again} 1× Luke 13:35
me {on my journey} 1× 1 Corinthians 16:6
my [example] 1× Philippians 3:17
my own 1× Acts 26:4
My tax 1× Matthew 17:27
myself 1× Luke 12:19
of 1× Acts 27:20
of our lives 1× Luke 1:75
of the [body] 1× James 3:6
on My behalf 1× John 10:25
on our 1× Colossians 1:7
on us 1× 2 Corinthians 1:22
our [instruction] 1× 3 John 1:9
our behalf 1× 2 Corinthians 1:11
our own 1× 1 John 1:1
Sir 1× Revelation 7:14
that I 1× Acts 23:3
to our 1× Acts 27:10
to us [as well] 1× 2 Thessalonians 1:7
to us {about this} 1× Hebrews 10:15
to us who 1× 1 Corinthians 1:18
us {to be} 1× Revelation 1:6
we [ do it for a crown ] 1× 1 Corinthians 9:25
we [ should go ] 1× Galatians 2:9
We [are one] 1× John 17:11
We [have] 1× Hebrews 5:11
we [must give] 1× Hebrews 4:13
We [who are] 1× Galatians 2:15
we are 1× 2 Corinthians 13:4
We have only 1× Luke 9:13
we ourselves 1× 2 Peter 1:18
we, [who] 1× 2 Corinthians 3:18
When I 1× Romans 7:21
When we 1× Acts 21:17
while 1× Romans 5:6
While I 1× Acts 25:15
While we 1× Romans 5:8
whom we 1× Hebrews 3:1
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 1:23 ἡμῶν to us Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Plural Matthew 2:6 μου to of My Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular Matthew 2:8 μοι to to me Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Singular Matthew 2:15 μου to My Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular Matthew 3:11 Ἐγὼ to I Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular Matthew 3:11 μου to me Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular Matthew 3:11 μού to than I Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular Matthew 3:14 Ἐγὼ to I Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular Matthew 3:14 με to me Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Singular Matthew 3:15 ἡμῖν to for us Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 1:23
Aligned rows 2,585
Books represented 27
Matthew 261 Mark 131 Luke 283 John 513 Acts 310 Romans 148 1 Corinthians 130 2 Corinthians 163 Galatians 59 Ephesians 44 Philippians 58 Colossians 25 1 Thessalonians 50 2 Thessalonians 26 1 Timothy 15 2 Timothy 42 Titus 19 Philemon 21 Hebrews 66 James 22 1 Peter 6 2 Peter 19 1 John 57 2 John 6 3 John 6 Jude 7 Revelation 98
Source forms
μου 552x mou Matthew 2:6, Matthew 2:15, Matthew 3:11, Matthew 3:17
ἡμῶν 401x hēmōn Matthew 1:23, Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12
με 288x me Matthew 3:14, Matthew 8:2, Matthew 10:33, Matthew 10:40
ἐγὼ 236x egō Matthew 5:22, Matthew 5:28, Matthew 5:32, Matthew 5:34
μοι 220x moi Matthew 2:8, Matthew 4:9, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 7:22
ἡμῖν 164x hēmin Matthew 3:15, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 8:29
ἡμᾶς 163x hēmas Matthew 6:13, Matthew 8:29, Matthew 8:31, Matthew 9:27
ἡμεῖς 112x hēmeis Matthew 6:12, Matthew 9:14, Matthew 17:19, Matthew 19:27
Parsing patterns
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Singular 674x Matthew 2:6, Matthew 2:15, Matthew 3:11, Matthew 3:17
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Plural 403x Matthew 1:23, Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Singular 381x Matthew 3:14, Matthew 8:2, Matthew 10:33, Matthew 10:37
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular 348x Matthew 3:11, Matthew 3:14, Matthew 5:22, Matthew 5:28
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Singular 317x Matthew 2:8, Matthew 4:9, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 7:22
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Plural 169x Matthew 3:15, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:12, Matthew 8:29
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Plural 166x Matthew 6:13, Matthew 8:29, Matthew 8:31, Matthew 9:27
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Plural 127x Matthew 6:12, Matthew 9:14, Matthew 17:19, Matthew 19:27
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Ask who is speaking, who is being contrasted, and whether the pronoun is ordinary or emphasized by the sentence.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim every ἐγώ is emphatic.
- Do not claim a first-person statement applies to every reader in the same way without context.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
John 1:14 P-1DP
ἡμῖν emin :--I, me. The pronoun helps the reader hear the statement as a shared testimony about the Word's presence, not a private or isolated event. Read verse guide John 1:15 P-1GS
μου mou :--I, me. The form narrows the saying to John's own perspective and helps the verse contrast 'after me' with 'before me' in a concise, spoken report. Read verse guide John 1:16 P-1NP
ἡμεῖς emeis :--I, me. The pronoun makes the reception explicit as shared and first-person, but the verse's meaning comes from the whole clause, not from the pronoun by itself. Read verse guide John 1:20 P-1NS
ἐγὼ ego :--I, me. The pronoun sharpens the personal denial and keeps the focus on the speaker's own confession. Read verse guide John 1:22 P-1AP
ἡμᾶς. emas :--I, me. The form strengthens the sense of a shared mission and a corporate report, which fits the embassy scene in the verse. Read verse guide John 1:23 P-1NS
Ἐγὼ Ego :--I, me. The form reinforces that the speaker is personally identifying himself in the quoted testimony, but the prophetic content of the saying carries the main meaning. Read verse guide John 1:26 P-1NS
Ἐγὼ Ego :--I, me. The form makes John's own voice explicit and can heighten the contrast between his baptism and the one he announces. Read verse guide John 1:27 P-1GS
μου mou :--I, me. The form keeps the verse personal and relational, showing John speaking from his own standpoint while directing attention away from himself and toward the one he serves to announce. Read verse guide John 1:27 P-1NS
ἐγὼ ego :--I, me. The expressed ἐγὼ strengthens the personal, self-abasing tone of the verse and supports hearing the statement as direct testimony from the speaker. Read verse guide John 1:30 P-1GS
μου mou :--I, me. The form keeps attention on relative sequence and witness, showing John as the reference point while the sentence centers on the coming figure. Read verse guide John 1:30 P-1NS
ἐγὼ ego :--I, me. The form makes the speaking subject explicit, so the verse reads as a personal testimony rather than an impersonal report. Read verse guide John 1:31 P-1NS
ἐγὼ ego :--I, me. The pronoun makes the statement more direct and personal, helping the reader hear John's own voice in the explanation of why he came. Read verse guide Show 18 more verse guides
John 1:33 P-1AS
με me :--I, me. Read verse guide John 1:33 P-1DS
μοι moi :--I, me. Read verse guide John 1:43 P-1DS
μοι. moi :--I, me. Read verse guide John 1:48 P-1AS
με me :--I, me. Read verse guide Matthew 1:23 P-1GP
ἡμῶν emon :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:1 P-1DS
μοι moi :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:6 P-1DS
μοι, moi :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:8 P-1DS
μοι moi :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:8 P-1NS
ἐγὼ ego :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:9 P-1DS
μοι, moi :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:10 P-1DS
μοι, moi :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:12 P-1GS
μου mou :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:13 P-1NS
ἐγώ ego :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:16 P-1GS
μου mou :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:16 P-1NS
Ἐγὼ Ego :--I, me. Read verse guide Revelation 22:21 P-1GP
ἡμῶν emon :--I, me. Read verse guide Romans 3:5 P-1GP
ἡμῶν emon :--I, me. Read verse guide Romans 3:8 P-1AP
ἡμᾶς emas :--I, me. Read verse guide Evidence Summary
Greek word. :--I, me.
Source Gloss
:--I, me.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 2,682 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
hmwn
I
Read verse Matthew 2:6 P-1GS
μου mou
I
Read verse Matthew 2:8 P-1DS
μοι, moi
I
Read verse Matthew 2:15 P-1GS
μου. mou
I
Read verse Matthew 3:11 P-1NS
ἐγὼ egw
I
Read verse Matthew 3:11 P-1GS
μου mou
I
Read verse Matthew 3:11 P-1GS
μου mou
I
Read verse Matthew 3:14 P-1NS
Ἐγὼ egw
I
Read verse Matthew 3:14 P-1AS
με; me
I
Read verse Matthew 3:15 P-1DP
ἡμῖν hmin
I
Read verse Matthew 3:17 P-1GS
μου mou
I
Read verse Matthew 4:9 P-1DS
μοι. moi
I
Read verse Matthew 4:19 P-1GS
μου, mou
I
Read verse Matthew 5:11 P-1GS
ἐμοῦ. emou
I
Read verse Matthew 5:22 P-1NS
ἐγὼ egw
I
Read verse Matthew 5:28 P-1NS
ἐγὼ egw
I
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 8 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.
Form patterns 8 Aligned forms 2572 Case pattern Genitive (1073) Number pattern Singular (1711)
Nominative · Singular Matt 3:11 · Matt 3:14 · Matt 5:22 · Matt 5:28 · Matt 5:32 · Matt 5:34 · Matt 5:39 · Matt 5:44 · Matt 8:7 · Matt 8:9 · Matt 10:16 · Matt 11:10 · Matt 12:27 · Matt 12:28 · Matt 14:27 · Matt 20:15 343×
Nominative · Plural Matt 6:12 · Matt 9:14 · Matt 17:19 · Matt 19:27 · Matt 28:14 · Mark 9:28 · Mark 10:28 · Mark 14:58 · Luke 3:14 · Luke 9:13 · Luke 18:28 · Luke 23:41 · Luke 24:21 · John 1:16 · John 4:22 · John 6:42 127×
Genitive · Singular Matt 2:6 · Matt 2:15 · Matt 3:11 · Matt 3:17 · Matt 4:19 · Matt 5:11 · Matt 7:21 · Matt 7:23 · Matt 7:24 · Matt 7:26 · Matt 8:6 · Matt 8:8 · Matt 8:9 · Matt 8:21 · Matt 9:18 · Matt 10:18 673×
Genitive · Plural Matt 1:23 · Matt 6:9 · Matt 6:11 · Matt 6:12 · Matt 8:17 · Matt 15:23 · Matt 20:33 · Matt 21:42 · Matt 23:30 · Matt 25:8 · Matt 27:25 · Matt 28:13 · Mark 9:40 · Mark 11:10 · Mark 12:7 · Mark 12:11 400×
Dative · Singular Matt 2:8 · Matt 4:9 · Matt 7:21 · Matt 7:22 · Matt 8:21 · Matt 8:22 · Matt 9:9 · Matt 10:32 · Matt 11:6 · Matt 11:27 · Matt 14:8 · Matt 14:18 · Matt 15:25 · Matt 15:32 · Matt 16:24 · Matt 17:17 317×
Dative · Plural Matt 3:15 · Matt 6:11 · Matt 6:12 · Matt 8:29 · Matt 13:36 · Matt 15:15 · Matt 15:33 · Matt 19:27 · Matt 20:12 · Matt 21:25 · Matt 22:17 · Matt 22:25 · Matt 24:3 · Matt 25:8 · Matt 25:9 · Matt 25:11 167×
Accusative · Singular Matt 3:14 · Matt 8:2 · Matt 10:33 · Matt 10:37 · Matt 10:40 · Matt 11:28 · Matt 14:28 · Matt 14:30 · Matt 15:8 · Matt 15:9 · Matt 15:22 · Matt 16:15 · Matt 18:5 · Matt 18:6 · Matt 18:21 · Matt 18:32 378×
Accusative · Plural Matt 6:13 · Matt 8:29 · Matt 8:31 · Matt 9:27 · Matt 13:56 · Matt 17:4 · Matt 20:7 · Matt 20:30 · Matt 20:31 · Matt 27:4 · Matt 27:25 · Mark 1:24 · Mark 5:12 · Mark 6:3 · Mark 9:5 · Mark 9:22 167×
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Ἐγώ helps readers track who is speaking or acting. Its force may be ordinary, emphatic, testimonial, or Christologically weighty depending on the speaker and the clause.
Anchor passage
Gal.2.20
Doctrinal connections
Ἐγώ is a first-person pronoun. Greek can express person in verb endings, so an explicit pronoun may sometimes clarify or emphasize the speaker, though emphasis must be judged from context.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture regularly uses first-person testimony for confession, promise, lament, and divine speech. Greek first-person forms continue that pattern in the New Testament, especially in the sayings of Jesus and apostolic witness.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain