What does εἰρηνεύω (eirēneúō) mean in the Bible?
εἰρηνεύω (eirēneúō): To actively maintain or preserve peace, not merely possess it passively or inactively.
Greek · G1514
εἰρηνεύω
To be (act) peaceful
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εἰρηνεύωG1514
Pronunciationeirēneúō
What does εἰρηνεύω (eirēneúō) mean in the Bible?
εἰρηνεύω (eirēneúō): To actively maintain or preserve peace, not merely possess it passively or inactively.
Full entry for εἰρηνεύω (G1514) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1514?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include live in peace (2), be at peace (1), live at peace (1).
Where does εἰρηνεύω (eirēneúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 9:50. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Thessalonians (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Mark (1), Romans (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 Itlive in peace2×2 Corinthians 13:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:13
be at peace1×Mark 9:50
live at peace1×Romans 12:18
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 9:50εἰρηνεύετεtobe at peaceVerb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person PluralRomans 12:18εἰρηνεύοντεςtolive at peaceVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural2 Corinthians 13:11εἰρηνεύετεtolive in peaceVerb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural1 Thessalonians 5:13εἰρηνεύετεtoLive in peaceVerb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMark 9:50
Aligned rows4
Books represented4
Mark1Romans12 Corinthians11 Thessalonians1
Source forms
εἰρηνεύετε3xeirēneueteMark 9:50, 2 Corinthians 13:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:13
εἰρηνεύοντες1xeirēneuontesRomans 12:18
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural3xMark 9:50, 2 Corinthians 13:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:13
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural1xRomans 12:18
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To actively maintain or preserve peace, not merely possess it passively or inactively.
Strong'sG1514
Lexical occurrences4 versesGreek text appearances4 timesWord forms2 forms4 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to be (act) peaceful
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To actively maintain or preserve peace, not merely possess it passively or inactively.
(εἰρήνη), [in LXX chiefly for שׁלם, שׁקט ;]
1to bring to peace, reconcile (so 1Ma.6:60).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 9:50Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
εἰρηνεύετεeirhneuete
I am peaceful, keep the peace, am at peace
Read verseRomans 12:18Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
εἰρηνεύοντες.eirhneuontev
I am peaceful, keep the peace, am at peace
Read verse2 Corinthians 13:11Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
εἰρηνεύετε·eirhneuete
I am peaceful, keep the peace, am at peace
Read verse1 Thessalonians 5:13Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
εἰρηνεύετεeirhneuete
I am peaceful, keep the peace, am at peace
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 forms4TensesPresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Imperativecommand or strong request3×
Present ActiveMark 9:50 · 2 Cor 13:11 · 1 Thess 5:133×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality1×
Present ActiveRom 12:181×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present4
Voice
active4
Mood
imperative3participle1
NT Occurrences
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 Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Mark 9:49–50εἰρηνεύωeirēneúō
to live in peace, be at peace
Showing 1 selected witness from 4 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
εἰρηνεύω is built from this root: