To eject (literally or figuratively)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Ekballo means to cast out, drive out, send out, expel, or force something or someone from a place. John uses it for Jesus' promise never to cast away those the Father gives Him, the ruler of this world being cast out through the cross, and Jesus driving merchants and animals from the temple.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐκβάλλω (G1544) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ekballo means to cast out, drive out, send out, expel, or force something or someone from a place. John uses it for Jesus' promise never to cast away those the Father gives Him, the ruler of this world being cast out through the cross, and Jesus driving merchants and animals from the temple.
The BSB source-word alignment has 81 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include drive out (9), drive it out (4), driving out (4), brings (3), to drive out (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 7:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (28), Luke (20), Mark (18), John (6).
Ekballo means to cast out, drive out, send out, expel, or force something or someone from a place. John uses it for Jesus' promise never to cast away those the Father gives Him, the ruler of this world being cast out through the cross, and Jesus driving merchants and animals from the temple. Paul quotes Scripture about casting out the slave woman within his allegorical argument, while Jesus uses the verb for urgently sending laborers into harvest.
The action ranges from gracious non-rejection to judgment, expulsion, and forceful commissioning. It does not authorize leaders to remove people, perform deliverance, or wield force without the passage's authority. Church discipline requires truth, due process, protection, proportionality, and lawful conduct.
Ekballo describes forceful outward movement. Its selected uses include Christ's secure welcome, Satan's defeat, temple cleansing, allegorical expulsion, and God's urgent sending of harvest workers.
Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away.
John 6:37 says Jesus will never cast out the one who comes to Him, grounding assurance in the Father's gift and the Son's faithful reception.
Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.
John 12:31 says the ruler of this world will be cast out as Jesus approaches the cross. Judgment and exaltation converge in Christ's victory.
But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
Galatians 4:30 quotes the command to cast out the slave woman and her son within Paul's allegory of slavery and promise. It must not be used to demean enslaved people, women, Hagar, Arabs, or ethnic groups.
So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
John 2:15 says Jesus drove all from the temple along with sheep and oxen, pouring out coins and overturning tables. His messianic authority and zeal are not a generic violence permit.
And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.
Luke 10:2 asks the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. The forceful verb stresses urgency under God's commissioning.
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. Forceful removal or expulsion; in NT chiefly demons or people from sacred spaces through divine authority.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 82 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
Read verseI throw, cast, put out, banish, bring forth, produce
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 80 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 6 selected witnesses from 81 lexical occurrence verses.
Shows that the Spirit intentionally initiates the testing. Luke 11:14–23
Demonstrates authoritative expulsion of demonic forces. Luke 19:45–48
Indicates forceful purification by divine authority. Mark 1:9–13
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Ekballo cannot be reduced to rejection. Jesus uses it to promise the opposite: anyone who comes to Him will not be cast out. At the cross, the ruler of this world is decisively expelled. In the temple, Jesus acts with unique messianic authority against corrupted worship, while Luke uses the forceful verb for workers sent into harvest. Galatians' quotation serves a covenantal allegory and has a history of dangerous ethnic misuse that must be rejected.
Churches should welcome those coming to Christ, confront exploitation, and practice discipline only through scriptural grounds, impartial evidence, appeals, safety planning, and lawful limits. No leader may imitate Jesus' temple action to justify assault, property destruction, or unreviewable expulsion.
John.6.37
Ekballo combines ek, out, with ballo, throw or put. It often conveys forceful removal or sending, but context ranges from expulsion to urgent commissioning.
Exile, removal of impurity, Hagar's departure, temple cleansing, and prophetic commissioning provide different backgrounds that must not be collapsed.
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