What does ἐκδικέω (ekdikéō) mean in the Bible?
ἐκδικέω (ekdikéō): Vindication of the oppressed or enforcement of justice, not personal revenge or retribution.
Greek · G1556
ἐκδικέω
To vindicate, retaliate, punish
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.
ἐκδικέω G1556
Pronunciation ekdikéō
What does ἐκδικέω (ekdikéō) mean in the Bible?
ἐκδικέω (ekdikéō): Vindication of the oppressed or enforcement of justice, not personal revenge or retribution.
Full entry for ἐκδικέω (G1556) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1556?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include avenge (2), Give me justice (1), He has avenged (1), I will give her justice (1), to punish (1).
Where does ἐκδικέω (ekdikéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 18:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (2), Revelation (2), 2 Corinthians (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 It avenge 2× Romans 12:19, Revelation 6:10
Give me justice 1× Luke 18:3
He has avenged 1× Revelation 19:2
I will give her justice 1× Luke 18:5
to punish 1× 2 Corinthians 10:6
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 18:3 Ἐκδίκησόν to Give me justice Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular Luke 18:5 ἐκδικήσω to I will give her justice Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Romans 12:19 ἐκδικοῦντες to avenge Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 2 Corinthians 10:6 ἐκδικῆσαι to to punish Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Revelation 6:10 ἐκδικεῖς to avenge Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular Revelation 19:2 ἐξεδίκησεν to He has avenged Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 18:3
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 4
Luke 2 Romans 1 2 Corinthians 1 Revelation 2
Source forms
ἐκδικεῖς 1x ekdikeis Revelation 6:10
ἐκδικῆσαι 1x ekdikēsai 2 Corinthians 10:6
Ἐκδίκησόν 1x Ekdikēson Luke 18:3
ἐκδικήσω 1x ekdikēsō Luke 18:5
ἐκδικοῦντες 1x ekdikountes Romans 12:19
ἐξεδίκησεν 1x exedikēsen Revelation 19:2
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Luke 18:3
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Revelation 19:2
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 1x 2 Corinthians 10:6
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Luke 18:5
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Revelation 6:10
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Romans 12:19
Evidence Summary
JusticeMessiah
Greek word. Vindication of the oppressed or enforcement of justice, not personal revenge or retribution.
Strong's G1556
Lexical occurrences 6 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 4 forms 6 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to vindicate, retaliate, punish
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Vindication of the oppressed or enforcement of justice, not personal revenge or retribution.
(ἔκδικος), [in LXX for פָּקַד, נָקַם, שָׁפַט, etc. ;]
1to vindicate: with accusative of person(s), Luk.18:3, 5.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 18:3 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Imperative
Ἐκδίκησόν ekdikhson
I give justice over, defend, avenge, vindicate
Read verse Luke 18:5 Verb First Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἐκδικήσω ekdikhsw
I give justice over, defend, avenge, vindicate
Read verse Romans 12:19 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐκδικοῦντες, ekdikountev
I give justice over, defend, avenge, vindicate
Read verse 2 Corinthians 10:6 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
ἐκδικῆσαι ekdikhsai
I give justice over, defend, avenge, vindicate
Read verse Revelation 6:10 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐκδικεῖς ekdikeiv
I give justice over, defend, avenge, vindicate
Read verse Revelation 19:2 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐξεδίκησε exedikhsen
I give justice over, defend, avenge, vindicate
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 groups 4 Aligned forms 6 Tenses Aorist, Future, Present Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Active Luke 18:3 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Future Active Luke 18:5 1×
Present Active Rev 6:10 1×
Aorist Active Rev 19:2 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Active Rom 12:19 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Active 2 Cor 10:6 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 6 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 3 present 2 future 1
Voice
active 6
Mood
indicative 3 infinitive 1 imperative 1 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Luke 18:3 Ἐκδίκησόν aorist active imperative imperative Luke 18:5 ἐκδικήσω future active indicative prospective Romans 12:19 ἐκδικοῦντες present active participle participle 2 Corinthians 10:6 ἐκδικῆσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Revelation 6:10 ἐκδικεῖς present active indicative ongoing Revelation 19:2 ἐξεδίκησεν aorist active indicative completed
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
Luke 18:1–8 ἐκδίκησόν ekdikéō
Grant justice, vindicate
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐκδικέω is built from this root:
Canonical Themes
JusticeMessiah
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.
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