To lessen (in rank or influence)
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Ἐλαττόω (elattóō) means to make less, lower, or decrease. John the Baptist uses it in John 3:30 to describe the necessary change in public prominence as Jesus' ministry comes to the foreground: Christ must increase, and John must decrease.
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Full entry for ἐλαττόω (G1642) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἐλαττόω (elattóō) means to make less, lower, or decrease. John the Baptist uses it in John 3:30 to describe the necessary change in public prominence as Jesus' ministry comes to the foreground: Christ must increase, and John must decrease.
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [must] decrease (1), was made a little lower (1), You made him a little lower (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 3:30. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (2), John (1).
Ἐλαττόω (elattóō) means to make less, lower, or decrease. John the Baptist uses it in John 3:30 to describe the necessary change in public prominence as Jesus' ministry comes to the foreground: Christ must increase, and John must decrease. This is not self-hatred. John has already received his calling, borne witness faithfully, and rejoiced as the bridegroom's friend. His decrease is the glad humility of a servant whose work succeeds by directing attention to Christ.
Hebrews uses the same verb when it quotes Psalm 8 and speaks of humanity, and then Jesus, being made for a little while lower than the angels (Heb. 2:7, 9). There the lowering of the Son belongs to His suffering of death and is followed by glory and honor. The word itself does not mean incarnation, humiliation, or humility in every setting; those doctrines arise from the argument of Hebrews and the witness of the whole canon.
Faithful application keeps both uses clear. Christian ministry should desire Christ's name to become greater rather than building identity around the servant. At the same time, decrease is not a command to deny gifts, tolerate abuse, or erase personhood. Biblical humility receives its place from God, fulfills its calling, and gladly yields the center to the Son.
The verb appears in John's witness to Christ and in Hebrews' account of humanity and the Son being made lower for a time.
He must increase; I must decrease.
John gladly accepts a diminishing public role because the bridegroom has arrived and John's witness has reached its purpose.
You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor
The Psalm describes humanity's lowered place within creation together with God-given dignity and vocation.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews centers the Psalm's language on Jesus, whose suffering is followed by glory and whose death serves God's saving purpose.
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. to lessen (in rank or influence)
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I make less, make inferior
Read verseI make less, make inferior
Read verseI make less, make inferior
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 3 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)
ἐλαττόω is built from this root:
John 3:30 gives Christian ministry a durable measure of faithfulness. The servant is not the bridegroom, and the witness is not the Light. John can rejoice as his public influence decreases because his calling has always been to point beyond himself to Christ. Hebrews adds a distinct use: Jesus was made lower for a time, suffered death, and is crowned with glory.
Together the passages teach humility without self-erasure and exalt Christ without romanticizing weakness. Leaders should welcome fruit that makes Christ clearer, even when their own name becomes less visible. Yet no one should use this word to justify manipulation, abuse, or the suppression of gifts God intends for service.
John.3.30
The verb marks a comparative lowering or decrease. Its theological significance depends on who is lowered, in what respect, and for what purpose.