What does ἐμπαίζω (empaízō) mean in the Bible?
ἐμπαίζω (empaízō): To mock with scorn or ridicule, often involving physical mockery or humiliation of the target.
Greek · G1702
ἐμπαίζω
To mock
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.
ἐμπαίζω G1702
Pronunciation empaízō
What does ἐμπαίζω (empaízō) mean in the Bible?
ἐμπαίζω (empaízō): To mock with scorn or ridicule, often involving physical mockery or humiliation of the target.
Full entry for ἐμπαίζω (G1702) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1702?
The BSB source-word alignment has 13 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include mocked [Him] (2), they had mocked (2), [and] mocked (1), [who] will mock (1), began to mock (1).
Where does ἐμπαίζω (empaízō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:16. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (5), Matthew (5), Mark (3).
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 mocked [Him] 2× Mark 15:31, Luke 23:11
they had mocked 2× Matthew 27:31, Mark 15:20
[and] mocked 1× Matthew 27:29
[who] will mock 1× Mark 10:34
began to mock 1× Luke 22:63
he had been outwitted 1× Matthew 2:16
mocked 1× Luke 23:36
mocked Him 1× Matthew 27:41
to be mocked 1× Matthew 20:19
will be mocked 1× Luke 18:32
will ridicule 1× Luke 14:29
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 2:16 ἐνεπαίχθη to he had been outwitted Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 20:19 ἐμπαῖξαι to to be mocked Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Matthew 27:29 ἐνέπαιξαν to [and] mocked Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 27:31 ἐνέπαιξαν to they had mocked Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 27:41 ἐμπαίζοντες to mocked Him Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Mark 10:34 ἐμπαίξουσιν to [who] will mock Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 15:20 ἐνέπαιξαν to they had mocked Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 15:31 ἐμπαίζοντες to mocked [Him] Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 14:29 ἐμπαίζειν to will ridicule Verb - Present Infinitive Active Luke 18:32 ἐμπαιχθήσεται to will be mocked Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 2:16
Aligned rows 13
Books represented 3
Matthew 5 Mark 3 Luke 5
Source forms
ἐνέπαιξαν 3x enepaixan Matthew 27:29, Matthew 27:31, Mark 15:20
ἐμπαίζοντες 2x empaizontes Matthew 27:41, Mark 15:31
ἐμπαίζειν 1x empaizein Luke 14:29
ἐμπαῖξαι 1x empaixai Matthew 20:19
ἐμπαίξας 1x empaixas Luke 23:11
ἐμπαίξουσιν 1x empaixousin Mark 10:34
ἐμπαιχθήσεται 1x empaichthēsetai Luke 18:32
ἐνέπαιζον 1x enepaizon Luke 22:63
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 4x Matthew 27:29, Matthew 27:31, Mark 15:20, Luke 23:36
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 2x Matthew 27:41, Mark 15:31
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Matthew 2:16
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 1x Matthew 20:19
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Luke 23:11
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Mark 10:34
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 18:32
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Luke 22:63
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To mock with scorn or ridicule, often involving physical mockery or humiliation of the target.
Strong's G1702
Lexical occurrences 13 verses Greek text appearances 13 times Word forms 3 forms 13 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to mock
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To mock with scorn or ridicule, often involving physical mockery or humiliation of the target.
= Attic προσ-, καταπαίζω, to mock at, mock (Hdt.): with dative, Mat.27:29, 31, Mrk.15:20, Luk.14:29 22:63 23:36; pass., Mat.2:16, Luk.18:32; absol., Mat.20:19 27:41, Mrk.10:34 15:31, Luk.23:11.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
13 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 2:16 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐνεπαίχθη enepaicqh
I mock
Read verse Matthew 20:19 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
ἐμπαῖξαι empaixai
I mock
Read verse Matthew 27:29 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐνέπαιζον enepaizon
I mock
Read verse Matthew 27:31 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐνέπαιξαν enepaixan
I mock
Read verse Matthew 27:41 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐμπαίζοντες empaizontev
I mock
Read verse Mark 10:34 Verb Third Person Plural Future Active Indicative
ἐμπαίξουσιν empaixousin
I mock
Read verse Mark 15:20 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐνέπαιξαν enepaixan
I mock
Read verse Mark 15:31 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐμπαίζοντες empaizontev
I mock
Read verse Luke 14:29 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἐμπαίζειν empaizein
I mock
Read verse Luke 18:32 Verb Third Person Singular Future Passive Indicative
ἐμπαιχθήσεται, empaicqhsetai
I mock
Read verse Luke 22:63 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐνέπαιζον enepaizon
I mock
Read verse Luke 23:11 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐμπαίξας, empaixav
I mock
Read verse Luke 23:36 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐνέπαιζον enepaizon
I mock
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 3 Aligned forms 13 Tenses Aorist, Present, Future, Imperfect Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 8×
Aorist Active Matt 27:29 · Matt 27:31 · Mark 15:20 · Luke 23:36 4×
Aorist Passive Matt 2:16 1×
Future Active Mark 10:34 1×
Future Passive Luke 18:32 1×
Imperfect Active Luke 22:63 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 3×
Present Active Matt 27:41 · Mark 15:31 2×
Aorist Active Luke 23:11 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Aorist Active Matt 20:19 1×
Present Active Luke 14:29 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 13 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 7 present 3 future 2 imperfect 1
Voice
active 11 passive 2
Mood
indicative 8 participle 3 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 2:16 ἐνεπαίχθη aorist passive indicative completed Matthew 20:19 ἐμπαῖξαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 27:29 ἐνέπαιξαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 27:31 ἐνέπαιξαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 27:41 ἐμπαίζοντες present active participle participle Mark 10:34 ἐμπαίξουσιν future active indicative prospective Mark 15:20 ἐνέπαιξαν aorist active indicative completed Mark 15:31 ἐμπαίζοντες present active participle participle Luke 14:29 ἐμπαίζειν present active infinitive infinitive Luke 18:32 ἐμπαιχθήσεται future passive indicative prospective Luke 22:63 ἐνέπαιζον imperfect active indicative background Luke 23:11 ἐμπαίξας aorist active participle participle Luke 23:36 ἐνέπαιξαν 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 Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 18:31–34 ἐμπαιχθήσεται empaízō
Will be mocked
Luke 22:63–71 ἐνέπαιζον empaízō
They were mocking
Luke 23:6–12 ἐμπαίξας empaízō
Having mocked
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 13 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐμπαίζω is built from these roots:
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