To fill up
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Ἐμπίπλημι (empíplēmi) means to fill or satisfy fully. In John 6:12 it describes the crowd after Jesus feeds them: everyone is full, and Jesus commands the disciples to gather the remaining pieces so nothing is wasted.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐμπίπλημι (G1705) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἐμπίπλημι (empíplēmi) means to fill or satisfy fully. In John 6:12 it describes the crowd after Jesus feeds them: everyone is full, and Jesus commands the disciples to gather the remaining pieces so nothing is wasted.
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include are well fed (1), everyone was full (1), filling (1), He has filled (1), I have enjoyed your company (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 1:53. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (2), Acts (1), John (1), Romans (1).
Ἐμπίπλημι (empíplēmi) means to fill or satisfy fully. In John 6:12 it describes the crowd after Jesus feeds them: everyone is full, and Jesus commands the disciples to gather the remaining pieces so nothing is wasted. The word marks genuine bodily satisfaction within a sign that reveals Jesus' authority and prepares His teaching about the bread that gives eternal life.
Mary's song declares that God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:53). Acts 14:17 points to rain, fruitful seasons, food, and gladness as testimony to God's goodness. Romans 15:24 uses the verb more relationally when Paul hopes to enjoy the believers' company before they assist his journey. Luke 6:25 also warns those who are full now that reversal is coming.
The verb does not promise that believers will never face hunger or make material fullness the gospel's highest good. Scripture celebrates God's provision, confronts satisfied self-reliance, and directs hunger toward Christ. Faithful application joins gratitude with stewardship: receive provision, share with others, gather without waste, and seek the Son rather than treating His gifts as ends in themselves.
The verb describes God filling the hungry, Jesus satisfying the crowd, creation's provision, fellowship, and warnings to the self-satisfied.
He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
Mary celebrates God's kingdom reversal and mercy toward the hungry within His covenant faithfulness.
And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
Jesus' provision truly satisfies, and His command joins abundance with careful stewardship.
Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
Ordinary creation provision bears witness to the goodness of the living God.
I hope to see you on my way to Spain. And after I have enjoyed your company for a while, you can equip me for my journey.
The verb expresses relational satisfaction before partnership in mission.
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 fill up
(on ἐμπίμπ-, see LS, see word, Bl., § 6, 8), and ἐμπιπλάω (Act.14:17), [in LXX chiefly for מָלֵא, שָׂבַע ;] to fill full, fill up, satisfy: with accusative of person(s) and genitive of thing(s), Luk.1:53, Act.14:17; pass., Luk.6:25, Jhn.6:12; metaphorically, with genitive of person(s), to take one's fill of: Rom.15:24 (cf. Dan LXX Su 32).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I fill up, satisfy
Read verseI fill up, satisfy
Read verseI fill up, satisfy
Read verseI fill up, satisfy
Read verseI fill up, satisfy
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 this verb appears across 5 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)
ἐμπίπλημι is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
The crowd in John 6 does not receive a token meal. They eat until full, and leftovers remain. Jesus' abundance does not produce wastefulness; He tells the disciples to gather the fragments. The sign therefore holds provision and stewardship together. Mary's song and Acts 14 locate filling within God's mercy and creational goodness, while Luke also warns people whose present fullness has made them self-satisfied.
Teaching should neither spiritualize away bodily need nor reduce Jesus to a provider of comfort. The church gives thanks, feeds the hungry, avoids waste, enjoys fellowship, and points to Christ as the deeper bread human beings cannot secure for themselves.
John.6.12
The verb emphasizes being filled or satisfied. Context identifies whether the filling concerns food, gladness, companionship, or a warning about present comfort.
Wilderness manna, harvest provision, and God's care for the hungry form a canonical background. John presents Jesus' sign as provision that points to Him as the true bread.
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