What does ἔπαινος (épainos) mean in the Bible?
G1868 names praise, commendation, or approval. Paul uses the word with a sharp pastoral edge.
Greek · G1868
ἔπαινος
Laudation; concretely, a commendable thing
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ἔπαινος G1868
Pronunciation épainos
What does ἔπαινος (épainos) mean in the Bible?
G1868 names praise, commendation, or approval. Paul uses the word with a sharp pastoral edge.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἔπαινος (G1868) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1868?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include praise (4), [the] praise (3), approval (1), is praised (1), praiseworthy (1).
Where does ἔπαινος (épainos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 2:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Ephesians (3), 1 Peter (2), Philippians (2), Romans (2).
What This Word Actually Means
G1868 names praise, commendation, or approval. Paul uses the word with a sharp pastoral edge. Romans 2 contrasts praise from people with praise from God, warning that religious identity can become theater before human eyes. First Corinthians 4 directs final evaluation to the Lord, who brings hidden things to light. Ephesians 1 lifts praise toward the glory of God's grace.
The word helps teachers ask whose approval matters and where praise should finally land. It does not forbid encouragement or commendation in the church, but it relocates ultimate approval. Human praise is unstable and incomplete; God's praise is righteous, final, and grace-centered.
How the Bible Uses It
G1868 gathers Paul's language of praise and approval. It can expose human approval-seeking, describe God's final commendation, or direct worship toward the glory of grace.
- Rom.2.29
No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
Paul says true praise is not from man but from God. The word exposes the danger of religious identity aimed at human approval.
- 1Cor.4.5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
When the Lord brings hidden things to light, each will receive praise from God. The word is tied to final evaluation by the Lord, not present applause.
- Eph.1.6
To the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
Paul uses praise language to direct attention to the glory of God's grace. The word moves doxologically when God is the object.
Passage contextBook context
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 praise 4× Romans 2:29, 1 Corinthians 4:5, Philippians 1:11, 1 Peter 1:7
[the] praise 3× Ephesians 1:6, Ephesians 1:12, Ephesians 1:14
approval 1× Romans 13:3
is praised 1× 2 Corinthians 8:18
praiseworthy 1× Philippians 4:8
to praise 1× 1 Peter 2:14
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 2:29 ἔπαινος to praise Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Romans 13:3 ἔπαινον to approval Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 1 Corinthians 4:5 ἔπαινος to praise Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 2 Corinthians 8:18 ἔπαινος to is praised Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular Ephesians 1:6 ἔπαινον to [the] praise Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Ephesians 1:12 ἔπαινον to [the] praise Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Ephesians 1:14 ἔπαινον to [the] praise Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Philippians 1:11 ἔπαινον to praise Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Philippians 4:8 ἔπαινος to praiseworthy Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 1 Peter 1:7 ἔπαινον to praise Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Romans 2:29
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 6
Romans 2 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 1 Ephesians 3 Philippians 2 1 Peter 2
Source forms
ἔπαινον 7x epainon Romans 13:3, Ephesians 1:6, Ephesians 1:12, Ephesians 1:14
ἔπαινος 4x epainos Romans 2:29, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 8:18, Philippians 4:8
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 7x Romans 13:3, Ephesians 1:6, Ephesians 1:12, Ephesians 1:14
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 4x Romans 2:29, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 8:18, Philippians 4:8
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Ask whether praise is feeding image management or directing attention to God's grace.
- Use commendation carefully, remembering that the Lord sees what human evaluation cannot see.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use G1868 to forbid all encouragement among believers. Paul is correcting ultimate approval-seeking, not every form of commendation.
- Do not treat present human praise as final proof of faithfulness. First Corinthians 4 reserves final evaluation for the Lord.
Pastoral applicationPassage context
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Praise that recognizes and commends virtue or excellence in another person or God
Strong's G1868
Lexical occurrences 11 verses Greek text appearances 11 times Word forms 2 forms 11 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Ephesians 1:11-14 Source Gloss
laudation; concretely, a commendable thing
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 2:29 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινος epainov
commendation, praise
Read verse Romans 13:3 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινον epainon
commendation, praise
Read verse 1 Corinthians 4:5 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινος epainov
commendation, praise
Read verse 2 Corinthians 8:18 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινος epainov
commendation, praise
Read verse Ephesians 1:6 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινον epainon
commendation, praise
Read verse Ephesians 1:12 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινον epainon
commendation, praise
Read verse Ephesians 1:14 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινον epainon
commendation, praise
Read verse Philippians 1:11 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινον epainon
commendation, praise
Read verse Philippians 4:8 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινος, epainov
commendation, praise
Read verse 1 Peter 1:7 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινον epainon
commendation, praise
Read verse 1 Peter 2:14 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
ἔπαινον epainon
commendation, praise
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 2 Aligned forms 11 Case pattern Accusative (7) Number pattern Singular (11)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Rom 2:29 · 1 Cor 4:5 · 2 Cor 8:18 · Phil 4:8 4×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Rom 13:3 · Eph 1:6 · Eph 1:12 · Eph 1:14 · Phil 1:11 · 1 Pet 1:7 · 1 Pet 2:14 7×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Divine praise or glory given to God for redemption and salvation
Commendation or approval that tests and reveals human character
Loss of renown or honor, the cessation of laudation among nations
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἔπαινος 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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G1868 helps teachers address the human hunger for approval without despising true encouragement. Paul knows that praise can be misdirected. Religious people may seek praise from others while missing the God who sees the heart. Ministers may be evaluated too early by human courts while the Lord alone can reveal hidden motives. Worshipers may need to turn praise away from human status and toward the glory of God's grace.
The word therefore asks a searching question: whose approval is being sought? In the gospel, the deepest praise is not public applause but God's righteous commendation and the church's doxology to grace.
Anchor passage
Rom.2.29
Doctrinal connections
- Rom.2.29 - Paul says true praise is not from man but from God. The word exposes the danger of religious identity aimed at human approval.
- 1Cor.4.5 - When the Lord brings hidden things to light, each will receive praise from God. The word is tied to final evaluation by the Lord, not present applause.
- Eph.1.6 - Paul uses praise language to direct attention to the glory of God's grace. The word moves doxologically when God is the object.
Praise, commendation, or approval is the reviewed display gloss for G1868. In this Pauline-focused companion, local STEP TAGNT evidence shows about 9 Pauline use(s), with common forms including N-ASM 5, N-NSM 4. Treat these form signals as support for reading the passage, not as a replacement for context.
From Old to New Testament
The Pauline trajectory moves from rejecting man-centered praise to awaiting God's commendation and praising the glory of His grace.
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