To lose out of mind; by implication, to neglect
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G1950 is a Greek verb for forgetting, losing sight of, overlooking, or neglecting something. Luke 12:6 says that not one sparrow is forgotten by God, grounding Jesus' reassurance in the Father's complete attention rather than in human visibility.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐπιλανθάνομαι (G1950) · Open the biblical lexicon
G1950 is a Greek verb for forgetting, losing sight of, overlooking, or neglecting something. Luke 12:6 says that not one sparrow is forgotten by God, grounding Jesus' reassurance in the Father's complete attention rather than in human visibility.
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include neglect (2), [the disciples] had forgotten (1), forgets (1), Forgetting (1), forgot (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 16:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (3), James (1), Luke (1), Mark (1).
G1950 is a Greek verb for forgetting, losing sight of, overlooking, or neglecting something. Luke 12:6 says that not one sparrow is forgotten by God, grounding Jesus' reassurance in the Father's complete attention rather than in human visibility. James 1:24 compares a hearer who does not act on the word to someone who looks in a mirror, goes away, and immediately forgets what he saw.
Hebrews 13:16 commands believers not to neglect doing good and sharing, naming remembrance through concrete generosity. The disciples can simply forget bread, while Philippians 3:13 uses forgetting what lies behind as part of Paul's forward pursuit of Christ's call. That phrase does not command erased memory, denial of trauma, or refusal to learn from the past.
G1950 opens teaching on God's faithful attention, obedient hearing, hospitality, generosity, and focused discipleship. It corrects both anxious fears of being invisible to God and spiritual slogans that demand people suppress memory, grief, accountability, or historical truth.
G1950 ranges from ordinary failure to remember an item to neglect of commanded practices and purposeful refusal to let the past govern present pursuit. Several passages contrast human forgetfulness with God's faithful remembrance and connect hearing with action.
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
Jesus assures His disciples that not even an inexpensive sparrow is forgotten by God as He calls them to faithful courage.
And after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
The non-doing hearer resembles a person who observes his face and immediately forgets it after leaving the mirror.
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Believers are commanded not to neglect doing good and sharing, sacrifices with which God is pleased.
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. Forgetting that involves culpable neglect, not mere mental lapse; implies responsible oversight.
Forgetting that involves culpable neglect, not mere mental lapse; implies responsible oversight.
(alternative mid, form of ἐπιλήθω, to cause to forget) [in LXX chiefly for שָׁכַח ;] to forget, neglect: with inf., Mat.16:5, Mrk.8:14; with genitive, Heb.6:10 13:2, 16; with accusative (as occasionally in cl.; MM, Exp., xiv), Php.3:13; ὁποῖος ἦν, Jas.1:24; pass. ptcp. (cf. Isa.23:16, Sir.3:14 23:14, Wis.2:4), Luk.12:6.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I forget, neglect
Read verseI forget, neglect
Read verseI forget, neglect
Read verseI forget, neglect
Read verseI forget, neglect
Read verseI forget, neglect
Read verseI forget, neglect
Read verseI forget, neglect
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 7 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)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
ἐπιλανθάνομαι 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.
G1950 reveals that forgetting is not one simple spiritual condition. The disciples forget bread, an ordinary lapse that becomes the setting for Jesus to expose their deeper failure to understand His provision and warning. James' mirror image addresses a more serious neglect: hearing God's word without doing it lets truthful self-recognition disappear without transformation.
Hebrews turns the negative command toward hospitality, good works, and sharing. These practices must not fall out of view because they are sacrifices pleasing to God. Luke provides the deepest reassurance by denying that God's attention operates like ours. Sparrows overlooked in human commerce are not forgotten before Him, and disciples facing public danger remain known.
Philippians 3 adds purposeful focus. Paul does not erase his testimony, suffering, or earlier argument; he refuses to rest in past credentials or let what lies behind stop his pursuit of the prize in Christ. G1950 therefore calls for active remembrance and rightly ordered attention, not forced amnesia. Faithful application may include recording truth, honoring victims, learning from failure, and maintaining boundaries while still refusing to let past status or shame define the future God gives.
God's memory is faithful; ours needs practices that join hearing to action.
Luke.12.6
G1950 can take a person, object, action, or prior circumstance as what is forgotten or neglected. In prohibitions it often means failing to keep a practice in active attention. Philippians uses a participial form rhetorically for focused pursuit, not clinical loss of memory.
Scripture repeatedly contrasts human forgetfulness with God's covenant remembrance and commands God's people to remember through worship, justice, and obedience. The New Testament uses G1950 within that wider pattern while giving each occurrence its own object and pastoral force.