To rebuke
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Ἐπιτιμάω (epitimaō) means to rebuke, censure, warn sternly, or command with sharp authority. Jesus rebukes winds and sea, and creation becomes calm, displaying sovereign command rather than moral correction of weather.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐπιτιμάω (G2008) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἐπιτιμάω (epitimaō) means to rebuke, censure, warn sternly, or command with sharp authority. Jesus rebukes winds and sea, and creation becomes calm, displaying sovereign command rather than moral correction of weather.
The BSB source-word alignment has 29 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include rebuked (8), [and] rebuked (5), rebuke (4), admonished (3), to rebuke (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 8:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (12), Mark (9), Matthew (6), 2 Timothy (1).
Ἐπιτιμάω (epitimaō) means to rebuke, censure, warn sternly, or command with sharp authority. Jesus rebukes winds and sea, and creation becomes calm, displaying sovereign command rather than moral correction of weather. He sternly orders unclean spirits not to disclose His identity on their terms. A crowd rebukes the blind beggar to silence him, but their censure is wrong and he cries louder for mercy.
Jesus rebukes disciples whose response to rejection contradicts His mission. Jude says even Michael does not pronounce a slanderous judgment against the devil but appeals, “The Lord rebuke you. ” Rebuke can be rightful, mistaken, creature-directed, or presumptuous. Speaker, authority, object, and cause determine whether sharp speech serves truth or suppresses a faithful plea.
Ἐπιτιμάω describes stern rebuke or command. Jesus rebukes a storm, silences spirits, crowds wrongly rebuke a beggar, Jesus corrects disciples, and Michael entrusts rebuke to the Lord.
“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
Jesus rebukes wind and sea after confronting the disciples' fear, and perfect calm reveals authority over creation rather than a magical formula.
But He warned them sternly not to make Him known.
Jesus sternly orders unclean spirits not to publicize Him, controlling the timing and terms of messianic disclosure.
Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many people rebuke Bartimaeus to silence him, but his continued cry and Jesus' welcome expose the crowd's censure as an obstacle to mercy.
But Jesus turned and rebuked them.
Jesus turns and rebukes disciples when their zeal against an unreceptive village misrepresents His mission and authority.
But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Michael refuses a slanderous verdict in dispute with the devil and says, “The Lord rebuke you,” modeling restraint under higher authority.
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. Authoritative censure or command with power to enforce, often silencing or restraining someone's behavior
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 29 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
Read verseI rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
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 29 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 8 selected witnesses from 29 lexical occurrence verses.
ἐπιτιμάω is built from these roots:
Demonstrates sovereign authority over creation.
Demonstrates Christ’s authority over demonic proclamation.
Demonstrates divine authority over creation.
Displays sovereign command over evil.
Demonstrates authoritative command over nature.
Shows authoritative command over demonic power.
Highlights that ultimate authority to judge and rebuke belongs to the Lord, not to presumptuous creatures.Jude 1:8–10
Demonstrates that ultimate authority to judge and rebuke belongs to the Lord.Luke 4:31–37
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Rebuke is morally weighty because it claims that something must stop. Jesus' word calms creation and restrains spirits because His authority is real and unrivaled. Crowds can imitate the form without possessing the right: their rebuke targets a blind man's cry, yet Jesus stops for him and honors his faith. The disciples likewise need correction when religious zeal reaches for destructive power inconsistent with their Lord's mission.
Jude adds a boundary even in confrontation with evil; Michael does not substitute abusive accusation for the Lord's judgment. Churches need courageous correction, but it must arise from Scripture, proper responsibility, love, and truthful proportion. Ἐπιτιμάω cannot become a license for intimidation, performative spiritual warfare, or leadership beyond accountability.
The passage repeatedly asks whether the rebuker's authority and purpose align with Jesus.
Matt.8.26
Ἐπιτιμάω is a verb of rebuke, stern warning, or authoritative command. A dative or direct object identifies the one addressed. Context determines whether the speech is correction, silencing, or command over nonhuman forces.
Prophets rebuke covenant evil, the Lord rebukes hostile powers, Jesus commands storms and spirits, and apostolic teaching requires correction without slander or domineering speech.