To bind about (especially with a belt)
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.
G2224 means to bind around, dress, or gird oneself. In John 21 Jesus uses it in His word to Peter about youth and old age: once Peter dressed himself and walked where he wanted, but later someone else will dress him and lead him where he does not want to go.
Reader summary
Full entry for ζώννυμι (G2224) · Open the biblical lexicon
G2224 means to bind around, dress, or gird oneself. In John 21 Jesus uses it in His word to Peter about youth and old age: once Peter dressed himself and walked where he wanted, but later someone else will dress him and lead him where he does not want to go.
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Get dressed (1), will dress (1), you dressed (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 21:18. Its strongest book concentrations include John (2), Acts (1).
G2224 means to bind around, dress, or gird oneself. In John 21 Jesus uses it in His word to Peter about youth and old age: once Peter dressed himself and walked where he wanted, but later someone else will dress him and lead him where he does not want to go. The word is ordinary clothing language, but the scene interprets it as part of Jesus' prophecy about Peter's death and following.
It helps teachers handle discipleship as embodied surrender, not heroic self-direction. Do not use the word to romanticize suffering or to guess details beyond the text. Jesus' command "Follow Me" gives the pastoral center.
G2224 appears in Jesus' prophecy to Peter in John 21. Ordinary dressing language becomes part of a sober word about costly following and the loss of self-directed control.
Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
Jesus contrasts Peter's former self-directed dressing and walking with a future in which another will dress and lead him. The word belongs to Jesus' prophecy about Peter's death and following.
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 bind about (especially with a belt)
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I gird
Read verseI gird
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 3 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)
ζώννυμι is built from this root:
G2224 gives concrete language to Jesus' prophecy over Peter. Peter once dressed himself and walked where he wanted. Later another will dress him and lead him where he does not want to go. John explains that this signified the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God, and Jesus follows it with the command, "Follow Me." The word helps teachers speak honestly about restored discipleship.
Peter is not merely comforted after failure; he is called into love, shepherding, and costly witness. The passage should not be used to romanticize suffering, but to show that Jesus' call governs Peter's future.
John.21.18
To dress, bind around, or gird is a reviewed display gloss for G2224. In this John-focused companion, the local discourse foregrounding data shows 2 John use(s), with tense patterns summarized as Imperfect 1, Future 1. Use these grammar signals as support for reading the passage, not as a replacement for context.
The broader Scripture connection should remain modest: surrendered agency and costly following is visible in the cited passages, while the full theological claim must come from each passage's context rather than from the word alone.
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