Hesychazo describes becoming or remaining quiet, whether by resting from activity, ceasing objections or living without disruptive interference. The people watching Jesus in Luke 14 remain silent before He heals a suffering man; that silence is not presented as a model of compassion.
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Full entry for ἡσυχάζω (G2270) · Open the biblical lexicon
Hesychazo describes becoming or remaining quiet, whether by resting from activity, ceasing objections or living without disruptive interference. The people watching Jesus in Luke 14 remain silent before He heals a suffering man; that silence is not presented as a model of compassion.
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include they had no further [objections] (1), they remained silent (1), they rested (1), to live quietly (1), we quieted down (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 14:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Luke (2), 1 Thessalonians (1).
Hesychazo describes becoming or remaining quiet, whether by resting from activity, ceasing objections or living without disruptive interference. The people watching Jesus in Luke 14 remain silent before He heals a suffering man; that silence is not presented as a model of compassion. The women in Luke 23 rest on the Sabbath after preparing spices. In Acts 11, hearers stop objecting after Peter recounts God's work among Gentiles and then speak in praise.
Paul's friends in Acts 21 cease trying to dissuade him after openly expressing their concern. First Thessalonians joins quiet living with attending to one's matters and working responsibly. These varied settings call for contextual judgment. The verb cannot authorize enforced silence, denial of suffering or a leader's demand that others stop reporting harm.
The five BSB witnesses describe silence during a healing controversy, Sabbath rest, objections withdrawn after testimony, a concluded plea to Paul and quiet ordinary conduct. Some quietness is faithful; one silence leaves Jesus' question unanswered, so the verb alone cannot assign virtue.
But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.
The observers remain silent before Jesus heals the man; their lack of an answer must not be confused with His merciful action.
Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.
The women prepare burial spices and rest according to the Sabbath commandment, with their grief and care still present.
When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
The hearers withdraw objections after Peter's explanation and then glorify God for granting Gentiles repentance unto life.
When he would not be dissuaded, we quieted down and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
The companions had already expressed grief and urged caution; ceasing their plea respects Paul's stated resolve rather than forbidding concern.
And to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
Quiet living belongs beside brotherly love, responsible attention to ordinary matters and honorable behavior toward outsiders.
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. Means rest from activity or labor, distinctly different from σιγάω which specifically means being silent.
Means rest from activity or labor, distinctly different from σιγάω which specifically means being silent.
to be still;
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek 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 rest, am silent, live quietly
Read verseI rest, am silent, live quietly
Read verseI rest, am silent, live quietly
Read verseI rest, am silent, live quietly
Read verseI rest, am silent, live quietly
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 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)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
ἡσυχάζω is built from this root:
Acts 11 offers a particularly clear account of quietness that makes room for truth. Peter's critics voice their objection; he explains the events in order, recounts the Spirit's work and recalls the Lord's word. Only then do the hearers cease objecting, and their next response is spoken praise. Quietness here is openness to God's action after evidence has been heard, not submission to a demand for silence.
Luke 14 provides a contrast: people remain silent before Jesus' healing question, while He acts mercifully. First Thessalonians gives yet another setting, where quiet living accompanies brotherly love and responsible work. Teaching the verb well therefore requires attention to the situation. It must never make refusal to hear a concern, suppression of a report or neglect of a suffering person appear holy.
Acts.11.18
Hesychazo is a verb for being quiet, resting or ceasing speech according to context. Four selected forms narrate completed actions, while First Thessalonians uses an infinitive in an appeal about ordinary conduct. These grammatical differences do not establish that every silence is commanded or permanent.
Exodus 20:8-11 extends Sabbath cessation from work to households, servants, livestock and resident foreigners. Luke 23 explicitly describes the women's rest according to the commandment. That setting supplies a supporting connection without making every occurrence of this Greek verb a Sabbath command or resolving all later calendar questions.