To kindle/burn
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Kaio means to burn, to be burning, or to be kindled. The New Testament uses it in ordinary lamp imagery, inward response to opened Scripture, descriptions of John the Baptist's witness, warnings about branches burned in judgment, and apocalyptic scenes of torches and the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.
Reader summary
Full entry for καίω (G2545) · Open the biblical lexicon
Kaio means to burn, to be burning, or to be kindled. The New Testament uses it in ordinary lamp imagery, inward response to opened Scripture, descriptions of John the Baptist's witness, warnings about branches burned in judgment, and apocalyptic scenes of torches and the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include burning (4), burned (3), burns (1), do [people] light (1), is burning (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:15. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (5), John (2), Luke (2), Hebrews (1).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Kaio means to burn, to be burning, or to be kindled. The New Testament uses it in ordinary lamp imagery, inward response to opened Scripture, descriptions of John the Baptist's witness, warnings about branches burned in judgment, and apocalyptic scenes of torches and the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. The word is flexible because burning itself can illuminate, warm, consume, or judge depending on the object and context.
Matthew speaks of a lamp being lit for a house. Luke describes hearts burning as the risen Jesus opens the Scriptures. John calls John the Baptist a burning and shining lamp, while John 15 speaks of withered branches burned. Revelation uses burning imagery around God's throne and final judgment. Kaio therefore requires careful contextual reading.
Kaio means to burn or be kindled. Its passages move from lamp light and awakened hearts to witness, fruitless branches, throne imagery, and final judgment.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Jesus uses lamp lighting to teach visible witness rather than hidden light.
They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
The Emmaus disciples describe their hearts burning as Jesus opens the Scriptures.
John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.
John the Baptist is called a lamp that burned and gave light for a season.
If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Jesus warns that branches not remaining in Him are gathered and burned.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits of God.
Revelation places burning torches before the throne as the seven spirits of God.
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”
Revelation describes the lake that burns with fire and sulfur as the second death.
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.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Denotes igniting or consuming fire; used metaphorically for inner spiritual awakening or emotional burning.
Denotes igniting or consuming fire; used metaphorically for inner spiritual awakening or emotional burning.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
Read verseI ignite, light, burn
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.
How this verb appears across 12 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 13 lexical occurrence verses.
καίω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Kaio is powerful because burning is never neutral in a scene. A lamp burns so a house has light. Hearts burn when the risen Christ opens the Scriptures. John the Baptist burns and shines as a witness for a season. A fruitless branch is burned as a warning about not remaining in Christ. Revelation's burning torches stand before God's throne, while the lake that burns with fire and sulfur names final judgment.
The word does not let teachers flatten fire into one emotion or one doctrine. It requires attention to object, agent, and purpose. Kaio helps readers ask whether the passage is showing illumination, inward awakening, faithful witness, consuming judgment, or holy throne imagery, and then apply only what that passage actually teaches.
Luke.24.32
Kaio is a verb for burning or kindling. Participial forms often describe an ongoing burning state, while active forms may describe lighting or setting something to burn.
Fire across Scripture can signal presence, purification, illumination, sacrifice, wrath, or judgment. Kaio participates in that broad imagery, but each New Testament passage narrows the meaning by naming what burns and what God is doing there.