What does κόπος (kópos) mean in the Bible?
Κόπος names labor, toil, weariness, trouble, or the burden caused by demanding effort. People ask why a woman is being troubled when she anoints Jesus, but He defends her beautiful act.
Greek · G2873
κόπος
Labor
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κόπος G2873
Pronunciation kópos
What does κόπος (kópos) mean in the Bible?
Κόπος names labor, toil, weariness, trouble, or the burden caused by demanding effort. People ask why a woman is being troubled when she anoints Jesus, but He defends her beautiful act.
Reader summary
Full entry for κόπος (G2873) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2873?
The BSB source-word alignment has 18 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include labor (10), . . . (3), [the] labors (1), bother (1), in labor (1).
Where does κόπος (kópos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 26:10. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Corinthians (4), 1 Thessalonians (3), 1 Corinthians (2), Luke (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Κόπος names labor, toil, weariness, trouble, or the burden caused by demanding effort. People ask why a woman is being troubled when she anoints Jesus, but He defends her beautiful act. A reluctant neighbor says not to bother him after his household is settled for the night. Jesus tells disciples they reap a mission field for which others have done the exhausting labor, and Paul says each worker receives according to personal toil.
The noun can describe either costly work or the disturbance someone imposes on another. It does not glorify exhaustion for its own sake. The task, burden, beneficiary, motive, and Lord's evaluation determine whether the labor is faithful, exploitative, avoidable, or misunderstood.
How the Bible Uses It
Κόπος names wearisome labor or troublesome burden. Jesus protects a costly act from hostile criticism, honors prior mission labor, and Paul places each worker's toil under God's evaluation.
- Matt.26.10
Aware of this, Jesus asked, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
Jesus rejects the disciples' treatment of the woman's anointing as needless trouble and interprets her action as beautiful preparation for His burial.
- Mark.14.6
But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
Mark's version commands the critics to leave her alone, protecting devoted action from a utilitarian objection that sounds compassionate while shaming her.
- Luke.11.7
And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’
The householder initially names the late request a bother, but the parable presses persistence and confidence in asking rather than endorsing selfish reluctance.
- John.4.38
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.”
The disciples enter a harvest shaped by labor they did not perform, teaching gratitude for hidden predecessors and shared joy rather than ownership of mission fruit.
- 1Cor.3.8
He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
Planter and waterer share one purpose, yet each receives according to labor; God gives the growth and remains the owner of field and building.
Passage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It labor 10× John 4:38, 1 Corinthians 3:8, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Corinthians 6:5
. . . 3× Matthew 26:10, Mark 14:6, Luke 18:5
[the] labors 1× 2 Corinthians 10:15
bother 1× Luke 11:7
in labor 1× 2 Corinthians 11:27
labors 1× Revelation 14:13
trouble 1× Galatians 6:17
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 26:10 κόπους to . . . Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Mark 14:6 κόπους to . . . Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 11:7 κόπους to bother Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 18:5 κόπον to . . . Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular John 4:38 κόπον to labor Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 1 Corinthians 3:8 κόπον to labor Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 1 Corinthians 15:58 κόπος to labor Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 2 Corinthians 6:5 κόποις to labor Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 2 Corinthians 10:15 κόποις to [the] labors Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 2 Corinthians 11:23 κόποις to labor Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 26:10
Aligned rows 18
Books represented 10
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 2 John 1 1 Corinthians 2 2 Corinthians 4 Galatians 1 1 Thessalonians 3 2 Thessalonians 1 Revelation 2
Source forms
κόπον 5x kopon Luke 18:5, John 4:38, 1 Corinthians 3:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:9
κόπους 4x kopous Matthew 26:10, Mark 14:6, Luke 11:7, Galatians 6:17
κόποις 3x kopois 2 Corinthians 6:5, 2 Corinthians 10:15, 2 Corinthians 11:23
κόπος 2x kopos 1 Corinthians 15:58, 1 Thessalonians 3:5
κόπῳ 2x kopō 2 Corinthians 11:27, 2 Thessalonians 3:8
κόπου 1x kopou 1 Thessalonians 1:3
κόπων 1x kopōn Revelation 14:13
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 5x Luke 18:5, John 4:38, 1 Corinthians 3:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:9
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 4x Matthew 26:10, Mark 14:6, Luke 11:7, Galatians 6:17
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 3x 2 Corinthians 6:5, 2 Corinthians 10:15, 2 Corinthians 11:23
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 2x 2 Corinthians 11:27, 2 Thessalonians 3:8
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x 1 Corinthians 15:58, 1 Thessalonians 3:5
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x Revelation 14:13
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular 1x 1 Thessalonians 1:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not spiritualize chronic overwork; faithful communities should honor labor by providing rest, shared responsibility, safety, and freedom from manipulation.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every instance of fatigue proves a ministry is faithful or fruitful.
- Do not use Jesus' defense of the anointing to silence reasonable accountability about how leaders use communal resources.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Laborious toil emphasizing fatigue and weariness from exertion, not merely the work itself
Strong's G2873
Lexical occurrences 18 verses Greek text appearances 19 times 16 shown below Word forms 7 forms 18 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Corinthians 15:58 Source Gloss
labor
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 19 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 26:10 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
κόπους kopouv
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse Mark 14:6 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
κόπους kopouv
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse Luke 11:7 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
κόπους kopouv
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse Luke 18:5 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
κόπον kopon
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse John 4:38 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
κόπον kopon
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 1 Corinthians 3:8 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
κόπον. kopon
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 1 Corinthians 15:58 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
κόπος kopov
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 2 Corinthians 6:5 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
κόποις, kopoiv
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 2 Corinthians 10:15 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
κόποις, kopoiv
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 2 Corinthians 11:23 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
κόποις kopoiv
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 2 Corinthians 11:27 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
κόπῳ kopw
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse Galatians 6:17 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
κόπους kopouv
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
κόπου kopou
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
κόπον kopon
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 3:5 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
κόπος kopov
trouble, toil, labor
Read verse 2 Thessalonians 3:8 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
κόπῳ kopw
trouble, toil, labor
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.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 7 Aligned forms 18 Case pattern Accusative (9) Number pattern Singular (10)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine 1 Cor 15:58 · 1 Thess 3:5 2×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine 1 Thess 1:3 1×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Rev 14:13 1×
Dative · Plural · Masculine 2 Cor 6:5 · 2 Cor 10:15 · 2 Cor 11:23 3×
Dative · Singular · Masculine 2 Cor 11:27 · 2 Thess 3:8 2×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Luke 18:5 · John 4:38 · 1 Cor 3:8 · 1 Thess 2:9 · Rev 2:2 5×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 26:10 · Mark 14:6 · Luke 11:7 · Gal 6:17 4×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Believers' work in the Lord, emphasizing earnest toil and effort
Imposition of burden or inconvenience upon someone, causing fatigue
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 18 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κόπος is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Cost does not tell the whole moral story of labor. The woman's anointing is criticized as troublesome and wasteful, yet Jesus names it beautiful and protects her from those misreading devotion before His burial. The midnight request feels burdensome to the settled householder, while the parable encourages persistent asking. John 4 reminds reapers that mission fruit often rests on exhausting work done by others, removing grounds for celebrity ownership.
First Corinthians gives labor real significance but places growth with God and reward under His judgment. Churches should honor faithful toil, acknowledge hidden contributors, and share burdens fairly. They must not call every inconvenience persecution or demand exhaustion as proof of love when wise limits and communal care are available.
Anchor passage
Matt.26.10
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 26:6-13, costly anointing defended by Jesus
- Luke 11:5-13, persistence in asking and the Father's generosity
- John 4:31-38, reaping another's labor in mission
- 1 Corinthians 3:5-9, labor under God who gives growth
- 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12, apostolic toil without exploitation
- Revelation 14:13, rest from labor and works that follow
Κόπος is related to striking or weariness and denotes exhausting labor, hardship, or trouble caused. The surrounding verb and affected person distinguish toil performed from bother imposed.
From Old to New Testament
Human toil is burdened after the fall, yet wisdom honors diligent labor and the Lord remembers faithful work. Christ receives costly devotion and promises final rest.
Sources
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