λύπη
Sadness
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Canonical witness: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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What does λύπη (lýpē) mean in the Bible?
λύπη (lýpē) is a Greek word meaning "sadness". λύπη, -ης, ἡ [in LXX for עֶצֶב and cogn. Temporary anguish preceding resurrection joy.
Meaning
Grief that can be either worldly despair or redemptive sorrow leading to repentance and transformation.
pain of body or mind, grief, sorrow: Jhn.16:6, 2Co.2:7; opposite to χαρά, Jhn.16:20, Heb.12:11; ἀπὸ τῆς λ., Luk.22:45; ἐκ λ., 2Co.9:7; ἡ κατὰ θεὸν λ., opposite to ἡ τ. κόσ-μου λ., 2Co.7:10; λ. μοι ἐστιν, Rom.9:2; λ. ἔχω, Jhn.16:21-22; id. before ἀπό, 2Co.2:3; λ. ἐπὶ λ. ἔχω, Php.2:27; ἐν λ. ἐλθεῖν, 2Co.2:1 (to come sad and cause sadness); pl. (cf. Gen.3:16, Pro.15:13, al.), 1Pe.2:19.
Why This Word Matters
Temporary anguish preceding resurrection joy.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Witnesses
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain