What does νῦν (nŷn) mean in the Bible?
G3568 names the present moment: now, at this point, or as matters stand. John uses it for ordinary sequence, but also for moments where Jesus presses revelation into the reader's present attention.
Greek · G3568
νῦν
Now
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νῦν G3568
Pronunciation nŷn
What does νῦν (nŷn) mean in the Bible?
G3568 names the present moment: now, at this point, or as matters stand. John uses it for ordinary sequence, but also for moments where Jesus presses revelation into the reader's present attention.
Reader summary
Full entry for νῦν (G3568) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3568?
The BSB source-word alignment has 147 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include now (87), vvv (13), . . . (7), now on (7), present (7).
Where does νῦν (nŷn) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:21. Its strongest book concentrations include John (29), Acts (25), Luke (14), Romans (14).
What This Word Actually Means
G3568 names the present moment: now, at this point, or as matters stand. John uses it for ordinary sequence, but also for moments where Jesus presses revelation into the reader's present attention. The Samaritan woman's worship question reaches an hour that has now come. The dead will now hear the Son's voice. Jesus says His soul is now troubled, announces now judgment on the world, and speaks after Judas leaves of the Son of Man now being glorified.
The word should not be inflated every time it appears, yet in these scenes it helps teachers see when John moves from background to decisive disclosure, judgment, glory, and faithful response.
How the Bible Uses It
G3568 traces present force in John: worship is now opened in spirit and truth, life is announced through the Son's voice, judgment arrives at Jesus' hour, and glory is spoken as betrayal sets the Passion in motion.
- John.4.23
But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him.
Jesus says the hour is coming and has now come when true worshipers worship the Father in spirit and truth. The present moment is defined by His revelation, not by location alone.
- John.5.25
Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
The hour is coming and has now come when the dead hear the Son of God's voice. Now language carries life-giving authority from the Son.
- John.12.27
Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
Jesus names His soul as now troubled and refuses to ask escape from the hour. The present moment is the path of obedient suffering.
- John.12.31
Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.
Jesus announces now judgment on the world and now the casting out of its ruler. The word marks the decisive force of the cross-bound hour.
- John.13.31
When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.
After Judas departs, Jesus says the Son of Man is now glorified. The betrayal scene is read through divine glory rather than mere tragedy.
- John.17.5
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
Jesus prays, now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence. Present petition reaches back to pre-world glory and forward to completed mission.
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 now 87× Matthew 24:21, Matthew 26:65, Matthew 27:42, Matthew 27:43
vvv 13× John 21:10, Acts 17:30, Romans 5:11, Romans 6:21
. . . 7× Mark 10:30, John 4:18, John 8:11, John 9:21
now on 7× Luke 1:48, Luke 5:10, Luke 12:52, Luke 22:18
present 7× Romans 3:26, Romans 8:18, Romans 11:5, 2 Corinthians 8:14
- 2× Luke 2:29, 2 Corinthians 5:16
As it is 2× 1 Corinthians 12:20, James 4:16
[that] now 1× 1 Peter 3:21
[there is] now 1× Romans 8:1
[yet] now 1× 2 Corinthians 7:9
{are} now 1× Acts 7:4
{has} now 1× John 4:23
{is} now 1× Galatians 1:23
{may} now 1× Romans 11:31
And now 1× Acts 7:52
at present 1× Hebrews 2:8
at this time 1× 1 John 4:3
even now 1× John 11:22
in the present [case] 1× Acts 5:38
just 1× John 11:8
now [come] 1× John 5:25
now [you are] 1× 1 Peter 2:10
now that 1× Galatians 4:9
present-day 1× Galatians 4:25
since 1× John 9:41
the present 1× 2 Peter 3:7
the present time 1× Romans 8:22
then 1× John 6:42
this 1× 2 Timothy 4:10
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 24:21 νῦν to now Adverb Matthew 26:65 νῦν to now Adverb Matthew 27:42 νῦν to now Adverb Matthew 27:43 νῦν to now Adverb Mark 10:30 νῦν to . . . Adverb Mark 13:19 νῦν to now Adverb Mark 15:32 νῦν to now Adverb Luke 1:48 νῦν to now on Adverb Luke 2:29 Νῦν to - Adverb Luke 5:10 νῦν to now on Adverb
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 24:21
Aligned rows 147
Books represented 24
Matthew 4 Mark 3 Luke 14 John 29 Acts 25 Romans 14 1 Corinthians 6 2 Corinthians 7 Galatians 6 Ephesians 4 Philippians 5 Colossians 2 1 Thessalonians 1 2 Thessalonians 1 1 Timothy 2 2 Timothy 2 Titus 1 Hebrews 5 James 3 1 Peter 5 2 Peter 2 1 John 4 2 John 1 Jude 1
Source forms
νῦν 136x nyn Matthew 24:21, Matthew 26:65, Matthew 27:42, Matthew 27:43
Νῦν 11x Nyn Luke 2:29, Luke 11:39, John 8:52, John 12:27
Parsing patterns
Adverb 147x Matthew 24:21, Matthew 26:65, Matthew 27:42, Matthew 27:43
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Ask what Jesus or John says is true now in the scene before applying the word to your own moment.
- Let the present force of Jesus' words call for faith without turning every now into a crisis slogan.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that G3568 always marks a climactic theological moment. Many uses are ordinary.
- Do not claim that John's now-language creates doctrine apart from Jesus' words, works, hour, and relation to the Father.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. now
Strong's G3568
Lexical occurrences 145 verses Greek text appearances 143 times 16 shown below Word forms 1 form 145 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
now
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 143 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 24:21 Adverb
νῦν, nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Matthew 26:65 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Matthew 27:42 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Matthew 27:43 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Mark 10:30 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Mark 13:19 Adverb
νῦν, nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Mark 15:32 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 1:48 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 2:29 Adverb
Νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 5:10 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 6:21 Adverb
νῦν, nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 6:21 Adverb
νῦν, nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 6:25 Adverb
νῦν, nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 11:39 Adverb
Νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 12:52 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
Read verse Luke 16:25 Adverb
νῦν nun
now, already, at present
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 1 Aligned forms 145
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Matt 24:21 · Matt 26:65 · Matt 27:42 · Matt 27:43 · Mark 10:30 · Mark 13:19 · Mark 15:32 · Luke 1:48 · Luke 2:29 · Luke 5:10 · Luke 6:21 · Luke 6:25 · Luke 11:39 · Luke 12:52 · Luke 16:25 · Luke 19:42 145×
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
G3568 matters because John's Gospel often turns on the present force of Jesus' mission. The word can be ordinary, as in a conversation or a sequence of movement, but the selected scenes show it carrying serious theological weight. In John 4, the worship question is no longer only about inherited locations because the hour has now come. In John 5, the Son's voice gives life now.
In John 12, Jesus does not step away from His troubled hour; now judgment falls on the world. In John 13, even betrayal is interpreted through the glory of the Son of Man. In John 17, present prayer gathers eternal glory and completed mission. The word teaches readers to ask what Jesus' coming has made present.
Anchor passage
John.12.31
Doctrinal connections
- G5610 Hour: now language often receives its force from John's hour motif rather than from the adverb alone.
- G1392 Glorify: John 13 and John 17 connect the present moment with the glory of the Son.
- G4352 Worship: John 4 ties the present hour to worship in spirit and truth.
- G2222 Life: John 5 presents the present hearing of the Son's voice as life-giving.
- G2889 World: John 12 says judgment is now upon this world as Jesus moves toward the cross.
- G3962 Father: Jesus' now-language repeatedly stands inside His obedient relation to the Father.
G3568 is an adverb of present time or present state. In John, its theological value is contextual. It may mark simple sequence, present condition, logical consequence, or the decisive arrival of an hour.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture often declares that God's saving work creates an accountable present moment. John centers that present pressure on Jesus: His speech, hour, judgment, glory, and return to the Father define what is now true.
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