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Greek · G3784 · unreviewed

ὀφείλω

To owe

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ὀφείλω G3784
Pronunciation opheílō

What does ὀφείλω (opheílō) mean in the Bible?

ὀφείλω (opheílō) is a Greek word meaning "to owe". ὀφείλω [in LXX: Deu.

Full entry for ὀφείλω (G3784) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to owe
Extended definition

Moral or spiritual obligation, not just financial debt; what one is bound or duty-bound to do

to owe, be a debtor: with accusative of thing(s), Mat.18:28, Luk.7:41 16:7, Phm 18; id. with dative of person(s), Mat.18:28, Luk.16:5. Pass., to be owed, to be due: τ. ὀφειλόμενον, Mat.18:30, 34. Metaphorical: absol. (= Rabbinic חַיָּב; see McNeile, in l), Mat.23:16, 18; with accusative of thing(s) and dative of person(s), Rom.13:8; with inf., to be bound or obliged to do (of. Westc., Epp. Jo., 50), Luk.17:10, Jhn.13:14 19:7, Act.17:29, Rom.15:1, 27, 1Co.5:10 7:36 9:10 11:7 11:10, 2Co.12:14, Eph.5:28, 2Th.1:3 2:13, Heb.2:17 5:3, 12, 1Jn.2:6 Jn 3:16 Jn 4:11, 3Jn.8; ὤειλον συνίστασθαι, I ought to have been commended, 2Co.12:11. In peculiar Aram. sense of having wronged one (see: όφείλημα; but of. also Inscr. ἁμαρτίαν ὀφείίλω, Deiss., BS, 225), with dative of person(s), Luk.11:4 (cf. προσ-οφίελω).

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Present Imperfect
Voices
Active Passive
Indicative states a fact or reality 30×
Present Active Matt 23:16 · Matt 23:18 · John 19:7 · 1 Cor 7:36 · 1 Cor 9:10 · 1 Cor 11:7 · 1 Cor 11:10 · 2 Cor 12:14 · Phlm 1:18 · Heb 5:3 · 1 John 2:6 · Acts 17:29 · Rom 15:1 · 2 Thess 1:3 · 2 Thess 2:13 · 1 John 3:16 24×
Imperfect Active Matt 18:28 · Luke 7:41 · Heb 2:17 · Luke 17:10 · 1 Cor 5:10 · 2 Cor 12:11 6×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 4×
Present Passive Matt 18:30 · Matt 18:34 2×
Present Active Luke 11:4 · Heb 5:12 2×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Present Active Rom 13:8 1×
35 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 35 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
ongoing 24 imperative 1 background 6 participle 4
Tense
present 29 imperfect 6
Voice
active 33 passive 2
Mood
indicative 30 participle 4 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 18:28 ὤφειλεν imperfect active indicative background Matthew 18:28 ὀφείλεις present active indicative ongoing Matthew 18:30 ὀφειλόμενον present passive participle participle Matthew 18:34 ὀφειλόμενον present passive participle participle Matthew 23:16 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Matthew 23:18 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Luke 7:41 ὤφειλεν imperfect active indicative background Luke 11:4 ὀφείλοντι present active participle participle Luke 16:5 ὀφείλεις present active indicative ongoing Luke 16:7 ὀφείλεις present active indicative ongoing Luke 17:10 ὠφείλομεν imperfect active indicative background John 13:14 ὀφείλετε present active indicative ongoing John 19:7 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Acts 17:29 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing Romans 13:8 ὀφείλετε present active imperative imperative Romans 15:1 Ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing Romans 15:27 ὀφείλουσιν present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 5:10 ὠφείλετε imperfect active indicative background 1 Corinthians 7:36 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 9:10 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 11:10 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 11:7 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 12:11 ὤφειλον imperfect active indicative background 2 Corinthians 12:14 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Ephesians 5:28 ὀφείλουσιν present active indicative ongoing 2 Thessalonians 1:3 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing 2 Thessalonians 2:13 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing Philemon 1:18 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 2:17 ὤφειλεν imperfect active indicative background Hebrews 5:12 ὀφείλοντες present active participle participle Hebrews 5:3 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 John 2:6 ὀφείλει present active indicative ongoing 1 John 3:16 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing 1 John 4:11 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing 3 John 1:8 ὀφείλομεν present active indicative ongoing

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)

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

Biblical Witnesses
Luke 17:1-10 ought opheílō Indicative · Imperfect Active
Moral obligation or duty, what one is bound to do
Romans 13:8-14 owe opheílō Imperative · Present Active
Financial debt and metaphorical obligation to love one another
Luke 11:1-13 forgive opheílō Participle · Present Active
Debt or sin owed to God, used in prayer for forgiveness
Ephesians 5:22-33 ought opheílō
Marital duty and mutual obligation between spouses
3 John 1:8 ought opheílō
Christian obligation to support and welcome traveling teachers
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

ὅς · ὀφείλω · ποιέω G3739, G3784, G4160
what we owed to do, we have done
ὀφείλω · ὀφείλημα G3784, G3783
duty
πᾶς · ὀφείλω G3956, G3784
all that was owed
πόσος · ὀφείλω G4214, G3784
how much do you owe?
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.

Matthew 18 — Kingdom Humility, Care for the Little Ones, Discipline, and Forgiveness in Christ’s Community Romans 13 — Submission to Governing Authorities, Love as the Fulfillment of the Law, and Life in the Light of the Coming Day Romans 15 — Bearing with the Weak, Welcoming One Another, and Paul’s Priestly Mission to the Gentiles

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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