What does παράγω (parágō) mean in the Bible?
G3855 can describe moving past a place or person and, figuratively, passing away. The immediate subject and setting determine whether it refers to travel, an encounter, or impermanence.
Greek · G3855
παράγω
To pass
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παράγωG3855
Pronunciationparágō
What does παράγω (parágō) mean in the Bible?
G3855 can describe moving past a place or person and, figuratively, passing away. The immediate subject and setting determine whether it refers to travel, an encounter, or impermanence.
Reader summary
Full entry for παράγω (G3855) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3855?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include is passing away (2), was passing by (2), went on (2), [Jesus] was passing by (1), [Jesus] was walking (1).
Where does παράγω (parágō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (3), Matthew (3), 1 John (2), 1 Corinthians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G3855 can describe moving past a place or person and, figuratively, passing away. The immediate subject and setting determine whether it refers to travel, an encounter, or impermanence. In Matt. 9. 9, Jesus passes on and sees Matthew at the tax booth, then calls him to follow. In John. 9. 1, Jesus passes by and sees a man blind from birth, leading to a work of mercy and a dispute about spiritual sight.
In 1John. 2. 17, the world and its desires are passing away, while the one who does God's will remains forever. G3855 opens teaching on Christ's attentive presence, responsive discipleship, and the temporary character of a rebellious world order. It does not imply that every chance encounter is a private sign, blame disability on hidden sin, or command withdrawal from ordinary created life.
How the Bible Uses It
G3855 describes Jesus or others passing along a road, a passerby compelled into service, and the present world's form, darkness, or desires passing away. Spatial movement supplies a natural image for temporal impermanence.
- Matt.9.9
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
As Jesus passes the tax booth, He sees Matthew, calls him to follow, and receives his immediate response.
- John.9.1
Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth,
Jesus sees a man blind from birth as He passes by and rejects the disciples' attempt to assign the disability to a particular person's sin.
- 1John.2.17
The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.
The world and its desires are passing away, but the person who does God's will remains forever.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itis passing away2×1 Corinthians 7:31, 1 John 2:17
was passing by2×Matthew 20:30, Mark 15:21
went on2×Matthew 9:9, Matthew 9:27
[Jesus] was passing by1×John 9:1
[Jesus] was walking1×Mark 1:16
As He was walking along1×Mark 2:14
is fading1×1 John 2:8
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 9:9παράγωνtowent onVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularMatthew 9:27παράγοντιtowent onVerb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine SingularMatthew 20:30παράγειtowas passing byVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularMark 1:16παράγωνto[Jesus] was walkingVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularMark 2:14παράγωνtoAs He was walking alongVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularMark 15:21παράγοντάtowas passing byVerb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine SingularJohn 9:1παράγωνto[Jesus] was passing byVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1 Corinthians 7:31παράγειtois passing awayVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1 John 2:8παράγεταιtois fadingVerb - Present Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular1 John 2:17παράγεταιtois passing awayVerb - Present Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 9:9
Aligned rows10
Books represented5
Matthew3Mark3John11 Corinthians11 John2
Source forms
παράγων4xparagōnMatthew 9:9, Mark 1:16, Mark 2:14, John 9:1
παράγει2xparageiMatthew 20:30, 1 Corinthians 7:31
παράγεται2xparagetai1 John 2:8, 1 John 2:17
παράγοντά1xparagontaMark 15:21
παράγοντι1xparagontiMatthew 9:27
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular4xMatthew 9:9, Mark 1:16, Mark 2:14, John 9:1
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular2xMatthew 20:30, 1 Corinthians 7:31
Verb - Present Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular2x1 John 2:8, 1 John 2:17
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular1xMark 15:21
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular1xMatthew 9:27
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not tell disabled or chronically ill people that their condition reveals their sin, their parents' sin, or deficient faith.
- Do not label every unexpected encounter a divine appointment that obligates another person to accept your interpretation or demand.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that G3855 always means pass away; several Gospel occurrences simply describe walking past or along a location.
- Do not claim that the world's passing requires contempt for bodies, work, culture, or material creation that God calls people to steward.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To pass by or away; metaphorically, temporal things fading or ceasing to exist.
Strong'sG3855
Lexical occurrences10 versesGreek text appearances10 timesWord forms2 forms10 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study link1 John 2:15-17Source Gloss
to pass
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To pass by or away; metaphorically, temporal things fading or ceasing to exist.
1trans., to lead by, lead aside, lead into, lead forward, etc.
2Intrans.,
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 9:9Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
παράγωνparagwn
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verseMatthew 9:27Verb Present Active Participle Dative Singular Masculine
παράγοντιparagonti
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verseMatthew 20:30Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
παράγει,paragei
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verseMark 2:14Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
παράγωνparagwn
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verseMark 15:21Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
παράγοντάparagonta
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verseJohn 8:59Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
παρῆγενparhgen
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verseJohn 9:1Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
παράγωνparagwn
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verse1 Corinthians 7:31Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
παράγειparagei
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verse1 John 2:8Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle Indicative
παράγεται,paragetai
I pass by, depart, pass away
Read verse1 John 2:17Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle Indicative
παράγεται,paragetai
I pass by, depart, pass away
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 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.
Form groups2Aligned forms10TensesPresentVoicesActive, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality6×
Present ActiveMatt 9:9 · Mark 1:16 · Mark 2:14 · John 9:1 · Matt 9:27 · Mark 15:216×
Indicativestates a fact or reality4×
Present ActiveMatt 20:30 · 1 Cor 7:312×
Present Passive1 John 2:8 · 1 John 2:172×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 10 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present10
Voice
active8passive2
Mood
participle6indicative4
NT Occurrences
Matthew 9:27παράγοντιpresent active participleparticipleMatthew 9:9παράγωνpresent active participleparticipleMatthew 20:30παράγειpresent active indicativeongoingMark 1:16παράγωνpresent active participleparticipleMark 2:14παράγωνpresent active participleparticipleMark 15:21παράγοντάpresent active participleparticipleJohn 9:1παράγωνpresent active participleparticiple1 Corinthians 7:31παράγειpresent active indicativeongoing1 John 2:17παράγεταιpresent passive indicativeongoing1 John 2:8παράγεταιpresent passive indicativeongoing
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 Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To move along and vanish, emphasizing temporary existence.
Showing 1 selected witness from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
παράγω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
John grounds his warning in eschatological reality: investing ultimate love in what is temporary is spiritually foolish.1 John 2:15-17
For the Preacher and Teacher
G3855 joins ordinary movement with decisive revelation. Jesus passes a tax booth and calls Matthew, showing that a routine place of compromised work can become the location of costly discipleship. He passes a man blind from birth and truly sees him, while the disciples initially see a theological problem. Jesus refuses their simple blame assignment and acts so God's works may be displayed.
First John uses passing movement for the world and its desires: the rebellious order that demands ultimate loyalty is already temporary, but doing God's will participates in what remains. These uses do not make every roadside moment miraculous or every cultural activity corrupt. They train attention and allegiance. Followers of Jesus should see neighbors rather than cases, respond when Christ's word summons them, and hold possessions, status, and desire without treating the present form as permanent.
What passes by can become an occasion of mercy; what passes away should not command eternal devotion. Christ's attentive authority, not spiritualized coincidence, controls the application.
Anchor passage
John.9.1
Doctrinal connections
- G3855: Jesus sees persons whom observers may reduce to occupation, disability, controversy, or inconvenience.
- G3855: Christ's call interrupts settled patterns and creates a concrete response of following rather than mere admiration.
- G3855: disability cannot be simplistically traced to a particular person's sin, and sufferers must not be used as moral examples.
- G3855: the present rebellious world order and its disordered desires are temporary despite their apparent power.
- G3855: doing God's will rests in the permanence of God's life rather than the durability of status or consumption.
- G3855: ordinary movement can become a setting for mercy without turning coincidence into a guaranteed channel of revelation.
G3855 is a Greek compound verb that can be transitive or intransitive. Gospel participles often describe someone passing by or going along, while Johannine and Pauline figurative uses describe a present condition or form passing away.
From Old to New Testament
Wisdom and prophetic texts repeatedly contrast short-lived human power with God's enduring word and purpose. The Gospel encounters show the eternal Son acting within ordinary roads and workplaces, while the letters direct allegiance away from the world's fading desires.