What does παρατηρέω (paratēréō) mean in the Bible?
παρατηρέω (paratēréō): Careful, suspicious observation with intent to find fault or catch someone in wrongdoing
Greek · G3906
παρατηρέω
To observe
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
παρατηρέω G3906
Pronunciation paratēréō
What does παρατηρέω (paratēréō) mean in the Bible?
παρατηρέω (paratēréō): Careful, suspicious observation with intent to find fault or catch someone in wrongdoing
Full entry for παρατηρέω (G3906) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3906?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include they watched (1), they watched [Him] closely (1), they were watching (1), watching Him closely (1), were watching Him closely (1).
Where does παρατηρέω (paratēréō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 3:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (3), Acts (1), Galatians (1), Mark (1).
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 they watched 1× Acts 9:24
they watched [Him] closely 1× Luke 20:20
they were watching 1× Mark 3:2
watching Him closely 1× Luke 14:1
were watching Him closely 1× Luke 6:7
You are observing 1× Galatians 4:10
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 3:2 παρετήρουν to they were watching Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Luke 6:7 παρετηροῦντο to were watching Him closely Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Luke 14:1 παρατηρούμενοι to watching Him closely Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 20:20 παρατηρήσαντες to they watched [Him] closely Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Acts 9:24 παρετηροῦντο to they watched Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Galatians 4:10 παρατηρεῖσθε to You are observing Verb - Present Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 3:2
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 4
Mark 1 Luke 3 Acts 1 Galatians 1
Source forms
παρετηροῦντο 2x paretērounto Luke 6:7, Acts 9:24
παρατηρεῖσθε 1x paratēreisthe Galatians 4:10
παρατηρήσαντες 1x paratērēsantes Luke 20:20
παρατηρούμενοι 1x paratēroumenoi Luke 14:1
παρετήρουν 1x paretēroun Mark 3:2
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 2x Luke 6:7, Acts 9:24
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Luke 20:20
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Mark 3:2
Verb - Present Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Plural 1x Galatians 4:10
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Luke 14:1
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Careful, suspicious observation with intent to find fault or catch someone in wrongdoing
Strong's G3906
Lexical occurrences 6 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 2 forms 6 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 14:1–6 Source Gloss
to observe
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Careful, suspicious observation with intent to find fault or catch someone in wrongdoing
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 3:2 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
παρετήρουν parethroun
I watch
Read verse Luke 6:7 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
παρετήρουν parethroun
I watch
Read verse Luke 14:1 Verb Present Middle Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
παρατηρούμενοι parathroumenoi
I watch
Read verse Luke 20:20 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
παρατηρήσαντες parathrhsantev
I watch
Read verse Acts 9:24 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
παρετήρουν parethroun
I watch
Read verse Galatians 4:10 Verb Second Person Plural Present Middle Indicative
παρατηρεῖσθε, parathreisqe
I watch
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 groups 2 Aligned forms 6 Tenses Imperfect, Present, Aorist Voices Middle, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 4×
Imperfect Middle Luke 6:7 · Acts 9:24 2×
Imperfect Active Mark 3:2 1×
Present Middle Gal 4:10 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Present Middle Luke 14:1 1×
Aorist Active Luke 20:20 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
imperfect 3 present 1 aorist 1
Voice
middle 3 active 2
Mood
indicative 4 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Mark 3:2 παρετήρουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 6:7 παρετηροῦντο imperfect middle indicative background Luke 20:20 παρατηρήσαντες aorist active participle participle Acts 9:24 παρετηροῦντο imperfect middle indicative background Galatians 4:10 παρατηρεῖσθε present middle 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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Additional Occurrences
Luke 14:1–6 παρατηρούμενοι paratēréō
Watching closely
Luke 6:6–11 παρετηροῦντο paratēréō
They were watching closely
New Testament Witnesses
being closely watched
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
παρατηρέω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Reveals hostile scrutiny under religious pretense.
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