What does παύω (paúō) mean in the Bible?
παύω (paúō) is a Greek word meaning "to cease".
Greek · G3973
παύω
To cease
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παύω G3973
Pronunciation paúō
What does παύω (paúō) mean in the Bible?
παύω (paúō) is a Greek word meaning "to cease".
Full entry for παύω (G3973) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3973?
The BSB source-word alignment has 15 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include stopped (2), [Jesus] had finished (1), had ended (1), had just finished (1), I never stopped (1).
Where does παύω (paúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 5:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (6), Luke (3), 1 Peter (2), 1 Corinthians (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 stopped 2× Ephesians 1:16, Colossians 1:9
[Jesus] had finished 1× Luke 5:4
had ended 1× Acts 20:1
had just finished 1× Luke 11:1
I never stopped 1× Acts 20:31
is done with 1× 1 Peter 4:1
must keep 1× 1 Peter 3:10
never stops 1× Acts 6:13
they did not stop 1× Acts 5:42
they stopped 1× Acts 21:32
they subsided 1× Luke 8:24
they will be restrained 1× 1 Corinthians 13:8
Will you never stop 1× Acts 13:10
would not the offerings have ceased 1× Hebrews 10:2
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 5:4 ἐπαύσατο to [Jesus] had finished Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Luke 8:24 ἐπαύσαντο to they subsided Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Luke 11:1 ἐπαύσατο to had just finished Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Acts 5:42 ἐπαύοντο to they did not stop Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Acts 6:13 παύεται to never stops Verb - Present Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Acts 13:10 παύσῃ to Will you never stop Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Singular Acts 20:1 παύσασθαι to had ended Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle Acts 20:31 ἐπαυσάμην to I never stopped Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 1st Person Singular Acts 21:32 ἐπαύσαντο to they stopped Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 1 Corinthians 13:8 παύσονται to they will be restrained Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 5:4
Aligned rows 15
Books represented 7
Luke 3 Acts 6 1 Corinthians 1 Ephesians 1 Colossians 1 Hebrews 1 1 Peter 2
Source forms
ἐπαύσαντο 3x epausanto Luke 8:24, Acts 21:32, Hebrews 10:2
ἐπαύσατο 2x epausato Luke 5:4, Luke 11:1
ἐπαύοντο 1x epauonto Acts 5:42
ἐπαυσάμην 1x epausamēn Acts 20:31
παύεται 1x pauetai Acts 6:13
παύομαι 1x pauomai Ephesians 1:16
παυόμεθα 1x pauometha Colossians 1:9
παύσασθαι 1x pausasthai Acts 20:1
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 3x Luke 8:24, Acts 21:32, Hebrews 10:2
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 2x Luke 5:4, Luke 11:1
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 1 Peter 3:10
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 1st Person Singular 1x Acts 20:31
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle 1x Acts 20:1
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Singular 1x Acts 13:10
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 13:8
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 5:42
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to cease
Strong's G3973
Lexical occurrences 15 verses Greek text appearances 15 times Word forms 3 forms 15 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to cease
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
15 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 5:4 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἐπαύσατο epausato
I cause to cease
Read verse Luke 8:24 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
ἐπαύσαντο, epausanto
I cause to cease
Read verse Luke 11:1 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἐπαύσατο, epausato
I cause to cease
Read verse Acts 5:42 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Middle Indicative
ἐπαύοντο epauonto
I cause to cease
Read verse Acts 6:13 Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle Indicative
παύεται pauetai
I cause to cease
Read verse Acts 13:10 Verb Second Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
παύσῃ paush
I cause to cease
Read verse Acts 20:1 Verb Aorist Middle Infinitive
παύσασθαι pausasqai
I cause to cease
Read verse Acts 20:31 Verb First Person Singular Aorist Middle Indicative
ἐπαυσάμην epausamhn
I cause to cease
Read verse Acts 21:32 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
ἐπαύσαντο epausanto
I cause to cease
Read verse 1 Corinthians 13:8 Verb Third Person Plural Future Middle Deponent Indicative
παύσονται· pausontai
I cause to cease
Read verse Ephesians 1:16 Verb First Person Singular Present Middle Indicative
παύομαι pauomai
I cause to cease
Read verse Colossians 1:9 Verb First Person Plural Present Middle Indicative
παυόμεθα pauomeqa
I cause to cease
Read verse Hebrews 10:2 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
ἐπαύσαντο epausanto
I cause to cease
Read verse 1 Peter 3:10 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Imperative
παυσάτω pausatw
I cause to cease
Read verse 1 Peter 4:1 Verb Third Person Singular Perfect Passive Indicative
πέπαυται pepautai
I cause to cease
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 3 Aligned forms 15 Tenses Aorist, Imperfect, Present, Future, Perfect 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 13×
Aorist Middle Luke 8:24 · Acts 21:32 · Heb 10:2 · Luke 5:4 · Luke 11:1 · Acts 20:31 6×
Present Middle Acts 6:13 · Eph 1:16 · Col 1:9 3×
Future Middle Acts 13:10 · 1 Cor 13:8 2×
Imperfect Middle Acts 5:42 1×
Perfect Middle 1 Pet 4:1 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Middle Acts 20:1 1×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Active 1 Pet 3:10 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 15 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 8 present 3 future 2 perfect 1 imperfect 1
Voice
middle 14 active 1
Mood
indicative 13 imperative 1 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Luke 5:4 ἐπαύσατο aorist middle indicative completed Luke 8:24 ἐπαύσαντο aorist middle indicative completed Luke 11:1 ἐπαύσατο aorist middle indicative completed Acts 5:42 ἐπαύοντο imperfect middle indicative background Acts 6:13 παύεται present middle indicative ongoing Acts 13:10 παύσῃ future middle indicative prospective Acts 20:1 παύσασθαι aorist middle infinitive infinitive Acts 20:31 ἐπαυσάμην aorist middle indicative completed Acts 21:32 ἐπαύσαντο aorist middle indicative completed 1 Corinthians 13:8 παύσονται future middle indicative prospective Ephesians 1:16 παύομαι present middle indicative ongoing Colossians 1:9 παυόμεθα present middle indicative ongoing Hebrews 10:2 ἐπαύσαντο aorist middle indicative completed 1 Peter 3:10 παυσάτω aorist active imperative imperative 1 Peter 4:1 πέπαυται perfect middle indicative resultant
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)
Word Origins
παύω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
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.
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