What does πειράω (peiráō) mean in the Bible?
πειράω (peiráō) is a Greek word meaning "to try".
Greek · G3987
πειράω
To try
Reading a lexicon entry
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πειράω G3987
Pronunciation peiráō
What does πειράω (peiráō) mean in the Bible?
πειράω (peiráō) is a Greek word meaning "to try".
Full entry for πειράω (G3987) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3987?
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include [and] tried (1).
Where does πειράω (peiráō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 26:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (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 [and] tried 1× Acts 26:21
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 26:21
Aligned rows 1
Books represented 1
Acts 1
Source forms
ἐπειρῶντο 1x epeirōnto Acts 26:21
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 26:21
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to try
Source Gloss
to try
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 9:26 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐπειρᾶτο epeirato
I try, attempt
Read verse Acts 26:21 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐπειρῶντο epeirwnto
I try, attempt
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.
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 1 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
imperfect 1
Voice
middle 1
Mood
indicative 1
NT Occurrences
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
πειράω is built from this root:
πεῖρα G3984
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