What does πενθέω (penthéō) mean in the Bible?
πενθέω (penthéō): Deep sorrow expressed through outward lamentation; grief that manifests in visible mourning behavior.
Greek · G3996
πενθέω
To grieve (the feeling or the act)
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πενθέω G3996
Pronunciation penthéō
What does πενθέω (penthéō) mean in the Bible?
πενθέω (penthéō): Deep sorrow expressed through outward lamentation; grief that manifests in visible mourning behavior.
Full entry for πενθέω (G3996) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3996?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include mourn (6), have been stricken with grief (1), I will be grieved over (1), who were mourning (1), you will mourn (1).
Where does πενθέω (penthéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (3), Matthew (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Corinthians (1).
Are there verse guides for πενθέω (penthéō)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
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 mourn 6× Matthew 5:4, Matthew 9:15, James 4:9, Revelation 18:11
have been stricken with grief 1× 1 Corinthians 5:2
I will be grieved over 1× 2 Corinthians 12:21
who were mourning 1× Mark 16:10
you will mourn 1× Luke 6:25
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:4 πενθοῦντες to mourn Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 9:15 πενθεῖν to mourn Verb - Present Infinitive Active Mark 16:10 πενθοῦσι to who were mourning Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural Luke 6:25 πενθήσετε to you will mourn Verb - Future Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1 Corinthians 5:2 ἐπενθήσατε to have been stricken with grief Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2 Corinthians 12:21 πενθήσω to I will be grieved over Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Singular James 4:9 πενθήσατε to mourn Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural Revelation 18:11 πενθοῦσιν to mourn Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 18:15 πενθοῦντες to mourn Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Revelation 18:19 πενθοῦντες to mourn Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:4
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 7
Matthew 2 Mark 1 Luke 1 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 1 James 1 Revelation 3
Source forms
πενθοῦντες 3x penthountes Matthew 5:4, Revelation 18:15, Revelation 18:19
ἐπενθήσατε 1x epenthēsate 1 Corinthians 5:2
πενθεῖν 1x penthein Matthew 9:15
πενθήσατε 1x penthēsate James 4:9
πενθήσετε 1x penthēsete Luke 6:25
πενθήσω 1x penthēsō 2 Corinthians 12:21
πενθοῦσι 1x penthousi Mark 16:10
πενθοῦσιν 1x penthousin Revelation 18:11
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 3x Matthew 5:4, Revelation 18:15, Revelation 18:19
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x James 4:9
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 5:2
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Singular 1x 2 Corinthians 12:21
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x Luke 6:25
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Revelation 18:11
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 1x Matthew 9:15
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural 1x Mark 16:10
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Deep sorrow expressed through outward lamentation; grief that manifests in visible mourning behavior.
Source Gloss
to grieve (the feeling or the act)
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Deep sorrow expressed through outward lamentation; grief that manifests in visible mourning behavior.
to mourn (for), lament;
aintrans. : Mat.5:4 (5) Mat.9:15, 1Co.5:2; π. καὶ κλαίειν, Mat.16:10, Luk.6:25, Jas.4:9, Rev.18:15, 19; before ἐπί, with accusative, Rev.18:11;
btrans., with accusative, 2Co.12:21.
Synonymssee: θρηνέω
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
penqountev
I mourn, lament
Read verse Matthew 9:15 Verb Present Active Infinitive
πενθεῖν, penqein
I mourn, lament
Read verse Mark 16:10 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
πενθοῦσι penqousin
I mourn, lament
Read verse Luke 6:25 Verb Second Person Plural Future Active Indicative
πενθήσετε penqhsete
I mourn, lament
Read verse 1 Corinthians 5:2 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπενθήσατε, epenqhsate
I mourn, lament
Read verse 2 Corinthians 12:21 Verb First Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
πενθήσω penqhsw
I mourn, lament
Read verse James 4:9 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Imperative
πενθήσατε penqhsate
I mourn, lament
Read verse Revelation 18:11 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
πενθοῦσιν penqousin
I mourn, lament
Read verse Revelation 18:15 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
πενθοῦντες, penqountev
I mourn, lament
Read verse Revelation 18:19 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
πενθοῦντες, penqountev
I mourn, lament
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 5 Aligned forms 10 Tenses Present, Future, Aorist Voices Active
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 4×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Active Matt 9:15 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Future Active Luke 6:25 1×
Aorist Active 1 Cor 5:2 1×
Present Active Rev 18:11 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Active 2 Cor 12:21 1×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Active Jas 4:9 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 9 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5 aorist 3 future 1
Voice
active 9
Mood
participle 4 indicative 2 subjunctive 1 imperative 1 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:4 πενθοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 9:15 πενθεῖν present active infinitive infinitive Mark 16:10 πενθοῦσι present active participle participle Luke 6:25 πενθήσετε future active indicative prospective 1 Corinthians 5:2 ἐπενθήσατε aorist active indicative completed 2 Corinthians 12:21 πενθήσω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive James 4:9 πενθήσατε aorist active imperative imperative Revelation 18:15 πενθοῦντες present active participle participle Revelation 18:19 πενθοῦντες present active participle participle
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.
Biblical Witnesses
Intransitive mourning, expressing collective grief over sin in the community
Mourning over desolation and judgment, expressing sorrow for ruined land and people
Deep lamentation over brokenness and suffering, expressing compassionate grief for wounded people
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
πενθέω is built from this root:
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