What does περίεργος (períergos) mean in the Bible?
περίεργος (períergos): Excessive curiosity about others' affairs; also describes forbidden magical practices as improper human preoccupation.
Greek · G4021
περίεργος
Meddlesome/magic
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 theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
περίεργοςG4021
Pronunciationperíergos
What does περίεργος (períergos) mean in the Bible?
περίεργος (períergos): Excessive curiosity about others' affairs; also describes forbidden magical practices as improper human preoccupation.
Full entry for περίεργος (G4021) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4021?
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include busybodies (1), magic arts (1).
Where does περίεργος (períergos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 19:19. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (1), 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 Itbusybodies1×1 Timothy 5:13
magic arts1×Acts 19:19
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowActs 19:19
Aligned rows2
Books represented2
Acts11 Timothy1
Source forms
περίεργα1xperiergaActs 19:19
περίεργοι1xperiergoi1 Timothy 5:13
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural1xActs 19:19
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Plural1x1 Timothy 5:13
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Excessive curiosity about others' affairs; also describes forbidden magical practices as improper human preoccupation.
Strong'sG4021
Lexical occurrences2 versesGreek text appearances2 timesWord forms2 forms2 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
meddlesome/magic
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Excessive curiosity about others' affairs; also describes forbidden magical practices as improper human preoccupation.
Iof persons;
1over careful.
2curious, meddling, a busybody: 1Ti.5:13.
IIOf things;
1over-wrought.
2superfluous.
3curious, uncanny; τὰ π., curious arts, magic: Act.19:19 (see Deiss., BS, 3235.).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek 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 19:19Adjective Accusative Plural Neuter
περίεργαperierga
a busybody, curious, magical
Read verse1 Timothy 5:13Adjective Nominative Plural Feminine
περίεργοι,periergoi
a busybody, curious, magical
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns2Aligned forms2Case patternAccusative (1)Number patternPlural (2)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Feminine1 Tim 5:131×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterActs 19:191×