What does πικραίνω (pikraínō) mean in the Bible?
πικραίνω (pikraínō): To embitter someone relationally; in NT, typically describes spoiling marital harmony through harsh treatment.
Greek · G4087
πικραίνω
To embitter (literally or figuratively)
Reading a lexicon entry
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πικραίνω G4087
Pronunciation pikraínō
What does πικραίνω (pikraínō) mean in the Bible?
πικραίνω (pikraínō): To embitter someone relationally; in NT, typically describes spoiling marital harmony through harsh treatment.
Full entry for πικραίνω (G4087) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4087?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include be harsh (1), bitter (1), It will make (1), turned bitter (1).
Where does πικραίνω (pikraínō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Colossians 3:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (3), Colossians (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 be harsh 1× Colossians 3:19
bitter 1× Revelation 8:11
It will make 1× Revelation 10:9
turned bitter 1× Revelation 10:10
Show sample aligned rows
Colossians 3:19 πικραίνεσθε to be harsh Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural Revelation 8:11 ἐπικράνθησαν to bitter Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 10:9 πικρανεῖ to It will make Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Revelation 10:10 ἐπικράνθη to turned bitter Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Colossians 3:19
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 2
Colossians 1 Revelation 3
Source forms
ἐπικράνθη 1x epikranthē Revelation 10:10
ἐπικράνθησαν 1x epikranthēsan Revelation 8:11
πικραίνεσθε 1x pikrainesthe Colossians 3:19
πικρανεῖ 1x pikranei Revelation 10:9
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Revelation 8:11
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Revelation 10:10
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Revelation 10:9
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural 1x Colossians 3:19
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To embitter someone relationally; in NT, typically describes spoiling marital harmony through harsh treatment.
Strong's G4087
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 2 forms 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to embitter (literally or figuratively)
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To embitter someone relationally; in NT, typically describes spoiling marital harmony through harsh treatment.
(πικρός), [in LXX for מָרַד, קָצַף, etc. ;] to make bitter: Rev.10:9; pass., Rev.8:11 10:10; metaphorically, to embitter (LXX) : pass., before πρός, Col.3:19.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Colossians 3:19 Verb Second Person Plural Present Passive Imperative
πικραίνεσθε pikrainesqe
I embitter
Read verse Revelation 8:11 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐπικράνθησαν. epikranqhsan
I embitter
Read verse Revelation 10:9 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
πικρανεῖ pikranei
I embitter
Read verse Revelation 10:10 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐπικράνθη epikranqh
I embitter
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 4 Tenses Present, Aorist, Future Voices Passive, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Present Passive Col 3:19 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Aorist Passive Rev 8:11 · Rev 10:10 2×
Future Active Rev 10:9 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 2 present 1 future 1
Voice
passive 3 active 1
Mood
indicative 3 imperative 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
πικραίνω is built from this root:
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