What does πίνω (pínō) mean in the Bible?
Pino means to drink or receive liquid. Matthew uses the ordinary act within Jesus' teaching about bodily provision, criticism of John and Jesus, and the metaphorical cup of suffering.
Greek · G4095
πίνω
To imbibe (literally or figuratively)
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πίνω G4095
Pronunciation pínō
What does πίνω (pínō) mean in the Bible?
Pino means to drink or receive liquid. Matthew uses the ordinary act within Jesus' teaching about bodily provision, criticism of John and Jesus, and the metaphorical cup of suffering.
Reader summary
Full entry for πίνω (G4095) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4095?
The BSB source-word alignment has 73 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include drink (24), drinks (8), drinking (7), to drink (4), a drink (3).
Where does πίνω (pínō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:25. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (17), Matthew (15), 1 Corinthians (14), John (11).
What This Word Actually Means
Pino means to drink or receive liquid. Matthew uses the ordinary act within Jesus' teaching about bodily provision, criticism of John and Jesus, and the metaphorical cup of suffering. Disciples need not live anxiously asking what they will drink because the Father knows their needs, yet this promise does not excuse neglect of people without safe water. John abstains while Jesus eats and drinks, and hostile observers condemn both, exposing inconsistent judgment.
When Jesus asks whether disciples can drink His cup, drinking signifies participation in costly suffering, not a literal beverage. The verb itself does not settle Christian debates about alcohol. Scripture's wider teaching requires sobriety, love, freedom from mastery, care for conscience, and protection of people harmed by addiction.
How the Bible Uses It
Pino names drinking and can support metaphorical participation. Matthew moves from daily provision and hostile social judgments to Jesus' cup as a figure for suffering.
- Matt.6.25
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:25 tells disciples not to be anxious about life, what they will eat or drink, or the body and clothing. Jesus redirects worry toward the Father's care.
- Matt.6.31
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Matthew 6:31 repeats the anxious questions about eating, drinking, and clothing, contrasting Gentile striving with seeking God's kingdom and righteousness.
- Matt.11.18
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’
Matthew 11:18 says John came neither eating nor drinking in the usual social pattern and was accused of having a demon. Abstinence does not satisfy resistant critics.
- Matt.11.19
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”
Matthew 11:19 says the Son of Man came eating and drinking and was accused of gluttony and drunkenness. Opposite practices receive opposite slanders from the same resistance.
- Matt.20.22
“You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered.
Matthew 20:22 asks whether James and John can drink the cup Jesus is about to drink. The cup represents participation in His suffering, not equal accomplishment of His atonement.
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 drink 24× Matthew 6:25, Matthew 20:22, Matthew 24:49, Matthew 26:27
drinks 8× John 4:13, John 4:14, John 6:54, John 6:56
drinking 7× Matthew 11:18, Matthew 11:19, Matthew 24:38, Luke 5:33
to drink 4× Matthew 20:22, Matthew 27:34, 1 Corinthians 9:4, Revelation 16:6
a drink 3× John 4:7, John 4:9, John 4:10
drank 3× Luke 13:26, John 4:12, 1 Corinthians 10:4
I drink 3× Matthew 26:29, Matthew 26:42, Mark 14:25
[and] drinking 2× Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28
I will not drink 2× Matthew 26:29, Luke 22:18
will drink 2× Mark 10:38, Revelation 14:10
after drinking 1× Luke 5:39
drink [anything] 1× Acts 9:9
have drunk 1× Revelation 18:3
He shall never take 1× Luke 1:15
I will no longer drink 1× Mark 14:25
Shall I not drink 1× John 18:11
shall we drink 1× Matthew 6:31
that drinks in 1× Hebrews 6:7
they all drank 1× Mark 14:23
they drank 1× 1 Corinthians 10:4
they drink 1× Mark 16:18
to drink [it] 1× Matthew 27:34
you drink [it] 1× 1 Corinthians 11:25
You will drink 1× Mark 10:39
You will indeed drink 1× Matthew 20:23
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 6:25 πίητε to drink Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 6:31 πίωμεν to shall we drink Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural Matthew 11:18 πίνων to drinking Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 11:19 πίνων to drinking Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 20:22 πιεῖν to drink Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Matthew 20:22 πίνειν to to drink Verb - Present Infinitive Active Matthew 20:23 πίεσθε to You will indeed drink Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 24:38 πίνοντες to drinking Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 24:49 πίνῃ to drink Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 26:27 Πίετε to Drink Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 6:25
Aligned rows 73
Books represented 9
Matthew 15 Mark 8 Luke 17 John 11 Acts 3 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 14 Hebrews 1 Revelation 3
Source forms
πίνων 8x pinōn Matthew 11:18, Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:33, Luke 7:34
πιεῖν 7x piein Matthew 20:22, Matthew 27:34, Mark 10:38, Acts 23:12
πίω 6x piō Matthew 26:29, Matthew 26:42, Mark 14:25, Luke 17:8
πεῖν 5x pein John 4:7, John 4:9, John 4:10, 1 Corinthians 9:4
πίνειν 4x pinein Matthew 20:22, Luke 12:45, 1 Corinthians 10:21, 1 Corinthians 11:22
πίνω 4x pinō Matthew 26:29, Mark 10:38, Mark 10:39, Mark 14:25
ἔπινον 3x epinon Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28, 1 Corinthians 10:4
πίνητε 3x pinēte Luke 22:30, 1 Corinthians 11:25, 1 Corinthians 11:26
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 13x Matthew 20:22, Matthew 27:34, Mark 10:38, John 4:7
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 8x Matthew 11:18, Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:33, Luke 7:34
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Singular 6x Matthew 26:29, Matthew 26:42, Mark 14:25, Luke 17:8
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 4x Matthew 20:22, Luke 12:45, 1 Corinthians 10:21, 1 Corinthians 11:22
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural 3x Matthew 6:25, Luke 12:29, John 6:53
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 3x Luke 17:27, Luke 17:28, 1 Corinthians 10:4
Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural 3x Luke 22:30, 1 Corinthians 11:25, 1 Corinthians 11:26
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 2x Mark 14:23, 1 Corinthians 10:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not pressure abstainers, people in recovery, minors, pregnant people, or those with medical risks to consume alcohol as proof of freedom or fellowship.
- Do not use providence language to ignore unsafe water, poverty, addiction treatment, or concrete provision for bodily need.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not pressure abstainers, people in recovery, minors, pregnant people, or those with medical risks to consume alcohol as proof of freedom or fellowship.
- Do not use providence language to ignore unsafe water, poverty, addiction treatment, or concrete provision for bodily need.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To drink, including spiritually consuming Christ's blood through faith in the Eucharist.
Strong's G4095
Lexical occurrences 72 verses Greek text appearances 75 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 72 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Jeremiah 25:15-29 Source Gloss
to imbibe (literally or figuratively)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 75 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:25 Verb Second Person Plural Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
πίητε· pihte
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 6:31 Verb First Person Plural Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
πίωμεν, piwmen
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 11:18 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
πίνων, pinwn
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 11:19 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
πίνων, pinwn
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 20:22 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
πιεῖν piein
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 20:22 Verb Present Active Infinitive
πίνειν, pinein
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 20:23 Verb Second Person Plural Future Middle Deponent Indicative
πίεσθε, piesqe
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 24:38 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
πίνοντες, pinontev
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 24:49 Verb Present Active Infinitive
πίνειν pinein
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 26:27 Verb Second Person Plural Second Aorist Active Imperative
Πίετε piete
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 26:29 Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
πίω piw
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 26:29 Verb First Person Singular Present Active Subjunctive
πίνω pinw
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 26:42 Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
πίω, piw
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 27:34 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
πιεῖν piein
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Matthew 27:34 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
πιεῖν. piein
I drink, imbibe
Read verse Mark 2:16 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
πίνει; pinei
I drink, imbibe
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 72 Tenses Aorist, Present, Imperfect, Future, Perfect Voices Active, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 17×
Aorist Active Matt 20:22 · Matt 27:34 · Mark 10:38 · John 4:7 · John 4:9 · John 4:10 · Acts 23:12 · Acts 23:21 · Rom 14:21 · 1 Cor 9:4 · 1 Cor 10:7 · Rev 16:6 13×
Present Active Matt 20:22 · Luke 12:45 · 1 Cor 10:21 · 1 Cor 11:22 4×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 12×
Present Active Matt 11:18 · Matt 11:19 · Luke 7:33 · Luke 7:34 · John 4:13 · John 6:54 · John 6:56 · 1 Cor 11:29 · Matt 24:38 · Luke 10:7 10×
Aorist Active Luke 5:39 · Heb 6:7 2×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 20×
Aorist Active Matt 26:29 · Matt 26:42 · Mark 14:25 · Luke 17:8 · Luke 22:18 · John 18:11 · Matt 6:31 · 1 Cor 15:32 · Luke 1:15 · John 4:14 · Luke 12:29 · John 6:53 · Mark 16:18 13×
Present Active Luke 22:30 · 1 Cor 11:25 · 1 Cor 11:26 · Matt 24:49 · 1 Cor 11:27 · Matt 26:29 · Mark 14:25 7×
Indicative states a fact or reality 19×
Present Active Mark 10:38 · Mark 10:39 · Luke 5:30 · 1 Cor 10:31 · Luke 5:33 · 1 Cor 11:29 6×
Aorist Active Mark 14:23 · 1 Cor 10:4 · John 4:12 · Acts 9:9 · Luke 13:26 5×
Future Middle Matt 20:23 · Mark 10:39 · Luke 17:8 · Rev 14:10 4×
Imperfect Active Luke 17:27 · Luke 17:28 · 1 Cor 10:4 3×
Perfect Active Rev 18:3 1×
Imperative command or strong request 4×
Present Active John 7:37 · 1 Cor 11:28 2×
Aorist Active Matt 26:27 · Luke 12:19 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 55 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 30 present 18 imperfect 3 future 3 perfect 1
Voice
active 52 middle 3
Mood
subjunctive 18 indicative 14 infinitive 11 participle 8 imperative 4
NT Occurrences
Matthew 6:31 πίωμεν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 11:19 πίνων present active participle participle Matthew 20:22 πιεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 20:22 πίνειν present active infinitive infinitive Matthew 20:23 πίεσθε future middle indicative prospective Matthew 26:27 Πίετε aorist active imperative imperative Matthew 26:29 πίω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 26:29 πίνω present active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 26:42 πίω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 27:34 πιεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 27:34 πιεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Mark 10:38 πιεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Mark 10:38 πίνω present active indicative ongoing Mark 10:39 πίνω present active indicative ongoing Mark 10:39 πίεσθε future middle indicative prospective Mark 14:23 ἔπιον aorist active indicative completed Mark 14:25 πίω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 14:25 πίνω present active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 16:18 πίωσιν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 1:15 πίῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 5:39 πιὼν aorist active participle participle Luke 7:33 πίνων present active participle participle Luke 7:34 πίνων present active participle participle Luke 12:19 πίε aorist active imperative imperative Luke 12:29 πίητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 13:26 ἐπίομεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 17:27 ἔπινον imperfect active indicative background Luke 17:28 ἔπινον imperfect active indicative background Luke 17:8 πίω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 22:18 πίω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 4:10 πεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive John 4:12 ἔπιεν aorist active indicative completed John 4:13 πίνων present active participle participle John 4:14 πίῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 4:7 πεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive John 4:9 πεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive John 6:53 πίητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 6:54 πίνων present active participle participle John 6:56 πίνων present active participle participle John 7:37 πινέτω present active imperative imperative
+15 more 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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
to consume a cup as divine judgment, figurative of God's wrath
literal consumption of beverages as basic human need and sustenance
habitual practice or abstention from drinking as religious observance
ordinary daily activity contrasted with eschatological judgment and upheaval
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 72 lexical occurrence verses.
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Pino keeps ordinary embodiment and costly discipleship in view. Jesus knows that people need something to drink and teaches trust in the Father rather than anxious obsession, while the kingdom He names obligates communities to care about real access to safe water. Matthew 11 exposes critics who demonize John's abstinence and slander Jesus' table life, proving that external practice can be judged by moving standards.
The cup in Matthew 20 then gives drinking a metaphorical force: disciples will share suffering, though Jesus alone gives His life as ransom. Churches should teach sobriety and freedom without shaming abstainers or pressuring people in recovery. Hospitality must offer safe nonalcoholic choices, respect conscience, and confront addiction with compassion, treatment, and accountability.
Anchor passage
Matt.6.25
Doctrinal connections
- Providence: the Father knows embodied needs and frees disciples from consuming anxiety.
- Kingdom priority: trust seeks God's reign and righteousness without ignoring neighbor need.
- Wisdom and freedom: both abstinence and ordinary table participation can be faithful.
- Christology: Jesus' cup points toward His unique suffering and ransom.
- Discipleship: followers may share costly service without repeating Christ's atoning work.
- Pastoral care: addiction, recovery, conscience, and safe water require compassionate practical response.
Pino is the ordinary verb to drink. Objects such as cup can preserve literal meaning or develop metaphorical participation, and the discourse must decide which force is active.
From Old to New Testament
Water is God's creation gift, wilderness thirst exposes dependence, prophets promise free water, and cup imagery can signify blessing, wrath, or assigned suffering.
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