To fulfill
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Pleroo means to fill, fulfill, complete, or bring something to its intended fullness. It is a major New Testament word because it can describe Scripture being fulfilled, a house being filled, joy being complete, righteousness being fulfilled, believers being filled with the Spirit, or ministry being completed.
Reader summary
Full entry for πληρόω (G4137) · Open the biblical lexicon
Pleroo means to fill, fulfill, complete, or bring something to its intended fullness. It is a major New Testament word because it can describe Scripture being fulfilled, a house being filled, joy being complete, righteousness being fulfilled, believers being filled with the Spirit, or ministry being completed.
The BSB source-word alignment has 86 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include fulfill (6), to fulfill (5), was fulfilled (5), complete (4), would be fulfilled (4).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:22. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (16), Matthew (16), John (15), Luke (9).
This entry includes 2 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Pleroo means to fill, fulfill, complete, or bring something to its intended fullness. It is a major New Testament word because it can describe Scripture being fulfilled, a house being filled, joy being complete, righteousness being fulfilled, believers being filled with the Spirit, or ministry being completed. Jesus does not abolish the Law or the Prophets but fulfills them.
In Nazareth, He declares Scripture fulfilled in the hearing of His listeners. In John, joy may be complete in His disciples. At Pentecost, the house is filled as the Spirit comes. Paul says the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit, and commands believers to be filled with the Spirit. Pleroo therefore joins fulfillment, fullness, completion, and Spirit-shaped life without making them identical in every passage.
Pleroo carries a range of filling and fulfillment ideas. It can name Scripture fulfillment in Christ, completion of joy, physical filling, moral fulfillment by the Spirit, and the Spirit-filling command. The passage decides whether fullness is prophetic, spatial, moral, relational, or spiritual.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
Jesus says He came not to abolish the Law or Prophets but to fulfill them. Pleroo names His relation to Scripture and covenant purpose.
And He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus declares Isaiah fulfilled in the synagogue hearing. Fulfillment is tied to His person and mission.
I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
Jesus speaks so that His joy may be in His disciples and their joy may be complete. Fullness includes shared joy in Him.
Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
The sound from heaven fills the house at Pentecost. The verb marks spatial fullness in the Spirit-outpouring scene.
So that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit. Fulfillment includes Spirit-enabled life.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit rather than drunk with wine. Fullness shapes worship, wisdom, and life together.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. To fulfill by bringing to completion; to execute fully or carry through to accomplishment.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 90 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
Read verseI fill, fulfill, complete
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.
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.
How this verb appears across 82 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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 passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 86 lexical occurrence verses.
πληρόω is built from this root:
Shows how love accomplishes the law’s moral goal. Acts 13:42-52
Defines Matthew’s theology of fulfillment in Christ. Luke 4:14–30
Defines Jesus’ mission as covenant fulfillment. Mark 14:43–52
Defines Jesus’ role as the consummation of the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 13:34–35
Affirms divine necessity in Jesus’ arrest. Matthew 3:13–17
Declares prophetic fulfillment in Christ. Matthew 5:17–20
Highlights the Spirit’s sustaining presence amid persecution.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Pleroo is powerful because the New Testament uses fullness language in several related but distinct ways. Jesus fulfills the Law and Prophets; He does not discard them. He announces Scripture fulfilled in His ministry. He gives words so His disciples joy may be complete. Pentecost fills a house with the sound of divine arrival. Paul says the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in Spirit-walking believers and commands the church to be filled with the Spirit.
The word therefore keeps teachers from separating Christ from Scripture, joy from His words, or obedience from the Spirit. But it also requires care: not every filling is prophecy fulfillment, and not every fulfillment is the same kind of completion.
Matt.5.17
Pleroo can mean fill, fulfill, complete, bring to fullness, or supply fully. Ask what is being filled or fulfilled and whether the context is prophetic, spatial, moral, relational, or vocational.
Old Testament promise, law, temple, Spirit hope, and prophetic expectation all prepare for New Testament fullness. Pleroo helps readers see Christ bringing Scripture to its intended goal and the Spirit applying that fullness in the life of the church.
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