To tend as a shepherd of (figuratively, superviser)
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ποιμαίνω is the verb the New Testament uses for the full work of shepherding — not merely feeding, but tending, guiding, guarding, and governing the flock entrusted to a leader's care. The word renders the Hebrew רָעָה (ra'ah) in the LXX, a term that covers the whole range of a shepherd's attentive labor: knowing each animal, leading to pasture, protecting from predators, finding the lost, and keeping the flock.
Reader summary
Full entry for ποιμαίνω (G4165) · Open the biblical lexicon
ποιμαίνω is the verb the New Testament uses for the full work of shepherding — not merely feeding, but tending, guiding, guarding, and governing the flock entrusted to a leader's care. The word renders the Hebrew רָעָה (ra'ah) in the LXX, a term that covers the whole range of a shepherd's attentive labor: knowing each animal, leading to pasture, protecting.
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Be shepherds (2), [but] shepherding (1), He will rule (1), rule (1), Shepherd (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (4), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Peter (1), Acts (1).
ποιμαίνω is the verb the New Testament uses for the full work of shepherding — not merely feeding, but tending, guiding, guarding, and governing the flock entrusted to a leader's care. The word renders the Hebrew רָעָה (ra'ah) in the LXX, a term that covers the whole range of a shepherd's attentive labor: knowing each animal, leading to pasture, protecting from predators, finding the lost, and keeping the flock together. When the NT applies this verb to human leaders, it is setting a comprehensive standard.
The Messianic context of the verb is established before it is used for any human leader. Matthew 2:6 cites Micah 5:2 — the ruler who will come from Bethlehem will shepherd (ποιμανεῖ) my people Israel. The Messiah comes not as a general commanding armies but as a shepherd attending to a people. When John 21:16 records Jesus commissioning Peter — 'Shepherd my sheep' — the command repeats this verb and the possessive pronoun does all the weight: my sheep, not yours. Peter is not receiving property; he is receiving a stewardship over what belongs to Another.
Acts 20:28 is the most compressed and weighty use for church leaders: 'shepherd the ἐκκλησία of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.' The verb is given to the Ephesian elders, and the object is not merely a congregation — it is the assembly Christ purchased. The work of shepherding is proportioned to the value of what is being tended. This is not casual leadership; it is stewardship of Christ's own flock at the cost of His cross.
In Revelation, the verb appears in two registers. Christ shepherds His people with tender care (7:17: he will shepherd them to springs of living water). And the Messianic King rules the nations with a rod of iron (2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Both are ποιμαίνω. The same verb covers both the protective tenderness of the Good Shepherd and the authoritative governance of the King. Neither register cancels the other; together they define the full range of Christ's shepherding authority.
For the preacher, ποιμαίνω is the verb that measures all pastoral ministry. It asks: are you tending these people — not managing them, not leading from a distance, not performing for them, but attending to their actual condition, knowing where they are, and guiding them toward green pastures and still waters?
The local Greek index currently counts about 11 New Testament occurrences of ποιμαίνω, with selected witnesses in Matthew 2:6, John 21:16, Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2, Jude 1:12, and Revelation. The word covers Messianic prophecy, apostolic commission, pastoral charge, false-shepherd warning, and eschatological rule.
Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
The commission given to Peter after his threefold denial. The verb is ποιμαίνω — not merely feed, but tend, shepherd, attend to. And the pronoun is definitive: 'my sheep.' Peter's authority over this flock is not his own. It is a derivative and accountable stewardship. The commission follows immediately after Peter's restoration, which means the work of shepherding is given to a man who has failed — and who knows he has failed. The shepherd's knowledge of his own weakness is part of his qualification.
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
The pastoral charge to the Ephesian elders. Three layers of weight: (1) the Spirit is the one who appointed them — their authority is not self-generated; (2) the object of their shepherding is God's own assembly; (3) that assembly was purchased with blood. The verb ποιμαίνω here sets a standard measured by the cross. The casual or self-serving leader is not merely ineffective — he is a poor steward of what cost everything.
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
Peter's charge to elders — the same verb he received from Jesus. Three negatives define false shepherding (compulsion, financial motivation, domineering) and three positives define faithful shepherding (voluntary, willing, by example). The verb frames both: ποιμαίνω is the center, and everything else specifies the manner. The shepherd is to be genuinely present and genuinely free — not obligated or coerced, but tending because they care.
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
The eschatological use of ποιμαίνω: the risen Lamb as the eternal Shepherd of those who have come out of the great tribulation. The verb here is entirely tender — leading to springs of living water, accompanied by the wiping of every tear. This is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 34's promise that God Himself would shepherd His scattered people. All earthly pastoral ministry is grounded in this final act of the Good Shepherd.
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”
The Messianic use from Micah 5:2, cited by the scribes to identify the birthplace of the Christ. The expected ruler comes as a shepherd, not a warrior-king. The word governor and the word shepherd stand together: to govern Israel is to shepherd them. This is the NT's foundational claim about leadership in the kingdom — authority expresses itself as tending, guiding, protecting, not commanding from a distance.
ποιμαίνω renders רָעָה (ra'ah) in the LXX — the shepherd's work of feeding, leading, guiding, and guarding the flock. The Psalms use the shepherd image for God's care of Israel (Ps 23; 80:1). Ezekiel 34 is the decisive OT text: God indicts the false shepherds of Israel who have scattered the flock and fed themselves, and promises that He Himself will come to shepherd His people.
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.
Greek word. Shepherd's care involves active governance and protection, not merely passive oversight or provision.
Shepherd's care involves active governance and protection, not merely passive oversight or provision.
(ποιμήν), [in LXX chiefly for רָעָה ;] to act as shepherd, tend flocks: Luk.17:7; with accusative, ποιμνην, 1Co.9:7. Metaphorical, to tend, shepherd, govern: with accusative, Mat.2:6 (LXX), Jhn.21:16, Act.20:28, 1Pe.5:2, Ju 12, Rev.2:27 7:17 12:5 19:15.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
Read verseI shepherd, tend
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 11 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 4 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
ποιμαίνω is built from this root:
Pastoral leadership entrusted by Christ. 1 Peter 5:1-4
Defines pastoral leadership entrusted by Christ. Acts 20:25-38
Defines the pastoral task of caring for God’s people. John 21:15–25
Defines pastoral ministry as nurturing, guiding, and protecting rather than controlling.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
ποιμαίνω is the verb that measures pastoral ministry before it names a role. When Jesus tells Peter 'shepherd my sheep,' the commission is not a job description — it is a relational charge. The sheep belong to Christ. The shepherd's authority is the authority of a steward, not an owner. This is the hardest truth for any leader to hold: the people you lead are not yours.
They are on loan to you from the one who purchased them. The pastoral dividend of this is enormous. A leader who knows the sheep are Christ's tends them differently than one who thinks the congregation belongs to him. The false shepherds of Ezekiel 34 ate the fat, clothed themselves with the wool, slaughtered the well-fed sheep, and did not strengthen the weak.
That is the portrait of ownership without accountability. ποιμαίνω calls every leader back to the stewardship frame: you are tending what belongs to Another, and you will give account to the one whose blood purchased this flock.
Acts.20.28
ποιμαίνω is a denominative verb derived from ποιμήν (shepherd). The verb covers everything the shepherd does: feeding, leading, guarding, gathering, seeking the lost, keeping the flock together. In the LXX, it renders רָעָה (ra'ah), which is itself a broad verb — the shepherd of Psalm 23 feeds, leads, restores, accompanies, and protects in a single psalm. The NT use is almost entirely metaphorical (the one literal use is in Luke 17:7).
The Revelation uses are significant: in 7:17 the verb is entirely pastoral and tender (leading to springs); in 2:27, 12:5, and 19:15 the verb is paired with a rod of iron and describes the rule of the Messianic King over the nations. Both uses are ποιμαίνω — the full spectrum of the shepherd's role includes both the tender care of the flock and the authority to govern what has been entrusted to him.
Ezekiel 34 is the decisive OT background for ποιμαίνω as it applies to leaders. God indicts the shepherds of Israel who have exploited rather than tended His flock — they have fed themselves and neglected the weak, the sick, the injured, and the lost. The punishment is removal from their role. And then comes the promise: God himself will come and shepherd His people (34:11-16), seek the lost, bind up the broken, strengthen the weak.
He will set over them one shepherd, His servant David (34:23-24) — the Messianic figure who will do what the false shepherds failed to do. The NT sees Jesus as the fulfillment of this promise. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11) — where the false shepherds fled when the wolf came. The charge to Peter (John 21:16) and to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:28) and to the elders of 1 Peter 5 is participation in this Messianic shepherding.
Human leaders shepherd because Christ first shepherded; they tend the flock because the Chief Shepherd has come and will come again (1 Pet 5:4).
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