What does πορνεύω (porneúō) mean in the Bible?
πορνεύω (porneúō): Sexual immorality or idolatry; literal fornication or metaphorical unfaithfulness to God in worship.
Greek · G4203
πορνεύω
To sin sexually
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πορνεύωG4203
Pronunciationporneúō
What does πορνεύω (porneúō) mean in the Bible?
πορνεύω (porneúō): Sexual immorality or idolatry; literal fornication or metaphorical unfaithfulness to God in worship.
Full entry for πορνεύω (G4203) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4203?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include were immoral (2), [did] (1), commit sexual immorality (1), committed sexual immorality (1), sins sexually (1).
Where does πορνεύω (porneúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Corinthians 6:18. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (5), 1 Corinthians (3).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itwere immoral2×Revelation 17:2, Revelation 18:3
[did]1×1 Corinthians 10:8
commit sexual immorality1×Revelation 2:14
committed sexual immorality1×Revelation 18:9
sins sexually1×1 Corinthians 6:18
to be sexually immoral1×Revelation 2:20
We should not commit sexual immorality1×1 Corinthians 10:8
Show sample aligned rows
1 Corinthians 6:18πορνεύωνtosins sexuallyVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1 Corinthians 10:8πορνεύωμενtoWe should not commit sexual immoralityVerb - Present Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural1 Corinthians 10:8ἐπόρνευσανto[did]Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralRevelation 2:14πορνεῦσαιtocommit sexual immoralityVerb - Aorist Infinitive ActiveRevelation 2:20πορνεῦσαιtoto be sexually immoralVerb - Aorist Infinitive ActiveRevelation 17:2ἐπόρνευσανtowere immoralVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralRevelation 18:3ἐπόρνευσανtowere immoralVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralRevelation 18:9πορνεύσαντεςtocommitted sexual immoralityVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row1 Corinthians 6:18
Aligned rows8
Books represented2
1 Corinthians3Revelation5
Source forms
ἐπόρνευσαν3xeporneusan1 Corinthians 10:8, Revelation 17:2, Revelation 18:3
πορνεῦσαι2xporneusaiRevelation 2:14, Revelation 2:20
πορνεύσαντες1xporneusantesRevelation 18:9
πορνεύωμεν1xporneuōmen1 Corinthians 10:8
πορνεύων1xporneuōn1 Corinthians 6:18
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural3x1 Corinthians 10:8, Revelation 17:2, Revelation 18:3
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active2xRevelation 2:14, Revelation 2:20
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural1xRevelation 18:9
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1x1 Corinthians 6:18
Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural1x1 Corinthians 10:8
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Sexual immorality or idolatry; literal fornication or metaphorical unfaithfulness to God in worship.
Strong'sG4203
Lexical occurrences8 versesGreek text appearances8 timesWord forms4 forms8 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to sin sexually
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Sexual immorality or idolatry; literal fornication or metaphorical unfaithfulness to God in worship.
1to prostitute the body for hire.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
1 Corinthians 6:18Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
πορνεύωνporneuwn
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse1 Corinthians 10:8Verb First Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
πορνεύωμεν,porneuwmen
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse1 Corinthians 10:8Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπόρνευσαν,eporneusan
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verseRevelation 2:14Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
πορνεῦσαι.porneusai
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verseRevelation 2:20Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
πορνεῦσαιporneusai
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verseRevelation 17:2Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπόρνευσανeporneusan
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verseRevelation 18:3Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπόρνευσαν,eporneusan
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verseRevelation 18:9Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
πορνεύσαντεςporneusantev
I fornicate, practice idolatry
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 groups4Aligned forms8TensesAorist, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Aorist Active1 Cor 10:8 · Rev 17:2 · Rev 18:33×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract2×
Aorist ActiveRev 2:14 · Rev 2:202×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality2×
Present Active1 Cor 6:181×
Aorist ActiveRev 18:91×
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose1×
Present Active1 Cor 10:81×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist5present2
Voice
active7
Mood
indicative3infinitive2participle1subjunctive1
NT Occurrences
1 Corinthians 6:18πορνεύωνpresent active participleparticiple1 Corinthians 10:8πορνεύωμενpresent active subjunctivesubjunctive1 Corinthians 10:8ἐπόρνευσανaorist active indicativecompletedRevelation 2:14πορνεῦσαιaorist active infinitiveinfinitiveRevelation 2:20πορνεῦσαιaorist active infinitiveinfinitiveRevelation 17:2ἐπόρνευσανaorist active indicativecompletedRevelation 18:3ἐπόρνευσανaorist active indicativecompleted
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
πορνεύω is built from this root: