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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πορνεύω G4203
Pronunciation porneúō
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 It were immoral 2× Revelation 17:2, Revelation 18:3
[did] 1× 1 Corinthians 10:8
commit sexual immorality 1× Revelation 2:14
committed sexual immorality 1× Revelation 18:9
sins sexually 1× 1 Corinthians 6:18
to be sexually immoral 1× Revelation 2:20
We should not commit sexual immorality 1× 1 Corinthians 10:8
Show sample aligned rows
1 Corinthians 6:18 πορνεύων to sins sexually Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1 Corinthians 10:8 πορνεύωμεν to We should not commit sexual immorality Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural 1 Corinthians 10:8 ἐπόρνευσαν to [did] Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 2:14 πορνεῦσαι to commit sexual immorality Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Revelation 2:20 πορνεῦσαι to to be sexually immoral Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Revelation 17:2 ἐπόρνευσαν to were immoral Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 18:3 ἐπόρνευσαν to were immoral Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 18:9 πορνεύσαντες to committed sexual immorality Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 1 Corinthians 6:18
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 2
1 Corinthians 3 Revelation 5
Source forms
ἐπόρνευσαν 3x eporneusan 1 Corinthians 10:8, Revelation 17:2, Revelation 18:3
πορνεῦσαι 2x porneusai Revelation 2:14, Revelation 2:20
πορνεύσαντες 1x porneusantes Revelation 18:9
πορνεύωμεν 1x porneuōmen 1 Corinthians 10:8
πορνεύων 1x porneuōn 1 Corinthians 6:18
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 3x 1 Corinthians 10:8, Revelation 17:2, Revelation 18:3
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 2x Revelation 2:14, Revelation 2:20
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Revelation 18:9
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x 1 Corinthians 6:18
Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural 1x 1 Corinthians 10:8
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Sexual immorality or idolatry; literal fornication or metaphorical unfaithfulness to God in worship.
Strong's G4203
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Greek text appearances 8 times Word forms 4 forms 8 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to sin sexually
Extended definition Source: 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 corpus Greek 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 6:18 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
πορνεύων porneuwn
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse 1 Corinthians 10:8 Verb First Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
πορνεύωμεν, porneuwmen
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse 1 Corinthians 10:8 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπόρνευσαν, eporneusan
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse Revelation 2:14 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
πορνεῦσαι. porneusai
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse Revelation 2:20 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
πορνεῦσαι porneusai
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse Revelation 17:2 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπόρνευσαν eporneusan
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse Revelation 18:3 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐπόρνευσαν, eporneusan
I fornicate, practice idolatry
Read verse Revelation 18:9 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
πορνεύσαντες porneusantev
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 groups 4 Aligned forms 8 Tenses Aorist, Present Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Aorist Active 1 Cor 10:8 · Rev 17:2 · Rev 18:3 3×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Aorist Active Rev 2:14 · Rev 2:20 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Present Active 1 Cor 6:18 1×
Aorist Active Rev 18:9 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Present Active 1 Cor 10:8 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 5 present 2
Voice
active 7
Mood
indicative 3 infinitive 2 participle 1 subjunctive 1
NT Occurrences
1 Corinthians 6:18 πορνεύων present active participle participle 1 Corinthians 10:8 πορνεύωμεν present active subjunctive subjunctive 1 Corinthians 10:8 ἐπόρνευσαν aorist active indicative completed Revelation 2:14 πορνεῦσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Revelation 2:20 πορνεῦσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Revelation 17:2 ἐπόρνευσαν aorist active indicative completed Revelation 18:3 ἐπόρνευσαν aorist active indicative completed
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:
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