Gentleness
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Prautēs means gentleness, meekness, or humble strength under control. Paul includes it in the Spirit's fruit, tells Timothy to pursue it, commands the Lord's servant to correct opponents with gentleness, and instructs believers to show complete gentleness toward everyone.
Reader summary
Full entry for πραΰτης (G4240) · Open the biblical lexicon
Prautēs means gentleness, meekness, or humble strength under control. Paul includes it in the Spirit's fruit, tells Timothy to pursue it, commands the Lord's servant to correct opponents with gentleness, and instructs believers to show complete gentleness toward everyone.
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include gentleness (4), [and] gentleness (1), [and] humbly (1), [He must] gently (1), [the] humility (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Corinthians 4:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Galatians (2), James (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Peter (1).
Prautēs means gentleness, meekness, or humble strength under control. Paul includes it in the Spirit's fruit, tells Timothy to pursue it, commands the Lord's servant to correct opponents with gentleness, and instructs believers to show complete gentleness toward everyone. The noun does not mean weakness, conflict avoidance, emotional suppression, or compliance with abuse.
Gentle correction can name error clearly and pursue repentance without humiliation. Public gentleness lives alongside courage, justice, boundaries, and protection of the vulnerable. It governs strength rather than denying that strength is needed. Its source is the Spirit and its pattern is Christ, whose humility never surrendered truth or allowed human power to define His obedience.
Prautēs is restrained, humble strength formed by the Spirit. It shapes personal character, correction of opponents, and public conduct toward all people without erasing truth, justice, or protective action.
Gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:23 lists gentleness among the Spirit's fruit, contrasted with works of the flesh such as rage, rivalry, division, and envy. It is cultivated life, not a natural temperament requirement.
But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
First Timothy 6:11 tells the man of God to flee greed and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. It belongs to active moral pursuit.
He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
Second Timothy 2:25 says opponents should be corrected with gentleness in hope that God may grant repentance leading to knowledge of truth. Gentleness serves restoration without surrendering correction.
To malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.
Titus 3:2 commands believers to slander no one, be peaceable and considerate, and show complete gentleness toward everyone. The posture follows remembrance of saving mercy.
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. Meekness expressing strength under control, not weakness; a virtue of power wielded with restraint.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
mildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
Read versemildness, gentleness
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
πραΰτης is built from this root:
Defines the submissive posture required to receive God’s word, contrasting with reactive anger.James 1:19–21
Prautēs is not the absence of strength but strength freed from the need to dominate. The Spirit grows gentleness where the flesh produces rage and rivalry. Timothy must pursue it intentionally and use it while correcting error, trusting God rather than humiliation to grant repentance. Titus extends the posture to public life because believers remember that they too were foolish and were saved by mercy.
Gentle people can say no, report harm, remove someone from danger, confront deception, and exercise discipline. They refuse cruelty, mockery, intimidation, and self-exalting force. Churches should never demand gentleness only from victims while excusing aggression in leaders. Christlike meekness governs everyone and joins truth to mercy, courage, and self-control.
2Tim.2.25
Prautēs denotes gentleness, meekness, or mildness, often emphasizing controlled and humble conduct. It does not lexically imply timidity, weakness, or the absence of firm action.
Moses is described as meek, wisdom commends a soft answer, and the promised king comes humble while establishing justice. Jesus joins gentleness with authority and sacrificial courage.