What does πταίω (ptaíō) mean in the Bible?
πταίω (ptaíō): Moral stumbling in NT usage: to fail or offend in ethical conduct, not merely physical falling
Greek · G4417
πταίω
To stumble
Reading a lexicon entry
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πταίωG4417
Pronunciationptaíō
What does πταίω (ptaíō) mean in the Bible?
πταίω (ptaíō): Moral stumbling in NT usage: to fail or offend in ethical conduct, not merely physical falling
Full entry for πταίω (G4417) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4417?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include at fault (1), did they stumble (1), stumble (1), stumbles (1), We all stumble (1).
Where does πταίω (ptaíō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 11:11. Its strongest book concentrations include James (3), 2 Peter (1), Romans (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itat fault1×James 3:2
did they stumble1×Romans 11:11
stumble1×2 Peter 1:10
stumbles1×James 2:10
We all stumble1×James 3:2
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 11:11ἔπταισανtodid they stumbleVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralJames 2:10πταίσῃtostumblesVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person SingularJames 3:2πταίομενtoWe all stumbleVerb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person PluralJames 3:2πταίειtoat faultVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular2 Peter 1:10πταίσητέtostumbleVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowRomans 11:11
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Romans1James32 Peter1
Source forms
ἔπταισαν1xeptaisanRomans 11:11
πταίει1xptaieiJames 3:2
πταίομεν1xptaiomenJames 3:2
πταίσῃ1xptaisēJames 2:10
πταίσητέ1xptaisēte2 Peter 1:10
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural1xRomans 11:11
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural1x2 Peter 1:10
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular1xJames 2:10
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural1xJames 3:2
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xJames 3:2
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Moral stumbling in NT usage: to fail or offend in ethical conduct, not merely physical falling
Strong'sG4417
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms2 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJames 3:1–6Source Gloss
to stumble
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 11:11Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἔπταισανeptaisan
I stumble, fall, sin
Read verseJames 2:10Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
πταίσειptaisei
I stumble, fall, sin
Read verseJames 3:2Verb First Person Plural Present Active Indicative
πταίομενptaiomen
I stumble, fall, sin
Read verseJames 3:2Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
πταίει,ptaiei
I stumble, fall, sin
Read verse2 Peter 1:10Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
πταίσητέptaishte
I stumble, fall, sin
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 groups2Aligned forms5TensesAorist, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Present ActiveJas 3:22×
Aorist ActiveRom 11:111×
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose2×
Aorist ActiveJas 2:10 · 2 Pet 1:102×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist3present2
Voice
active5
Mood
indicative3subjunctive2
NT Occurrences
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 Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Additional Occurrences
we stumble
New Testament Witnesses
we stumble
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
πταίω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Acknowledges universal moral weakness in speech.James 3:1–6
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.