What does σπεύδω (speúdō) mean in the Bible?
To hasten is to act or move promptly in response to a reason supplied by the account. The shepherds hurry to see the child after hearing the announcement.
Greek · G4692
σπεύδω
To hasten is to act or move promptly in response to a reason supplied by the account. The shepherds hurry to see the child after hearing the announcement.
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σπεύδωG4692
Pronunciationspeúdō
What does σπεύδω (speúdō) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for σπεύδω (G4692) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4692?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include hurry (2), [Zacchaeus] hurried (1), hasten (1), he was in a hurry (1), they hurried off (1).
Where does σπεύδω (speúdō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 2:16. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (3), Acts (2), 2 Peter (1).
What This Word Actually Means
To hasten is to act or move promptly in response to a reason supplied by the account. The shepherds hurry to see the child after hearing the announcement. Jesus tells Zacchaeus to hurry down, and he responds with joyful welcome. Paul seeks to reach Jerusalem for Pentecost if possible and chooses his route accordingly. These uses describe particular responses, not a rule that the busiest or fastest person is the most faithful.
Second Peter uses the word while directing believers toward holy living and expectation of God's promised day. That passage must retain its promise and conduct together rather than become a formula for controlling the date. Readers should ask what prompts the haste, what the person does and what limits or assurances the surrounding passage states.
How the Bible Uses It
The shepherds' visit, Zacchaeus' welcome and Paul's conditional travel plan give haste distinct reasons. Second Peter places expectation beside holy conduct and God's promise rather than a calculable timetable.
- Luke.2.16
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.
The shepherds hurry after deciding to see what the Lord has made known, and find Mary, Joseph and the baby.
- Luke.19.5
When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”
Jesus' direct invitation prompts Zacchaeus to hurry down, followed immediately by joyful welcome and the crowd's complaint.
- Acts.20.16
Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.
Paul's desire to reach Jerusalem for Pentecost remains explicitly conditional upon possibility and explains his choice not to spend time in Asia.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ithurry2×Luke 19:5, Acts 22:18
[Zacchaeus] hurried1×Luke 19:6
hasten1×2 Peter 3:12
he was in a hurry1×Acts 20:16
they hurried off1×Luke 2:16
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 2:16σπεύσαντεςtothey hurried offVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine PluralLuke 19:5σπεύσαςtohurryVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularLuke 19:6σπεύσαςto[Zacchaeus] hurriedVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularActs 20:16ἔσπευδενtohe was in a hurryVerb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularActs 22:18ΣπεῦσονtoHurryVerb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular2 Peter 3:12σπεύδονταςtohastenVerb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 2:16
Aligned rows6
Books represented3
Luke3Acts22 Peter1
Source forms
σπεύσας2xspeusasLuke 19:5, Luke 19:6
ἔσπευδεν1xespeudenActs 20:16
σπεύδοντας1xspeudontas2 Peter 3:12
σπεύσαντες1xspeusantesLuke 2:16
Σπεῦσον1xSpeusonActs 22:18
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular2xLuke 19:5, Luke 19:6
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular1xActs 22:18
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural1xLuke 2:16
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xActs 20:16
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural1x2 Peter 3:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Distinguish a clear responsibility from pressure to accept someone else's imposed urgency.
- Allow appropriate discernment and practical limits without branding every delay as unbelief.
Avoid claiming...
- The hasten verb does not require every believer to adopt a permanently hurried life.
- Peter's wording does not supply a method for scheduling the day of God.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Connotes urgent haste with eager desire, not merely speed but willingness to act quickly.
Strong'sG4692
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms3 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkActs 20:13-16Source Gloss
to hasten
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 2:16Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
σπεύσαντες,speusantev
I hasten, desire earnestly
Read verseLuke 19:5Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
σπεύσαςspeusav
I hasten, desire earnestly
Read verseLuke 19:6Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
σπεύσαςspeusav
I hasten, desire earnestly
Read verseActs 20:16Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἔσπευδεespeuden
I hasten, desire earnestly
Read verseActs 22:18Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Imperative
Σπεῦσονspeuson
I hasten, desire earnestly
Read verse2 Peter 3:12Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
σπεύδονταςspeudontav
I hasten, desire earnestly
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 groups3Aligned forms6TensesAorist, Imperfect, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality4×
Aorist ActiveLuke 19:5 · Luke 19:6 · Luke 2:163×
Present Active2 Pet 3:121×
Indicativestates a fact or reality1×
Imperfect ActiveActs 20:161×
Imperativecommand or strong request1×
Aorist ActiveActs 22:181×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist4imperfect1
Voice
active5
Mood
participle3indicative1imperative1
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 Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To hasten or make haste.
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σπεύδω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Reveals Paul’s intentional urgency toward Jerusalem.Acts 20:13-16
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Paul's travel account is especially helpful because its urgency includes a limit. He hopes to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost if possible, and arranges the journey around that desire. The account describes a purposeful choice rather than an infallible scheduling command for others. Luke's shepherds and Zacchaeus also respond promptly, but to different invitations and discoveries.
Second Peter then requires attention to a larger argument about God's day, holy conduct and promised new creation. An isolated gloss cannot turn anticipation into control over an end-time date. Teaching can encourage an appropriate response to a clear call while making room for circumstances, patient discernment and the passage's own promises. Promptness receives meaning from what is being answered rather than from speed alone.
Anchor passage
Acts.20.16
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 2:15-17 ties the shepherds' prompt visit to the announcement they received.
- Luke 19:5-7 connects Zacchaeus' hurry with Jesus' invitation and his joyful welcome.
- Acts 20:16-17 gives Paul's conditional travel desire and subsequent meeting with elders.
- Acts 22:18 locates a hurry command within Paul's report of a particular revelation.
- Second Peter 3:11-12 places expectation of God's day beside holy and godly conduct.
- Second Peter 3:13-14 directs hope toward God's promised righteousness and peaceful readiness.
The Greek verb describes hastening in the travel and response accounts. The licensed comparator records haste and eager expectation possibilities in Second Peter; the supplied translation and whole argument remain intact rather than being settled by a gloss alone.
From Old to New Testament
Numbers 9:17-23 describes Israel moving and remaining according to the cloud's movement, a thematic comparison about responding to a given direction rather than a shared verb. Each account provides its own reason for acting or waiting, so haste cannot replace attention to that reason.