What does συμβουλεύω (symbouleúō) mean in the Bible?
Συμβουλεύω (symbouleúō) means to advise, counsel, deliberate, or form a plan together. The New Testament shows that counsel can serve either wisdom or evil.
Greek · G4823
συμβουλεύω
To consult
Reading a lexicon entry
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συμβουλεύω G4823
Pronunciation symbouleúō
What does συμβουλεύω (symbouleúō) mean in the Bible?
Συμβουλεύω (symbouleúō) means to advise, counsel, deliberate, or form a plan together. The New Testament shows that counsel can serve either wisdom or evil.
Reader summary
Full entry for συμβουλεύω (G4823) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4823?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include conspired (1), I counsel (1), they conspired (1), who had advised (1).
Where does συμβουλεύω (symbouleúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 26:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (1), John (1), Matthew (1), Revelation (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Συμβουλεύω (symbouleúō) means to advise, counsel, deliberate, or form a plan together. The New Testament shows that counsel can serve either wisdom or evil. Matthew 26:4 describes leaders conspiring to arrest and kill Jesus. John 18:14 recalls Caiaphas' advice that it would be better for one man to die for the people. John has already interpreted that statement in chapter 11 as an unintended prophecy of Jesus' saving death, while Caiaphas and the council pursue an unjust plan.
Acts 9:23 uses the verb for a plot to kill Saul. Revelation 3:18 uses it positively when the risen Christ counsels the Laodicean church to receive true riches, clothing, and sight from Him. The word itself does not make collective deliberation wise. Counsel is judged by its source, truth, purpose, means, and fruit.
Churches need counsel, shared deliberation, and accountable decision-making. They also need safeguards against secrecy, groupthink, scapegoating, and the use of a claimed greater good to sacrifice the innocent or vulnerable. Christ's counsel heals self-deception and calls people to repentance. Faithful leaders welcome truthful evidence, disclose conflicts, protect dissent from retaliation, and submit plans to Scripture and ethical scrutiny.
Book contextCanonical parallelEditorial synthesis
How the Bible Uses It
The verb describes conspiratorial counsel against Jesus and Saul and the risen Christ's faithful counsel to a self-deceived church.
- Matt.26.4
And they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.
Collective deliberation becomes a secret plan to destroy the innocent Messiah.
- John.18.14
Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better if one man died for the people.
John recalls Caiaphas' expedient counsel while the passion unfolds, preserving both human injustice and God's saving purpose.
- Acts.9.23
After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,
A specific group plans Saul's death after his proclamation that Jesus is the Son of God.
- Rev.3.18
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
The risen Christ's counsel exposes false self-assessment and offers the true provision the church lacks.
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 conspired 1× Acts 9:23
I counsel 1× Revelation 3:18
they conspired 1× Matthew 26:4
who had advised 1× John 18:14
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 26:4 συνεβουλεύσαντο to they conspired Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural John 18:14 συμβουλεύσας to who had advised Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 9:23 συνεβουλεύσαντο to conspired Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 3:18 συμβουλεύω to I counsel Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 26:4
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 4
Matthew 1 John 1 Acts 1 Revelation 1
Source forms
συνεβουλεύσαντο 2x synebouleusanto Matthew 26:4, Acts 9:23
συμβουλεύσας 1x symbouleusas John 18:14
συμβουλεύω 1x symbouleuō Revelation 3:18
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 2x Matthew 26:4, Acts 9:23
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x John 18:14
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Revelation 3:18
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Evaluate counsel by Scripture, truth, justice, transparency, and care for people. Urgency or institutional agreement must not silence evidence or protect wrongdoing.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that God's use of Caiaphas' words makes Caiaphas' plan righteous. John distinguishes unintended prophecy from the injustice of condemning Jesus.
- Do not claim that συμβουλεύω makes every leadership consensus wise. The same verb describes murderous conspiracy and Christ's healing counsel.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to consult
Strong's G4823
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 5 times Word forms 2 forms 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to consult
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 26:4 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
συνεβουλεύσαντο sunebouleusanto
I give advice
Read verse John 11:53 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
συνεβουλεύσαντο sunebouleusanto
I give advice
Read verse John 18:14 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
συμβουλεύσας sumbouleusav
I give advice
Read verse Acts 9:23 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Middle Indicative
συνεβουλεύσαντο sunebouleusanto
I give advice
Read verse Revelation 3:18 Verb First Person Singular Present Active Indicative
συμβουλεύω sumbouleuw
I give advice
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 2 Aligned forms 4 Tenses Aorist, Present Voices Middle, 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 Middle Matt 26:4 · Acts 9:23 2×
Present Active Rev 3:18 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Aorist Active John 18:14 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 3 present 1
Voice
middle 2 active 2
Mood
indicative 3 participle 1
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)
Word Origins
συμβουλεύω is built from these roots:
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
Collective agreement does not make a plan wise. Caiaphas frames Jesus' death as political expediency, and leaders turn counsel into conspiracy. John simultaneously shows that God accomplishes salvation through Jesus' death without approving the injustice or motives of those who condemn Him. Revelation offers the contrast: Christ gives counsel that exposes self-deception and restores what the church truly needs.
Congregations should therefore evaluate counsel by truth, holiness, justice, transparency, and fruit, not by unanimity, urgency, or institutional advantage. Faithful deliberation protects the vulnerable, hears inconvenient evidence, records accountability, welcomes appropriate dissent, and refuses to make one person carry the cost of preserving a system's reputation.
Anchor passage
John.18.14
Doctrinal connections
- John 11:45-53 - Caiaphas' counsel and John's interpretation
- John 18:12-24 - Jesus before Annas and Caiaphas
- Acts 9:19-30 - proclamation and conspiracy
- Revelation 3:14-22 - Christ's counsel to Laodicea
The verb can describe advice given by one or deliberation shared by several. Moral value comes from the counsel's content and purpose, not the act of consultation itself.
From Old to New Testament
Wisdom commends counsel submitted to the fear of the Lord and condemns plots against the innocent. The New Testament sets conspiratorial human counsel against the truthful counsel of the risen Christ.
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