What does σύρω (sýrō) mean in the Bible?
σύρω (sýrō): Forcibly drag someone away, often implying arrest, violence, or legal compulsion toward judgment.
Greek · G4951
σύρω
To trail
Reading a lexicon entry
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σύρωG4951
Pronunciationsýrō
What does σύρω (sýrō) mean in the Bible?
σύρω (sýrō): Forcibly drag someone away, often implying arrest, violence, or legal compulsion toward judgment.
Full entry for σύρω (G4951) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4951?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [and] dragged [him] (1), he dragged off (1), swept (1), they dragged (1), They dragged in (1).
Where does σύρω (sýrō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 21:8. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (3), John (1), Revelation (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 It[and] dragged [him]1×Acts 14:19
he dragged off1×Acts 8:3
swept1×Revelation 12:4
they dragged1×Acts 17:6
They dragged in1×John 21:8
Show sample aligned rows
John 21:8σύροντεςtoThey dragged inVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine PluralActs 8:3σύρωνtohe dragged offVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularActs 14:19ἔσυρονto[and] dragged [him]Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralActs 17:6ἔσυρονtothey draggedVerb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralRevelation 12:4σύρειtosweptVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowJohn 21:8
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
John1Acts3Revelation1
Source forms
ἔσυρον2xesyronActs 14:19, Acts 17:6
σύρει1xsyreiRevelation 12:4
σύροντες1xsyrontesJohn 21:8
σύρων1xsyrōnActs 8:3
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural2xActs 14:19, Acts 17:6
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xRevelation 12:4
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural1xJohn 21:8
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1xActs 8:3
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Forcibly drag someone away, often implying arrest, violence, or legal compulsion toward judgment.
Strong'sG4951
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms2 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJohn 21:8Source Gloss
to trail
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Forcibly drag someone away, often implying arrest, violence, or legal compulsion toward judgment.
to draw, drag: with accusative of thing(s), Jhn.21:8, Rev.12:4; with accusative of person(s), of taking to trial or punishment, Act.8:3; ἔξω τ. πόλεως, Act.14:19; ἐπὶ τ. πολιτάρχας (cf. 4Mac, l.with), Act.17:6 (cf. κατα-ούρω).
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.
John 21:8Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
σύροντεςsurontev
I draw, drag
Read verseActs 8:3Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
σύρωνsurwn
I draw, drag
Read verseActs 14:19Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἔσυρονesuron
I draw, drag
Read verseActs 17:6Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἔσυρονesuron
I draw, drag
Read verseRevelation 12:4Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
σύρειsurei
I draw, drag
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 forms5TensesImperfect, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Imperfect ActiveActs 14:19 · Acts 17:62×
Present ActiveRev 12:41×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality2×
Present ActiveJohn 21:8 · Acts 8:32×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present3imperfect2
Voice
active5
Mood
indicative3participle2
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.
Biblical Witnesses
Drawing or hauling a fishing net full of fish toward the shore
Forcibly taking men and women to prison for persecution
Violently pulling a person outside the city for execution
Dragging or sweeping away stars from heaven with a tail
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σύρω is built from this root:
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.