What does σωφρονέω (sōphronéō) mean in the Bible?
σωφρονέω (sōphronéō): Rational self-control exercised in mind and behavior, rejecting both ecstatic excess and arrogant overestimation.
Greek · G4993
σωφρονέω
Be of sound mind
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σωφρονέω G4993
Pronunciation sōphronéō
What does σωφρονέω (sōphronéō) mean in the Bible?
σωφρονέω (sōphronéō): Rational self-control exercised in mind and behavior, rejecting both ecstatic excess and arrogant overestimation.
Full entry for σωφρονέω (G4993) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4993?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include in his right mind (2), be clear-minded (1), sober judgment (1), to be self-controlled (1), we are of sound mind (1).
Where does σωφρονέω (sōphronéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 5:15. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Peter (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Luke (1), Mark (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 in his right mind 2× Mark 5:15, Luke 8:35
be clear-minded 1× 1 Peter 4:7
sober judgment 1× Romans 12:3
to be self-controlled 1× Titus 2:6
we are of sound mind 1× 2 Corinthians 5:13
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 5:15 σωφρονοῦντα to in his right mind Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular Luke 8:35 σωφρονοῦντα to in his right mind Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular Romans 12:3 σωφρονεῖν to sober judgment Verb - Present Infinitive Active 2 Corinthians 5:13 σωφρονοῦμεν to we are of sound mind Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural Titus 2:6 σωφρονεῖν to to be self-controlled Verb - Present Infinitive Active 1 Peter 4:7 σωφρονήσατε to be clear-minded Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 5:15
Aligned rows 6
Books represented 6
Mark 1 Luke 1 Romans 1 2 Corinthians 1 Titus 1 1 Peter 1
Source forms
σωφρονεῖν 2x sōphronein Romans 12:3, Titus 2:6
σωφρονοῦντα 2x sōphronounta Mark 5:15, Luke 8:35
σωφρονήσατε 1x sōphronēsate 1 Peter 4:7
σωφρονοῦμεν 1x sōphronoumen 2 Corinthians 5:13
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 2x Romans 12:3, Titus 2:6
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular 2x Mark 5:15, Luke 8:35
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x 1 Peter 4:7
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural 1x 2 Corinthians 5:13
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Rational self-control exercised in mind and behavior, rejecting both ecstatic excess and arrogant overestimation.
Strong's G4993
Lexical occurrences 6 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 4 forms 6 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 8:26–39 Source Gloss
be of sound mind
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 5:15 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
σωφρονοῦντα, swfronounta
I am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verse Luke 8:35 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
σωφρονοῦντα, swfronounta
I am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verse Romans 12:3 Verb Present Active Infinitive
σωφρονεῖν, swfronein
I am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verse 2 Corinthians 5:13 Verb First Person Plural Present Active Indicative
σωφρονοῦμεν, swfronoumen
I am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verse Titus 2:6 Verb Present Active Infinitive
σωφρονεῖν· swfronein
I am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verse 1 Peter 4:7 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Imperative
σωφρονήσατε swfronhsate
I am sober-minded, exercise self-control
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 4 Aligned forms 6 Tenses Present, Aorist Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Present Active Mark 5:15 · Luke 8:35 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Present Active Rom 12:3 · Titus 2:6 2×
Indicative states a fact or reality 1×
Present Active 2 Cor 5:13 1×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Active 1 Pet 4:7 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5
Voice
active 5
Mood
participle 2 infinitive 2 indicative 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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
in right mind
To think sensibly, exercise self-control.
Additional Occurrences
Luke 8:26–39 σώφρων sōphronéō
Sound mind
Mark 5:1–20 σωφρονέω sōphronéō
to be of sound mind
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σωφρονέω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Calls believers to balanced humility in evaluating themselves. Luke 8:26–39
Demonstrates full restoration of human dignity and sanity. Romans 12:3-8
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.
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