Be of sound mind
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G4993, sophroneo, is a Greek verb for thinking soundly, being in one's right mind, exercising sober judgment, or practicing self-control. Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35 use it when the man delivered from demonic oppression is found clothed, seated at Jesus' feet, and in his right mind.
Reader summary
Full entry for σωφρονέω (G4993) · Open the biblical lexicon
G4993, sophroneo, is a Greek verb for thinking soundly, being in one's right mind, exercising sober judgment, or practicing self-control. Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35 use it when the man delivered from demonic oppression is found clothed, seated at Jesus' feet, and in his right mind.
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).
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).
G4993, sophroneo, is a Greek verb for thinking soundly, being in one's right mind, exercising sober judgment, or practicing self-control. Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35 use it when the man delivered from demonic oppression is found clothed, seated at Jesus' feet, and in his right mind. Romans 12:3 turns the verb toward humble self-assessment: believers must not think more highly of themselves than they ought, but think with sober judgment according to God's gift. Titus 2:6 applies the same word family to self-control, and 1 Peter 4:7 joins clear-mindedness to sober prayer. In 2 Corinthians 5:13, Paul contrasts being thought out of his mind with being of sound mind for the Corinthians' good.
The verb's unity lies in rightly ordered thought and conduct, not in one emotional tone or personality style. Sound judgment may appear as restored dignity, humility about one's place in the body, restraint amid desire, service to others, or alertness in prayer. G4993 does not make calm behavior proof of holiness, nor does it classify modern psychiatric conditions. The exorcism narratives identify a particular man's deliverance; they do not authorize readers to equate mental illness, trauma, disability, or unusual behavior with demon possession.
Faithful teaching should let grace, community, prayer, and Christ's restoring authority shape the word's application. Self-control is not domination by leaders, emotional numbness, or suppression of honest grief. It is disciplined, humble responsiveness to God that serves others and remains awake to reality.
G4993 moves from restored right-mindedness after demonic oppression to humble self-assessment, service-oriented clarity, self-control, and alert prayer. Each context defines sound judgment through relationship to Jesus, grace, others, and God.
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
Mark presents visible restoration after Jesus delivers the man from the legion. The crowd's fear contrasts with the man's settled condition, but the verse does not create a diagnostic rule for other suffering.
So the people went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had left, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
Luke adds the posture of sitting at Jesus' feet, joining restored reason to the place of a disciple. The man's dignity and attentiveness are central, not the crowd's power to label him.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.
Paul places sober judgment between pride and self-erasure. Grace enables believers to assess themselves truthfully within the body and its varied gifts.
If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
Paul answers accusations by directing both devotion and sound-minded service away from self-promotion. His clarity is for the Corinthians' good, not a claim of superior temperament.
In the same way, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.
The concise exhortation places self-control within sound teaching and the ordered discipleship of the whole church. It is not permission for leaders to impose personal preferences as control.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
Peter connects eschatological urgency with clear-minded sobriety for prayer. Nearness to the end produces alert dependence, not panic, prediction, or neglect of ordinary faithfulness.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Rational self-control exercised in mind and behavior, rejecting both ecstatic excess and arrogant overestimation.
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.
I am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verseI am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verseI am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verseI am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verseI am sober-minded, exercise self-control
Read verseI 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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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 passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
σωφρονέω is built from this root:
Calls believers to balanced humility in evaluating themselves.Luke 8:26–39
Demonstrates full restoration of human dignity and sanity.Romans 12:3-8
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G4993 describes sound-minded life as restored, humble, relational, and prayerful. In Mark and Luke, the delivered man is no longer isolated among the tombs. He is clothed, seated, attentive, and in his right mind before Jesus. The scene honors his restored dignity, but it should never be turned into a label for people with psychiatric illness, trauma, disability, or behavior others find unfamiliar.
Romans 12 gives the clearest ethical center. Sober judgment refuses inflated self-importance without demanding self-contempt; grace enables each believer to take a truthful place among many members and gifts. Paul then describes sound-mindedness as being for others, Titus calls younger men toward self-control, and Peter links clear-minded sobriety to prayer under eschatological urgency.
These contexts oppose both chaos and domination. Self-control is not a leader's control over another person, an inability to grieve, or a permanently calm outward manner. It is disciplined responsiveness to truth, grace, community, and God. Teachers should ask whether a proposed application restores dignity, curbs pride, serves neighbors, and sustains prayer.
If it instead stigmatizes suffering or secures another person's power, it has departed from the word's pastoral direction.
Rom.12.3
G4993 is an active verb whose forms describe a state, an infinitive of disciplined thinking, and an imperative toward clear-mindedness. English renderings vary because the contexts move from restored right-mindedness to sober judgment, self-control, and prayerful clarity.
The Old Testament commends wisdom, restraint, and humble dependence on God, while the New Testament locates renewed thinking and disciplined life within Christ's restoring work and the church's shared life. These are canonical connections, not a claim that every wisdom or sanity term is lexically identical to G4993.