What does τελέω (teléō) mean in the Bible?
Τελέω (teléō) means to finish, complete, carry out, or bring an activity or period to its endpoint. Matthew uses it when Jesus finishes a body of teaching.
Greek · G5055
τελέω
To finish
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τελέω G5055
Pronunciation teléō
What does τελέω (teléō) mean in the Bible?
Τελέω (teléō) means to finish, complete, carry out, or bring an activity or period to its endpoint. Matthew uses it when Jesus finishes a body of teaching.
Reader summary
Full entry for τελέω (G5055) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5055?
The BSB source-word alignment has 28 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include had finished (4), were complete (2), will be fulfilled (2), [Jesus’ parents] had done (1), [the two witnesses] have finished (1).
Where does τελέω (teléō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 7:28. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (8), Matthew (7), Luke (4), John (2).
Are there verse guides for τελέω (teléō)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Τελέω (teléō) means to finish, complete, carry out, or bring an activity or period to its endpoint. Matthew uses it when Jesus finishes a body of teaching. Luke describes Jesus' family completing everything required by the Law before returning home. Paul speaks of an uncircumcised person carrying out the Law, exposing the inconsistency of possessing the written code while breaking it.
Revelation marks the witnesses finishing their testimony before the beast attacks and the thousand years reaching completion before Satan's release. Completion is always completion of something: words, requirements, obedience, testimony, or a measured period. The verb does not necessarily mean moral perfection or exhaustive fulfillment of every divine purpose.
Its object, subject, and narrative sequence identify what reaches its appointed end and what follows.
How the Bible Uses It
Τελέω marks an assigned endpoint: Jesus finishes teaching, His parents carry out legal requirements, a person performs what the Law requires, witnesses complete testimony, and an appointed period reaches its end.
- Matt.7.28
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,
Jesus finishes the Sermon on the Mount, and the crowd's astonishment follows the completed teaching because He speaks with authority unlike their scribes.
- Luke.2.39
When Jesus’ parents had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
Mary and Joseph complete everything required by the Lord's Law, showing covenant obedience within the ordinary return to Nazareth.
- Rom.2.27
The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
Paul argues that actual keeping of the Law exposes the guilt of someone who possesses its written form and circumcision yet transgresses it.
- Rev.11.7
When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.
The beast attacks only when the two witnesses have finished their testimony, placing hostile violence after the mission reaches its appointed completion.
- Rev.20.7
When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,
Satan is released when the thousand years are complete, so the transition occurs at a bounded time under the vision's divine ordering.
Passage contextBook context
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 had finished 4× Matthew 7:28, Matthew 11:1, Matthew 13:53, Matthew 19:1
were complete 2× Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5
will be fulfilled 2× Luke 18:31, Revelation 10:7
[Jesus’ parents] had done 1× Luke 2:39
[the two witnesses] have finished 1× Revelation 11:7
[yet] keeps 1× Romans 2:27
are complete 1× Revelation 20:7
are fulfilled 1× Revelation 17:17
be fulfilled 1× Luke 22:37
had finished {saying} 1× Matthew 26:1
had now been accomplished 1× John 19:28
I have finished 1× 2 Timothy 4:7
is completed 1× Revelation 15:1
is perfected 1× 2 Corinthians 12:9
it is accomplished 1× Luke 12:50
It is finished 1× John 19:30
pay 1× Matthew 17:24
they had carried out 1× Acts 13:29
were completed 1× Revelation 15:8
you pay 1× Romans 13:6
you really fulfill 1× James 2:8
you will not gratify 1× Galatians 5:16
you will not reach 1× Matthew 10:23
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 7:28 ἐτέλεσεν to had finished Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 10:23 τελέσητε to you will not reach Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 11:1 ἐτέλεσεν to had finished Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 13:53 ἐτέλεσεν to had finished Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 17:24 τελεῖ to pay Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 19:1 ἐτέλεσεν to had finished Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 26:1 ἐτέλεσεν to had finished {saying} Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 2:39 ἐτέλεσαν to [Jesus’ parents] had done Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Luke 12:50 τελεσθῇ to it is accomplished Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 3rd Person Singular Luke 18:31 τελεσθήσεται to will be fulfilled Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 7:28
Aligned rows 28
Books represented 10
Matthew 7 Luke 4 John 2 Acts 1 Romans 2 2 Corinthians 1 Galatians 1 2 Timothy 1 James 1 Revelation 8
Source forms
ἐτέλεσεν 5x etelesen Matthew 7:28, Matthew 11:1, Matthew 13:53, Matthew 19:1
τελεσθῇ 4x telesthē Luke 12:50, Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5, Revelation 20:7
ἐτέλεσαν 2x etelesan Luke 2:39, Acts 13:29
ἐτελέσθη 2x etelesthē Revelation 10:7, Revelation 15:1
τελεῖτε 2x teleite Romans 13:6, James 2:8
τελέσητε 2x telesēte Matthew 10:23, Galatians 5:16
τελεῖ 1x telei Matthew 17:24
τελεῖται 1x teleitai 2 Corinthians 12:9
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 5x Matthew 7:28, Matthew 11:1, Matthew 13:53, Matthew 19:1
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 3rd Person Singular 4x Luke 12:50, Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5, Revelation 20:7
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 2x Luke 2:39, Acts 13:29
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 2x Revelation 10:7, Revelation 15:1
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x Matthew 10:23, Galatians 5:16
Verb - Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 2x John 19:28, John 19:30
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x Romans 13:6, James 2:8
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive 1x Luke 22:37
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not infer from a completed task that the person has reached moral perfection or that every aspect of God's plan is exhausted.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that the witnesses' death means their mission failed when Revelation says they had completed their testimony.
- Do not claim that outward possession of Scripture and covenant signs equals carrying out God's will.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. To complete something to its appointed end or purpose; fulfillment rather than mere cessation.
Source Gloss
to finish
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 26 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 10:23 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
τελέσητε teleshte
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Matthew 11:1 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτέλεσεν etelesen
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Matthew 13:53 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτέλεσεν etelesen
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Matthew 17:24 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
τελεῖ telei
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Matthew 19:1 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτέλεσεν etelesen
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Matthew 26:1 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτέλεσεν etelesen
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Luke 2:39 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτέλεσαν etelesan
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Luke 12:50 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Subjunctive
τελεσθῇ. telesqh
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Luke 18:31 Verb Third Person Singular Future Passive Indicative
τελεσθήσεται telesqhsetai
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Luke 22:37 Verb Aorist Passive Infinitive
τελεσθῆναι telesqhnai
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse John 19:28 Verb Third Person Singular Perfect Passive Indicative
τετέλεσται, tetelestai
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse tetelestai
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Acts 13:29 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτέλεσαν etelesan
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Romans 2:27 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
τελοῦσα, telousa
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Romans 13:6 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
τελεῖτε· teleite
I end, accomplish, pay
Read verse Galatians 5:16 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
τελέσητε. teleshte
I end, accomplish, pay
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 28 Tenses Aorist, Perfect, Present, Future Voices Active, Passive
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 18×
Aorist Active Matt 7:28 · Matt 11:1 · Matt 13:53 · Matt 19:1 · Matt 26:1 · Luke 2:39 · Acts 13:29 7×
Present Active Rom 13:6 · Jas 2:8 · Matt 17:24 3×
Aorist Passive Rev 10:7 · Rev 15:1 2×
Future Passive Luke 18:31 · Rev 17:17 2×
Present Passive 2 Cor 12:9 1×
Perfect Active 2 Tim 4:7 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 8×
Aorist Passive Luke 12:50 · Rev 20:3 · Rev 20:5 · Rev 20:7 · Rev 15:8 5×
Aorist Active Matt 10:23 · Gal 5:16 · Rev 11:7 3×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Passive Luke 22:37 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Active Rom 2:27 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 28 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 18 present 5 perfect 3 future 2
Voice
active 15 passive 13
Mood
indicative 18 subjunctive 8 infinitive 1 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 7:28 ἐτέλεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 10:23 τελέσητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 11:1 ἐτέλεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 13:53 ἐτέλεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 17:24 τελεῖ present active indicative ongoing Matthew 19:1 ἐτέλεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 26:1 ἐτέλεσεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 2:39 ἐτέλεσαν aorist active indicative completed Luke 12:50 τελεσθῇ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive Luke 18:31 τελεσθήσεται future passive indicative prospective Luke 22:37 τελεσθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive John 19:28 τετέλεσται perfect passive indicative resultant John 19:30 Τετέλεσται perfect passive indicative resultant Acts 13:29 ἐτέλεσαν aorist active indicative completed Romans 2:27 τελοῦσα present active participle participle Romans 13:6 τελεῖτε present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 12:9 τελεῖται present passive indicative ongoing Galatians 5:16 τελέσητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 2 Timothy 4:7 τετέλεκα perfect active indicative resultant James 2:8 τελεῖτε present active indicative ongoing Revelation 10:7 ἐτελέσθη aorist passive indicative completed Revelation 11:7 τελέσωσιν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Revelation 15:1 ἐτελέσθη aorist passive indicative completed Revelation 15:8 τελεσθῶσιν aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive Revelation 17:17 τελεσθήσονται future passive indicative prospective Revelation 20:3 τελεσθῇ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive Revelation 20:5 τελεσθῇ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive Revelation 20:7 τελεσθῇ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive
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
will be fulfilled
Additional Occurrences
Luke 2:39–40 ἐτέλεσαν teléō
They completed, fulfilled
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 28 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
τελέω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Declares prophetic completion in Christ. Luke 18:31–34
Canonical Themes
Messiah
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
Faithfulness includes reaching the end of what God assigns. Jesus finishes His teaching before Matthew records the crowd's response, showing that authoritative words form a coherent summons rather than scattered sayings. His parents complete the Law's requirements, locating the incarnate Son within Israel's covenant life. Romans makes completion ethically searching: possession of Scripture and covenant signs cannot substitute for doing what God commands.
Revelation offers courage to witnesses. The beast's violence does not interrupt a half-finished divine mission; it comes after the testimony reaches its appointed end. Even vast symbolic periods conclude at the boundary God has set. Τελέω therefore resists both presumption and despair. Finishing is not self-created perfection, but the carried-out word, duty, testimony, or time specified by the passage.
The church perseveres because opposition does not control the endpoint of God's commission.
Anchor passage
Matt.7.28
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus completing authoritative teaching
- Luke 2:21-40, covenant requirements carried out by Jesus' family
- Romans 2:17-29, possessing the Law versus doing its requirements
- Revelation 11:3-12, testimony completed before the beast's attack
- Revelation 20:1-10, an appointed period reaching completion
- Joshua 21:43-45, not one of the Lord's promises failing
Τελέω is a verb of bringing an action or obligation to its goal. A direct object, participial construction, or temporal subject specifies what is finished. Related τέλος language concerns an end or goal, but each form must be read in context.
From Old to New Testament
God finishes His works and keeps His promises; servants complete assigned tasks; covenant obedience carries commands into action. Revelation places testimony and history under divinely appointed endpoints.
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