What does ὑμεῖς (hymeîs) mean in the Bible?
The word is the plural form of you. In John, that matters because Jesus often speaks to a gathered group, not merely to an isolated individual.
Greek · G5210
ὑμεῖς
You (as subjective of verb)
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ὑμεῖς G5210
Pronunciation hymeîs
What does ὑμεῖς (hymeîs) mean in the Bible?
The word is the plural form of you. In John, that matters because Jesus often speaks to a gathered group, not merely to an isolated individual.
Reader summary
Full entry for ὑμεῖς (G5210) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
What This Word Actually Means
The word is the plural form of you. In John, that matters because Jesus often speaks to a gathered group, not merely to an isolated individual. The pronoun helps readers ask who is being addressed, how the group is being formed, and what kind of promise, warning, or command is being given.
Plural address does not remove personal application. It does, however, keep interpretation from treating every saying as if it were spoken first to a solitary modern reader. In the upper room discourse, the plural address helps readers hear Jesus shepherding His disciples together.
Pastorally, you plural opens a teaching path into communal discipleship, shared dependence on Christ, and careful audience awareness. It helps churches hear both the gathered shape and personal force of Jesus words.
Lexical sourcegrammaticalPassage contexttheological_synthesisPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
John uses plural you language where Jesus addresses disciples, opponents, or groups, so readers must ask who is being addressed in the scene.
The word means you in the plural.
In John, it often appears when Jesus addresses disciples together. That does not erase individual response, but it reminds readers that many sayings are first addressed to a gathered group.
For interpretation, identify the audience before applying the statement. The grammar helps protect both communal hearing and personal response.
Plural you language helps John preserve audience and community shape. It supports careful application by asking who is addressed and how the promise or command reaches later readers.
grammaticalPassage contexttheological_synthesis
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use plural you to ask who is addressed and how the saying reaches disciples, churches, and individual readers responsibly.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim plural you eliminates personal application.
- Do not claim every plural address applies in the same way to every audience.
Pastoral applicationsource_integrity
Evidence Summary
Greek word. you (as subjective of verb)
Source Gloss
you (as subjective of verb)
Extended definition
:--ye (yourselves), you.
Word Origins
ὑμεῖς 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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
What this word opens up
This pronoun opens a teaching path into audience awareness and shared discipleship in John.
What it corrects
It corrects readings that individualize every you without asking who Jesus is addressing.
Framing suggestions
Frame the pronoun as plural address that helps readers hear the audience rightly.
Illustrations
- A letter addressed to a church can still speak personally, but it must first be heard as addressed to the group.
- John 15 shows Jesus teaching disciples together about abiding and fruitfulness.
Watch points
- Do not flatten plural address into only private application.
- Do not overextend a saying without respecting the original addressed group.
grammaticalPastoral applicationsource_integrityPassage context
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