What does ὑπακούω (hypakoúō) mean in the Bible?
Ὑπακούω (hypakouō) means to obey, heed, or respond submissively to an authoritative command. The winds and sea obey Jesus, prompting the disciples to ask what kind of man commands creation.
Greek · G5219
ὑπακούω
To obey
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ὑπακούω G5219
Pronunciation hypakoúō
What does ὑπακούω (hypakoúō) mean in the Bible?
Ὑπακούω (hypakouō) means to obey, heed, or respond submissively to an authoritative command. The winds and sea obey Jesus, prompting the disciples to ask what kind of man commands creation.
Reader summary
Full entry for ὑπακούω (G5219) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5219?
The BSB source-word alignment has 21 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include obey (8), obeyed (2), they obey (2), you obey (2), became obedient (1).
Where does ὑπακούω (hypakoúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 8:27. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (4), 2 Thessalonians (2), Acts (2), Colossians (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Ὑπακούω (hypakouō) means to obey, heed, or respond submissively to an authoritative command. The winds and sea obey Jesus, prompting the disciples to ask what kind of man commands creation. Unclean spirits likewise obey His authoritative word, though their compliance is not saving discipleship. Acts says many priests become obedient to the faith, describing a believing response to the proclaimed gospel.
Romans warns Christians not to let sin reign so that they obey bodily desires, revealing sin as a would-be master whose commands must be refused. Obedience can therefore be creaturely submission, coerced response by hostile spirits, gospel faithfulness, or enslavement to desire. The authority obeyed, the heart's relation, and the resulting allegiance determine its moral character.
Obedience itself is not virtuous when the master is sin.
How the Bible Uses It
Ὑπακούω describes response under authority. Creation and unclean spirits obey Jesus' commands, priests become obedient to the faith, and believers must refuse obedience to sin's desires.
- Matt.8.27
The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
The winds and sea obey Jesus, and the disciples' amazement turns the miracle toward His identity and authority over creation.
- Mark.1.27
All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”
Unclean spirits obey Jesus' command, demonstrating the authority of His teaching without implying that compelled submission equals repentant faith.
- Luke.8.25
“Where is your faith?” He asked. Frightened and amazed, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him!”
Luke's storm account joins the waters' obedience to Jesus' question about the disciples' faith, contrasting His authority with their fear.
- Acts.6.7
So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.
A great number of priests become obedient to the faith as God's word spreads, showing gospel reception that crosses established religious structures.
- Rom.6.12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.
Paul commands believers not to let sin reign in mortal bodies so that desires receive obedience, presenting sanctification as refusal of a dethroned master's claims.
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 obey 8× Matthew 8:27, Mark 4:41, Ephesians 6:1, Ephesians 6:5
obeyed 2× Hebrews 11:8, 1 Peter 3:6
they obey 2× Mark 1:27, Luke 8:25
you obey 2× Romans 6:12, Romans 6:16
became obedient 1× Acts 6:7
do not obey 1× 2 Thessalonians 1:8
it will obey 1× Luke 17:6
to answer [it] 1× Acts 12:13
welcomed 1× Romans 10:16
you have always obeyed 1× Philippians 2:12
you wholeheartedly obeyed 1× Romans 6:17
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 8:27 ὑπακούουσιν to obey Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 1:27 ὑπακούουσιν to they obey Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 4:41 ὑπακούει to obey Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 8:25 ὑπακούουσιν to they obey Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Luke 17:6 ὑπήκουσεν to it will obey Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Acts 6:7 ὑπήκουον to became obedient Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Acts 12:13 ὑπακοῦσαι to to answer [it] Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Romans 6:12 ὑπακούειν to you obey Verb - Present Infinitive Active Romans 6:16 ὑπακούετε to you obey Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Romans 6:17 ὑπηκούσατε to you wholeheartedly obeyed Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 8:27
Aligned rows 21
Books represented 11
Matthew 1 Mark 2 Luke 2 Acts 2 Romans 4 Ephesians 2 Philippians 1 Colossians 2 2 Thessalonians 2 Hebrews 2 1 Peter 1
Source forms
ὑπακούετε 5x hypakouete Romans 6:16, Ephesians 6:1, Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:20
ὑπακούουσιν 5x hypakouousin Matthew 8:27, Mark 1:27, Luke 8:25, 2 Thessalonians 1:8
ὑπήκουσεν 3x hypēkousen Luke 17:6, Hebrews 11:8, 1 Peter 3:6
ὑπακούει 2x hypakouei Mark 4:41, 2 Thessalonians 3:14
ὑπηκούσατε 2x hypēkousate Romans 6:17, Philippians 2:12
ὑπακούειν 1x hypakouein Romans 6:12
ὑπακοῦσαι 1x hypakousai Acts 12:13
ὑπήκουον 1x hypēkouon Acts 6:7
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 4x Ephesians 6:1, Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:20, Colossians 3:22
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 3x Luke 17:6, Hebrews 11:8, 1 Peter 3:6
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 3x Matthew 8:27, Mark 1:27, Luke 8:25
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x Romans 6:17, Philippians 2:12
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Mark 4:41, 2 Thessalonians 3:14
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural 2x 2 Thessalonians 1:8, Hebrews 5:9
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Romans 10:16
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 1x Acts 12:13
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not equate the obedience of demons or storms with saving faith; the narratives display Christ's authority, not their reconciliation.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that grace permits believers to obey sin's desires without concern.
- Do not define gospel obedience as meritorious self-salvation; Acts locates it in response to the spreading word of faith.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Obedience rooted in listening and submission to authority, not mere compliance.
Strong's G5219
Lexical occurrences 21 verses Greek text appearances 21 times 16 shown below Word forms 4 forms 21 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Ephesians 6:1-4 Source Gloss
to obey
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 21 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 8:27 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ὑπακούουσιν upakouousin
I listen, obey
Read verse Mark 1:27 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ὑπακούουσιν upakouousin
I listen, obey
Read verse Mark 4:41 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ὑπακούουσιν upakouousin
I listen, obey
Read verse Luke 8:25 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ὑπακούουσιν upakouousin
I listen, obey
Read verse Luke 17:6 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ὑπήκουσεν uphkousen
I listen, obey
Read verse Acts 6:7 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ὑπήκουον uphkouon
I listen, obey
Read verse Acts 12:13 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
ὑπακοῦσαι, upakousai
I listen, obey
Read verse Romans 6:12 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ὑπακούειν upakouein
I listen, obey
Read verse Romans 6:16 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ὑπακούετε, upakouete
I listen, obey
Read verse Romans 6:17 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ὑπηκούσατε uphkousate
I listen, obey
Read verse Romans 10:16 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ὑπήκουσαν uphkousan
I listen, obey
Read verse Ephesians 6:1 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
ὑπακούετε upakouete
I listen, obey
Read verse Ephesians 6:5 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
ὑπακούετε upakouete
I listen, obey
Read verse Philippians 2:12 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ὑπηκούσατε, uphkousate
I listen, obey
Read verse Colossians 3:20 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
ὑπακούετε upakouete
I listen, obey
Read verse Colossians 3:22 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
ὑπακούετε upakouete
I listen, obey
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 21 Tenses Present, Aorist, Imperfect Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Imperative command or strong request 4×
Present Active Eph 6:1 · Eph 6:5 · Col 3:20 · Col 3:22 4×
Indicative states a fact or reality 13×
Present Active Matt 8:27 · Mark 1:27 · Luke 8:25 · Mark 4:41 · 2 Thess 3:14 · Rom 6:16 6×
Aorist Active Luke 17:6 · Heb 11:8 · 1 Pet 3:6 · Rom 6:17 · Phil 2:12 · Rom 10:16 6×
Imperfect Active Acts 6:7 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Present Active 2 Thess 1:8 · Heb 5:9 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Aorist Active Acts 12:13 1×
Present Active Rom 6:12 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 21 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 13 aorist 7 imperfect 1
Voice
active 21
Mood
indicative 13 imperative 4 participle 2 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 8:27 ὑπακούουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 1:27 ὑπακούουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 4:41 ὑπακούει present active indicative ongoing Luke 8:25 ὑπακούουσιν present active indicative ongoing Luke 17:6 ὑπήκουσεν aorist active indicative completed Acts 6:7 ὑπήκουον imperfect active indicative background Acts 12:13 ὑπακοῦσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Romans 6:12 ὑπακούειν present active infinitive infinitive Romans 6:16 ὑπακούετε present active indicative ongoing Romans 6:17 ὑπηκούσατε aorist active indicative completed Romans 10:16 ὑπήκουσαν aorist active indicative completed Ephesians 6:1 ὑπακούετε present active imperative imperative Ephesians 6:5 ὑπακούετε present active imperative imperative Philippians 2:12 ὑπηκούσατε aorist active indicative completed Colossians 3:20 ὑπακούετε present active imperative imperative Colossians 3:22 ὑπακούετε present active imperative imperative 2 Thessalonians 1:8 ὑπακούουσιν present active participle participle 2 Thessalonians 3:14 ὑπακούει present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 5:9 ὑπακούουσιν present active participle participle Hebrews 11:8 ὑπήκουσεν aorist active indicative completed 1 Peter 3:6 ὑπήκουσεν aorist active indicative completed
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
Children's obedience to parents as moral and religious duty
Servants' submission and obedience to masters in household relationships
Wind and sea obeying Jesus' command, demonstrating divine authority
Servants' unquestioning obedience to their master's commands
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 21 lexical occurrence verses.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Obedience reveals whose word governs. Wind and water answer Jesus immediately, displaying an authority that belongs to the Creator. Unclean spirits also comply, but their obedience under command is not loving discipleship; power recognition alone does not reconcile rebels to God. Acts presents a fuller response as priests become obedient to the faith through the spreading word.
Romans then addresses baptized believers as people united to Christ who must no longer present their bodies to sin's rule. Grace does not make obedience optional; it changes lordship and enables a new offering of embodied life to God. Churches should proclaim Christ's sovereign command, call hearers to repentant faith, and train believers to reject desires that speak with the old master's voice.
Ὑπακούω joins hearing to accountable response without confusing forced submission, justification, and sanctified obedience.
Anchor passage
Matt.8.27
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 8:23-27, wind and sea obeying Jesus
- Mark 1:21-28, unclean spirits obeying authoritative teaching
- Luke 8:22-25, creation's obedience and the disciples' faith
- Acts 6:1-7, priests becoming obedient to the faith
- Romans 6:1-14, refusing obedience to sin's desires
- Deuteronomy 6:1-9, hearing the Lord and obeying His commands
Ὑπακούω is related to hearing under or responding to authority. It may take a dative identifying the person or command obeyed. Context distinguishes compliance, heedful faith, and enslaved response.
From Old to New Testament
Israel is summoned to hear and obey the Lord, creation answers its Maker, hostile powers submit to Jesus, and gospel faith produces a new obedience under grace.
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