What does ὑστέρημα (hystérēma) mean in the Bible?
G5303 names lack, deficiency, or what is missing. In Paul, the word often appears where need is met through costly fellowship.
Greek · G5303
ὑστέρημα
A deficit; specially, poverty
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ὑστέρημα G5303
Pronunciation hystérēma
What does ὑστέρημα (hystérēma) mean in the Bible?
G5303 names lack, deficiency, or what is missing. In Paul, the word often appears where need is met through costly fellowship.
Reader summary
Full entry for ὑστέρημα (G5303) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5303?
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include is lacking (2), need (2), needs (2), deficit (1), poverty (1).
Where does ὑστέρημα (hystérēma) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 21:4. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Corinthians (4), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Thessalonians (1), Colossians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G5303 names lack, deficiency, or what is missing. In Paul, the word often appears where need is met through costly fellowship. Second Corinthians uses it for the needs of the saints, where one church's abundance supplies another's lack and thanksgiving rises to God. Philippians uses related need language around ministry partnership and risk. Colossians 1 requires special care: Paul is not saying Christ's atoning suffering is deficient, but that Paul's apostolic sufferings fill out the appointed ministry of witness for the sake of the church.
The word helps teachers speak about need without shame, generosity without pride, and suffering without confusion about the sufficiency of Christ.
How the Bible Uses It
G5303 names lack or what is missing. Paul's use often turns deficiency into a setting for fellowship, service, thanksgiving, and careful suffering language.
- 2Cor.8.14
At the present time, your surplus will meet their need, so that in turn their surplus will meet your need. This way there will be equality.
Paul speaks of one church's abundance supplying another's need. The word is governed by generosity, mutual care, and gospel fellowship.
- 2Cor.9.12
For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.
The ministry of service supplies the needs of the saints and overflows in thanksgiving to God. Lack becomes an occasion for shared care and worship.
- Col.1.24
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.
Paul speaks of what is lacking in Christ's afflictions in relation to his ministry for the church. The claim must be handled carefully so Christ's atoning work is not treated as deficient.
Passage 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 is lacking 2× Colossians 1:24, 1 Thessalonians 3:10
need 2× 2 Corinthians 8:14
needs 2× 2 Corinthians 9:12, 2 Corinthians 11:9
deficit 1× Philippians 2:30
poverty 1× Luke 21:4
was lacking 1× 1 Corinthians 16:17
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 21:4 ὑστερήματος to poverty Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 1 Corinthians 16:17 ὑστέρημα to was lacking Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 2 Corinthians 8:14 ὑστέρημα to need Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 2 Corinthians 8:14 ὑστέρημα to need Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 2 Corinthians 9:12 ὑστερήματα to needs Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 2 Corinthians 11:9 ὑστέρημά to needs Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Philippians 2:30 ὑστέρημα to deficit Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular Colossians 1:24 ὑστερήματα to is lacking Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 1 Thessalonians 3:10 ὑστερήματα to is lacking Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 21:4
Aligned rows 9
Books represented 6
Luke 1 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 4 Philippians 1 Colossians 1 1 Thessalonians 1
Source forms
ὑστέρημα 4x hysterēma 1 Corinthians 16:17, 2 Corinthians 8:14, Philippians 2:30
ὑστερήματα 3x hysterēmata 2 Corinthians 9:12, Colossians 1:24, 1 Thessalonians 3:10
ὑστέρημά 1x hysterēma 2 Corinthians 11:9
ὑστερήματος 1x hysterēmatos Luke 21:4
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular 5x 1 Corinthians 16:17, 2 Corinthians 8:14, 2 Corinthians 11:9, Philippians 2:30
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural 3x 2 Corinthians 9:12, Colossians 1:24, 1 Thessalonians 3:10
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular 1x Luke 21:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Name needs plainly while guarding the dignity of those who receive help.
- Keep Christ's sufficiency clear when teaching texts about Paul's sufferings.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not treat need as a sign of spiritual failure. Paul can make lack the occasion for fellowship and thanksgiving.
- Do not use Colossians 1:24 to imply any deficiency in Christ's atoning work. Paul's ministry suffering serves the church's witness.
Passage contexttheological_synthesis
Evidence Summary
Greek word. What is lacking or needed, especially material poverty contrasted with abundance (περίσσευμα).
Strong's G5303
Lexical occurrences 9 verses Greek text appearances 9 times Word forms 3 forms 9 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
a deficit; specially, poverty
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 21:4 Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
ὑστερήματος usterhmatov
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse 1 Corinthians 16:17 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ὑστέρημα usterhma
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse 2 Corinthians 8:14 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ὑστέρημα, usterhma
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse 2 Corinthians 8:14 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ὑστέρημα· usterhma
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse 2 Corinthians 9:12 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ὑστερήματα usterhmata
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse 2 Corinthians 11:9 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ὑστέρημά usterhma
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse Philippians 2:30 Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
ὑστέρημα usterhma
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse Colossians 1:24 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ὑστερήματα usterhmata
that which is lacking, poverty
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 3:10 Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
ὑστερήματα usterhmata
that which is lacking, poverty
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 3 Aligned forms 9 Case pattern Accusative (8) Number pattern Singular (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Luke 21:4 1×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter 1 Cor 16:17 · 2 Cor 8:14 · 2 Cor 11:9 · Phil 2:30 5×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter 2 Cor 9:12 · Col 1:24 · 1 Thess 3:10 3×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 21:1–4 ὑστερήματος hystérēma
Poverty, deficiency
Showing 1 selected witness from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ὑστέρημα 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
G5303 helps teachers speak about lack in a gospel-shaped way. Need is not treated as embarrassment, and abundance is not treated as private possession. In Second Corinthians, lack becomes a place where fellowship is made visible: one church's provision serves another's need, and the result is thanksgiving to God. Colossians 1 presses the need for careful theological boundaries.
Paul's sufferings serve the church's witness, but they do not complete an inadequate atonement. The word therefore opens a wide pastoral field: material generosity, ministry partnership, suffering, and the sufficiency of Christ. Lack can be real without being ultimate when the body of Christ bears one another's burdens.
Anchor passage
2Cor.8.14
Doctrinal connections
- 2Cor.8.14 - Paul speaks of one church's abundance supplying another's need. The word is governed by generosity, mutual care, and gospel fellowship.
- 2Cor.9.12 - The ministry of service supplies the needs of the saints and overflows in thanksgiving to God. Lack becomes an occasion for shared care and worship.
- Col.1.24 - Paul speaks of what is lacking in Christ's afflictions in relation to his ministry for the church. The claim must be handled carefully so Christ's atoning work is not treated as deficient.
Lack, deficiency, or what is missing is the reviewed display gloss for G5303. In this Pauline-focused companion, local STEP TAGNT evidence shows about 8 Pauline use(s), with common forms including N-ASN 5, N-APN 3. Treat these form signals as support for reading the passage, not as a replacement for context.
From Old to New Testament
The Pauline trajectory moves from material lack supplied through the body to ministry suffering that serves the church without adding to Christ's finished work.
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