What does ὑψηλοφρονέω (hypsēlophronéō) mean in the Bible?
Hypsēlophroneō means to be high-minded, proud, or conceited. Paul commands wealthy believers not to become arrogant or set hope on uncertain riches, but on God who richly provides.
Greek · G5309
ὑψηλοφρονέω
Be arrogant
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ὑψηλοφρονέω G5309
Pronunciation hypsēlophronéō
What does ὑψηλοφρονέω (hypsēlophronéō) mean in the Bible?
Hypsēlophroneō means to be high-minded, proud, or conceited. Paul commands wealthy believers not to become arrogant or set hope on uncertain riches, but on God who richly provides.
Reader summary
Full entry for ὑψηλοφρονέω (G5309) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5309?
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include to be conceited (1).
Where does ὑψηλοφρονέω (hypsēlophronéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Timothy 6:17. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Hypsēlophroneō means to be high-minded, proud, or conceited. Paul commands wealthy believers not to become arrogant or set hope on uncertain riches, but on God who richly provides. Romans' related humility language calls believers not to be haughty but to associate with the lowly, and James cites God's opposition to the proud. Those passages illuminate the same canonical concern but are not additional occurrences of this rare verb.
Conceit is more than confidence or competence; it is elevated self-estimation that distances people from dependence on God and solidarity with neighbors. Wealth especially tempts a person to mistake resources for security, superiority, or self-sufficiency.
How the Bible Uses It
Hypsēlophroneō names elevated self-regard, especially the arrogance wealth can cultivate. Its opposite is hope in God, generous action, humble association, and awareness that grace rather than resources sustains life.
- 1Tim.6.17
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
First Timothy 6:17 commands the rich in the present age not to be high-minded or hope in uncertain wealth, but in God who richly supplies everything for enjoyment. The next verse directs them toward generous good works.
- Rom.12.16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited.
Romans 12:16 uses related language to command believers not to be haughty but to associate with the lowly. It supplies canonical humility context rather than another occurrence of hypsēlophroneō.
- Jas.4.6
But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:6 cites the scriptural principle that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. This is supporting canonical context for the rare verb's warning.
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 to be conceited 1× 1 Timothy 6:17
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 1 Timothy 6:17
Aligned rows 1
Books represented 1
1 Timothy 1
Source forms
ὑψηλοφρονεῖν 1x hypsēlophronein 1 Timothy 6:17
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 1x 1 Timothy 6:17
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not infer conceit solely from wealth, education, confidence, leadership, or professional competence.
- Do not use humility teaching to shame success while flattering wealthy donors or protecting unequal power.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not infer conceit solely from wealth, education, confidence, leadership, or professional competence.
- Do not use humility teaching to shame success while flattering wealthy donors or protecting unequal power.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To think lofty thoughts about oneself; spiritual pride rather than mere social arrogance.
Strong's G5309
Lexical occurrences 1 verse Greek text appearances 2 times Word forms 1 form 1 reference Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
be arrogant
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To think lofty thoughts about oneself; spiritual pride rather than mere social arrogance.
= μευαλοφρονεῖν (Xen., Plat., al.), to be high-minded: 1Ti.6:17 (WH, mg., ὑψηλὰ, φρονεῖν).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 11:20 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Imperative
ὑψηλοφρόνει, uyhlofronei
I am high-minded, proud
Read verse 1 Timothy 6:17 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ὑψηλοφρονεῖν, uyhlofronein
I am high-minded, proud
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 1 Aligned forms 1 Tenses Present Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Active 1 Tim 6:17 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 1 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 1
Voice
active 1
Mood
infinitive 1
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)
Word Origins
ὑψηλοφρονέω is built from these roots:
+ φρήν G5424
For the Preacher and Teacher
Hypsēlophroneō exposes an inner elevation that often becomes social distance. Wealth can make uncertainty feel controllable and neighbors seem less necessary, so Paul attacks both conceit and misplaced hope. His answer is not shame about resources but trust in the generous God and readiness to do good and share. Related apostolic language makes humility relational: associate with people the world calls lowly and remember that grace meets the humble.
Churches should not flatter donors, leaders, professionals, or public figures into a higher spiritual class. Nor should they confuse healthy skill or grateful enjoyment with pride. Conceit is resisted when gifts are received as gifts, security rests in God, and resources become instruments of shared good rather than proof of superiority.
Anchor passage
1Tim.6.17
Doctrinal connections
- Providence: God richly provides good gifts and remains the true source of security.
- Idolatry: uncertain wealth competes for hope and can cultivate functional self-sufficiency.
- Humility: grace dismantles elevated self-estimation and restores dependence.
- Church fellowship: believers associate across status lines rather than building prestige hierarchies.
- Stewardship: resources become good works, generosity, and sharing rather than grounds for pride.
- Eschatology: treasure for the coming age relativizes present wealth and social rank.
Hypsēlophroneō combines hypsēlos, "high," with phroneō, "to think" or "set one's mind," and means to think highly of oneself or be conceited. Its single clear New Testament occurrence warrants modest claims.
From Old to New Testament
The Law warns Israel not to forget God when wealth increases, prophets humble proud rulers, and wisdom contrasts arrogance with dependence on the Lord. Riches remain uncertain under God's rule.
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