χείλη (cheile) in Romans 3:13: Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
χείλη (cheile) in Romans 3:13
Textual Witness
The witness reads χείλη in Romans 3:13 within the phrase ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν, so the form is part of the cited clause as transmitted.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form contributes to a vivid, plural image of concealed venom under human lips, strengthening the verse's indictment of harmful speech.
How To Communicate It
In teaching or translation notes, this form can be described as part of a prepositional image that locates danger beneath the lips, not as a standalone object.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Accusative form here guides the phrase role, but the figurative force comes from the surrounding wording.
- Do not turn grammatical gender into a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Noun: this form names a body part or, by extension, a boundary image, and the context decides the sense.
Accusative: the form commonly marks a direct object, a related complement, or the object of a preposition in the clause.
Plural: the form refers to more than one lip, or to a pluralized image within the sentence.
Neuter: the noun belongs to the neuter grammatical class, which is a form feature and not a theological claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν
The preposition ὑπό governs the accusative phrase and places the noun phrase under its spatial or figurative relation.
The phrase names what lies under their lips, contributing to the image of hidden harm and poisoned speech in the verse.
The accusative here does not by itself prove direct object function, and the form does not create a new lexical meaning.
How Much The Form Matters Here
Moderate: The accusative plural completes the prepositional image of poison under the lips.
Object of hupo in a figurative phrase. marks the lips as the location in the figure of harmful speech. Attached to the prepositional phrase under their lips. Governed by the preposition hupo. The form helps the reader follow the image, while the quoted Scripture supplies the indictment.
What does this accusative noun complete? It completes the prepositional phrase that pictures poison hidden under their lips.
Direct: The accusative plural directly supports translating the phrase as "under their lips."
The accusative is governed by the preposition here, not functioning as a standalone direct object.
Accusative always means direct object: In this occurrence the accusative is controlled by hupo, so the prepositional phrase should guide the interpretation.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads χείλη in Romans 3:13 within the phrase ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν, so the form is part of the cited clause as transmitted.
The lemma χεῖλος can mean a lip or, figuratively, a margin or edge, and the immediate context favors the bodily image of lips.
The accusative plural fits the prepositional phrase and supports a plural, collective picture of human speech organs in the verse.
The line portrays speech as dangerous and concealed, with poison said to be under their lips, reinforcing the broader charge of deceit.
This use fits other biblical speech images where lips and tongues are linked with speech, praise, or corruption, without forcing one fixed nuance.
For readers, the form helps show that the phrase is image-driven and descriptive, not merely anatomical, and it intensifies the warning about speech.
Do not derive a special theological doctrine from neuter gender, and do not make the case ending override the sentence's figurative sense.