What does χρονίζω (chronízō) mean in the Bible?
χρονίζω (chronízō): Delay marked by protracted passing of time; suggests lingering waiting rather than mere postponement.
Greek · G5549
χρονίζω
To delay
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χρονίζω G5549
Pronunciation chronízō
What does χρονίζω (chronízō) mean in the Bible?
χρονίζω (chronízō): Delay marked by protracted passing of time; suggests lingering waiting rather than mere postponement.
Full entry for χρονίζω (G5549) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5549?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include took so long (1), was delayed (1), will be a long time (1), will be away a long time (1), will not delay (1).
Where does χρονίζω (chronízō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:48. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (2), Matthew (2), Hebrews (1).
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 took so long 1× Luke 1:21
was delayed 1× Matthew 25:5
will be a long time 1× Luke 12:45
will be away a long time 1× Matthew 24:48
will not delay 1× Hebrews 10:37
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 24:48 Χρονίζει to will be away a long time Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 25:5 χρονίζοντος to was delayed Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular Luke 1:21 χρονίζειν to took so long Verb - Present Infinitive Active Luke 12:45 Χρονίζει to will be a long time Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Hebrews 10:37 χρονίσει to will not delay Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 24:48
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 3
Matthew 2 Luke 2 Hebrews 1
Source forms
Χρονίζει 2x Chronizei Matthew 24:48, Luke 12:45
χρονίζειν 1x chronizein Luke 1:21
χρονίζοντος 1x chronizontos Matthew 25:5
χρονίσει 1x chronisei Hebrews 10:37
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 24:48, Luke 12:45
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Hebrews 10:37
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 1x Luke 1:21
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular 1x Matthew 25:5
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Delay marked by protracted passing of time; suggests lingering waiting rather than mere postponement.
Strong's G5549
Lexical occurrences 5 verses Greek text appearances 5 times Word forms 3 forms 5 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 12:45 Source Gloss
to delay
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Delay marked by protracted passing of time; suggests lingering waiting rather than mere postponement.
(χρόνος), [in LXX chiefly for אָחַר pi. ;] to spend or take time, to tarry, linger, delay: Mat.24:48 25:5, Heb.10:37; before ἐν, with dative loc., Luk.1:21; with inf., Luk.12:45.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 24:48 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
Χρονίζει cronizei
I delay, tarry
Read verse Matthew 25:5 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
χρονίζοντος cronizontov
I delay, tarry
Read verse Luke 1:21 Verb Present Active Infinitive
χρονίζειν cronizein
I delay, tarry
Read verse Luke 12:45 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
Χρονίζει cronizei
I delay, tarry
Read verse Hebrews 10:37 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
χρονιεῖ. croniei
I delay, tarry
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 3 Aligned forms 5 Tenses Present, Future Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Present Active Matt 24:48 · Luke 12:45 2×
Future Active Heb 10:37 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Active Matt 25:5 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Active Luke 1:21 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 4 future 1
Voice
active 5
Mood
indicative 3 infinitive 1 participle 1
NT Occurrences
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
servant's master delays in returning, allowing servant to neglect duties
wicked servant assumes master's delayed return justifies abuse of fellow servants
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
χρονίζω 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.
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