What does ψάλλω (psállō) mean in the Bible?
ψάλλω (psállō): To sing praise, originally by playing stringed instruments; NT usage emphasizes corporate worship expression.
Greek · G5567
ψάλλω
To sing praise
Reading a lexicon entry
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ψάλλωG5567
Pronunciationpsállō
What does ψάλλω (psállō) mean in the Bible?
ψάλλω (psállō): To sing praise, originally by playing stringed instruments; NT usage emphasizes corporate worship expression.
Full entry for ψάλλω (G5567) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5567?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include He should sing praises (1), I will also sing (1), I will sing (1), I will sing hymns (1), make music (1).
Where does ψάλλω (psállō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 15:9. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (2), Ephesians (1), James (1), Romans (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 ItHe should sing praises1×James 5:13
I will also sing1×1 Corinthians 14:15
I will sing1×1 Corinthians 14:15
I will sing hymns1×Romans 15:9
make music1×Ephesians 5:19
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 15:9ψαλῶtoI will sing hymnsVerb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular1 Corinthians 14:15ψαλῶtoI will singVerb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular1 Corinthians 14:15ψαλῶtoI will also singVerb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person SingularEphesians 5:19ψάλλοντεςtomake musicVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine PluralJames 5:13ψαλλέτωtoHe should sing praisesVerb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowRomans 15:9
Aligned rows5
Books represented4
Romans11 Corinthians2Ephesians1James1
Source forms
ψαλῶ3xpsalōRomans 15:9, 1 Corinthians 14:15
ψαλλέτω1xpsalletōJames 5:13
ψάλλοντες1xpsallontesEphesians 5:19
Parsing patterns
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular3xRomans 15:9, 1 Corinthians 14:15
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xJames 5:13
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural1xEphesians 5:19
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To sing praise, originally by playing stringed instruments; NT usage emphasizes corporate worship expression.
Strong'sG5567
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms3 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkEphesians 5:15-21Source Gloss
to sing praise
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 15:9Verb First Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ψαλῶ.yalw
I sing psalms
Read verse1 Corinthians 14:15Verb First Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ψαλῶyalw
I sing psalms
Read verse1 Corinthians 14:15Verb First Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ψαλῶyalw
I sing psalms
Read verseEphesians 5:19Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ψάλλοντεςyallontev
I sing psalms
Read verseJames 5:13Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Imperative
ψαλλέτω.yalletw
I sing psalms
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 groups3Aligned forms5TensesFuture, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Future ActiveRom 15:9 · 1 Cor 14:153×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality1×
Present ActiveEph 5:191×
Imperativecommand or strong request1×
Present ActiveJas 5:131×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
future3present1
Voice
active4
Mood
indicative3imperative1
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 Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
singing hymns and spiritual songs with grace in one's heart to the Lord
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ψάλλω is built from this root: