What does ἀγρυπνέω (agrypnéō) mean in the Bible?
ἀγρυπνέω (agrypnéō): Vigilant wakefulness implying sustained moral alertness, not merely mental awareness or momentary consciousness.
Greek · G69
ἀγρυπνέω
Be watchful
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ἀγρυπνέω G69
Pronunciation agrypnéō
What does ἀγρυπνέω (agrypnéō) mean in the Bible?
ἀγρυπνέω (agrypnéō): Vigilant wakefulness implying sustained moral alertness, not merely mental awareness or momentary consciousness.
Full entry for ἀγρυπνέω (G69) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G69?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [and] stay alert (1), keep watch (1), stay alert (1), watch (1).
Where does ἀγρυπνέω (agrypnéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 13:33. Its strongest book concentrations include Ephesians (1), Hebrews (1), Luke (1), Mark (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 [and] stay alert 1× Mark 13:33
keep watch 1× Luke 21:36
stay alert 1× Ephesians 6:18
watch 1× Hebrews 13:17
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 13:33 ἀγρυπνεῖτε to [and] stay alert Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural Luke 21:36 ἀγρυπνεῖτε to keep watch Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural Ephesians 6:18 ἀγρυπνοῦντες to stay alert Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Hebrews 13:17 ἀγρυπνοῦσιν to watch Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 13:33
Aligned rows 4
Books represented 4
Mark 1 Luke 1 Ephesians 1 Hebrews 1
Source forms
ἀγρυπνεῖτε 2x agrypneite Mark 13:33, Luke 21:36
ἀγρυπνοῦντες 1x agrypnountes Ephesians 6:18
ἀγρυπνοῦσιν 1x agrypnousin Hebrews 13:17
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x Mark 13:33, Luke 21:36
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Hebrews 13:17
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Ephesians 6:18
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Vigilant wakefulness implying sustained moral alertness, not merely mental awareness or momentary consciousness.
Strong's G69
Lexical occurrences 4 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 3 forms 4 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Hebrews 13:7-17 Source Gloss
be watchful
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 13:33 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
ἀγρυπνεῖτε agrupneite
I am awake
Read verse Luke 21:36 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
ἀγρυπνεῖτε agrupneite
I am awake
Read verse Ephesians 6:18 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀγρυπνοῦντες agrupnountev
I am awake
Read verse Hebrews 13:17 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἀγρυπνοῦσιν agrupnousin
I am awake
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 4 Tenses Present Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Present Active Mark 13:33 · Luke 21:36 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Active Eph 6:18 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 1×
Present Active Heb 13:17 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 4
Voice
active 4
Mood
imperative 2 participle 1 indicative 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)
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
keep watch
stay awake
stay awake
Additional Occurrences
Luke 21:25–36 ἀγρυπνεῖτε agrypnéō
Stay awake, be watchful
Mark 13:32–37 ἀγρυπνέω agrypnéō
to keep watch, remain alert
Word Origins
ἀγρυπνέω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Commands spiritual alertness. Hebrews 13:7-17
Expresses ongoing spiritual alertness. Luke 21:34–36
Describes pastoral vigilance and accountability. Mark 13:32–37
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