What does βαρύς (barýs) mean in the Bible?
Heavy or weighty can describe an imposed burden, a matter of great importance or an obligation experienced as burdensome. Jesus condemns people who place heavy loads on others while refusing to help.
Greek · G926
βαρύς
Heavy or weighty can describe an imposed burden, a matter of great importance or an obligation experienced as burdensome. Jesus condemns people who place heavy loads on others while refusing to help.
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βαρύςG926
Pronunciationbarýs
What does βαρύς (barýs) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for βαρύς (G926) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G926?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [are] weighty (1), burdensome (1), heavy (1), savage (1), serious (1).
Where does βαρύς (barýs) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 23:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Matthew (2), 1 John (1), 2 Corinthians (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Heavy or weighty can describe an imposed burden, a matter of great importance or an obligation experienced as burdensome. Jesus condemns people who place heavy loads on others while refusing to help. He also identifies justice, mercy and faithfulness as the weightier matters of the law, without discarding the smaller duties. First John says God's commandments are not burdensome while connecting love, obedience and faith in Jesus as God's Son.
These uses do not make heaviness either universally bad or universally holy. The noun or duty being described and the passage's evaluation decide the point. Readers should distinguish burdens imposed without help from matters that deserve serious attention. John's assurance does not mean that a faithful person never finds obedience difficult or needs support.
How the Bible Uses It
Imposed heavy loads, morally weightier matters and commandments described as not burdensome carry different evaluations. The passages name help, priorities, love and faith rather than one universal rule about heaviness.
- Matt.23.4
They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Jesus names the contrast between loading others' shoulders and refusing to help, exposing conduct that fails to match the teaching.
- Matt.23.23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Justice, mercy and faithfulness are explicitly weightier, while Jesus says the other duties should also not be neglected.
- 1John.5.3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,
Commandments are described as not burdensome within John's account of loving God and faith that overcomes the world.
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[are] weighty1×2 Corinthians 10:10
burdensome1×1 John 5:3
heavy1×Matthew 23:4
savage1×Acts 20:29
serious1×Acts 25:7
weightier [matters]1×Matthew 23:23
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 23:4βαρέαtoheavyAdjective - Accusative Neuter PluralMatthew 23:23βαρύτεραtoweightier [matters]Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural - ComparativeActs 20:29βαρεῖςtosavageAdjective - Nominative Masculine PluralActs 25:7βαρέαtoseriousAdjective - Accusative Neuter Plural2 Corinthians 10:10Βαρεῖαιto[are] weightyAdjective - Nominative Feminine Plural1 John 5:3βαρεῖαιtoburdensomeAdjective - Nominative Feminine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 23:4
Aligned rows6
Books represented4
Matthew2Acts22 Corinthians11 John1
Source forms
βαρέα2xbareaMatthew 23:4, Acts 25:7
βαρεῖαι1xbareiai1 John 5:3
Βαρεῖαι1xBareiai2 Corinthians 10:10
βαρεῖς1xbareisActs 20:29
βαρύτερα1xbaryteraMatthew 23:23
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural2xMatthew 23:4, Acts 25:7
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Plural2x2 Corinthians 10:10, 1 John 5:3
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural - Comparative1xMatthew 23:23
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural1xActs 20:29
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Offer appropriate help while calling for the priorities Jesus actually names.
- Evaluate accusations with evidence rather than the apparent force of their language.
Avoid claiming...
- John's commandment statement does not prove that faithful obedience always feels effortless.
- The weighty adjective does not establish the truth or divine authority of a charge.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Metaphorical sense: describes burdensome demands, severe character, or weighty importance rather than literal weight.
Strong'sG926
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms4 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study link1 John 5:1-5Source Gloss
weighty
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Metaphorical sense: describes burdensome demands, severe character, or weighty importance rather than literal weight.
heavy: Mat.23:4. Metaphorical, burdensome: ἐντολή, 1Jn.5:3; severe (perh. impressive): ἐπιστολή, 2Co.10:10; weighty: τὰ βαρύτερα τ. νόμου, Mat.23:23; αἰτιώματα, Act.25:7; violent, cruel (EV, grievous): λύκος, Act.20:29.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 23:4Adjective Accusative Plural Neuter
βαρέαbarea
heavy, weighty, burdensome
Read verseMatthew 23:23Adjective Accusative Plural Neuter
βαρύτεραbarutera
heavy, weighty, burdensome
Read verseActs 20:29Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
βαρεῖςbareiv
heavy, weighty, burdensome
Read verseActs 25:7Adjective Accusative Plural Neuter
βαρέαbarea
heavy, weighty, burdensome
Read verse2 Corinthians 10:10Adjective Nominative Plural Feminine
βαρεῖαιbareiai
heavy, weighty, burdensome
Read verse1 John 5:3Adjective Nominative Plural Feminine
βαρεῖαιbareiai
heavy, weighty, burdensome
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns4Aligned forms6Case patternAccusative (3)Number patternPlural (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Feminine2 Cor 10:10 · 1 John 5:32×
Nominative · Plural · MasculineActs 20:291×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterMatt 23:4 · Acts 25:72×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterMatt 23:231×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Difficult to bear.
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
βαρύς is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Regeneration reshapes obedience from oppressive duty to joyful response.1 John 5:1-5
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Jesus' criticism concerns more than the existence of demanding duties. He exposes people who impose loads and refuse assistance, then names justice, mercy and faithfulness as matters they neglect. His words preserve lesser responsibilities alongside those priorities. First John describes obedience through love for God and faith in Jesus, saying His commandments are not burdensome within that argument.
A teacher should not use the shared adjective to erase either the warning about imposed burdens or the seriousness of obedient love. It is equally unfaithful to dismiss every difficult duty or to shame a weary person for needing help. The study invites attention to whose load is being named, what assistance is withheld and which priorities the passage explicitly requires its hearers to honor.
Anchor passage
Matt.23.23
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 23:3-4 distinguishes teaching from the speakers' failure to practice and help.
- Matthew 23:23 names justice, mercy and faithfulness as the weightier matters.
- Matthew 23:24's gnat and camel comparison reinforces the exposed distortion of priorities.
- First John 5:1-5 relates loving obedience to belief that Jesus is God's Son.
- Second Corinthians 10:10 quotes others describing Paul's letters as weighty and forceful.
- Acts 25:7 calls accusations serious while explicitly saying the accusers could not prove them.
The Greek adjective's object determines whether weight concerns burden, importance, severity or force. Negation in First John and unproved charges in Acts must govern interpretation rather than the gloss alone.
From Old to New Testament
Micah 6:8 explicitly names justice, loving devotion and humble walking with God. Its moral priorities can be compared with Matthew 23's named weightier matters, while each passage retains its own wording and argument rather than a shared Greek lexical identity.