What does βασανίζω (basanízō) mean in the Bible?
βασανίζω (basanízō) is a Greek word meaning "to torture".
Greek · G928
βασανίζω
To torture
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βασανίζω G928
Pronunciation basanízō
What does βασανίζω (basanízō) mean in the Bible?
βασανίζω (basanízō) is a Greek word meaning "to torture".
Full entry for βασανίζω (G928) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G928?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to torture (3), agony (2), buffeted (1), had tormented (1), he will be tormented (1).
Where does βασανίζω (basanízō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 8:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (5), Matthew (3), Mark (2), 2 Peter (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 to torture 3× Matthew 8:29, Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28
agony 2× Matthew 8:6, Revelation 12:2
buffeted 1× Matthew 14:24
had tormented 1× Revelation 11:10
he will be tormented 1× Revelation 14:10
they will be tormented 1× Revelation 20:10
torment [them] 1× Revelation 9:5
was tormented 1× 2 Peter 2:8
were straining 1× Mark 6:48
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 8:6 βασανιζόμενος to agony Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 8:29 βασανίσαι to to torture Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Matthew 14:24 βασανιζόμενον to buffeted Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular Mark 5:7 βασανίσῃς to to torture Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular Mark 6:48 βασανιζομένους to were straining Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural Luke 8:28 βασανίσῃς to to torture Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular 2 Peter 2:8 ἐβασάνιζεν to was tormented Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Revelation 9:5 βασανισθήσονται to torment [them] Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 11:10 ἐβασάνισαν to had tormented Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 12:2 βασανιζομένη to agony Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 8:6
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 5
Matthew 3 Mark 2 Luke 1 2 Peter 1 Revelation 5
Source forms
βασανίσῃς 2x basanisēs Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28
βασανισθήσονται 2x basanisthēsontai Revelation 9:5, Revelation 20:10
βασανιζομένη 1x basanizomenē Revelation 12:2
βασανιζόμενον 1x basanizomenon Matthew 14:24
βασανιζόμενος 1x basanizomenos Matthew 8:6
βασανιζομένους 1x basanizomenous Mark 6:48
βασανίσαι 1x basanisai Matthew 8:29
βασανισθήσεται 1x basanisthēsetai Revelation 14:10
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 2nd Person Singular 2x Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 2x Revelation 9:5, Revelation 20:10
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Revelation 11:10
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 1x Matthew 8:29
Verb - Future Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Revelation 14:10
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 2 Peter 2:8
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural 1x Mark 6:48
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x Revelation 12:2
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to torture
Strong's G928
Lexical occurrences 12 verses Greek text appearances 12 times Word forms 4 forms 12 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to torture
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
(βάσανος), [in LXX: 1Ki.5:3, Sir.4:17, and frequently in Wi, II, 4Mac ;]
1prop., to rub on the touchstone, put to the test.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 8:6 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
βασανιζόμενος. basanizomenov
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Matthew 8:29 Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
βασανίσαι basanisai
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Matthew 14:24 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Neuter
βασανιζόμενον basanizomenon
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Mark 5:7 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
βασανίσῃς. basanishv
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Mark 6:48 Verb Present Passive Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
βασανιζομένους basanizomenouv
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Luke 8:28 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
βασανίσῃς. basanishv
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse 2 Peter 2:8 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐβασάνιζεν)· ebasanizen
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Revelation 9:5 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Passive Subjunctive
βασανισθῶσι basanisqwsin
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Revelation 11:10 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐβασάνισαν ebasanisan
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Revelation 12:2 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
βασανιζομένη basanizomenh
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Revelation 14:10 Verb Third Person Singular Future Passive Indicative
βασανισθήσεται basanisqhsetai
I torment, torture, buffet
Read verse Revelation 20:10 Verb Third Person Plural Future Passive Indicative
βασανισθήσονται basanisqhsontai
I torment, torture, buffet
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 4 Aligned forms 12 Tenses Aorist, Future, Present, Imperfect Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 2×
Aorist Active Mark 5:7 · Luke 8:28 2×
Indicative states a fact or reality 5×
Future Passive Rev 9:5 · Rev 20:10 · Rev 14:10 3×
Imperfect Active 2 Pet 2:8 1×
Aorist Active Rev 11:10 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 4×
Present Passive Matt 8:6 · Matt 14:24 · Mark 6:48 · Rev 12:2 4×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Active Matt 8:29 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 12 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 4 present 4 future 3 imperfect 1
Voice
passive 7 active 5
Mood
indicative 5 participle 4 subjunctive 2 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 8:29 βασανίσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 8:6 βασανιζόμενος present passive participle participle Matthew 14:24 βασανιζόμενον present passive participle participle Mark 5:7 βασανίσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 6:48 βασανιζομένους present passive participle participle Luke 8:28 βασανίσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 2 Peter 2:8 ἐβασάνιζεν imperfect active indicative background Revelation 9:5 βασανισθήσονται future passive indicative prospective Revelation 11:10 ἐβασάνισαν aorist active indicative completed Revelation 12:2 βασανιζομένη present passive participle participle Revelation 14:10 βασανισθήσεται future passive indicative prospective Revelation 20:10 βασανισθήσονται future passive indicative prospective
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.
Witnesses
Luke 16:19–31 βασανίζομαι basanízō
To be tormented
Showing 1 selected witness from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
βασανίζω 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