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Greek verb · G2799

κλαίω

klaioklah'-yo

to weep

39 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: klaíō

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G2799is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 10 of 27
    New Testament books
  • 22
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · G2799

to sob, i.e. wail aloud (whereas 1145 is rather to cry silently)

The King James renders it: bewail, weep.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

klaio is rendered "to weep". It stands 39 times in the Greek text, across ten books.

  • Eleven of the uses stand in Luke, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 2:18“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
  • The Greek text spells it twenty-two different ways.

The first use

“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Matthew 2:18κλαίουσα

The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.

Where the word stands

Eleven of the word's thirty-nine uses are in Luke.

The other 17 New Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • weeping15
  • do weep7
  • he wept3
  • weep2
  • do you weep1
  • he was weeping1
  • I was weeping1
  • she may weep1
  • she was weeping1
  • They were weeping1
  • they will weep1
  • to weep1

and 4 more, 39 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

All 39, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

22 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • κλαίοντες6
  • κλαίετε4
  • ἔκλαυσεν3
  • κλαίουσα3
  • ἔκλαιον2
  • κλαῖε2
  • κλαίεις2
  • κλαίοντας2
  • κλαύσατε2
  • ἔκλαιεν1
  • ἔκλαιεν.¶1
  • ἐκλαύσατε1

and 10 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • verb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine plural6V-PAP-NPM
  • verb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singular3V-AAI-3S
  • verb · present active, command · 2nd person plural3V-PAM-2P
  • verb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · feminine singular3V-PAP-NSF
  • verb · aorist active, command · 2nd person plural2V-AAM-2P
  • verb · future active, indicative · 2nd person plural2V-FAI-2P
  • verb · imperfect active, indicative · 3rd person singular2V-IAI-3S
  • verb · present active, indicative · 2nd person singular2V-PAI-2S
  • verb · present active, command · 2nd person singular2V-PAM-2S
  • verb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine plural2V-PAP-APM
  • verb · aorist active, indicative · 2nd person plural1V-AAI-2P
  • verb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person singular1V-AAS-3S

Matthew

two uses
  • “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

    Matthew 2:18

    • κλαίουσαklaiousaverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · feminine singulartagged: weeping
  • Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

    Matthew 26:75

    • ἔκλαυσενeklausenverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he wept

Mark

three uses
  • When they arrived at the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the people weeping and wailing loudly.

    Mark 5:38

    • κλαίονταςklaiontasverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping
  • He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.”

    Mark 5:39

    • κλαίετεklaieteverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: weep
  • And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

    Mark 14:72

    • ἔκλαιεν.¶eklaienverb · imperfect active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was weeping

Luke

eleven uses
  • Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

    Luke 6:21

    • κλαίοντεςklaiontesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping
  • Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

    Luke 6:25

    • κλαύσετε.¶klauseteverb · future active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: will weep
  • When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.”

    Luke 7:13

    • κλαῖεklaieverb · present active, command · 2nd person singulartagged: do weep
  • They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

    Luke 7:32

    • ἐκλαύσατεeklausateverb · aorist active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: you did weep
  • As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.

    Luke 7:38

    • κλαίουσαklaiousaverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · feminine singulartagged: weeping
  • Meanwhile, everyone was weeping and mourning for her. But Jesus said, “Stop weeping; she is not dead but asleep.”

    Luke 8:52

    • ἔκλαιονeklaionverb · imperfect active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: They were weeping
    • κλαίετεklaieteverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do weep
  • As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it

    Luke 19:41

    • ἔκλαυσενeklausenverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He wept
  • And he went outside and wept bitterly.

    Luke 22:62

    • ἔκλαυσενeklausenverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he wept
  • But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

    Luke 23:28

    • κλαίετεklaieteverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do weep
    • κλαίετεklaieteverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do weep

John

eight uses
  • When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

    John 11:31

    • κλαύσῃklauseverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 3rd person singulartagged: she may weep
  • When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

    John 11:33

    • κλαίουσανklaiousanverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · feminine singulartagged: weeping
    • κλαίονταςklaiontasverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping
  • Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

    John 16:20

    • κλαύσετεklauseteverb · future active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: you will weep
  • But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb,

    John 20:11

    • κλαίουσαklaiousaverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · feminine singulartagged: weeping
    • ἔκλαιενeklaienverb · imperfect active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: she was weeping
  • “Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked. “Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.”

    John 20:13

    • κλαίειςklaieisverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person singulartagged: weep you
  • “Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”

    John 20:15

    • κλαίειςklaieisverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person singulartagged: do you weep

Acts

two uses
  • So Peter got up and went with them. On his arrival, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

    Acts 9:39

    • κλαίουσαιklaiousaiverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · feminine pluraltagged: weeping
  • Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

    Acts 21:13

    • κλαίοντεςklaiontesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping

Romans

two uses
  • Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.

    Romans 12:15

    • κλαίεινklaieinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to weep
    • κλαιόντωνklaiontonverb · present active, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping

1 Corinthians

two uses
  • those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing;

    1 Corinthians 7:30

    • κλαίοντεςklaiontesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping
    • κλαίοντεςklaiontesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping

Philippians

one use
  • For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

    Philippians 3:18

    • κλαίωνklaionverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: weeping

James

two uses
  • Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

    James 4:9

    • κλαύσατεklausateverb · aorist active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do weep
  • Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

    James 5:1

    • κλαύσατεklausateverb · aorist active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do weep

Revelation

six uses
  • And I began to weep bitterly, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.

    Revelation 5:4

    • ἔκλαιονeklaionverb · imperfect active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: I was weeping
  • Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

    Revelation 5:5

    • κλαῖεklaieverb · present active, command · 2nd person singulartagged: do weep
  • Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.

    Revelation 18:9

    • κλαύσουσινklausousinverb · future active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they will weep
  • And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—

    Revelation 18:11

    • κλαίουσινklaiousinverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: weep
  • The merchants who sold these things and grew their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn,

    Revelation 18:15

    • κλαίοντεςklaiontesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping
  • Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.”

    Revelation 18:19

    • κλαίοντεςklaiontesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: weeping

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESG (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0), the Brief lexicon based on Abbott-Smith (1922).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →