Greek verb · G3309
μεριμνάω
merimnaomer-im-nah'-o
to be anxious; to care for
19 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: merimnáō
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G3309is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 4 of 27New Testament books
- 8spellings
- 2meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · G3309
to be anxious about
The King James renders it: (be, have) care(-ful), take thought.
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
merimnao is rendered "to be anxious; to care for". It stands 19 times in the Greek text, across four books.
- Seven of the uses stand in Matthew, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "to be anxious".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 6:25Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
- The Greek text spells it eight different ways.
The first use
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Matthew 6:25μεριμνᾶτε
The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Seven of the word's nineteen uses are in Matthew.
What the word means
The word carries two meanings: to be anxious, and to care for.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| to be anxiousabsol., Mat.6:27, 31, Luk.12:25; μηδὲν μ., Php.4:6; with dative of thing(s), Mat.6:25, Luk.12:22; before περί, Mat.6:28, Luk.10:41... | Tagged as
| WhereMatthew 6:25Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink… |
| to care for | Tagged as
| WhereMatthew 6:34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself… |
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 19, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
8 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
- μεριμνᾷ4
- μεριμνᾶτε4
- μεριμνήσητε4
- μεριμνήσει2
- μεριμνῶν2
- μεριμνᾷς1
- μεριμνᾶτε;¶1
- μεριμνῶσιν1
The grammar of each form
- verb · aorist active, subjunctive · 2nd person plural4V-AAS-2P
- verb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singular4V-PAI-3S
- verb · present active, command · 2nd person plural3V-PAM-2P
- verb · future active, indicative · 3rd person singular2V-FAI-3S
- verb · present active, indicative · 2nd person plural2V-PAI-2P
- verb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singular2V-PAP-NSM
- verb · present active, indicative · 2nd person singular1V-PAI-2S
- verb · present active, subjunctive · 3rd person plural1V-PAS-3P
Matthew
seven uses
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
- μεριμνᾶτεmerimnateverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do be anxious about
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
- μεριμνῶνmerimnonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: being anxious
And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin.
- μεριμνᾶτεmerimnateverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: are you anxious
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
- μεριμνήσητεmerimneseteverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 2nd person pluraltagged: shall you be anxious
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.
- μεριμνήσητεmerimneseteverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 2nd person pluraltagged: shall you be anxious
- μεριμνήσειmerimneseiverb · future active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: will be anxious about
But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say.
- μεριμνήσητεmerimneseteverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 2nd person pluraltagged: may be anxious
Luke
five uses
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things.
- μεριμνᾷςmerimnasverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person singulartagged: you are anxious
When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.
- μεριμνήσητεmerimneseteverb · aorist active, subjunctive · 2nd person pluraltagged: may be anxious
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
- μεριμνᾶτεmerimnateverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do be anxious
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
- μεριμνῶνmerimnonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: being anxious
So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?
- μεριμνᾶτε;¶merimnateverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: are you anxious
1 Corinthians
five uses
I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord.
- μεριμνᾷmerimnaverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: cares for
But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife,
- μεριμνᾷmerimnaverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he cares for
and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how she can be holy in both body and spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how she can please her husband.
- μεριμνᾷmerimnaverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: cares for
- μεριμνᾷmerimnaverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: she cares for
so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another.
- μεριμνῶσινmerimnosinverb · present active, subjunctive · 3rd person pluraltagged: may have concern
Philippians
two uses
I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs.
- μεριμνήσειmerimneseiverb · future active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: will care for
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- μεριμνᾶτεmerimnateverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do worry about
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.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.