ἐβλασφήμουν

blasphēméō

were blaspheming

To speak in a way that slanders, abuses, or shows irreverence towards another, especially in reference to speech or acts that insult, dishonor, or show contempt for someone or something considered worthy of respect or reverence; in religious contexts, to speak or act in a way that insults what is regarded as sacred or divine. Broader usage includes defamatory, abusive, or insulting speech against persons, reputations, or institutions.

G987

Mark 15:29 · Word #4

Lexicon G987

Lemmaβλασφημέω
Transliterationblasphēméō
Strong'sG987
DefinitionTo speak in a way that slanders, abuses, or shows irreverence towards another, especially in reference to speech or acts that insult, dishonor, or show contempt for someone or something considered worthy of respect or reverence; in religious contexts, to speak or act in a way that insults what is regarded as sacred or divine. Broader usage includes defamatory, abusive, or insulting speech against persons, reputations, or institutions.

Morphology V IMPF ACT IND 3P PL All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state of being
Tense IMPF — Imperfect — Continuous or repeated past action
Voice ACT — Active — The subject performs the action
Mood IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality
Person 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they")
Number PL — Plural — More than one

Common Translation

Phrasewere blaspheming
Literalwere-blaspheming

Lexical Info

Lemmaβλασφημέω
Strong'sG987

SIBI-P1 Translation G987-21

they were speaking abusively

Morphological NotesVerb; imperfect tense (past ongoing), active voice, indicative mood, 3rd person plural.
Rendering RationaleThe rendering reflects the root sense of injurious or slanderous speech (βλασφημ-) while preserving the imperfect active indicative, third person plural as ongoing past action (“were …-ing”). It avoids narrowing the meaning to strictly religious blasphemy, keeping the broader semantic range of abusive or defamatory speech.

View full lexicon entry for G987 →

SILEX v2

SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)

they were speaking abusively

Same as P1Yes
RationaleP1 accurately renders the ongoing abusive speech toward the subject in context.