ἀφέθησαν

aphíēmi

have been forgiven

To send away, to release or let go. Primary sense: to dismiss or cause to depart; to let someone or something go free or unimpeded. Extended senses: to leave or abandon (a person, place, or thing), to remit or forgive (an obligation, debt, wrongdoing), to allow or permit. In legal, personal, and ritual contexts, may denote release from obligation or guilt, abandonment, or the granting of permission.

G863

Romans 4:7 · Word #3

Lexicon G863

Lemmaἀφίημι
Transliterationaphíēmi
Strong'sG863
DefinitionTo send away, to release or let go. Primary sense: to dismiss or cause to depart; to let someone or something go free or unimpeded. Extended senses: to leave or abandon (a person, place, or thing), to remit or forgive (an obligation, debt, wrongdoing), to allow or permit. In legal, personal, and ritual contexts, may denote release from obligation or guilt, abandonment, or the granting of permission.

Morphology V AOR PASS IND 3P PL All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state of being
Tense AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past
Voice PASS — Passive — The subject receives 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

Phrasehave been forgiven
Literalwere-forgiven-released

Lexical Info

Lemmaἀφίημι
Strong'sG863

SIBI-P1 Translation G863-18

they were released

Morphological NotesVerb; aorist tense (simple completed action), passive voice (subject receives the action), indicative mood (statement of fact), 3rd person plural.
Rendering RationaleThe aorist passive indicative, third person plural, denotes a completed action received by the subject: they were acted upon. "Were released" preserves the core sense of being sent away or let go without imposing a specific context.

View full lexicon entry for G863 →

SILEX v2

SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)

they were released

Same as P1Yes
Rationale'They were released' accurately conveys the passive aorist sense in context and aligns with the SILEX definition; it can refer to forgiveness/releasing of wrongs.