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πενθέω

penthéō

G3996 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To express grief or intense sorrow, typically in response to death or personal loss, whether inwardly (feeling) or outwardly (public acts of mourning); can include both silent lamentation and overt displays of bereavement. In various contexts, may also refer to ritualized or communal mourning, and in rarer instances, to figurative sorrow over misfortune or calamity.

Semantic Range

to express grief, to lament, to bewail, to mourn for the dead, to engage in ritual mourning, to show sorrow for calamity, to grieve metaphorically (for sin or misfortune)

Root / Etymology

From πένθος (penthos, 'grief, mourning, sorrow'), itself of uncertain Indo-European origin.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, πενθέω primarily indicates the experience and expression of personal or communal grief, frequently connected with death or disaster. This could comprise private lament, public rites, or ritual mourning. By the Hellenistic and Koine periods—including the Septuagint and New Testament—the word remains centered on grief for the dead, but also appears in extended or metaphorical senses, such as lamentation over sin or repentance for misdeeds (cf. Matthew 5:4: 'Blessed are those who mourn'). In some diminutive or formal settings, it can denote prescribed mourning periods or activities. The typical English renderings ('mourn', 'bewail', 'grieve') generally cover its range, though modern English may lack the nuance of ancient ritualized or communal mourning expressed by this term.

Translation Consistency

primary "mourn" 9 occurrences

“Mourn” best matches the typical and dominant sense in the SILEX definition—expressing grief, public or private lamentation, and ritualized bereavement—and is the most natural, common English rendering (reflected in the P2 data). It also comfortably covers metaphorical sorrow, making it a consistent base verb for all forms of G3996.

Alternatives (1 occurrence):
"grieved" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from πένθος; to grieve (the feeling or the act):--mourn, (be-)wail.

Root Family

πενθ- (penthéō) — to grieve, to mourn

Root πενθ- to grieve, to mourn
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G3997 πένθος deep mourning

Word Forms

7 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3996-06 πενθοῦντες penthountes V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M PL mourning mourning ones mourning ones 3
G3996-07 πενθοῦσιν penthousin V PRS ACT PTCP DAT M PL mourn to mourning ones mourn 2
G3996-01 ἐπενθήσατε epenthesate V AOR ACT IND 2P PL mourned you grieved you grieved 1
G3996-02 πενθεῖν penthein V PRS ACT INF mourn to be mourning to mourn 1
G3996-03 πενθήσατε penthesate V AOR ACT IMP 2P PL mourn Mourn! Mourn 1
G3996-04 πενθήσετε penthesete V FUT ACT IND 2P PL you will mourn you will mourn you will mourn 1
G3996-05 πενθήσω pentheso V AOR ACT SUBJ 1P SG I will mourn I may mourn I may mourn 1

Occurrences in Scripture

10 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3996-06 Matthew 5:4 πενθοῦντες penthountes V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M PL who mourn mourning ones mourning ones
G3996-02 Matthew 9:15 πενθεῖν penthein V PRS ACT INF mourn to be mourning to mourn
G3996-07 Mark 16:10 πενθοῦσιν penthousin V PRS ACT PTCP DAT M PL mourning to mourning ones to the mourning ones
G3996-04 Luke 6:25 πενθήσετε penthesete V FUT ACT IND 2P PL you will mourn you will mourn you will mourn
G3996-01 1 Corinthians 5:2 ἐπενθήσατε epenthesate V AOR ACT IND 2P PL mourned you grieved you grieved
G3996-05 2 Corinthians 12:21 πενθήσω pentheso V AOR ACT SUBJ 1P SG I will mourn I may mourn I may mourn
G3996-03 James 4:9 πενθήσατε penthesate V AOR ACT IMP 2P PL mourn Mourn! Mourn
G3996-07 Revelation 18:11 πενθοῦσιν penthousin V PRS ACT IND 3P PL mourn to mourning ones mourn
G3996-06 Revelation 18:15 πενθοῦντες penthountes V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M PL mourning mourning ones mourning ones
G3996-06 Revelation 18:19 πενθοῦντες penthountes V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M PL mourning mourning ones mourning
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