To accuse
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The Greek verb enkaleo describes accusing someone, bringing a charge, or calling a person to account in a formal complaint. Acts uses it repeatedly in civic and judicial settings: Demetrius is directed toward open courts, the city clerk recognizes possible riot charges, a commander investigates accusations against Paul and finds nothing worthy of death or imprisonment, and Paul defends himself before Agrippa.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐγκαλέω (G1458) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Greek verb enkaleo describes accusing someone, bringing a charge, or calling a person to account in a formal complaint. Acts uses it repeatedly in civic and judicial settings: Demetrius is directed toward open courts, the city clerk recognizes possible riot charges, a commander investigates accusations against Paul and finds nothing worthy of death or.
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [against] (1), [that] I am accused (1), being charged (1), Let them bring charges against (1), the accusation (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 19:38. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (6), Romans (1).
The Greek verb enkaleo describes accusing someone, bringing a charge, or calling a person to account in a formal complaint. Acts uses it repeatedly in civic and judicial settings: Demetrius is directed toward open courts, the city clerk recognizes possible riot charges, a commander investigates accusations against Paul and finds nothing worthy of death or imprisonment, and Paul defends himself before Agrippa.
Romans asks who can bring a charge against God's elect when God is the one who justifies. An accusation is therefore an act within a process, not proof that its content is true or false. Authorities may investigate, dismiss, answer, or adjudicate charges. Acts' references to accusations from Jewish opponents concern particular people and proceedings; they must not become anti-Jewish generalizations.
Romans 8 gives assurance against ultimate condemnation, but it does not exempt believers from truthful investigation, civil responsibility, church discipline, or consequences for harm. Responsible teaching preserves evidence, hears complainants without prejudgment, gives accused people fair opportunity to respond, protects against retaliation, and distinguishes spiritual justification from factual and legal adjudication.
Enkaleo denotes bringing or facing a formal accusation or charge. Forum, speaker, evidence, competent authority, and outcome distinguish lawful complaint, potential public-order charge, investigation, defense, dismissal, and assurance against ultimate condemnation.
So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.
The city clerk directs Demetrius and the craftsmen to open courts and available proconsuls for their complaints.
For we are in jeopardy of being charged with rioting for today’s events, and we have no justification to account for this commotion.”
The clerk warns that the uncontrolled assembly could face a riot charge without adequate justification.
And since I wanted to understand their charges against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin.
The Roman commander brings Paul before the council because he wants to understand the charges.
I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.
The commander reports that the dispute concerned their law and contained no charge deserving death or imprisonment.
“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews,
Paul begins a reasoned defense before Agrippa against the accusations brought against him.
Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Paul asks who can bring a charge against God's elect because God is the one who justifies.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. To bring a formal charge against someone in a legal or official context.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I bring a charge against, accuse
Read verseI bring a charge against, accuse
Read verseI bring a charge against, accuse
Read verseI bring a charge against, accuse
Read verseI bring a charge against, accuse
Read verseI bring a charge against, accuse
Read verseI bring a charge against, accuse
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
ἐγκαλέω is built from these roots:
Enkaleo makes accusation procedural rather than self-validating. Acts 19 portrays a volatile crowd in Ephesus. The city clerk says that complainants have courts and proconsuls available, while the whole assembly risks a charge of rioting because it cannot justify the commotion. Lawful process restrains both grievance and mob reaction. Acts 23 shows a commander seeking to understand accusations against Paul, then reporting that he found no charge deserving death or imprisonment.
The finding does not mean every accusation is always false; it shows that claims require examination and proportionate judgment. Acts 26 lets Paul answer before Agrippa with a sustained defense. References to Jewish accusers name participants in these particular conflicts and cannot support contempt for Jewish people. Romans 8 shifts to the deepest theological court: God justifies His elect, and no created accuser can overturn Christ's saving work.
That assurance does not erase temporal facts, victim safety, restitution, or civil authority. Faithful application provides safe reporting, protects evidence and privacy, avoids retaliation, uses independent investigation, permits a meaningful response, communicates findings carefully, and refuses both premature conviction and spiritualized impunity.
Acts.23.29
Enkaleo transliterates Greek ἐγκαλέω. The verb can take a person accused and a matter charged, while passive forms describe facing accusation; surrounding court, official, and defense vocabulary shows a procedural setting rather than an automatic verdict.
Old Testament law requires witnesses, condemns false testimony, protects the vulnerable, and assigns cases to judges through Hebrew legal vocabulary. Those principles illuminate fair process, while Acts and Romans retain their Roman-era forums and distinct theological claim about justification.