To have courage
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The Greek verb tharseo is a call to take courage or be encouraged. Jesus speaks it to terrified disciples on the sea, to a paralyzed man before declaring forgiveness, to a woman whose long illness and hidden approach become visible, and through the crowd to a blind man whom He has summoned.
Reader summary
Full entry for θαρσέω (G2293) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Greek verb tharseo is a call to take courage or be encouraged. Jesus speaks it to terrified disciples on the sea, to a paralyzed man before declaring forgiveness, to a woman whose long illness and hidden approach become visible, and through the crowd to a blind man whom He has summoned.
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Take courage (7).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (3), Mark (2), Acts (1), John (1).
The Greek verb tharseo is a call to take courage or be encouraged. Jesus speaks it to terrified disciples on the sea, to a paralyzed man before declaring forgiveness, to a woman whose long illness and hidden approach become visible, and through the crowd to a blind man whom He has summoned. In John's farewell teaching, courage rests in Jesus' victory despite real tribulation.
In Acts, the Lord stands near Paul in custody and tells him to take courage for further testimony. The command is relational and situated. It does not demand emotional performance, promise that every illness will be healed, or require a disabled person to treat bodily difference as shame. Jesus' words do not blame the sick for suffering, and the sea scenes do not teach people to ignore weather warnings.
Paul's calling to Rome belongs to his particular apostolic mission and does not guarantee every risky plan. Responsible teaching identifies who speaks, what danger or need is present, what promise is actually given, and what faithful next step becomes possible through the speaker's presence.
Tharseo summons a person to courage in the presence of Jesus or His assuring word. Speaker, hearer, need, and promise distinguish terror at sea, forgiveness, healing, social summons, tribulation, disability, custody, and continued witness.
Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus tells the paralyzed man to take courage and announces the forgiveness of his sins.
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that very hour.
Jesus addresses the woman as daughter, tells her to take courage, and recognizes her faith amid healing.
For they all saw Him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
Jesus immediately reassures the terrified disciples on the sea by identifying Himself and telling them not to fear.
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man. “Take courage!” they said. “Get up! He is calling for you.”
The crowd tells Bartimaeus to take courage and rise because Jesus has called him.
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
Jesus promises peace in Himself, acknowledges worldly tribulation, and grounds courage in His victory.
The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome.”
The Lord stands near Paul in custody and assures him of testimony in Rome.
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. Courage grounded in reassurance from authority; often Jesus' command to disciples amid fear or crisis.
Courage grounded in reassurance from authority; often Jesus' command to disciples amid fear or crisis.
(see: θαρρέω), [in LXX chiefly for יָרֵא, with neg. ;] to be of good courage: imperat., θάραει, -εῖτε, Mat.9:2, 22 14:27, Mrk.6:50 10:49, Jhn.16:33, Act.23:11.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
be of good cheer
Read versebe of good cheer
Read versebe of good cheer
Read versebe of good cheer
Read versebe of good cheer
Read versebe of good cheer
Read versebe of good cheer
Read versebe of good cheer
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 5 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)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
θαρσέω is built from this root:
Expresses direct divine reassurance.Acts 23:11-22
Shows strengthening effect of fellowship.Acts 28:11-16
Tharseo is spoken courage, not a personality trait that separates strong believers from weak ones. Matthew 9 records Jesus first addressing a paralyzed man as son and announcing forgiveness, then calling a woman daughter after years of suffering and social vulnerability. The narratives join courage to Jesus' recognition and authority; they do not explain all disability by personal sin or promise identical healing outcomes.
Mark 6 shows terrified disciples hearing Jesus identify Himself on the water. His presence is the basis for courage, yet the narrative is not a rule against boats, weather judgment, or rescue procedures. In Mark 10, people who had tried to silence Bartimaeus now relay Jesus' summons, and courage accompanies the restoration of his public voice. John 16 places courage alongside an explicit promise of tribulation and peace in Christ, rejecting both despair and denial.
Acts 23 shows the Lord standing near Paul after conflict and custody, assuring him of further testimony. Faithful application speaks truthful hope, removes access barriers, makes room for bodily fear, uses medical and safety resources, and grounds courage in Christ without attaching His name to every desired outcome.
John.16.33
Tharseo transliterates Greek θαρσέω. Its imperative forms directly address a hearer with encouragement, while the surrounding clause supplies the reason for courage; the verb does not itself specify healing, success, emotional calm, or physical safety.
Old Testament calls not to be dismayed often ground courage in the Lord's presence and a defined commission, including H2865 in this batch. The canonical pattern is related, but tharseo retains its Gospel and Acts speakers, hearers, and promises.