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Greek · G3089 · unreviewed

λύω

To "loosen" (literally or figuratively)

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λύω G3089
Pronunciation lýō

What does λύω (lýō) mean in the Bible?

λύω (lýō) is a Greek word meaning "to "loosen" (literally or figuratively)". λύω [in LXX for פָּתַח, נָתַר hi. Describes Christ’s mission to dismantle the devil’s works. This term runs through the canonical themes of Messiah.

Full entry for λύω (G3089) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to "loosen" (literally or figuratively)
Extended definition

To loosen or dissolve; literally unbind objects/persons, or figuratively break/annul laws and covenants.

1to loose, unbind, release: of things, Mrk.1:7, Luk.3:16, al.; of beasts, Mat.21:2, Luk.13:15, al.; of persons, Jhn.11:44, Act.22:30; of Satan, Rev.20:3, 7; metaphorically, of the marriage tie, 1Co.7:27; of one diseased, Luk.13:16; of release from sin, Rev.1:5, WH, R, txt. (see: λούω).
2To resolve a whole into its parts, loosen, dissolve, break up, destroy: Jhn.2:19, Act.27:41, Rev.5:2; metaphorically, 2Pe.3:11; of an assembly, to dismiss: Act.13:43; τ. μεσότοιχον τ. φραγμοῦ, Eph.2:14; τ. στοιχεῖα, 2Pe.3:10; οὐρανοί, 2Pe.3:12; τ. ἔργα τ. διαβόλου, 1Jn.3:8; τ. ὠδῖνας τ. θανάτου, Act.2:24; of laws, etc., to break, annul, cancel (MM, xvi): ἐντολήν, Mat.5:19; τ. νόμον, Jhn.7:23; τ. σάββατον, Jhn.5:18; τ. γραφήν, Jhn.10:35. (cf. ἀνα-, ἀπο-, δια-, ἐκ-, ἐπι-, κατα-, παρα-λύω.)
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Why This Word Matters
Describes Christ’s mission to dismantle the devil’s works. 1 John 3:4-10
Christ’s mission includes dismantling the devil’s dominion, underscoring redemptive victory.
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Aorist Present Future Perfect Imperfect
Voices
Active Passive
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 7×
Aorist Active Mark 1:7 · Luke 3:16 · Acts 13:25 · Rev 5:2 4×
Aorist Passive Luke 13:16 · John 10:35 · Rev 20:3 3×
Imperative command or strong request 5×
Aorist Active Mark 11:2 · John 2:19 · John 11:44 · Acts 7:33 · Rev 9:14 5×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 6×
Aorist Active Matt 5:19 · 1 John 3:8 · Matt 16:19 · Matt 18:18 · John 1:27 5×
Aorist Passive John 7:23 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 11×
Aorist Active Matt 21:2 · Luke 19:30 · Acts 2:24 · Eph 2:14 · Rev 1:5 5×
Perfect Passive Matt 16:19 · Matt 18:18 2×
Present Active Mark 11:5 · Luke 19:33 2×
Aorist Passive Acts 13:43 1×
Present Passive 2 Pet 3:11 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 13×
Present Active Luke 19:31 · Luke 19:33 · Mark 11:4 · Luke 13:15 4×
Future Passive 2 Pet 3:10 · Rev 20:7 · 2 Pet 3:12 3×
Aorist Passive Mark 7:35 · Rev 9:15 2×
Imperfect Active John 5:18 1×
Aorist Active Acts 22:30 1×
Imperfect Passive Acts 27:41 1×
Perfect Passive 1 Cor 7:27 1×
42 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 40 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
completed 3 ongoing 4 prospective 3 resultant 1 imperative 5 background 2 subjunctive 6 infinitive 7 participle 9
Tense
aorist 27 present 7 future 3 imperfect 2 perfect 1
Voice
active 27 passive 13
Mood
indicative 13 participle 9 infinitive 7 subjunctive 6 imperative 5
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:19 λύσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 16:19 λύσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 18:18 λύσητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 21:2 λύσαντες aorist active participle participle Mark 1:7 λῦσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Mark 7:35 ἐλύθη aorist passive indicative completed Mark 11:2 λύσατε aorist active imperative imperative Mark 11:4 λύουσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 11:5 λύοντες present active participle participle Luke 3:16 λῦσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 13:15 λύει present active indicative ongoing Luke 13:16 λυθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Luke 19:30 λύσαντες aorist active participle participle Luke 19:31 λύετε present active indicative ongoing Luke 19:33 λυόντων present active participle participle Luke 19:33 λύετε present active indicative ongoing John 1:27 λύσω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 2:19 Λύσατε aorist active imperative imperative John 5:18 ἔλυε imperfect active indicative background John 7:23 λυθῇ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive John 10:35 λυθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive John 11:44 Λύσατε aorist active imperative imperative Acts 2:24 λύσας aorist active participle participle Acts 7:33 Λῦσον aorist active imperative imperative Acts 13:25 λῦσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Acts 13:43 λυθείσης aorist passive participle participle Acts 22:30 ἔλυσεν aorist active indicative completed Acts 27:41 ἐλύετο imperfect passive indicative background 1 Corinthians 7:27 λέλυσαι perfect passive indicative resultant Ephesians 2:14 λύσας aorist active participle participle 2 Peter 3:10 λυθήσεται future passive indicative prospective 2 Peter 3:11 λυομένων present passive participle participle 2 Peter 3:12 λυθήσονται future passive indicative prospective 1 John 3:8 λύσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Revelation 1:5 λύσαντι aorist active participle participle Revelation 5:2 λῦσαι aorist active infinitive infinitive Revelation 9:14 Λῦσον aorist active imperative imperative Revelation 9:15 ἐλύθησαν aorist passive indicative completed Revelation 20:3 λυθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Revelation 20:7 λυθήσεται future passive indicative prospective

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)

Canonical Themes
Messiah
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses
1 John 3:4-10 destroy lýō Subjunctive · Aorist Active
To dismantle or bring to an end.
Additional Occurrences
1-john Destroy lýō
to loosen, to undo
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

δέω · λύω G1210, G3089
to bind and to loose; to prohibit and permit or declare bound and released within authorized judgment
ἀπολύω · λύω G630, G3089
to release, set free, untie
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

John 10 — The Good Shepherd, the Door, and the Son One with the Father Luke 13 — Repentance, Kingdom Reversal, and the Urgent Narrow Door Matthew 16 — The Confession of the Christ, the Church Christ Builds, and the Cross-Shaped Way of Discipleship Matthew 18 — Kingdom Humility, Care for the Little Ones, Discipline, and Forgiveness in Christ’s Community

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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