What does μέλω (mélō) mean in the Bible?
Melo is a Greek verb for something mattering, being a concern, or receiving someone’s care. It often appears impersonally: a matter concerns someone, or it does not.
Greek · G3199
μέλω
To concern
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μέλω G3199
Pronunciation mélō
What does μέλω (mélō) mean in the Bible?
Melo is a Greek verb for something mattering, being a concern, or receiving someone’s care. It often appears impersonally: a matter concerns someone, or it does not.
Reader summary
Full entry for μέλω (G3199) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3199?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include seek favor (2), cared (1), cares (1), Do not let it concern (1), do You not care (1).
Where does μέλω (mélō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 22:16. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (2), John (2), Mark (2), 1 Peter (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Melo is a Greek verb for something mattering, being a concern, or receiving someone’s care. It often appears impersonally: a matter concerns someone, or it does not. The New Testament uses it in questions about whether Jesus cares, statements about God’s care, exposure of false concern, and descriptions of indifference. The verb itself does not prove that care is wise, loving, absent, or sincere.
Speaker, object, action, and narrative comment make that judgment. The frightened disciples ask whether Jesus cares that they are perishing, yet His presence and authority answer more fully than their accusation. Peter commands believers to cast anxiety on God because He cares for them. John contrasts the shepherd’s concern with the hired servant’s flight and exposes Judas’s claimed concern for the poor as theft.
Melo therefore helps readers examine care by truth and faithful action without pretending to read motives God has not revealed.
How the Bible Uses It
Melo names concern, significance, or care, sometimes in a question and sometimes with negation. Context identifies who cares, what matters, and whether the concern is true. The word can expose indifference or hypocrisy, but it can also assure anxious believers of God’s care. It never gives readers authority to infer hidden motives apart from textual evidence and observable fruit.
- John.10.13
The man runs away because he is a hired servant and is unconcerned for the sheep.
The hired servant’s flight reveals that the sheep do not matter to him. Jesus contrasts this conduct with the good shepherd who lays down His life.
- John.12.6
Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it.
John explicitly exposes Judas’s claimed concern as false. The narrator’s disclosure, not suspicion about appearances alone, authorizes the judgment.
- 1Pet.5.7
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
God’s care grounds the command to entrust anxiety to Him. The verse promises His attentive concern, not a life without suffering or the need for wise help.
- Mark.4.38
But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”
The disciples voice a fearful accusation. Jesus’ authority over the storm and His correction of their fear answer the question without affirming their interpretation.
- Luke.10.40
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!”
Martha’s question combines burden, comparison, and a demand that Jesus intervene. His response addresses her anxiety and reorders what is necessary.
- 1Cor.7.21
Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity.
Paul directs a called believer not to treat social status as a barrier to belonging to Christ, while still affirming the opportunity for freedom. The verse does not praise slavery.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It seek favor 2× Matthew 22:16, Mark 12:14
cared 1× John 12:6
cares 1× 1 Peter 5:7
Do not let it concern 1× 1 Corinthians 7:21
do You not care 1× Luke 10:40
don’t You care 1× Mark 4:38
is concerned 1× 1 Corinthians 9:9
is unconcerned 1× John 10:13
was of concern 1× Acts 18:17
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 22:16 μέλει to seek favor Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 4:38 μέλει to don’t You care Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 12:14 μέλει to seek favor Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 10:40 μέλει to do You not care Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular John 10:13 μέλει to is unconcerned Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular John 12:6 ἔμελεν to cared Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Acts 18:17 ἔμελεν to was of concern Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 Corinthians 7:21 μελέτω to Do not let it concern Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 Corinthians 9:9 μέλει to is concerned Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 Peter 5:7 μέλει to cares Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 22:16
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 7
Matthew 1 Mark 2 Luke 1 John 2 Acts 1 1 Corinthians 2 1 Peter 1
Source forms
μέλει 7x melei Matthew 22:16, Mark 4:38, Mark 12:14, Luke 10:40
ἔμελεν 2x emelen John 12:6, Acts 18:17
μελέτω 1x meletō 1 Corinthians 7:21
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 7x Matthew 22:16, Mark 4:38, Mark 12:14, Luke 10:40
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x John 12:6, Acts 18:17
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 1 Corinthians 7:21
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Pastoral assurance should join God’s care with honest lament, patient presence, prayer, and appropriate practical help.
- Discern concern through truthful speech and sustained fruit without claiming infallible access to another heart.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that a frightening circumstance proves God has stopped caring.
- Do not claim that every public expression of concern is hypocritical or that human observers can read motives without evidence.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To be a matter of concern or care to someone; implies being regarded as worthy of attention.
Strong's G3199
Lexical occurrences 0 verses Greek text appearances 10 times Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 10:40 Source Gloss
to concern
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To be a matter of concern or care to someone; implies being regarded as worthy of attention.
1intrans., to be an object of care, be a care; commonly in third of person(s): with dative of person(s), Act.18:17; very frequently impers., 1Co.7:21; before ὅτι, Mrk.4:38, Luk.10:40; with genitive of thing(s) (as frequently in Att..), 1Co.9:9; before περί, Mat.22:16, Mrk.12:14, Jhn.10:13 12:6, 1Pe.5:7.
2Trans., in act. and mid., to care for (not in LXX or NT).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 22:16 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
μέλει melei
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse Mark 4:38 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
μέλει melei
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse Mark 12:14 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
μέλει melei
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse Luke 10:40 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
μέλει melei
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse John 10:13 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
μέλει melei
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse John 12:6 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἔμελεν emelen
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse Acts 18:17 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἔμελεν. emelen
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse 1 Corinthians 7:21 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Imperative
μελέτω· meletw
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse 1 Corinthians 9:9 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
μέλει melei
it is a care, it concerns
Read verse 1 Peter 5:7 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
μέλει melei
it is a care, it concerns
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.
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 10 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 8 imperfect 2
Voice
active 10
Mood
indicative 9 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 22:16 μέλει present active indicative ongoing Mark 4:38 μέλει present active indicative ongoing Mark 12:14 μέλει present active indicative ongoing Luke 10:40 μέλει present active indicative ongoing John 10:13 μέλει present active indicative ongoing John 12:6 ἔμελεν imperfect active indicative background Acts 18:17 ἔμελεν imperfect active indicative background 1 Corinthians 7:21 μελέτω present active imperative imperative 1 Corinthians 9:9 μέλει present active indicative ongoing 1 Peter 5:7 μέλει present active indicative ongoing
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)
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Biblical Witnesses
Martha is distracted by many tasks, implying concern or worry about serving
Word Origins
μέλω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Biblical care is known by its object, truth, and faithful action. Jesus’ good-shepherd teaching makes the contrast vivid: the hired servant abandons sheep that do not matter to him, while the shepherd gives His life for them. John 12 warns that concern can be performed in words while greed governs conduct, but the text itself supplies that verdict. Readers should not imitate the narrator’s authority by claiming secret knowledge of another person’s heart.
Mark and Luke show another danger. Distress can turn a request for help into an accusation that Jesus does not care. He answers with presence, truth, and reordered faith rather than accepting the fearful premise. First Peter supplies the settled assurance: God cares for His people, so anxiety may be entrusted to Him even amid suffering. Melo therefore forms both confidence and discernment.
God’s care is real when circumstances are frightening, human care must endure beyond appearance, and motive judgments must remain within what Scripture and responsible evidence actually reveal.
Anchor passage
1Pet.5.7
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 55:22 calls God’s people to cast their burden on the Lord, providing covenant background for 1 Peter’s assurance.
- Ezekiel 34 condemns shepherds who feed themselves rather than the flock and prepares the good-shepherd contrast in John 10.
- Mark 4:35-41 places the disciples’ question about Jesus’ care inside a revelation of His authority over creation.
- Luke 10:38-42 distinguishes faithful attention to Jesus from anxious distraction and controlling comparison.
- John 10:11-15 defines shepherding care through the good shepherd’s knowledge of the sheep and self-giving death.
- John 12:1-8 shows that apparently compassionate speech must be tested by revealed truth and faithful stewardship.
Melo is a verb frequently used in an impersonal construction meaning that something matters or is a concern to someone. Negation can express indifference, while questions may voice accusation rather than established fact. The dative or surrounding clause often identifies the person concerned, and context supplies the moral evaluation.
From Old to New Testament
The Psalms repeatedly bring fear and burden to the God who sees, hears, and sustains His people. Israel’s shepherd texts judge leaders by whether they protect and feed the flock, culminating in God’s promise to shepherd His people. Jesus fulfills that promise as the good shepherd who lays down His life. The Epistles extend the assurance of divine care into suffering and call church leaders to shepherd willingly rather than for selfish gain.
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain