To leave behind (passively, remain); by implication, to forsake
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The Greek verb apoleipo can describe leaving a thing or person in a place, assigning someone to continue work, something remaining available, or abandoning a proper place. Paul asks Timothy to bring a cloak and writings left at Troas, reports leaving Trophimus sick at Miletus, and says Titus was left in Crete to set unfinished matters in order.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀπολείπω (G620) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Greek verb apoleipo can describe leaving a thing or person in a place, assigning someone to continue work, something remaining available, or abandoning a proper place. Paul asks Timothy to bring a cloak and writings left at Troas, reports leaving Trophimus sick at Miletus, and says Titus was left in Crete to set unfinished matters in order.
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include I left (3), abandoned (1), it remains [for] (1), remains (1), There remains (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Timothy 4:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (3), 2 Timothy (2), Jude (1), Titus (1).
The Greek verb apoleipo can describe leaving a thing or person in a place, assigning someone to continue work, something remaining available, or abandoning a proper place. Paul asks Timothy to bring a cloak and writings left at Troas, reports leaving Trophimus sick at Miletus, and says Titus was left in Crete to set unfinished matters in order. Hebrews uses passive forms for entry into God's rest remaining open, a Sabbath rest remaining for God's people, and no further sacrifice remaining after deliberate persistence in sin.
Jude uses the verb when angels abandon their proper dwelling and are kept for judgment. These occurrences do not share one emotional meaning. Leaving a cloak is ordinary logistics, leaving a coworker with responsibility is purposeful, leaving an ill companion records a limitation rather than blame, and something remaining can express promise or warning. The word alone cannot tell readers whether a departure is faithful, neglectful, temporary, or final.
Responsible teaching follows the object, agency, voice, and argument. It encourages care for unfinished work and sick people while resisting abandonment accusations, healing shame, coercive leadership succession, and speculative angel teaching.
Apoleipo can mean leave behind, leave someone in a place, remain or be reserved in passive constructions, and abandon. Object, grammatical voice, purpose, and literary argument distinguish ordinary logistics, delegated work, illness, promise, warning, and rebellion.
When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
Paul asks Timothy to bring the cloak, scrolls, and especially parchments that he left at Troas.
Erastus has remained at Corinth, and Trophimus I left sick in Miletus.
Paul reports that Trophimus was left sick at Miletus while giving Timothy practical news about coworkers.
The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Paul says Titus was left in Crete to put unfinished matters in order and appoint elders as directed.
There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
Hebrews concludes that a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God within its sustained warning and promise.
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
Hebrews warns that no further sacrifice for sins remains for deliberate persistence after receiving knowledge of the truth.
And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.
Jude describes angels who abandoned their proper dwelling and are kept in darkness for judgment.
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 leave behind (passively, remain); by implication, to forsake
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I leave, leave behind, desert, am reserved
Read verseI leave, leave behind, desert, am reserved
Read verseI leave, leave behind, desert, am reserved
Read verseI leave, leave behind, desert, am reserved
Read verseI leave, leave behind, desert, am reserved
Read verseI leave, leave behind, desert, am reserved
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 this verb appears across 9 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)
ἀπολείπω is built from these roots:
Apoleipo asks what has been left and why. Second Timothy 4:13 uses the verb for a cloak and writings, reminding readers that apostolic ministry includes ordinary material needs and requests. Verse 20 says Trophimus was left sick, which directly resists any claim that faithful ministry always produces immediate healing. The brief report neither blames Trophimus nor gives permission to neglect ill coworkers.
Titus 1:5 describes a planned delegation in Crete so unfinished matters can be ordered and elders appointed. The text supports accountable local work, not a leader's unlimited control or an appointee's isolation without support. Hebrews 4 uses passive remaining language inside an extended exposition of promise, unbelief, today, and God's rest. The verb by itself does not settle every Sabbath debate or reduce rest to inactivity.
Hebrews 10:26 uses the absence of a remaining sacrifice as a severe covenant warning after presenting Christ's once-for-all offering. It should call hearers to persevering faith and sober care, not be weaponized to declare that a distressed person seeking help is beyond mercy. Jude 6 describes angelic abandonment of a proper dwelling within a compact judgment argument.
Faithful application attends to the whole passage, cares for sick and absent people, documents delegated responsibility, and distinguishes promise, warning, and rebellion without inventing unseen-world details.
2Tim.4.20
Apoleipo transliterates Greek ἀπολείπω. Active uses leave an object or person behind, while passive constructions in Hebrews describe what remains or is reserved; subject, complement, and discourse determine whether the action is ordinary, purposeful, promising, warning, or blameworthy.
Old Testament exile and remnant language can involve people left, removed, or preserved through other Hebrew terms. H1473 in this batch names exile and the exiled community, but apoleipo should not be used as a direct lexical bridge that makes every departure an exile.