verb
agōnizomō
Strong’sG75
I strive, contend
stem agōniz-7 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books5 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
ἀγωνίζομαι
(< ἀγών), [in LXX: Da TH 6:14 (שׂוּם בָּל), Si 4:28, I, II, IV Mac5*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G75 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidag-o-nid'-zom-ahee
to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or genitive case (to endeavor to accomplish something)
Fromfrom G73;
King Jamesfight, labor fervently, strive.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
future -ῐοῦμαιRefs 5th c.BC+, etc. (in passive sense, see infr. B); -ίσομαι only in late writers, as Refs 3rd c.AD+ -ισθήσομαι Refs 2nd c.AD+: aorist ἠγωνισάμηνRefs 5th c.BC+, etc.: perfect ἠγώνισμαι (in active sense) Id Refs 5th c.BC+ (passive, see infr. B): aorist ἠγωνίσθην in passive sense, infr. B: active form ἀγωνίσαςRefs —
A contend for a prize, especially in the public games, Refs 5th c.BC+; περί τινος about a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀγῶνα.. τόνδ᾽ ἠγωνίσω thou didst provoke this contest, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 fight, Refs 5th c.BC+
3 contend for the prize on the stage, of the rhapsode, Refs 5th c.BC+; of the playwright, Refs 5th c.BC+; of the actor, Refs 4th c.BC+; of the choragus, Refs 4th c.BC+: generally, contend for victory, καλῶς.. ἠγώνισαιRefs 5th c.BC+; argue, ὅλῳ τῷ πράγματι about the question as a whole, Refs; especially argue sophistically, opposed to διαλέγομαι, Refs
4 of public speaking, Refs 5th c.BC+
II contend in court, as law term, Refs 5th c.BC+ fight a cause to the last, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. ψευδομαρτυριῶν (i.e. γραφήν) Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ, φόνον fight against a charge of murder, Refs 5th c.BC+; αὐτοῖς ἀ. τοῖς πράγμασιν grapple with the facts of the case, Refs 4th c.BC+
III generally, struggle, exert oneself, with infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+
B passive, to be decided by contest, brought to issue, mostly in perfect, πολλοὶ ἀγῶνες ἀγωνίδαταιRefs 5th c.BC+; τὰ ἠγωνισμένα points at issue, Refs 5th c.BC+present, ὁ ἀγωνιζόμενος νόμος the law on trial, Refs 4th c.BC+; or aorist, δεινὸς.. κίνδυνος ὑπὲρ τῆς.. ἐλευθερίας ἠγωνίσθηRefs 5th c.BC+; ἠγωνίσθη λαμπρῶς (impersonal) Refs 1st c.AD+future middle in passive sense, ἀγωνιεῖται καὶ κριθήσεται τὸ πρᾶγμα shall be brought to issue and determined, Refs 4th c.BC+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| agōnizoleἠγωνίζοντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | fighting | 1× |
| agōnizomēἠγώνισμαι | has happened · Iperfect middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | fought | 1× |
| agōnizosōrἀγωνίζου | happening now · youpresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person singular | fight | 1× |
| agōnizovōrἈγωνίζεσθε | happening now · yepresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person plural | strive | 1× |
| agōnizorōntosἀγωνιζόμενος | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine | competes | 3× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 54, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | agōnizomō | agōnizome | agōnizomē1×ἠγώνισμαι | agōnizomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | agōnizosō | agōnizose | agōnizosē | agōnizoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | agōnizotō | agōnizote | agōnizotē | agōnizotelē |
| we 1st person plural | agōnizonō | agōnizone | agōnizonē | agōnizonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | agōnizovō | agōnizove | agōnizovē | agōnizovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | agōnizolō | agōnizole1×ἠγωνίζοντο | agōnizolē | agōnizolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | agōnizomeiō | agōnizomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | agōnizoseiō | agōnizoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | agōnizoteiō | agōnizoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | agōnizoneiō | agōnizoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | agōnizoveiō | agōnizoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | agōnizoleiō | agōnizoleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | agōnizosōr1×ἀγωνίζου | agōnizosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | agōnizotōr | agōnizotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | agōnizovōr1×Ἀγωνίζεσθε | agōnizovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | agōnizolōr | agōnizolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | agōnizomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | agōnizosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | agōnizotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | agōnizonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | agōnizovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | agōnizoloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | agōnizorō | agōnizorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | agōnizorōntos3×ἀγωνιζόμενος | agōnizorēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
agōniz is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
7 occurrences, every one of them listed
agōnizole“fighting”was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
John 18:36“fighting”… tas ēmas, tois hupēretois tois ēmois agōnizole an, hina mē paradōimeia toi Ioudaioi; …… it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this …
agōnizomē“fought”has happened · Iperfect middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
2 Timothy 4:7ton kalon agōnon agōnizomē, ton dromon telamē, tan pistian tēramē;I have fought the good fight, I have finished …
agōnizosōr“fight”happening now · youpresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person singular1×
1 Timothy 6:12agōnizosōr ton kalon agōnon tau pistiau, epilabesar …Fight the good fight of the faith …
agōnizovōr“strive”happening now · yepresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person plural1×
Luke 13:24“strive”Agōnizovōr eiserchara dia tau stenau thurau, hoti …… effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I …
agōnizorōntos“competes”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine3×
1 Corinthians 9:25pantos de tos agōnizorōntos panteim enkrateuotō, ekeinois men oun hina …Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict …
Colossians 1:29eis hem kai kopiamō agōnizorōntos kata tan energeian autou tan energorōntan …To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully …
Colossians 4:12… tos ek vu, doulos Christou, pantote agōnizorōntos huper vu en tai proseuchai, hina …… sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that …