verb
anakrinamō
Strong’sG350
I examine, inquire into
stem anakrin-16 times in the New Testamentin 3 of 27 books10 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
ἀνακρίνω means to examine or inquire into something closely, in order to understand or assess it 124. It covers ordinary examination or scrutiny, as in searching the Scriptures, discerning spiritual matters, or judging and questioning things generally 123; Strong's adds that it can also carry the sense of determining or discerning the truth of a matter 2.
In a legal setting, the word takes on the more specific sense of judicial interrogation, examining a person formally in the course of a trial or official inquiry, sometimes including examination under torture 13. LSJ notes that in this legal use it can describe a magistrate questioning witnesses or parties to prepare a case, or checking that officials meet the qualifications for office 3.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἀνα-κρίνω
[in LXX: I Ki 20:12 (חקר), Da LXX Su 13, ib. LXX,TH 48, 51*;]
SYN.: v.s. ἐξετάζω.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G350 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
examine closely, interrogate, especially judicially, Παυσανίαν Refs 5th c.BC+; sound a person, LXX
2 inquire into, ἀ. τοὺς ἐργασαμένουςRefs 5th c.BC+; τὴν [αἰτίαν] Refs 1st c.BC+ —middle, ἀ. ποινὰ τίς ἔσται what remedy there shall be, Refs 5th c.BC+
II examine magistrates so as to prove their qualification, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 of the magistrates, examine persons concerned in a suit, so as to prepare the matter for trial, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ ἄρχων ἀνέκρινε πᾶσιν ὑμῖν καὶ ἀνακρίνας εἰσήγαγεν εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, ἀνεκρίθησαν αἱ ἀμφισβητήσειςRefs 4th c.BC+ —middle, οὐκ ἀνεκρίνατο ταύτην [τὴν γραφήν] he did not have it examined, of the prosecutor, Refs
II.3 generally, examine, μάρτυραςRefs; τινά 1Refs:—middle, Refs
II.4 select, Refs 3rd c.AD+
III in middle, absolutely, ἀνακρίνεσθαι πρὸς ἑωυτούς dispute, wrangle one with another, Refs 5th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| anakrinamōἀνακρίνω | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | judge | 1× |
| anakrinatōἀνακρίνει | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | judges | 1× |
| anakrinotōἀνακρίνεται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | judged | 3× |
| anakrinonōἀνακρινόμεθα | happening now · wepresent middle or passive indicative 1st person plural | examined | 1× |
| anakrinimeiaἀνακριθῶ | happened · Iaorist passive subjunctive 1st person singular | judged | 1× |
| anakrinarōntosἀνακρίνων | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | judges | 1× |
| anakrinarōntoisἀνακρίνοντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | examining | 3× |
| anakrinarōntoiἀνακρίνουσίν | happening now · to, forpresent active participle dative plural masculine | examine | 1× |
| anakrinarantosἀνακρίνας | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine | examined | 3× |
| anakrinarantoisἀνακρίναντές | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | examined | 1× |
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 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 6 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinamō1×ἀνακρίνω | anakriname | anakrinami | anakrinama | anakrinamē | anakrinamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinasō | anakrinase | anakrinasi | anakrinasa | anakrinasē | anakrinaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinatō1×ἀνακρίνει | anakrinate | anakrinati | anakrinata | anakrinatē | anakrinatelē |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinanō | anakrinane | anakrinani | anakrinana | anakrinanē | anakrinanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinavō | anakrinave | anakrinavi | anakrinava | anakrinavē | anakrinavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinalō | anakrinale | anakrinali | anakrinala | anakrinalē | anakrinalelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinomō | anakrinome | anakrinomē | anakrinomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinosō | anakrinose | anakrinosē | anakrinoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinotō3×ἀνακρίνεται | anakrinote | anakrinotē | anakrinotelē |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinonō1×ἀνακρινόμεθα | anakrinone | anakrinonē | anakrinonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinovō | anakrinove | anakrinovē | anakrinovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinolō | anakrinole | anakrinolē | anakrinolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinimi | anakrinima |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinisi | anakrinisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakriniti | anakrinita |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinini | anakrinina |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinivi | anakriniva |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinili | anakrinila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinameiō | anakrinameia | anakrinameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinaseiō | anakrinaseia | anakrinaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinateiō | anakrinateia | anakrinateiē |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinaneiō | anakrinaneia | anakrinaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinaveiō | anakrinaveia | anakrinaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinaleiō | anakrinaleia | anakrinaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinomeiō | anakrinomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinoseiō | anakrinoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinoteiō | anakrinoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinoneiō | anakrinoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinoveiō | anakrinoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinoleiō | anakrinoleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinimeia1×ἀνακριθῶ |
| you 2nd person singular | anakriniseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakriniteia |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakriniveia |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinileia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinasōr | anakrinasar | anakrinasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinatōr | anakrinatar | anakrinatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinavōr | anakrinavar | anakrinavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinalōr | anakrinalar | anakrinalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinosōr | anakrinosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinotōr | anakrinotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinovōr | anakrinovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinolōr | anakrinolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinivar |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinamoiō | anakrinamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinasoiō | anakrinasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinatoiō | anakrinatoia |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinanoiō | anakrinanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinavoiō | anakrinavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinaloiō | anakrinaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | anakrinonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | anakrinoloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anakrinimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | anakrinisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anakrinitoia |
| we 1st person plural | anakrininoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | anakrinivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | anakriniloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | anakrinarō | anakrinari | anakrinara | anakrinarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | anakrinorō | anakrinorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | anakriniri | anakrinira |
Used as an adjective — participle, 9 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | anakrinarōntos5×ἀνακρίνων | anakrinarintos | anakrinarantos4×ἀνακρίνας | anakrinarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | anakrinorōntos | anakrinorēntos | ||
| acted on passive voice | anakrinirintos | anakrinirantos |
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
anakrin 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.
16 occurrences, every one of them listed
anakrinamō“judge”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular1×
1 Corinthians 4:3… hupo anthrōpinau hēmerau; alla oude miauton anakrinamō;… In fact, I do not even judge myself.
anakrinatō“judges”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular1×
1 Corinthians 2:15tos de pneumatikos anakrinatō teim panteim, autos de hupo oudenou …The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is …
anakrinotō“judged”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular3×
1 Corinthians 2:14… kai ouk dunotō gnōskara, hoti pneumatikōs anakrinotō;… understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:15“judged”… teim panteim, autos de hupo oudenou anakrinotō.… man judges all things, but he himself is not …
1 Corinthians 14:24… apistos ē idiōtos, elenchotō hupo pantoiu, anakrinotō hupo pantoiu,… prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all,
anakrinonō“examined”happening now · wepresent middle or passive indicative 1st person plural1×
Acts 4:9ei nis sēmeron anakrinonō epi euergesia anthrōpou asthenou, en tine …If we are being examined today about a kind service to …
anakrinimeia“judged”happened · Iaorist passive subjunctive 1st person singular1×
1 Corinthians 4:3… eis elachistem atō, hina hupo vu anakrinimeia ē hupo anthrōpinau hēmerau; alla oude …… very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human …
anakrinarōntos“judges”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine1×
1 Corinthians 4:4… ouk en houte dikaiomē, tos de anakrinarōntos min kurios atō.… me. It is the Lord who judges me.
anakrinarōntois“examining”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine3×
Acts 17:11“examining”… meta pantau prothumiau, tem kata hēmeran anakrinarōntois tain grafain ei echatoiō houteim houtōs.… the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
1 Corinthians 10:25… tem en makelle pōlorōntem esthiavōr mēdenem anakrinarōntois dia tan suneidēsian,… in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,
1 Corinthians 10:27… pantem tem paratithorōntem vi esthiavōr mēdenem anakrinarōntois dia tan suneidēsian;… eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience.
anakrinarōntoi“examine”happening now · to, forpresent active participle dative plural masculine1×
1 Corinthians 9:3“examine”Tas ēmas apologias toi min anakrinarōntoi atō houtas.This is my defense to those who scrutinize me:
anakrinarantos“examined”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine3×
Luke 23:14… laon, kai idou mis enōpion vu anakrinarantos oudenem heuriskama en to anthrōpo houto …… the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and …
Acts 12:19… de epizētarantos auton kai mē heuriskarantos anakrinarantos toin fulakoin keleuata apagira, kai katercharantos …… had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they …
Acts 24:8para hou dunesi autos anakrinarantos peri panteiu houteiu epignōskara heiu nis …By examining him yourself, you will be able …
anakrinarantois“examined”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Acts 28:18hotinois anakrinarantois min boulole apoluara dia tem mēdenan …They examined me and wanted to release me …