verb
apechamō
Strong’sG568
I have in full, am far, it is enough
stem apech-19 times in the New Testamentin 9 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
ἀπέχω covers two distinct areas of meaning.
The first is to be away or distant from something 1234, used of a person or place being physically far off, sometimes with "from" added 13. In the middle voice the same idea of separation becomes to abstain or keep oneself away from something, in the sense of holding back from an action or practice 13.
The second is to have or receive something in full 1234, as when a payment or amount owed has been fully received 13. Used impersonally, the word also means it is enough, it suffices 1234.
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
ἀπ-έχω,
[in LXX chiefly for רחק;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G568 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidap-ekh'-o
(actively) to have out, i.e. receive in full; (intransitively) to keep (oneself) away, i.e. be distant (literally or figuratively)
King Jamesbe, have, receive.
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 ἀφέξω, and Refs 8th c.BC+aorist ἀπέσχον:— keep off or away from, αἴ κεν τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχη Ἰλίου ἱρῆςRefs 8th c.BC+; κληῖδες ἀπ᾽ ὤμων αὐχέν᾽ ἔχουσιν the collar-bone parts the neck from the shoulders, Refs 8th c.BC+; Εὐβοίης ἀπέχειν.. αἶγας Oracle texts cited in Refs 5th c.BC+
2 with dative person, τοι.. χεῖρας ἀφέξωRefs 8th c.BC+
3 with a preposition, ἀ. φρένα περισσῶν παρὰ φωτῶνRefs 5th c.BC+
4 c.accusative only, keep off or away, σκοτεινὸν ἀ. ψόγονRefs 5th c.BC+
5 οὐδὲν ἀπέχει with infinitive, nothing hinders, debars one from doing, Refs 5th c.BC+
II middle, κακῶν ἄπο χεῖρας ἔχεσθαι hold one's hands off or away from.., Refs 8th c.BC+ —but mostly,
II.2 ἀπέχεσθαί τινος hold oneself off a thing, abstain or desist from it, πολέμουRefs 8th c.BC+; οὐδὲ.. σευ ἀφέξομαι will not keep my hands off thee,Refsabstain from ravaging Refs 5th c.BC+; keep away from, πόλεωςRefs 5th c.BC+: in perfect passive, μηδὲ τῶν μικρῶν ἀπεσχημένονRefs 4th c.BC+
II.3 with infinitive, ἀπέχεσθαι μὴ στρατεῦσαι abstain from marching, Refs 5th c.BC+: also with participle, Refs 4th c.AD+
II.4 absolutely, refrain oneself, Refs 4th c.BC+
III intransitive in active, to be away or far from, with genitive loci, τῶν Ἐπιπολῶν ἓξ ἢ ἑπτὰ σταδίουςRefs 5th c.BC+; ἀ.ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+
III.b project, extend, Refsprominent parts, PA Refs
III.c ἀποσχὼν τεσσαράκοντα μάλιστα σταδίους μὴ φθάσαι ἐλθώνfailing to arrinein time by.., Refs 5th c.BC+
III.2 of actions, to be far from, ἀπεῖχον τῆς ἐξευρέσιος οὐδὲν ἔλασσον were just as farfrom the discovery, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀπέχει τοῦ μὴ μετ᾽ ὀργῆς [πράττειν] Refs 4th c.BC+; πλεῖστον ἀ. τινός to be as far as possible from doing, Refs 5th c.BC+; but τοσοῦτ᾽ ἀπέχει τῶν χορηγῶν so far is it from the thoughts of.., Refs 4th c.BC+
III.3 generally, to be far remoued from, πολιτείας, μοναρχίας, Refs 4th c.BC+
III.4 differ from, οὐδέν τι ἀπεῖχε γαμετῆς γυναικόςRefs 2nd c.AD+
III.5 διαφύσιες.. ᾗσιν οὐδὲν ἀπέχει ἀγγεῖα εἶναι nothing is wanting, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV have or receive in full, τὴν ἀπόκρισινRefs 4th c.BC+; τὸ χρέος ἀ. receive payment in full, Refs 3rd c.BC+; ἀπέχω in receipts, Refs 1st c.AD+; ἀ. τὸν μισθόνNT+1st c.AD+
IV.2 impersonal, ἀπέχει it sufficeth, it is enough, NT
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| apechamōἀπέχω | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | received | 1× |
| apechatōἀπέχει | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | is | 3× |
| apechavōἀπέχετε | happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural | received | 1× |
| apechalōἀπέχουσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | received | 3× |
| apechateἀπεῖχεν | was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | was | 1× |
| apechaseiaἀπέχῃς | happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular | have … back | 1× |
| apechovōrἀπέχεσθε | happening now · yepresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person plural | abstain | 1× |
| apechorōἀπέχεσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | abstain | 5× |
| apecharōntanἀπέχουσαν | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative singular feminine | was | 1× |
| apecharōntouἀπέχοντος | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive singular masculine | was | 2× |
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 140, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 9 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 | apechamō1×ἀπέχω | apechame | apechami | apechama | apechamē | apechamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | apechasō | apechase | apechasi | apechasa | apechasē | apechaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechatō3×ἀπέχει | apechate1×ἀπεῖχεν | apechati | apechata | apechatē | apechatelē |
| we 1st person plural | apechanō | apechane | apechani | apechana | apechanē | apechanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechavō1×ἀπέχετε | apechave | apechavi | apechava | apechavē | apechavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | apechalō3×ἀπέχουσιν | apechale | apechali | apechala | apechalē | apechalelē |
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 | apechomō | apechome | apechomē | apechomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | apechosō | apechose | apechosē | apechoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechotō | apechote | apechotē | apechotelē |
| we 1st person plural | apechonō | apechone | apechonē | apechonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechovō | apechove | apechovē | apechovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | apecholō | apechole | apecholē | apecholelē |
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 | apechameiō | apechameia | apechameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | apechaseiō | apechaseia1×ἀπέχῃς | apechaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechateiō | apechateia | apechateiē |
| we 1st person plural | apechaneiō | apechaneia | apechaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechaveiō | apechaveia | apechaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | apechaleiō | apechaleia | apechaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | apechomeiō | apechomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | apechoseiō | apechoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechoteiō | apechoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | apechoneiō | apechoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechoveiō | apechoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | apecholeiō | apecholeiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | apechasōr | apechasar | apechasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechatōr | apechatar | apechatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechavōr | apechavar | apechavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | apechalōr | apechalar | apechalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | apechosōr | apechosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechotōr | apechotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechovōr1×ἀπέχεσθε | apechovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | apecholōr | apecholēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | apechamoiō | apechamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | apechasoiō | apechasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechatoiō | apechatoia |
| we 1st person plural | apechanoiō | apechanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechavoiō | apechavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | apechaloiō | apechaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | apechomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | apechosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apechotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | apechonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | apechovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | apecholoiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 5 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | apecharō | apechari | apechara | apecharē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | apechorō5×ἀπέχεσθαι | apechorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | apecharōntos3× | apecharintos | apecharantos | apecharēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | apechorōntos | apechorēntos |
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
apech 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.
19 occurrences, every one of them listed
apechamō“received”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular1×
Philippians 4:18“received”apechamō de panteim kai perisseuamō; plēromē decherantos …… I need and more, now that I have received your gifts …
apechatō“is”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular3×
Matthew 15:8“is”… timatō, tas de kardias autoiu porrō apechatō apo mu;… their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
Mark 7:6… timatō, tas de kardias autoiu porrō apechatō apo mu;… correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with …
Mark 14:41… autoi; Katheudavō tem loipem kai anapauovō; apechatō; erchata tas hōras, idou paradōotō tos …… still sleeping and resting? That is enough! The hour has come. Look, the …
apechavō“received”happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural1×
Luke 6:24plēn ouai vi toi plousioi, hoti apechavō tan paraklēsian vu.… are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
apechalō“received”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural3×
Matthew 6:2“received”… hupo toiu anthrōpoiu; amēn legamō vi, apechalō ton misthon autoiu.… give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
Matthew 6:5“received”… fanileia toi anthrōpoi; amēn legamō vi, apechalō ton misthon autoiu.… to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
Matthew 6:16“received”… toi anthrōpoi nēsteuarōntois; amēn legamō vi, apechalō ton misthon autoiu.… to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
apechate“was”was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Matthew 14:24… ēdē stadioin polloin apo tau gēau apechate, basanizorōntem hupo teiu kumeiu, ate gar …but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by …
apechaseia“have … back”happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular1×
Philemon 1:15… chōrizita pros hōran hina aiōnion auton apechaseia,… a while, so that you might have him back for good —
apechovōr“abstain”happening now · yepresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person plural1×
1 Thessalonians 5:22apo panteu eideu ponēreu apechovōr.Abstain from every form of evil.
apechorō“abstain”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive5×
Acts 15:20alla epistelara autoi teu apechorō teiu alisgēmeiu teiu eidōleiu kai tau …… should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from …
Acts 15:29apechorō eidōlothuteiu kai haimeu kai pnikteiu kai …You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from …
1 Thessalonians 4:3… thelēmem tou theou, tos hagiasmos vu, apechorō vin apo tau porneiau,… you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;
1 Timothy 4:3“demand abstinence”kōluarōntoiu gamarō, apechorō brōmeiu heim tos theos ktizata eis …… will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be …
1 Peter 2:11Agapētoir, parakalamō hōs paroikoin kai parepidēmoin apechorō taiu sarkikaiu epithumiaiu, hotinais strateuolō kata …… you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh …
apecharōntan“was”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative singular feminine1×
Luke 24:13“was”… ta hēmera ale poreuorōntois eis kōman apecharōntan stadioin hexēkonta apo Ierousalēm, ha onomem …That same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
apecharōntou“was”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive singular masculine2×
Luke 7:6… autoi. ēdē de autou ouk makran apecharōntou apo tau oikiau pempata filoin tos …… went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the …
Luke 15:20… patron heautou. ēti de autou makran apecharōntou horata auton tos patros autou kai …… to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father …