noun · feminine
asthenias
Strong’sG769
want of strength, weakness, illness
stem astheni-24 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books7 of 10 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
Weakness of body, and especially illness or sickness, is the core meaning of this word 1234. It covers general lack of strength or feebleness 123, as well as specific bodily ailment or disease 1234.
The word also carries a moral sense, meaning frailty or feebleness of character rather than of the body 12.
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
ἀσθένεια, -ας, ἡ
(< ἀσθενής), [in LXX for כּשׁל, etc.;]
SYN.: μαλακία, νόσος (v. DB, iii, 323a).
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G769 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidas-then'-i-ah
feebleness (of mind or body); by implication, malady; morally, frailty
Fromfrom G772;
King Jamesdisease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.
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
want of strength, weakness, Refs 5th c.BC+; especially feebleness, sickliness, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 disease, sickness, Refs 2nd c.BC+; δι᾽ ἀσθένειανNT
3 ἀ. βίου poverty, Refs 5th c.BC+
4 in moral sense, feebleness, weakness, τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεωςRefs 5th c.BC+ to be weak, feeble, sickly, ἀ. μέλη to be weak in limb, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. ἀσθένειαν NT+5th c.BC+; ἠσθένησε he fell sick, Refs 4th c.BC+sick man, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἠσθενηκόταRefs 2nd c.BC+
2 to be needy, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἠσθενηκότες, of those unable to pay taxes, Refs 1st c.BC+
3 with infinitive, to be too weak to do a thing, not to be able.., Refs 1st c.AD+
4 decline, ἠσθένησεν ἡ ἡμέρα εἰς τὴν ἑσπέρανLXX
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
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | asthenias1×ἀσθένεια | astheniais |
| object accusative | asthenian4×ἀσθένειαν | astheniain3×ἀσθενείας |
| direct address vocative | astheniar | astheniair |
| of, belonging to genitive | astheniau5×ἀσθενείας | astheniaiu2×ἀσθενειῶν |
| to, for dative | asthenia5×ἀσθενείᾳ | astheniai4×ἀσθενείαις |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
asthenia 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.
24 occurrences, every one of them listed
asthenias“sickness”subjectnominative singular1×
John 11:4… de tos Iēsus legata; Houtas tas asthenias ouk atō pros thanaton alla huper …… Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No …
asthenian“weakness”objectaccusative singular4×
Romans 6:19anthrōpinem legamō dia tan asthenian tau sarkau vu; hōsper gar parastēava …… in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you …
Galatians 4:13oidavē de hoti dia asthenian tau sarkau euangelizema vi tem proterem,… that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel …
Hebrews 5:2… kai planorōntoi epei kai autos perikeiotō asthenian,… since he himself is subject to weakness.
Hebrews 7:28“weakness”… nomos gar anthrōpoin katastēatō archierevoin echarōntoin asthenian, tos logos de tau horkōmosiau tau …For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed …
astheniau“weakness”of, belonging togenitive singular5×
Luke 13:11kai idou gunaikas pneumem echarōntas astheniau eteim dekaoktō, kai ate sunkuptarōntas kai …and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years …
Luke 13:12… kai legata auta; Gunaikar, apoluosē tau astheniau su,… you are set free from your disability.”
2 Corinthians 11:30Ei kauchorō datō, teim tau astheniau mu kauchemi.… of the things that show my weakness.
2 Corinthians 13:4kai gar staurita ek astheniau, alla zōatō ek dunamiau theou. kai …For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power …
Hebrews 11:34… pureu, fugala stomeim machairau, dunamila apo astheniau, genila ischurois en polemo, parembolain klinala …… the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put …
asthenia“weakness”to, fordative singular5×
John 5:5“ill”… triakonta oktō eteim echarōntos en ta asthenia autou;… there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
Romans 8:26… de kai tem pneumem sunantilabotō ta asthenia nu; tem gar tinem proseucheneia katho …… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how …
1 Corinthians 2:3kamis en asthenia kai en fobo kai en tromo …I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
1 Corinthians 15:43… atimia, egerotō en doxa; sperotō en asthenia, egerotō en dunamia;… in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
2 Corinthians 12:9… charitas mu; tas gar dunamias en asthenia telotō. hēdisteim oun mallon kauchemi en …… for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the …
astheniain“diseases”objectaccusative plural3×
Matthew 8:17… Ēsaiou tou profētou legarōntou; Autos tain astheniain nu labata kai tain nosain bastazata.… prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
Acts 28:9“diseases”… loipois tois en ta nēsa echarōntois astheniain proserchole kai therapeuole,After this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured as well.
1 Timothy 5:23… ton stomachon kai tain puknain su astheniain.… of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
astheniaiu“sicknesses”of, belonging togenitive plural2×
Luke 5:15… pollois akouarō kai therapeuorō apo taiu astheniaiu autoiu;… and to be healed of their sicknesses.
Luke 8:2… ale therapeuorēntais apo pneumeiu ponēreiu kai astheniaiu, Marias tas kalorōntas Magdalēnas, apo hau …… been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven …
astheniai“weaknesses”to, fordative plural4×
2 Corinthians 12:5… ouk kauchemi ei mē en tai astheniai.… boast about myself, except in my weaknesses.
2 Corinthians 12:9… hēdisteim oun mallon kauchemi en tai astheniai mu, hina episkēnateia epi min tas …… all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ …
2 Corinthians 12:10dio eudokamō en astheniai, en hubriai, en anankai, en diōgmoi …… sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions …
Hebrews 4:15… echanō archierevon mē dunorōnton sumpathara tai astheniai nu, peirazorēnton de kata panteim kata …… is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was …