adjective
asthenos
Strong’sG772
weak, infirm, sick
stem asthen-26 times in the New Testamentin 11 of 27 books10 of 26 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
Without strength; weak, feeble. This is the basic sense of the word, applied broadly to persons or things that lack power or capacity, whether that lack is physical, moral, or of some other kind 1234.
Applied to the body, it describes someone sick or sickly, suffering from bodily weakness or illness 124.
Applied to character or conduct, it describes moral or spiritual frailty — a weakness of will or susceptibility to failure, rather than physical illness 1.
The word is also used rhetorically of God, referring to what looks like weakness on God's part — an apparent lack of strength or power that is really something else 1.
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
* ἀσθενής, -ές
(< ἀ- neg., σθένος, strength), [in LXX for עָנִי, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G772 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidas-then-ace'
strengthless (in various applications, literal, figurative and moral)
Fromfrom G1 (as a negative particle) and the base of G4599;
King Jamesmore feeble, impotent, sick, without strength, weak(-er, -ness, thing).
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
without strength, weak,
1 in body, feeble, sickly, τοὺς ἀσθενέας τῆς στρατιῆςRefs 5th c.BC+; τοὺς ἀσθενεστάτους ἐς τὰς ταλαιπωρίας least able to bear hardship, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀσθενέστερος πόνον ἐνεγκεῖν too weak to.., Refs 4th c.BC+. adverb ἀσθενῶς, ἴσχεινRefs 5th c.BC+
2 in mind, and the like, τὸ ἀ. τῆς γνώμης the weakness, Refs 5th c.BC+
3 in power, weak, feeble, ἀ. δύναμιςRefs 5th c.BC+
4 in property, weak, poor, οἱ χρήμασιν ἀσθενέστεροιRefs 5th c.BC+; οἱ ἀσθενέστεροι the weaker sort, i.e. the poor, Refs 5th c.BC+
5 insignificant, οὐκ ἀσθενέστατος σοφιστὴς ἙλλήνωνRefs 5th c.BC+; paltry, ἀ. σόφισμαRefs 4th c.BC+; of streams, petty, small, Refs 5th c.BC+; of fluids, of small specific gravity, Refs; ἐς ἀσθενὲς ἔρχεται comes to nothing, Refs. adverb -νῶς feebly, without energy, Refs 5th c.BC+; on slight evidence, ἀπαγγέλλεσθαιRefs 1st c.AD+Praef.: comparative ἀσθενεστέρως, ἐπιθυμεῖνRefs 5th c.BC+ -έστερον Refs -έστερα 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
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 | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | asthenos2×ἀσθενὴς | asthenas4×ἀσθενής | asthenem2×ἀσθενὲς | asthenois2×ἀσθενεῖς | asthenais | astheneim2×ἀσθενῆ |
| object accusative | asthenon1×ἀσθενῆ | asthenan | asthenoin5×ἀσθενεῖς | asthenain | ||
| direct address vocative | asthenor | asthenar | asthenoir | asthenair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | asthenou2×ἀσθενοῦς | asthenau | astheneu | asthenoiu2×ἀσθενῶν | asthenaiu | astheneiu |
| to, for dative | astheno | asthena | asthene | asthenoi2×ἀσθενέσιν | asthenai | asthenei |
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
asthen 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
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
26 occurrences, every one of them listed
asthenos“sick”subjectnominative singular2×
Matthew 25:43… min, gumnos kai ouk peribalava min, asthenos kai en fulaka kai ouk episkepteva …… did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did …
1 Corinthians 9:22genema toi asthenoi asthenos, hina toin asthenoin kerdainameia; toi pantoi …To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have …
asthenon“sick”objectaccusative singular1×
Matthew 25:44… dipsarōnton ē xenon ē gumnon ē asthenon ē en fulaka kai ouk diakonana …… or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not …
asthenou“sick”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
Acts 4:9“sick”… nis sēmeron anakrinonō epi euergesia anthrōpou asthenou, en tine houtos sōzotē,If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed,
1 Corinthians 8:10… eidōleie katakeiorōnton, ouchi tas suneidēsias autou asthenou arōntou oikodomiti eis tem teim eidōlothuteim …For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well …
asthenas“weak”subjectnominative singular4×
Matthew 26:41… men pneumem prothumem tas de sarkas asthenas.… is willing, but the body is weak.”
Mark 14:38… men pneumem prothumem tas de sarkas asthenas.… is willing, but the body is weak.”
1 Corinthians 8:7… eidōlothutem esthialō, kai tas suneidēsias autoiu asthenas arōntas molunotō.… idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
2 Corinthians 10:10“weak”… ischurais, tas de parousias teu sōmeu asthenas kai tos logos exouthenorēntos.… and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking …
asthenem“weakness”subject or objectdirect singular2×
1 Corinthians 1:25… sofoterem toiu anthrōpoiu atō, kai tem asthenem tou theou ischuroterem toiu anthrōpoiu.… wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s …
Hebrews 7:18“weakness”… genotō proagarōntau entolau dia tem autau asthenem kai anōfelem,So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless
asthenois“weak”subjectnominative plural2×
1 Corinthians 4:10… vis de fronimois en Christo; nis asthenois, vis de ischurois; vis endoxois, nis …… are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are …
1 Corinthians 11:30dia houtem en vi pollois asthenois kai arrōstois kai koimolō hikanois.… is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of …
asthenoin“sick”objectaccusative plural5×
Luke 9:2… basileian tou theou kai iorō toin asthenoin,… of God and to heal the sick.
Luke 10:9kai therapeuavōr toin en auta asthenoin, kai legavōr autoi; Engizatē epi vin …Heal the sick who are there and tell them …
Acts 5:15… kai eis tain plateiain ekferarō toin asthenoin kai titharō epi klinarieiu kai krabattoiu, …As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them …
Acts 5:16… plēthem taiu perix polaiu Ierousalēm, ferarōntois asthenoin kai ochlorōntoin hupo pneumeiu akatharteiu, hotinois …… the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits …
1 Corinthians 9:22genema toi asthenoi asthenos, hina toin asthenoin kerdainameia; toi pantoi genamē panteim, hina …… I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to …
asthenoiu“weak”of, belonging togenitive plural2×
Romans 5:6“helpless”Ēti gar Christos arōntoiu nu asthenoiu ēti kata kairon huper aseboiu apothnēskata.For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
1 Thessalonians 5:14… ataktoin, paramuthovōr toin oligopsuchoin, antechovōr toiu asthenoiu, makrothumavōr pros pantoin.… unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.
asthenoi“weak”to, fordative plural2×
1 Corinthians 8:9… exousias vu houtas proskommem geneteia toi asthenoi.… become a stumbling block to the weak.
1 Corinthians 9:22genema toi asthenoi asthenos, hina toin asthenoin kerdainameia; toi …To the weak I became weak, to win the …
astheneim“weak”subject or objectdirect plural2×
1 Corinthians 1:27… hina kataischunateiō toin sofoin, kai teim astheneim tou kosmou eklegeta tos theos, hina …… shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame …
Galatians 4:9… theou, pōs epistrefavō palin epi teim astheneim kai ptōcheim stoicheieim, hei palin anōthen …… you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish …
asthenotereim1×
1 Corinthians 12:22… mallon teim dokarōnteim meleim teu sōmeu asthenotereim huparcharō anankaieim atō,… the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
asthenotere1×
1 Peter 3:7“weaker”… androir homoiōs sunoikarōntois kata gnōsian, hōs asthenotere skeve te gunaikeie aponemarōntois timan, hōs …Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift …