verb
basilamō
Strong’sG936
I rule, reign, reign over
stem basil-21 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books13 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
βασιλεύω means to be king, to rule, to reign 1234. It is used of an ordinary king ruling over a people or territory 13, and in the New Testament it describes God reigning 1, Christ reigning 1, and Christians reigning, both now and in a future kingdom 1. It is also used metaphorically of death and of sin "reigning," that is, holding power over people 1.
A separate, causal sense found in the Greek Old Testament is to make someone king, that is, to appoint a person as ruler 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
βασιλεύω,
(< βασιλεύς), [in LXX for מלךְ, its parts and derivatives, exc. IV Ki 15:5 (ישׁב);]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G936 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidbas-il-yoo'-o
to rule (literally or figuratively)
Fromfrom G935;
King Jamesking, reign.
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
to be king, rule, reign, οὐ μέν πως πάντες βασιλεύσομεν ἐνθάδ᾽ Ἀχαιοί Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐν ὑμῖν.. βασίλευε was king among you, Refs 8th c.BC+; also of a woman, ἢ βασίλευεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ reigned as queen, Refs 8th c.BC+: in aorist, to have become king, Refs 5th c.BC+: with genitive, to be king of, rule over, ἐν.. Ἰθάκῃ βασιλεύσει Ἀχαιῶν Refs 8th c.BC+: with dative, to be king among, Γιγάντεσσιν βασίλευεν LXX+8th c.BC+:—passive, to be governed by a king, Refs 5th c.BC+: generally, to be governed or administered, Refs 5th c.BC+: hence, submit to the king, Refs 1st c.AD+
b to be ἄρχων β. at Athens, Refs 5th c.BC+ of other magistrates, Refs
c later ἡ βασιλεύουσα πόλις the imperial city, of Rome, Refs 2nd c.AD+
2 enjoy as master, τῶ χρυσῶ β. Refs 3rd c.BC+
3 absolutely, live royally, β. ἐν πενίᾳ NT+1st c.AD+
II causal, appoint as king, τινά LXX; but β. τισὶ βασιλέα make them a king,LXX
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| basilatōβασιλεύει | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | reigning over | 1× |
| basilalōβασιλεύουσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | we shall reign | 1× |
| basilatiβασιλεύσει | will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular | reign | 2× |
| basilaliβασιλεύσουσιν | will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural | reign | 3× |
| basilasaἐβασίλευσας | happened · youaorist active indicative 2nd person singular | reign | 1× |
| basilataἐβασίλευσεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | reigned | 4× |
| basilavaἐβασιλεύσατε | happened · yeaorist active indicative 2nd person plural | reign | 2× |
| basilalaἐβασίλευσαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | reigned | 1× |
| basilateiaβασιλεύσῃ | happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular | reign | 1× |
| basilatōrβασιλευέτω | happening now · he/she/itpresent active imperative 3rd person singular | reign | 1× |
| basilarōβασιλεύειν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | reign | 1× |
| basilaraβασιλεῦσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | reign | 2× |
| basilarōntoiuβασιλευόντων | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine | kings | 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 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 15 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | basilamō | basilame | basilami | basilama | basilamē | basilamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | basilasō | basilase | basilasi | basilasa1×ἐβασίλευσας | basilasē | basilaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | basilatō1×βασιλεύει | basilate | basilati2×βασιλεύσει | basilata4×ἐβασίλευσεν | basilatē | basilatelē |
| we 1st person plural | basilanō | basilane | basilani | basilana | basilanē | basilanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | basilavō | basilave | basilavi | basilava2×ἐβασιλεύσατε | basilavē | basilavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | basilalō1×βασιλεύουσιν | basilale | basilali3×βασιλεύσουσιν | basilala1×ἐβασίλευσαν | basilalē | basilalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | basilameiō | basilameia | basilameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | basilaseiō | basilaseia | basilaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | basilateiō | basilateia1×βασιλεύσῃ | basilateiē |
| we 1st person plural | basilaneiō | basilaneia | basilaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | basilaveiō | basilaveia | basilaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | basilaleiō | basilaleia | basilaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | basilasōr | basilasar | basilasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | basilatōr1×βασιλευέτω | basilatar | basilatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | basilavōr | basilavar | basilavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | basilalōr | basilalar | basilalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | basilamoiō | basilamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | basilasoiō | basilasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | basilatoiō | basilatoia |
| we 1st person plural | basilanoiō | basilanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | basilavoiō | basilavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | basilaloiō | basilaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | basilarō1×βασιλεύειν | basilari | basilara2×βασιλεῦσαι | basilarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | basilarōntos1× | basilarintos | basilarantos | basilarēntos |
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
basil 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.
21 occurrences, every one of them listed
basilatō“reigning over”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Matthew 2:22“reigning over”akouarantos de hoti Archelaos basilatō tau Ioudaiau anti tou patrou autou …But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he …
basilalō“we shall reign”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Revelation 5:10“we shall reign”… theo nu basileian kai hierevoin, kai basilalō epi tau gēau.… be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
basilati“reign”will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Luke 1:33kai basilati epi ton oikon Iakōb eis toin …and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever …
Revelation 11:15… nu kai tou christou autou, kai basilati eis toin aiōnoin toiu aiōnoiu.… of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”
basilali“reign”will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural3×
Romans 5:17… dōreau tau dikaiosunau labarōntois en zōa basilali dia tou henou Iēsu Christou.… and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man …
Revelation 20:6… tou theou kai tou christou, kai basilali meta autou chilioi eteim.… God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Revelation 22:5… tos theos fōtizati epi autoin, kai basilali eis toin aiōnoin toiu aiōnoiu.… shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
basilasa“reign”happened · youaorist active indicative 2nd person singular1×
Revelation 11:17… tan dunamian su tan megan kai basilasa.… great power and have begun to reign.
basilata“reigned”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular4×
Romans 5:14alla basilata tos thanatos apo Adam mechris Mōusou …Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over …
Romans 5:17… te tou henou paraptōme tos thanatos basilata dia tou henou, polle mallon tois …… trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much …
Romans 5:21hina hōsper basilata tas hamartas en to thanato, houtōs …so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might …
Revelation 19:6… fōnan brontaiu ischuraiu, legarōntoiu; Hallēlouia, hoti basilata kurios, tos theos, tos pantokratoros.… the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
basilava“reign”happened · yeaorist active indicative 2nd person plural2×
1 Corinthians 4:8… korennuorēntois avō, ēdē ploutava, chōris nu basilava; kai ofelon ge basilava, hina kai …… become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were …
1 Corinthians 4:8“reign”… chōris nu basilava; kai ofelon ge basilava, hina kai nis vi sumbasilaneia.… become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!
basilala“reigned”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Revelation 20:4… tan cheiran autoiu; kai zōala kai basilala meta tou christou chilioi eteim.… And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
basilateia“reign”happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
Romans 5:21… to thanato, houtōs kai tas charitas basilateia dia dikaiosunau eis zōan aiōnian dia …… in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life …
basilatōr“reign”happening now · he/she/itpresent active imperative 3rd person singular1×
Romans 6:12Mē oun basilatōr tas hamartas en te thnēte vu …Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that …
basilarō“reign”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive1×
1 Corinthians 15:25datō gar auton basilarō achri hou tithateia pantoin toin echthroin …For He must reign until He has put all His …
basilara“reign”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive2×
Luke 19:14“reign”… opisō autou legarōntois; Ouk thelanō houton basilara epi nin.… a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
Luke 19:27“reign”… mu houtoin toin mē thelarantoin min basilara epi autoin agavar hōde kai katasfazavar …And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them …
basilarōntoiu“kings”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine1×
1 Timothy 6:15… kai monos dunastos, tos basilevos toiu basilarōntoiu kai kurios toiu kurieuarōntoiu,… only Sovereign One— the King of kings and Lord of lords— will bring …