noun · masculine
desmos
Strong’sG1199
a bond, chain
stem desm-15 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books5 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
δεσμός denotes a band, bond, or chain — anything used to tie or fasten something, such as a rope, halter, mooring-cable, or a ligament of the body 1234. In the plural it is used of actual chains or shackles, the kind that bind a prisoner, and can also describe the state of being imprisoned, as when someone is said to be in bonds for the sake of the gospel 12.
The word is also used figuratively for a restraint that is not a literal chain — an impediment or disability, such as an ailment described as a bond on a person, or a hindrance affecting the tongue 12.
In one instance in the Greek Old Testament the same word is used for a bundle, as of money 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
δεσμός, -οῦ, ὁ
(< δέω), [in LXX chiefly for אסר;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1199 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saiddes-mon'
a band, i.e. ligament (of the body) or shackle (of a prisoner); figuratively, an impediment or disability
Fromneuter and masculine respectively from G1210;
King Jamesband, bond, chain, string.
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
plural δεσμά Refs 6th c.BC+, and so mostly in Trag., Refs 5th c.BC+: both forms in Attic dialect Inscrr., δεσμοί Refs the latter preferred by Refs 6th c.AD+, Attic dialect accusative to Refs 5th c.AD+:—band, bond, anything for tying and fastening, as halter, Refs 8th c.BC+; mooring-cable, Refs 8th c.BC+; door-latch, Refs; yoke-strap, Refs 5th c.BC+: metaphorically, any bond of union or connexion, Refs 5th c.BC+; of the vowels, Refs; δεσμοὶ πολιτείας, of the laws, Refs; εἰς τὰ δεσμοῦ for binding material, Refs 1st c.BC+
2 in plural (never δεσμά in this sense), bonds, chains, ἐκ δεσμῶν λυθῆναι Refs 4th c.BC+; πρὶν ἂν ἐξ ἀγρίων δ. χαλάσῃRefs 5th c.BC+; ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν δ., ={δεσμοφύλαξ}, Refs 2nd c.AD+: in singular, collectively, bonds, imprisonment, δ. ἀχλυόεις epigram cited in Refs 5th c.BC+: metaphorically of moral bondage, Refs 3rd c.AD+
3 ligature, Refs 4th c.BC+
4 δ. ἄρθρου in Refs 5th c.BC+ (at [prev. work]) as ankylosis.
5 spell, charm, Refs 4th c.AD+
II ={δέσμη}, Papyrus in Refs 1st c.BC+; δ. ἀργυρίου 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
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 | desmos1×δεσμὸς | desmois |
| object accusative | desmon | desmoin1×δεσμούς |
| direct address vocative | desmor | desmoir |
| of, belonging to genitive | desmou1×δεσμοῦ | desmoiu6×δεσμῶν |
| to, for dative | desmo | desmoi6×δεσμοῖς |
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
desmo 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.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
desmos“impediment”subjectnominative singular1×
Mark 7:35“impediment”… autou tais akoais, kai luita tos desmos tau glōssau autou, kai lalate orthōs;Immediately the man’s ears were opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly.
desmou“bond”of, belonging togenitive singular1×
Luke 13:16“bond”… eteim, ouk date luira apo tou desmou houtou ta hēmera teu sabbateu?Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
desmoin“imprisonment”objectaccusative plural1×
Philippians 1:13“imprisonment”hōste toin desmoin mu faneroin en Christo genera en …… it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.
desmoiu“chains”of, belonging togenitive plural6×
Acts 23:29… autoiu, mēdenem de axiem thanatou ē desmoiu echarōnton enklēmem.… no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.
Acts 26:29… hopoios kai mis amō parektos toiu desmoiu houtoiu.… what I am, except for these chains.”
Acts 26:31… allēloin legarōntois hoti Oudenem thanatou ē desmoiu axiem tinem prassatō tos anthrōpos houtos.… done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.”
Colossians 4:18… ēma cheira Paulou. mnēmoneuavōr mu toiu desmoiu. tas charitas meta vu.… my own hand — Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
2 Timothy 2:9en he kakopathamō mechris desmoiu hōs kakourgos. alla tos logos tou …… suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word …
Hebrews 11:36… kai mastigaiu peiran labala, ēti de desmoiu kai fulakau;… endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
desmoi“imprisonment”to, fordative plural6×
Philippians 1:7“imprisonment”… ta kardia vin, en tē toi desmoi mu kai en ta apologia kai …… I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of …
Philippians 1:14“imprisonment”… toiu adelfoiu en kurio peitharēntoin toi desmoi mu perissoterōs tolmarō afobōs ton logon …… most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.
Philippians 1:17“imprisonment”… ouk hagnōs, oiorōntois thlipsian egerarō toi desmoi mu.… selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.
Philemon 1:10“imprisonment”… ēmeu tekneu, hon gennama en toi desmoi Onēsimon,… you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.
Philemon 1:13“imprisonment”… huper su mi diakonateiō en toi desmoi teu euangelieu,… so that on your behalf he could minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
Jude 1:6… idiem oikētēriem eis krisian megau hēmerau desmoi aidioi hupo zofon tēratē;… these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on …