noun · feminine
diakonias
Strong’sG1248
waiting at table, service, ministration
stem diakoni-34 times in the New Testamentin 11 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
Service or ministration — the work of attending to someone's needs or carrying out a duty on another's behalf 1234.
This can be ordinary practical service, such as attending to household or domestic duties 13; the same word covers the everyday task of seeing to people's physical or material needs 3.
It is also used, especially in the New Testament, for religious ministration — the office and work of a minister, the exercise of ministerial functions within the church, or Christian service more broadly, including relief or aid given to others 12. In this sense it can describe specific kinds of ministry, such as a ministry connected with death, with the Spirit, with condemnation, with righteousness, with reconciliation, or with worship 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
διακονία, -ας, ἡ
(< διάκονος), [in LXX for נַעַר, שָׁרַת pi.: Es 6:3, 5 A; I Mac 11:58 *;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1248 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saiddee-ak-on-ee'-ah
attendance (as a servant, etc.); figuratively (eleemosynary) aid, (official) service (especially of the Christian teacher, or technically of the diaconate)
Fromfrom G1249;
King James(ad-)minister(-ing, -tration, -try), office, relief, service(-ing).
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
service, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 attendance on a duty, ministration, Refs 4th c.BC+; ἡ δ. ἡ καθημερινή, of ministering to external wants, NT
II body of servants or attendants, Refs 2nd c.BC+
III instruments of service, ={διακόνημα}Refs 4th 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 | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | diakonias6×διακονία | diakoniais |
| object accusative | diakonian16×διακονίαν | diakoniain |
| direct address vocative | diakoniar | diakoniair |
| of, belonging to genitive | diakoniau7×διακονίας | diakoniaiu1×διακονιῶν |
| to, for dative | diakonia4×διακονίᾳ | diakoniai |
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
diakonia 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.
34 occurrences, every one of them listed
diakonias“ministry”subjectnominative singular6×
Romans 15:31… apeitharōntoiu en ta Ioudaia kai tas diakonias mu tas eis Ierousalēm euprosdektas toi …… unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to …
2 Corinthians 3:7Ei de tas diakonias tou thanatou en grammei entuporēntas lithoi …Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in …
2 Corinthians 3:8pōs ouchi mallon tas diakonias teu pneumeu eti en doxa?will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more …
2 Corinthians 3:9… katakrisiau doxas, polle mallon perisseuatō tas diakonias tau dikaiosunau doxa.… how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!
2 Corinthians 6:3… dōarōntois proskopan, hina mē mōmiteia tas diakonias,… that no one can discredit our ministry.
2 Corinthians 9:12hoti tas diakonias tau leitourgiau houtau ouk monem atō …For this ministry of service is not only supplying …
diakonian“ministry”objectaccusative singular16×
Luke 10:40“tasks”tas de Marthas perispote peri pollan diakonian; epistēarantas de legata; Kurior, ouk meleiatō …But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my …
Acts 11:29… euporote tinos horizala hekastos autoiu eis diakonian pempara toi katoikarōntoi en ta Ioudaia …… to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
Acts 12:25… Saulos hupostrefala, eis Ierousalēm plērarantois tan diakonian, sumparalabarantois Iōannon ton epikaliranton Markon.… Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with …
Acts 20:24… teleiara ton dromon mu kai tan diakonian han labama para tou kuriou Iēsu, …… finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord …
Romans 11:13… oun amō mis ethneiu apostolos, tan diakonian mu doxazamō,… to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
Romans 12:7“service”eite diakonian en ta diakonia, eite tos didaskarōntos …if it is serving, let him serve; if it is …
1 Corinthians 16:15… atō aparchas tau Achaiau kai eis diakonian toi hagioi tassala heautoin;… they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. Now I urge …
2 Corinthians 4:1Dia houtem, echarōntois tan diakonian houtan kathōs elēina, ouk enkakanō,… His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 5:18… dia Christou kai dōarantou ni tan diakonian tau katallagau,… through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
2 Corinthians 11:8… sulama labarantos opsōniem pros tan vu diakonian,… accepting their support in order to serve you.
Colossians 4:17kai legavar Archippo; Blepasōr tan diakonian han paralabasa en kurio, hina autan …… to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
1 Timothy 1:12… hoti piston min hēgeta titherantos eis diakonian,… me faithful and appointed me to service.
2 Timothy 4:5… pantei, kakopathasar, ergem poiasar euangelistou, tan diakonian su plēroforasar.… work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:11… siautou, atō gar mi euchrēstos eis diakonian,… is useful to me in the ministry.
Hebrews 1:14ouchi pantois alō leitourgikeim pneumeim eis diakonian apostelorōnteim dia toin mellarōntoin klēronomarō sōtērēan?… the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Revelation 2:19… agapan kai tan pistian kai tan diakonian kai tan hupomonan su, kai teim …… deeds — your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance — and your latest deeds …
diakoniau“ministry”of, belonging togenitive singular7×
Acts 1:17… ni kai lanchanata ton klēron tau diakoniau houtau.… our number and shared in this ministry.”
Acts 1:25labara ton topon tau diakoniau houtau kai apostolau, apo hau parabainata …to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to …
Acts 21:19… theos en tei ethnei dia tau diakoniau autou.… done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
2 Corinthians 8:4“ministry”… tan charitan kai tan koinōnian tau diakoniau tau eis toin hagioin… us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
2 Corinthians 9:1“ministry”Peri men gar tau diakoniau tau eis toin hagioin perissem mi …Now about the service to the saints, there is no need for me to write …
2 Corinthians 9:13dia tau dokimau tau diakoniau houtau doxazarōntois ton theon epi ta …Because of the proof this ministry provides, the saints will glorify God …
Ephesians 4:12… ton katartismon toiu hagioiu eis ergem diakoniau, eis oikodoman teu sōmeu tou Christou,… equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body …
diakonia“ministry”to, fordative singular4×
Acts 6:1… toin Hebraioin hoti paratheōrole en ta diakonia ta kathēmerina tais chērais autoiu.… were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
Acts 6:4nis de ta proseucha kai ta diakonia tou logou proskarterani.… ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Romans 12:7eite diakonian en ta diakonia, eite tos didaskarōntos en ta didaskalia,if it is serving, let him serve; if it is …
2 Corinthians 3:9ei gar ta diakonia tau katakrisiau doxas, polle mallon perisseuatō …For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much …
diakoniaiu“ministries”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
1 Corinthians 12:5kai diairesiais diakoniaiu alō, kai tos autos kurios;There are different ministries, but the same Lord.