verb
ekdikamō
Strong’sG1556
I give justice over, defend, avenge, vindicate
stem ekdik-6 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books6 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
† ἐκδικέω, -ῶ
(< ἔκδικος), [in LXX for פָּקַד, נָקַם, שָׁפַט, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1556 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidek-dik-eh'-o
to vindicate, retaliate, punish
Fromfrom G1558;
King Jamesa (re-)venge.
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
avenge, punish, φόνον NT+5th c.BC+; exact vengeance for, τὰ αἵματα τῶν δούλων LXX+2nd c.BC+
2 decide a case, δίκην, ἀγῶνα, Refs 1st c.AD+
II avenge or vindicate a person, by taking up his cause, NT+1st c.AD+; ἐ. τινὰ ἀπό τινος avenge one on another, NT+5th c.BC+:—passive, LXX
II.2 act as ἔκδικος Refs 1st c.BC+
III claim, Refs 5th c.AD+
IV ἐ. τισί make retribution for them, 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ekdikasōἐκδικεῖς | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | avenge | 1× |
| ekdikamiἐκδικήσω | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | grant … justice | 1× |
| ekdikataἐξεδίκησεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | avenged | 1× |
| ekdikasarἘκδίκησόν | happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular | grant … justice | 1× |
| ekdikaraἐκδικῆσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | punish | 1× |
| ekdikarōntoisἐκδικοῦντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | avenge | 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, 3 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ekdikamō | ekdikame | ekdikami1×ἐκδικήσω | ekdikama | ekdikamē | ekdikamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | ekdikasō1×ἐκδικεῖς | ekdikase | ekdikasi | ekdikasa | ekdikasē | ekdikaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ekdikatō | ekdikate | ekdikati | ekdikata1×ἐξεδίκησεν | ekdikatē | ekdikatelē |
| we 1st person plural | ekdikanō | ekdikane | ekdikani | ekdikana | ekdikanē | ekdikanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ekdikavō | ekdikave | ekdikavi | ekdikava | ekdikavē | ekdikavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | ekdikalō | ekdikale | ekdikali | ekdikala | ekdikalē | ekdikalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ekdikameiō | ekdikameia | ekdikameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | ekdikaseiō | ekdikaseia | ekdikaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ekdikateiō | ekdikateia | ekdikateiē |
| we 1st person plural | ekdikaneiō | ekdikaneia | ekdikaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ekdikaveiō | ekdikaveia | ekdikaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | ekdikaleiō | ekdikaleia | ekdikaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | ekdikasōr | ekdikasar1×Ἐκδίκησόν | ekdikasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ekdikatōr | ekdikatar | ekdikatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | ekdikavōr | ekdikavar | ekdikavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | ekdikalōr | ekdikalar | ekdikalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ekdikamoiō | ekdikamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | ekdikasoiō | ekdikasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ekdikatoiō | ekdikatoia |
| we 1st person plural | ekdikanoiō | ekdikanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | ekdikavoiō | ekdikavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | ekdikaloiō | ekdikaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | ekdikarō | ekdikari | ekdikara1×ἐκδικῆσαι | ekdikarē |
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 | ekdikarōntos1× | ekdikarintos | ekdikarantos | ekdikarēntos |
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
ekdik 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.
6 occurrences, every one of them listed
ekdikasō“avenge”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular1×
Revelation 6:10… hagior kai alēthinor, ouk krinasō kai ekdikasō tem haimem nu ek toiu katoikarōntoiu …… who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”
ekdikami“grant … justice”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular1×
Luke 18:5… parecharō mi kopon tan chēran houtan ekdikami autan hina mē eis telem erchorōntas …… pestering me, I will give her justice. Otherwise, she will wear me out …
ekdikata“avenged”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Revelation 19:2… gēan en ta porneia autau, kai ekdikata tem haimem toiu douloiu autou ek …… earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that …
ekdikasar“grant … justice”happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular1×
Luke 18:3… ekeina kai erchote pros auton legarōntas; Ekdikasar min apo tou antidikou mu.… kept appealing to him, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
ekdikara“punish”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
2 Corinthians 10:6kai en hetoime echarōntois ekdikara pantan parakoan, hotan plēriteia vu tas …And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon …
ekdikarōntois“avenge”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Romans 12:19mē heautoin ekdikarōntois, agapētoir, alla dōavar topon ta orga, …Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for …