adjective
eklektos
Strong’sG1588
chosen, elect, choice, select
stem eklekt-23 times in the New Testamentin 12 of 27 books9 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
Chosen out, select — of especially fine or high quality, hence “choice” or “eminent” 13; this classical sense is rare in the New Testament, appearing where someone is called “choice” or “eminent” among others 1, and elsewhere describes something picked out as pure or select, such as choice myrrh or choice grain 3.
Elect, chosen by God — used of those or that which God has selected for himself 1234. In the New Testament this covers Christ as God’s chosen one, a “chosen” stone, holy angels, and Christians as God’s elect, God’s chosen people, or “the elect” together with the terms “called” and “faithful” 1. Strong’s adds that by implication the word can carry the sense of “favorite” 2.
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
ἐκ-λεκτός, -ή, -όν
(< ἐκλέγω), [in LXX for בָּחַר (so prob. in Is 28:16, Pr 17:3, for MT בָּחַן), בָּרִיא, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1588 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidek-lek-tos'
select; by implication, favorite
Fromfrom G1586;
King Jameschosen, elect.
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
picked out, select, Refs 6th c.BC+; ἐ. δικασταί,=Latin iudices selecti, Refs 2nd c.AD+ adverb -τῶς interpolated in Suid. see at {ἐπίλεκτος}.
2 choice, pure, σμύρνη LXX+3rd c.BC+; ἐκλεκτόν,= corn, LXX+2nd c.AD+
II chosen of God, elect, LXX+NT
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 | eklektos2×ἐκλεκτός | eklektas | eklektem1×ἐκλεκτόν | eklektois3×ἐκλεκτοὶ | eklektais | eklekteim |
| object accusative | eklekton3×ἐκλεκτὸν | eklektan | eklektoin7×ἐκλεκτοὺς | eklektain | ||
| direct address vocative | eklektor | eklektar | eklektoir | eklektair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | eklektou | eklektau1×ἐκλεκτῆς | eklekteu | eklektoiu4×ἐκλεκτῶν | eklektaiu | eklekteiu |
| to, for dative | eklekto | eklekta1×ἐκλεκτῇ | eklekte | eklektoi1×ἐκλεκτοῖς | eklektai | eklektei |
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
eklekt 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.
23 occurrences, every one of them listed
eklektos“chosen”subjectnominative singular2×
Luke 23:35… atō tos christos tou theou, tos eklektos.… is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
John 1:34“chosen one”… kai marturamē hoti houtos atō tos eklektos tou theou.… have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
eklekton“chosen”objectaccusative singular3×
Romans 16:13aspazevar Roufon ton eklekton en kurio kai tan mētēran autou …Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother …
1 Peter 2:4… anthrōpoiu men apodokimazorēnton para de theo eklekton entimon… living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
1 Peter 2:6… Idou tithamō en Siōn lithon akrogōniaion eklekton entimon, kai tos pisteuarōntos epi auto …… lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one …
eklektau“elect”of, belonging togenitive singular1×
2 John 1:13… teim tekneim tau adelfau su tau eklektau.The children of your elect sister send you greetings.
eklekta“elect”to, fordative singular1×
2 John 1:1“elect”Tos presbuteros eklekta kuria kai tei teknei autau, hoin …The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love …
eklektem“chosen”subject or objectdirect singular1×
1 Peter 2:9Vis de genem eklektem, basileiem hierateumem, ethnem hagiem, laos eis …But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy …
eklektois“chosen”subjectnominative plural3×
Matthew 22:14pollois gar alō klētois oligois de eklektois.… many are called, but few are chosen.”
Colossians 3:12“chosen”Enduevar oun hōs eklektois tou theou, hagiois kai agaporēntois, splanchneim …Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves …
Revelation 17:14… kai tois meta autou klētois kai eklektois kai pistois.… be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”
eklektoin“elect”objectaccusative plural7×
Matthew 24:22… sōzita pantas sarkas; dia de toin eklektoin kolobili tais hēmerais ekeinais.… But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
Matthew 24:24… hōste planara ei dunatem kai toin eklektoin;… and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
Matthew 24:31… meta salpingau megau, kai episunagali toin eklektoin autou ek toiu tessares anemoiu apo …… call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one …
Mark 13:20… sōzita pantas sarkas. alla dia toin eklektoin hoin eklegeta kolobata tain hēmerain.… But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has …
Mark 13:22… pros tem apoplanarō ei dunatem toin eklektoin;… and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
Mark 13:27… apostelati toin angeloin kai episunagati toin eklektoin ek toiu tessares anemoiu apo akreu …… out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the …
2 Timothy 2:10dia houtem panteim hupomenamō dia toin eklektoin, hina kai autois sōtērēau tuchaleia tau …… things for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain …
eklektoiu“elect”of, belonging togenitive plural4×
Luke 18:7… ouk mē poiateia tan ekdikēsian toiu eklektoiu autou toiu boarōntoiu auto hēmerau kai …… God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day …
Romans 8:33tinos enkalati kata eklektoiu theou? theos tos dikaiarōntos;… will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
1 Timothy 5:21… theou kai Christou Iēsu kai toiu eklektoiu angeloiu, hina houteim fulassaseia chōris prokrimeu, …… God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to maintain these principles without …
Titus 1:1… apostolos de Iēsu Christou kata pistian eklektoiu theou kai epignōsian alētheiau tau kata …… Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth …
eklektoi“chosen”to, fordative plural1×
1 Peter 1:1Petros apostolos Iēsu Christou eklektoi parepidēmoi diasporau Pontou, Galatiau, Kappadokiau, Asiau, …… Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen