verb
entelomō
Strong’sG1781
I give orders, command
stem entel-15 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books6 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
ἐντέλλομαι means to command, give orders, enjoin, instruct — used of one person directing another to do something, whether a specific act, a set of instructions, or the content of a charge to be carried out 124. It is regularly used with a person addressed and either an infinitive, a direct object naming what is commanded, or a clause spelling out the order's content 1. It is also used of commanding something in writing, as when a covenant or set of terms is laid down 1.
One source notes that, compared with related words for commanding, this verb points to the actual content of what is commanded, rather than simply to the act of giving a verbal order in general or to a commander's transmitted orders 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
ἐν-τέλλω
[in LXX, as in NT (and mostly in Hdt.), always mid., chiefly for צָוָה pi.;]
SYN.:
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1781 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
enjoin, command, active only in Refs 5th c.BC+:— mostly in middle, τινί τι Refs 5th c.BC+; in a will, φίλοις ταῦτα ἐντέλλομαι Refs 2nd c.AD+: with dative person et infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐντείλασθαι ἀπὸ γλώσσης command by word of mouth, Refs 5th c.BC+: so in perfect, ἐντέταλται LXX+2nd c.BC+:—passive, τὰ ἐντεταλμένα commands, Refs 5th c.BC+
II invest with legal powers, authorize to act, ἐ. σοι καὶ ἐπιτρέπω Refs 4th c.AD+
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| entelomōἐντέλλομαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | command | 2× |
| enteletiἐντελεῖται | will happen · he/she/itfuture middle indicative 3rd person singular | command | 2× |
| entelemaἐνετειλάμην | happened · Iaorist middle indicative 1st person singular | commanded | 1× |
| enteletaἐνετείλατο | happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular | commanded | 8× |
| entelotēἐντέταλται | has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | commanded | 1× |
| entelerantosἐντειλάμενος | happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine | giving instructions | 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, 14 occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | entelomō2×ἐντέλλομαι | entelome | entelomē | entelomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | entelosō | entelose | entelosē | enteloselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | entelotō | entelote | entelotē1×ἐντέταλται | entelotelē |
| we 1st person plural | entelonō | entelone | entelonē | entelonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | entelovō | entelove | entelovē | entelovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | entelolō | entelole | entelolē | entelolelē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | entelemi | entelema1×ἐνετειλάμην |
| you 2nd person singular | entelesi | entelesa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | enteleti2×ἐντελεῖται | enteleta8×ἐνετείλατο |
| we 1st person plural | enteleni | entelena |
| ye 2nd person plural | entelevi | enteleva |
| they 3rd person plural | enteleli | entelela |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | entelomeiō | entelomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | enteloseiō | enteloseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | enteloteiō | enteloteiē |
| we 1st person plural | enteloneiō | enteloneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | enteloveiō | enteloveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | enteloleiō | enteloleiē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | entelemeia |
| you 2nd person singular | enteleseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | enteleteia |
| we 1st person plural | enteleneia |
| ye 2nd person plural | enteleveia |
| they 3rd person plural | enteleleia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | entelosōr | entelosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | entelotōr | entelotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | entelovōr | entelovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | entelolōr | entelolēr |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | entelesar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | enteletar |
| ye 2nd person plural | entelevar |
| they 3rd person plural | entelelar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | entelomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | entelosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | entelotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | entelonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | entelovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | enteloloiō |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | entelemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | entelesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | enteletoia |
| we 1st person plural | entelenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | entelevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | enteleloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | entelorō | entelorē | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | enteleri | entelera |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | entelorōntos | entelorēntos | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | entelerintos | entelerantos1×ἐντειλάμενος |
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
entel 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.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
entelomō“command”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular2×
John 15:14… mu avō ean poiaveiō heim mis entelomō vi.… friends if you do what I command you.
John 15:17houteim entelomō vi hina agapaveiō allēloin.This is My command to you: Love one another.
enteleti“command”will happen · he/she/itfuture middle indicative 3rd person singular2×
Matthew 4:6… grafotē gar hoti Toi angeloi autou enteleti peri su kai epi cheiraiu airali …… For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they …
Luke 4:10grafotē gar hoti Toi angeloi autou enteleti peri su teu diafulassara sin,For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard …
entelema“commanded”happened · Iaorist middle indicative 1st person singular1×
Matthew 28:20didaskarōntois autoin tērarō panteim hoseim entelema vi; kai idou mis meta vu …… to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with …
enteleta“commanded”happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular8×
Matthew 17:9Kai katabainarōntoiu autoiu ek teu oreu enteleta autoi tos Iēsus legarōntos; Mēdeno legaveia …… were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about …
Matthew 19:7“command”legalō auto; Tinem oun Mōusos enteleta dōara bibliem apostasieu kai apoluara autan?“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
Mark 10:3… de apokrinirantos legata autoi; Tinem vi enteleta Mōusos?“What did Moses command you?” He replied.
Mark 13:34“commanded”… tem ergem autou, kai to thurōro enteleta hina grēgorateiō.… own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.
John 8:5en de to nomo Mōusos ni enteleta tain toioutain lithobolorō sis oun tinem …In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman …
John 14:31… hoti agapamō ton patron, kai kathōs enteleta mi tos patros houtōs poiamō. Egerovōr, …… do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may …
Hebrews 9:20… Houtem tem haimem tau diathēkau hau enteleta pros vin tos theos;… of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”
Hebrews 11:22… mnēmoneuata, kai peri teiu osteiu autou enteleta.… the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.
entelotē“commanded”has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 13:47houtōs gar entelotē ni tos kurios; Tithamē sin eis …… this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a …
entelerantos“giving instructions”happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative singular masculine1×
Acts 1:2achri hau hēmerau entelerantos toi apostoloi dia pneumeu hagieu hoin …… was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the …