verb
epitimamō
Strong’sG2008
I rebuke, chide, admonish, warn
stem epitim-29 times in the New Testamentin 5 of 27 books9 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
Ἐπιτιμάω means to rebuke, censure, admonish, or warn someone 1234. It is used of strongly reproving a person, often with the person rebuked expressed as the object of the verb in the dative case, and can be used both on its own and followed by a command or statement telling what the rebuke actually said 1. Strong's notes that the censure or admonition can carry the further sense of forbidding someone from doing something 2. LSJ likewise records this rebuking sense as applying not only to persons but also to words or decisions that are being found fault with 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
ἐπι-τιμάω, -ῶ
[in LXX for גָּעַר, Ge 37:10, Ps 9:5, Za 3:3(2); Si 11:7, al.;]
SYN.: ἐλέγχω, q.v
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2008 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Ionic dialect and Delph. ἐπιτιμέω, Refs 5th c.BC+:— lay a value upon: hence,
1 show honour to, τινά Hdt. [prev. cited]
2 raise in price, οἶνον ἐ. πολύ Refs 4th c.BC+; τὴν αἴτησιν ἐ. raise the demand, Refs:—passive, rise in price, of corn, Refs 4th c.BC+
II of judges, lay a penalty on a person, τοῖς ἐξάρνοις ἐ. ταλάντου ἑκάστῳ variant in Refs 4th c.BC+; but ἐ. τὴν ἀρχαίην δίκην make the original trial the ground of punishment, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 object to one as blameable, τινί τι Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2.b with accusative of things only, censure, οὐ τοῦτ᾽ ἐπιτιμῶ Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, τὸ..ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπιτιμώμενον Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2.c with dative only, rebuke, censure, of persons, Refs 5th c.BC+; of things, τοῖς ψηφισθεῖσιν NT+5th c.BC+:— passive, ἐπιτετιμημένος ἐπί τινι Refs 2nd c.BC+
II.2.d absolutely, λόγῳ καλῶς ἐ. by word, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| epitimateἐπετίμα | was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | warned | 1× |
| epitimaleἐπετίμων | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | rebuked | 3× |
| epitimataἐπετίμησεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | rebuked | 14× |
| epitimalaἐπετίμησαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | rebuked | 2× |
| epitimasarἐπιτίμησον | happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular | rebuke | 3× |
| epitimatoiaἘπιτιμήσαι | happened · he/she/itaorist active optative 3rd person singular | rebuke | 1× |
| epitimarōἐπιτιμᾶν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | rebuke | 2× |
| epitimarōntosἐπιτιμῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | rebuked | 2× |
| epitimarantosἐπιτιμήσας | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine | strictly warned | 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, 20 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | epitimamō | epitimame | epitimami | epitimama | epitimamē | epitimamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | epitimasō | epitimase | epitimasi | epitimasa | epitimasē | epitimaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epitimatō | epitimate1×ἐπετίμα | epitimati | epitimata14×ἐπετίμησεν | epitimatē | epitimatelē |
| we 1st person plural | epitimanō | epitimane | epitimani | epitimana | epitimanē | epitimanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | epitimavō | epitimave | epitimavi | epitimava | epitimavē | epitimavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | epitimalō | epitimale3×ἐπετίμων | epitimali | epitimala2×ἐπετίμησαν | epitimalē | epitimalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | epitimameiō | epitimameia | epitimameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | epitimaseiō | epitimaseia | epitimaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epitimateiō | epitimateia | epitimateiē |
| we 1st person plural | epitimaneiō | epitimaneia | epitimaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | epitimaveiō | epitimaveia | epitimaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | epitimaleiō | epitimaleia | epitimaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 3 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | epitimasōr | epitimasar3×ἐπιτίμησον | epitimasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epitimatōr | epitimatar | epitimatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | epitimavōr | epitimavar | epitimavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | epitimalōr | epitimalar | epitimalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | epitimamoiō | epitimamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | epitimasoiō | epitimasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | epitimatoiō | epitimatoia1×Ἐπιτιμήσαι |
| we 1st person plural | epitimanoiō | epitimanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | epitimavoiō | epitimavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | epitimaloiō | epitimaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | epitimarō2×ἐπιτιμᾶν | epitimari | epitimara | epitimarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | epitimarōntos2×ἐπιτιμῶν | epitimarintos | epitimarantos1×ἐπιτιμήσας | epitimarēntos |
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
epitim 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.
29 occurrences, every one of them listed
epitimate“warned”was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Mark 3:12kai polleim epitimate autoi hina mē auton faneron poialeia.But He warned them sternly not to make Him …
epitimale“rebuked”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural3×
Mark 10:48“warned”kai epitimale auto pollois hina siōpateia; tos de …Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out …
Luke 18:15… auteiu haptoteiō; horarantois de tois mathētois epitimale autoi.… when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them.
Luke 18:39“rebuked”kai tois proagarōntois epitimale auto hina sigateia; autos de polle …Those who led the way admonished him to be silent, but he cried out …
epitimata“rebuked”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular14×
Matthew 8:26… Tinem deilois avō, oligopistoir? tote egerirantos epitimata toi anemoi kai ta thalassa, kai …… afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and …
Matthew 12:16“warned”kai epitimata autoi hina mē faneron auton poialeia,warning them not to make Him known.
Matthew 17:18kai epitimata auto tos Iēsus, kai exerchata apo …Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out …
Matthew 20:31“rebuked”tos de ochlos epitimata autoi hina siōpaleia; tois de megoterem …The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out …
Mark 1:25kai epitimata auto tos Iēsus legarōntos; Fimisar kai …But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said …
Mark 4:39kai diegeirirantos epitimata to anemo kai legata ta thalassa; …Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence …
Mark 8:30kai epitimata autoi hina mēdeno legaleiō peri autou.And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about …
Mark 8:33… epistrefirantos kai horarantos toin mathētoin autou epitimata Petro kai legatō; Hupagasōr opisō mu, …… turning and looking at His disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me …
Mark 9:25… de tos Iēsus hoti episuntrechatō ochlos epitimata te pneume te akatharte legarōntos aute; …… a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and …
Luke 4:35kai epitimata auto tos Iēsus legarōntos; Fimisar kai …But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said …
Luke 4:39kai epistēarantos epanō autau epitimata to pureto, kai afiēkata autan; parachrēma …and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her …
Luke 8:24… Epistator epistator, apolonō; tos de diegeirirantos epitimata to anemo kai to kludōno teu …… perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters …
Luke 9:42… rēgata auton tem daimonem kai susparassata; epitimata de tos Iēsus te pneume te …… ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy …
Luke 9:55strefirantos de epitimata autoi.But Jesus turned and rebuked them.
epitimala“rebuked”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural2×
Matthew 19:13… autei kai proseucheteia; tois de mathētois epitimala autei.… pray for them. And the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
Mark 10:13… hina auteiu hapteteia; tois de mathētois epitimala autoi.… hands on them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
epitimasar“rebuke”happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular3×
Luke 17:3… heautoi. ean hamartateia tos adelfos su epitimasar auto, kai ean metanoateia afiēkasar auto;Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive …
Luke 19:39… tou ochlou legala pros auton; Didaskalor, epitimasar toi mathētoi su.… the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”
2 Timothy 4:2… ton logon, epistēasar eukairōs akairōs, elenchasar, epitimasar, parakalasar, en panta makrothumia kai didacha.… season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of …
epitimatoia“rebuke”happened · he/she/itaorist active optative 3rd person singular1×
Jude 1:9… tolmata krisian epiferara blasfēmiau, alla legata; Epitimatoia si kurios.… against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
epitimarō“rebuke”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive2×
Matthew 16:22kai proslaberantos auton tos Petros archeta epitimarō auto legarōntos; Hilaos si, kurior; ouk …… took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You …
Mark 8:32… kai proslaberantos tos Petros auton archeta epitimarō auto.… took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
epitimarōntos“rebuked”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine2×
Luke 4:41… asō tos huios tou theou. kai epitimarōntos ouk easate auteim lalarō, hoti oidalelē …… the Son of God!” But He rebuked the demons and would not allow …
Luke 23:40apokrinirantos de tos heteros epitimarōntos auto fēate; Oude fobosō sis ton …But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even …
epitimarantos“strictly warned”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine1×
Luke 9:21Tos de epitimarantos autoi parangelata mēdeno legarō houtem,Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to …