verb
grēgoramō
Strong’sG1127
I am awake, am vigilant, watch
stem grēgor-22 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books10 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
Γρηγορέω means to be or stay awake, and by extension to watch, be watchful, be vigilant 1234.
In its literal sense it describes staying awake rather than sleeping, and can be used metaphorically for being alive as opposed to being dead 13.
Its more common sense is watchfulness in a figurative sense — being alert, on guard, or vigilant, rather than careless or off guard 123.
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
γρηγορέω, -ῶ, = Attic ἐργήγορα, pf. of ἐγείρω, q.v.,
[in LXX (later bks. only) chiefly for שׁקד;]
SYN.: v.s. ἀγρθπνέω.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1127 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidgray-gor-yoo'-o
to keep awake, i.e. watch (literally or figuratively)
Fromfrom G1453;
King Jamesbe vigilant, wake, (be) watch(-ful).
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
late present, formed from perfect ἐγρήγορα (which see), to be or become fully awake, watch, LXX+NT+3rd c.AD+; ἐπὶ τὰς πόλειςLXXpassive, ἐγρηγορήθη ἐπὶ τὰ ἀσεβήματά μουLXX; opposed to καθεύδω, of life opposed to death, 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| grēgorataἐγρηγόρησεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | stayed awake | 1× |
| grēgorateiōγρηγορῇ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular | on the watch | 1× |
| grēgoraneiōγρηγορῶμεν | happening now · wepresent active subjunctive 1st person plural | awake | 2× |
| grēgoraseiaγρηγορήσῃς | happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular | wake up | 1× |
| grēgoravōrγρηγορεῖτε | happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural | on the alert | 10× |
| grēgoravarγρηγορήσατε | happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural | on the alert | 1× |
| grēgoraraγρηγορῆσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | stay awake | 2× |
| grēgorarōntosγρηγορῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | wake up | 2× |
| grēgorarōntoisγρηγοροῦντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | keeping alert | 1× |
| grēgorarōntoinγρηγοροῦντας | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine | alert | 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, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | grēgoramō | grēgorame | grēgorami | grēgorama | grēgoramē | grēgoramelē |
| you 2nd person singular | grēgorasō | grēgorase | grēgorasi | grēgorasa | grēgorasē | grēgoraselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | grēgoratō | grēgorate | grēgorati | grēgorata1×ἐγρηγόρησεν | grēgoratē | grēgoratelē |
| we 1st person plural | grēgoranō | grēgorane | grēgorani | grēgorana | grēgoranē | grēgoranelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | grēgoravō | grēgorave | grēgoravi | grēgorava | grēgoravē | grēgoravelē |
| they 3rd person plural | grēgoralō | grēgorale | grēgorali | grēgorala | grēgoralē | grēgoralelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 4 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | grēgorameiō | grēgorameia | grēgorameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | grēgoraseiō | grēgoraseia1×γρηγορήσῃς | grēgoraseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | grēgorateiō1×γρηγορῇ | grēgorateia | grēgorateiē |
| we 1st person plural | grēgoraneiō2×γρηγορῶμεν | grēgoraneia | grēgoraneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | grēgoraveiō | grēgoraveia | grēgoraveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | grēgoraleiō | grēgoraleia | grēgoraleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 11 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | grēgorasōr | grēgorasar | grēgorasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | grēgoratōr | grēgoratar | grēgoratēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | grēgoravōr10×γρηγορεῖτε | grēgoravar1×γρηγορήσατε | grēgoravēr |
| they 3rd person plural | grēgoralōr | grēgoralar | grēgoralēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | grēgoramoiō | grēgoramoia |
| you 2nd person singular | grēgorasoiō | grēgorasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | grēgoratoiō | grēgoratoia |
| we 1st person plural | grēgoranoiō | grēgoranoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | grēgoravoiō | grēgoravoia |
| they 3rd person plural | grēgoraloiō | grēgoraloia |
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 | grēgorarō | grēgorari | grēgorara2×γρηγορῆσαι | grēgorarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 4 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | grēgorarōntos4×γρηγορῶν | grēgorarintos | grēgorarantos | grēgorarēntos |
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
grēgor 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.
22 occurrences, every one of them listed
grēgorata“stayed awake”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Matthew 24:43“stayed awake”… oikodespotos poia fulaka tos kleptos erchotō, grēgorata an kai ouk an easata diorussira …… the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
grēgorateiō“on the watch”happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
Mark 13:34“on the watch”… autou, kai to thurōro enteleta hina grēgorateiō.… own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.
grēgoraneiō“awake”happening now · wepresent active subjunctive 1st person plural2×
1 Thessalonians 5:6“be alert”… mē katheudaneiō hōs tois loipois, alla grēgoraneiō kai nēfaneiō.… let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:10tou apothnēskarantou peri nu hina eite grēgoraneiō eite katheudaneiō hama sun auto zōaneia.… us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together …
grēgoraseia“wake up”happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular1×
Revelation 3:3… tērasōr, kai metanoasar; ean oun mē grēgoraseia, hēkami hōs kleptos, kai ouk mē …… and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief …
grēgoravōr“on the alert”happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural10×
Matthew 24:42“on the alert”grēgoravōr oun, hoti ouk oidavē poia hēmera …Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which …
Matthew 25:13“on the alert”grēgoravōr oun, hoti ouk oidavē tan hēmeran …Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the …
Matthew 26:38“stay awake”… mu heōs thanatou; menavar hōde kai grēgoravōr meta mu.… to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
Matthew 26:41“stay awake”grēgoravōr kai proseuchovōr, hina mē eiserchaveia eis …“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For …
Mark 13:35“on the alert”grēgoravōr oun, ouk oidavē gar pote tos …Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of …
Mark 13:37hem de vi legamō pantoi legamō; grēgoravōr.… you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!”
Mark 14:34“stay awake”… mu heōs thanatou; menavar hōde kai grēgoravōr.… to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”
Mark 14:38grēgoravōr kai proseuchovōr, hina mē erchaveia eis …Watch and pray so that you will …
Acts 20:31“on the alert”dio grēgoravōr, mnēmoneuarōntois hoti trietian nuktan kai hēmeran …Therefore be alert and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
1 Corinthians 16:13Grēgoravōr, stēkavōr en ta pistia, andrizovōr, krataiovōr.Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be …
grēgoravar“on the alert”happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural1×
1 Peter 5:8“on the alert”nēfavar, grēgoravar. tos antidikos vu diabolos hōs leontos …… and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone …
grēgorara“stay awake”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive2×
Matthew 26:40“stay awake”… Petro; Houtōs ouk ischuava henan hōran grēgorara meta mu?… Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter.
Mark 14:37“stay awake”… Simōnor, katheudasō? ouk ischuasa henan hōran grēgorara?… them sleeping. “Simon, are you asleep?” He asked. “Were you not able to keep watch for one hour?
grēgorarōntos“wake up”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine2×
Revelation 3:2genosōr grēgorarōntos, kai stērizasar teim loipeim heim mellale …Wake up and strengthen what remains, which is …
Revelation 16:15“stays awake”Idou erchomō hōs kleptos. makarios tos grēgorarōntos kai tērarōntos teim himatieim autou, hina …“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will …
grēgorarōntois“keeping alert”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Colossians 4:2“keeping alert”Ta proseucha proskarteravōr, grēgorarōntois en auta en eucharistia,Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful …
grēgorarōntoin“alert”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine1×
Luke 12:37“alert”… ekeinois, hoin ercharantos tos kurios heuriskati grēgorarōntoin; amēn legamō vi hoti perizōneti kai …Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have …