personal pronoun
heautos
Strong’sG848
himself, herself, itself
stem heaut-333 times in the New Testamentin 25 of 27 books15 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
Himself, herself, itself — the reflexive pronoun of the third person, used when the subject of a clause acts on or refers back to itself 1234. It appears attached to verbs (e.g. "they divided among themselves," "he called to himself") and in various prepositional phrases such as "of himself," "in himself," "at his own house," "with himself" 13. With its force weakened, it can also work simply as a possessive, equivalent to "his own" 1.
Less commonly, the same form is used reflexively for the first or second person, standing in for "myself" or "yourself" rather than strictly "himself" 13.
In the plural, the word can also serve as a reciprocal pronoun, meaning "one another," rather than a true reflexive 13.
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
ἑαυτοῦ, -ῆς, -οῦ, dat. -ῷ, etc., acc. -όν, etc., pi. -ῶν, etc. (Att. contr. αὑτοῦ, etc);
reflex pron.;G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G848 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidhow-too'
self (in some oblique case or reflexively, relation)
Fromcontracted for G1438;
King Jamesher (own), (of) him(-self), his (own), of it, thee, their (own), them(-selves), they.
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
plural ἑαυτῶν, ἑαυτοῖς, ἑαυτούς άς, ά: Ionic dialect ἑωυτοῦ Refs 5th c.BC+; also ωὑτῆς Refs 3rd c.BC+ in Papyrus and Inscrr., as Refs 1st c.BC+: Attic dialect contraction αὑτοῦ, etc., which is the usual form in Trag., though ἑαυτοῦ, etc., are used (though rarely) when the metre requires, Refs 4th c.BC+; Cretan dialect ϝιαυτοῦ Kohler-Ziebarth Stadtrecht von Gortyn Refs; Doric dialect αὐταυτοῦ, αὐσαυτοῦ (which see); Thess. εὑτοῦ (dative), Refs: genitive plural ηὑτῶν Refs:—reflexive pronoun of 3rd pers., of himself, herself, itself, etc.; first in Refs 7th c.BC+, and Attic dialect Refs 8th c.BC+ itself by itself, absolutely, Refs 5th c.BC+; αὐτὸ ἐφ᾽ αὑτοῦRefs 5th c.BC+; ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν, ἑαυτοῦ, of themselves, himself, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ, see at {ἐπ; ἐν ἑαυτῷ γίγνεσθαι}, ἐντὸς ἑαυτοῦ γ., see at {ἐν}, ἐντό; παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ at his own house, Refsthemselves, Refs 5th c.BC+; πλουσιώτεροι ἑαυτῶν continually richer, Refs 5th c.BC+, compare d; τῇ αὐτὸ ἑωυτοῦ ἐστι μακρότατον at its very greatest length, Refs 5th c.BC+
II in Attic dialect, Trag., and later, αὑτοῦ, etc., is used for the 1st pers. or 2nd pers., as for ἐμαυτοῦ, αὐτὸς καθ᾽ αὑτοῦ τἄρα μηχανορραφῶ Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς by ourselves, LXX+2nd c.BC+; ἑαυτῶν, ={ὑμῶν αὐτῶν}, Refs 2nd c.BC+
III plural, ἑαυτῶν, ἑαυτοῖς, etc., is sometimes used for ἀλλήλων, ἀλλήλοις, one another, διάφοροι ἑωυτοῖσι Refs 5th c.BC+; καθ᾽ αὑτοῖν one against the other, 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.
15 rarer renderings are not shown; every occurrence below carries the English it was given there.
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 | feminine singular | masculine singular | neuter singular | feminine plural | masculine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | heautas | heautos | heautem | heautais | heautois | heauteim1×ἑαυτὰ |
| object accusative | heautan8×ἑαυτὴν | heauton69×ἑαυτὸν | heautain4×ἑαυτάς | heautoin69×ἑαυτοὺς | ||
| direct address vocative | heautar | heautor | heautair | heautoir | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | heautau6×ἑαυτῆς | heautou43×ἑαυτοῦ | heauteu6×ἑαυτοῦ | heautaiu5×ἑαυτῶν | heautoiu36×ἑαυτῶν | heauteiu1×ἑαυτῶν |
| to, for dative | heauta2×ἑαυτῇ | heauto32×ἑαυτῷ | heaute | heautai1×ἑαυταῖς | heautoi50×ἑαυτοῖς | heautei |
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
heaut 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.
333 occurrences, 100 of them printed here — the rest are in the reader
heautan“itself”objectaccusative singular8×
Mark 3:24kai ean basileias epi heautan meriziteia, ouk dunotō stēira tas basileias …If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand.
Mark 3:25kai ean oikias epi heautan meriziteia, ouk duneti tas oikias ekeinas …If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand.
Luke 1:24“herself”… Elisabet tas gunaikas autou; kai perikrubate heautan mēnoin pente, legarōntas… these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in …
Luke 11:17… dianoēmeim legata autoi; Pantas basileias epi heautan diamerizirantas erēmotō, kai oikos epi oikon …… to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and a …
James 2:17… mē echateiō ergeim, nekras atō kata heautan.So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in …
Revelation 2:20… afiēkasō tan gunaikan Iezabel, tas legarōntas heautan profētian, kai didaskatō kai planatō toin …… tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she …
Revelation 18:7hoseim doxazata heautan kai strēniata, tosouton dōavar auta basanismon …As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her …
Revelation 19:7… arnieu, kai tas gunaikas autou hetoimazata heautan,… come, and His bride has made herself ready.
heautau“itself”of, belonging togenitive singular6×
Matthew 6:34… tan aurion, tas gar aurion merimnati heautau; arketem ta hēmera tas kakias autau.… tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its …
Matthew 12:25… legata autoi; Pantas basileias merizirantas kata heautau erēmotō, kai pantas polas ē oikias …… to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every …
Matthew 12:25… pantas polas ē oikias merizirantas kata heautau ouk stēiti.… every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
Luke 13:34… tekneim su hon tropon ornias tan heautau nossian hupo tain pterugain, kai ouk …… children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you …
1 Corinthians 13:5“its own”ouk aschēmonatō, ouk zētatō teim heautau, ouk paroxunotō, ouk logizotō tem kakosem,It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
1 Thessalonians 2:7“her own”… vu, hōs ean trofas thalpateiō teim heautau tekneim;… gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.
heauta“herself”to, fordative singular2×
Matthew 9:21legate gar en heauta; Ean monem haptemeia teu himatieu autou …She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak …
Acts 7:21… tas thugatras Faraō kai anatrefeta auton heauta eis huion.… him and brought him up as her own son.
heauton“himself”objectaccusative singular69×, 11 shown
Matthew 12:26… tos Satanos ton Satanon ekbalatō, epi heauton merizita; pōs oun stēiti tas basileias …… out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?
Matthew 16:24… tinos thelatō opisō mu erchara, aparnetar heauton kai airatar ton stauron autou kai …… come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and …
Matthew 18:4hotinos oun tapeinati heauton hōs tem paidiem houtem, houtos atō …Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the …
Matthew 23:12hotinos de hupsati heauton tapeiniti, kai hotinos tapeinati heauton hupsiti.For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles …
Matthew 23:12… hupsati heauton tapeiniti, kai hotinos tapeinati heauton hupsiti.… will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 27:42Allosoin sōzata, heauton ouk dunotō sōzara; basilevos Israēl atō, …… saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel …
Mark 3:26kai ei tos Satanos anastēata epi heauton kai merizita, ouk dunotō stēara alla …… Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; his end has …
Mark 5:5… tei orei ate krazarōntos kai katakoptarōntos heauton lithoi.… he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones.
Mark 8:34… tinos thelatō opisō mu erchara, aparnetar heauton kai airatar ton stauron autou kai …… come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and …
Mark 12:33… kai tem agaparō ton plēsion hōs heauton perissoterem atō panteiu teiu holokautōmeiu kai …… and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is more important than all …
Mark 15:31… meta toiu grammatevoiu legale; Allosoin sōzata, heauton ouk dunotō sōzara;… saved others, but He cannot save Himself!
heautou“his own”of, belonging togenitive singular43×, 11 shown
Luke 2:3… poreuole pantois apograforō, hekastos eis tan heautou polan.And everyone went to his own town to register.
Luke 11:21“his own”hotan tos ischuros kathoplizorēntos fulassateiō tan heautou aulan, en eirēna atō teim huparcharōnteim …When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house, his possessions are secure.
Luke 13:19… hon labarantos anthrōpos balata eis kēpon heautou, kai auxanata kai geneta eis dendrem, …… seed that a man tossed into his garden. It grew and became a …
Luke 14:26“his own”… min kai ouk misatō ton patron heautou kai tan mētēran kai tan gunaikan …… comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children …
Luke 14:26… adelfain, ēti tē kai tan psuchan heautou, ouk dunotō arō mu mathētos.… and brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:27“his own”hotinos ouk bastazatō ton stauron heautou kai erchotō opisō mu, ouk dunotō …And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be …
Luke 14:33“his own”… vu hos ouk apotassotō pantei tei heautou huparcharōntei ouk dunotō arō mu mathētos.… one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.
Luke 15:20kai anastēarantos erchata pros ton patron heautou. ēti de autou makran apecharōntou horata …… he got up and went to his father. But while he was still …
Luke 16:5… henon hekaston toiu chreofeiletoiu tou kuriou heautou legate to prōto; Posem ofeilasō to …… he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you …
Luke 19:13kalarantos de deka douloin heautou dōata autoi deka mnain kai legata …Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas …
Luke 24:27… en pantai tai grafai teim peri heautou.… written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
heauto“himself”to, fordative singular32×, 11 shown
Matthew 13:21“himself”ouk echatō de rizan en heauto alla proskairos atō, generantau de thlipsiau …But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution …
Mark 5:30“himself”kai euthuos tos Iēsus epignōskarantos en heauto tan ek autou dunamian exercharantan epistrefirantos …At once Jesus was aware that power had gone out from Him. Turning to …
Luke 7:39… Farisaios tos kalarantos auton legata en heauto legarōntos; Houtos ei ate profētos, gnōskate …… Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet …
Luke 9:47… autoiu epilaberantos paidiem stēata autem para heauto,… had a little child stand beside Him.
Luke 12:17kai dialogizote en heauto legarōntos; Tinem poiameia, hoti ouk echamō …So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I …
Luke 12:21houtōs tos thēsaurizarōntos heauto kai mē eis theon ploutarōntos.… anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 16:3legata de en heauto tos oikonomos; Tinem poiameia hoti tos …The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that …
Luke 18:4… chronon, meta houteim de legata en heauto; Ei kai ton theon ouk fobomō …… refused, but later he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor …
Luke 19:12“himself”… eugenos poreuita eis chōran makran labara heauto basileian kai hupostrefara.… A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return.
John 5:26… gar tos patros echatō zōan en heauto, houtōs kai to huio dōata zōan …… as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the …
John 5:26… to huio dōata zōan echarō en heauto;… the Son to have life in Himself.
heauteu“itself”of, belonging togenitive singular6×
Matthew 12:45tote poreuotō kai paralabatō meta heauteu hepta hetereim pneumeim ponērotereim heauteu, kai …Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than …
Matthew 12:45… meta heauteu hepta hetereim pneumeim ponērotereim heauteu, kai eisercharanteim katoikatō ekei; kai genotō …… seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell …
Luke 11:26… poreuotō kai paralabatō hetereim pneumeim ponērotereim heauteu hepta, kai eisercharanteim katoikatō ekei, kai …… seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell …
John 15:4… klēmem ouk dunotō karpon ferarō apo heauteu ean mē menateiō en ta ampela, …… no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine …
Romans 14:14… kurio Iēso hoti oudenem koinem dia heauteu; ei mē to logizorōnto tinem koinem …… Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as …
Ephesians 4:16… auxēsian teu sōmeu poiotō eis oikodoman heauteu en agapa.… every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work …
heautain“themselves”objectaccusative plural4×
Mark 16:3kai legale pros heautain; Tinos apokuliati ni ton lithon ek …They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone …
Luke 23:28… mē klaiavōr epi min; plēn epi heautain klaiavōr kai epi teim tekneim vu,… weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
1 Timothy 2:9… kosmia meta aidōau kai sōfrosunau kosmarō heautain, mē en plegmei kai chrusie ē …… I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and …
1 Peter 3:5… gunaikais tais elpizarōntais eis theon kosmale heautain, hupotassorōntais toi idioi androi,… holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God …
heautaiu“their”of, belonging togenitive plural5×
Matthew 25:1… deka parthenai, hotinais labarantais tain lampadain heautaiu exerchala eis hupantēsian tou numfiou.… be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet …
Matthew 25:3“them”… tain lampadain autaiu ouk labala meta heautaiu elaiem;… ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil.
Matthew 25:4… en tei angeiei meta taiu lampadaiu heautaiu.… took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Matthew 25:7… parthenais ekeinais kai kosmala tain lampadain heautaiu.… the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
Revelation 10:3… krazata, lalala tais hepta brontais tain heautaiu fōnain.… cried out, the seven thunders sounded their voices.
heautai“yourselves”to, fordative plural1×
Matthew 25:9… mallon pros toin pōlarōntoin kai agorazavar heautai.… sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
heautoin“themselves”objectaccusative plural69×, 11 shown
Matthew 19:12“themselves”… anthrōpoiu, kai alō eunouchois hotinois eunouchizala heautoin dia tan basileian toiu ouranoiu. tos …… others were made that way by men; and still others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can …
Mark 1:27“themselves”kai thambila hapantois, hōste suzētarō pros heautoin legarōntoin; Tinem atō houtem? didachas kainas; …All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority …
Mark 9:10kai ton logon kratala pros heautoin suzētarōntois tinem atō tem ek nekroiu …So they kept this matter to themselves, discussing what it meant to rise …
Mark 9:16kai eperōtata autoin; Tinem suzētavō pros heautoin?“What are you disputing with them?” He asked.
Mark 10:26tois de perissōs ekplēssole legarōntois pros heautoin; Kai tinos dunotō sōzira?… even more astonished and said to one another, “Who then can be saved?”
Mark 11:31kai dialogizole pros heautoin legarōntois; Tinem leganeia? ean leganeia; Ek …They deliberated among themselves what they should answer: “If we …
Mark 12:7ekeinois de tois geōrgois pros heautoin legala hoti Houtos atō tos klēronomos; …But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let …
Mark 13:9blepavōr de vis heautoin; paradōali vin eis sunedrieim kai eis …So be on your guard. You will be delivered over …
Mark 14:4ale de tinois aganaktarōntois pros heautoin; Eis tinem tas apōleias houtas teu …… present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume?
Luke 7:30… tan boulan tou theou athetala eis heautoin, mē baptizirantois hupo autou.… the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized …
Luke 16:15… legata autoi; Vis avō tois dikaiarōntois heautoin enōpion toiu anthrōpoiu, tos de theos …… You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your …
heautoiu“their own”of, belonging togenitive plural36×, 11 shown
Matthew 8:22… kai afiēkasar toin nekroin thaptara toin heautoiu nekroin.… Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Matthew 15:30… proserchala auto ochlois pollois echarōntois meta heautoiu kōfoin, tufloin, chōloin, kulloin, kai heteroin …… mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed …
Matthew 18:31… sfodra, kai ercharantois diasafala to kurio heautoiu panteim teim generanteim.… and recounted all of this to their master.
Matthew 21:8tos de pollotatos ochlos strōnnuala heautoiu teim himatieim en ta hoda, allosois …A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others …
Matthew 26:11pantote gar toin ptōchoin echavō meta heautoiu, min de ouk pantote echavō;… will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.
Mark 8:14… mē henon arton ouk echale meta heautoiu en te ploie.… for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
Mark 9:8… horala alla ton Iēsun monon meta heautoiu.… around, they saw no one with them except Jesus.
Mark 14:7pantote gar toin ptōchoin echavō meta heautoiu, kai hotan thelaveiō dunovō autoi euōs …… poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever …
Luke 2:39… epistrefala eis tan Galilaian eis polan heautoiu Nazareth.… Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
Luke 9:60… auto; Afiēkasar toin nekroin thaptara toin heautoiu nekroin, sis de apercharantos diangelasōr tan …… told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim …
Luke 12:36… vis homoiois anthrōpoi prosdechorōntoi ton kurion heautoiu pote analuateia ek toiu gamoiu, hina …… will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding …
heautoi“themselves”to, fordative plural50×, 11 shown
Matthew 3:9kai mē dokaveia legarō en heautoi; Patron echanō ton Abraam, legamō gar …… do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father …
Matthew 9:3… idou tinois toiu grammatevoiu legala en heautoi; Houtos blasfēmatō.… some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”
Matthew 14:15… hina apercharantois eis tain kōmain agorazaleia heautoi brōmeim.… go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
Matthew 16:7tois de dialogizole en heautoi legarōntois hoti Artoin ouk labana.They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we …
Matthew 16:8… tos Iēsus legata; Tinem dialogizovō en heautoi, oligopistoir, hoti artoin ouk labava?… faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread?
Matthew 21:25… ek anthrōpoiu? tois de dialogizole en heautoi legarōntois; Ean leganeia; Ek ouranou, legati …… or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From …
Matthew 21:38“themselves”… geōrgois horarantois ton huion legala en heautoi; Houtos atō tos klēronomos; deute apoktenaneia …… when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and …
Matthew 23:31hōste marturavō heautoi hoti huiois avō toiu foneuarantoiu toin …So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of …
Mark 2:8… pneume autou hoti houtōs dialogizolō en heautoi legatō autoi; Tinem houteim dialogizovō en …… they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things …
Mark 4:17kai ouk echalō rizan en heautoi alla proskairois alō, eita generantau thlipsiau …But they themselves have no root, and they remain …
Mark 6:36… toin kuklō agroin kai kōmain agorazaleia heautoi tinem esthialeia.… surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
heauteim“yourselves”subject or objectdirect plural1×
1 John 5:21Teknieim, fulassavar heauteim apo teiu eidōleiu.Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
heauteiu“their own”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
Jude 1:13kumeim agrieim thalassau epafrizarōnteim tain heauteiu aischunain, asterois planētois hoi tos zofos …… waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest …