conjunction
hōsper
Strong’sG5618
just as, as
stem hōsper-36 times in the New Testamentin 12 of 27 booksnever changes form
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
Ὥσπερ means just as, even as — a word used to compare one thing to another 1234. It commonly introduces a comparison that is picked up later by a word meaning "so" or "thus" 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
Strong’s G5618 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidhoce'-per
just as, i.e. exactly like
Fromfrom G5613 and G4007;
King James(even, like) as.
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
or ὥς περ, adverb of Manner, like as, even as, ζῆν ὥ. ἤδη ζῇς 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Philoctetes” 1396; ἐσῴζετ᾽ ἂν.., ὥ. οὐχὶ σῴζεται Refs; but the Verb is more often left to be supplied, οὔ τι κατακρύπτουσιν.., ὥ. Κύκλωπες Refs 8th c.BC+; ἔξεστί θ᾽, ὥ. Ἡγέλοχος, ἡμῖν λέγειν.. Refs 8th c.BC+ and περ, e.g. ὡς σύ περ αὐτή, ὡς τὸ πάρος περ, ὡς ἔσεταί περ Refs 8th c.BC+; as for instance, ὅταν χορὸς.. γίγνηται, ὥ. [ὁ] εἰς Ηλον πεμπόμενος Refs 5th c.BC+; ὥσπερ differs from ὡς in Refs 8th c.BC+, in that it seldom has an antecedent expressed, as in Refs 8th c.BC+, τηλίκου ὥ. ἐγώ; also in Refs 8th c.BC+, ὣς δ᾽ αὔτως.., ὥ. ὑπέστ; but in Trag. and Attic dialect ὥ. is very frequently after demonstrative words; before οὕτως, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὥ. καὶ.., οὕτω καὶ.. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὥ.., ὧδε.. Refs 5th c.BC+; αὐτοῦ ὥ. εἶχον just as they were, then and there, Refs 5th c.BC+; καὶ τὸν δαελὸν σβῆτε ὥ. ἔχει on the spot, Refs ὥ. ἔχει δόξης Refs 5th c.BC+just exactly as, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὥ. καί even as, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ Refs 8th c.BC+; so after ὁ αὐτός, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 ὥσπερ ἄν with subjunctive, see belowRefs; with optative, ὥσπερ ἄν τις.. λέγοι Refs 5th c.BC+
II to limit or modify an assertion or apologize for a metaphor, as it were, so to speak, ὥ. ἀκονιτί Refs 5th c.BC+; in later Gk. sometimes after the word to which it refers, ἐσφιγμένον ὥ. Refs 3rd c.AD+; βάθρον ὥ. Refs 5th c.BC+: frequently with parts., ὥ. ἐγγελῶσα Refs 5th c.BC+; ὥ. τι τῶν ἄλλων εὐλόγως πεποιηκότες as if they had done, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὥ. ἐξόν as if it were in our power, Refs 5th c.BC+; with a change of construction, ὥ. τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦτον ἔχοντα ἀνάγκην.., καὶ οὔτε.. οἷόν τε εἴη γενέσθαι Refs; τὴν ὥ. ἐπὶ τοῦ δίφρου ἕδραν a seat like that used in the chariot, Refs
III rarely of Time,
III.1 ὥσπερ ἄν ={ἕως ἄν}, so long as, or however long (compare ὡς Ad. Refs 5th c.BC+
III.2 as soon as, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV after a comparative (compare ὡς Ab. Refs 6th c.BC+.—Cf. ὡσπερεί, ὥσπερ οὖν.
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.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
36 occurrences, every one of them listed
hōsper35×
Matthew 6:2… poiaseiō eleēmosunan, mē salpizaseia emprosthen su, hōsper tois hupokritois poialō en tai sunagōgai …… not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues …
Matthew 6:7“as”Proseuchorōntois de mē battalogaveia hōsper tois ethnikois, dokalō gar hoti en …And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their …
Matthew 12:40“just as”hōsper gar ate Iōnos en ta koilia …For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the …
Matthew 13:40“just as”hōsper oun sullegotō teim zizanieim kai pure …As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will …
Matthew 18:17… kai tau ekklēsau parakouateia, atōr si hōsper tos ethnikos kai tos telōnos.… even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a …
Matthew 20:28hōsper tos huios tou anthrōpou ouk erchata …just as the Son of Man did not …
Matthew 24:27hōsper gar tas astrapas exerchotō apo anatolaiu …For just as the lightning comes from the east …
Matthew 24:37hōsper gar tais hēmerais tou Nōe, houtōs …As it was in the days of …
Matthew 25:32… ethneim, kai aforizati autoin apo allēloiu, hōsper tos poimenos aforizatō teim probateim apo …… separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from …
Luke 17:24hōsper gar tas astrapas astraptarōntas ek tau …For just as the lightning flashes and lights up …
Luke 18:11… theor, eucharistamō si hoti ouk amō hōsper tois loipois toiu anthrōpoiu, harpagois, adikois, …… thank You that I am not like other men — swindlers, evildoers, adulterers — or …
John 5:21hōsper gar tos patros egeratō toin nekroin …For just as the Father raises the dead and …
John 5:26“just as”hōsper gar tos patros echatō zōan en …For as the Father has life in Himself, so …
Acts 2:2… geneta afnōs ek tou ouranou ēchos hōsper ferorōntau pnoau biaiau kai plērata holon …Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from …
Acts 3:17… adelfoir, oidamē hoti kata agnoian prassava, hōsper kai tois archontois vu;… know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.
Acts 11:15… tem pneumem tem hagiem epi autoin hōsper kai epi nin en archa.… the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at …
Romans 5:12Dia houtem hōsper dia henou anthrōpou tas hamartas eis …Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one …
Romans 5:19hōsper gar dia tau parakoau tou henou …For just as through the disobedience of the one …
Romans 5:21hina hōsper basilata tas hamartas en to thanato, …so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also …
Romans 6:4… teu baptismeu eis ton thanaton, hina hōsper egerita Christos ek nekroiu dia tau …… baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead …
Romans 6:19… dia tan asthenian tau sarkau vu; hōsper gar parastēava teim meleim vu douleim …… of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts …
Romans 11:30hōsper gar vis pote apeithava to theo, …Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have …
1 Corinthians 8:5… eite en ourano eite epi gēau, hōsper alō theois pollois kai kuriois pollois,… whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and …
1 Corinthians 10:7mēde eidōlolatrois genovōr, kathōs tinois autoiu; hōsper grafotē; Kathizata tos laos esthiara kai …… idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat …
1 Corinthians 11:12hōsper gar tas gunaikas ek tou androu, …For just as woman came from man, so also …
1 Corinthians 15:22hōsper gar en to Adam pantois apothnēskalō, …For as in Adam all die, so in …
1 Corinthians 16:1… tau logeiau tau eis toin hagioin, hōsper diatassama tai ekklēsai tau Galatiau, houtōs …… the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:
2 Corinthians 8:7alla hōsper en pante perisseuavō, pistia kai logo …But just as you excel in everything — in faith …
Galatians 4:29“just as”alla hōsper tote tos kata sarkan gennirantos diōkate …At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son …
1 Thessalonians 5:3“as”… asfaleias, tote aifnidios autoi epistēotō olethros hōsper tas ōdinas ta en gastra echarōnta, …… Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a …
Hebrews 4:10… autos katapauata apo teiu ergeiu autou hōsper apo teiu idieiu tos theos.… rests from his own work, just as God did from His.
Hebrews 7:27“like”hos ouk echatō kata hēmeran anankan, hōsper tois archierevois, proterem huper taiu idiaiu …Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of …
Hebrews 9:25oude hina pollakis prosferateiō heauton, hōsper tos archierevos eiserchotō eis teim hagieim …… to offer Himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Most …
James 2:26“just as”hōsper gar tem sōmem chōris pneumeu nekrem …As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith …
Revelation 10:3kai krazata fōna mega hōsper leontos mukotō. kai hote krazata, lalala …… cried out in a loud voice like the roar of a lion. And …
Hōsper1×
Matthew 25:14Hōsper gar anthrōpos apodēmarōntos kalata toin idioin …For it is just like a man going on a journey …