verb
kaiomō
Strong’sG2545
I ignite, light, burn
stem kai-13 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books11 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
Kindle, light — used of lighting a lamp, and in the passive of something being lit or burning (a lamp, fire, or similar) 1234. This sense also appears metaphorically, of a heart "burning" with emotion or of a lamp figuratively burning 1.
Burn, destroy by fire — used of something being consumed or destroyed by fire, whether a tree cut down and burned or a person's body given over to burning 1234.
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
καίω,
[in LXX for בּער, יקד, שׂרף, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2545 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidkah'-yo
to set on fire, i.e. kindle or (by implication) consume
Fromapparently a primary verb;
King Jamesburn, light.
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
Attic dialect κάω [ᾱ], imperfect ἔκαιον Refs 8th c.BC+, Epic dialect καῖον Refs 8th c.BC+: future καύσω Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἔκαυσα Refs 5th c.BC+; Epic dialect ἔκηα (certain active and middle forms have κει- in codices of Refs 8th c.BC+; 3rd.pers. singular ἔκηε (ν) Refs; unaugm. κῆεν Refs; 3rd.pers. plural ἔκηαν (variant{ἔκειαν}) Refs 8th c.BC+ codices; 1st pers. plural subjunctive κείομεν Refs 8th c.BC+ (κατα-), Refs; infinitive κῆαι Refs 8th c.BC+; participle κείαντες Refs, Attic dialect κέαντες Refs 5th c.BC+perfect κέκαυκα Refs 5th c.BC+ —middle, aorist 1 ἐκαυσάμην Refs 5th c.BC+; Epic dialect κείαντο, κειάμενοι, Refs 8th c.BC+:—passive, future καυθήσομαι NT+5th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἐκαύθην Refs 5th c.BC+; Epic dialect and Ionic dialectaorist 2 ἐκάην [ᾰ] Refs 8th c.BC+; infinitive καήμεναι Refs 8th c.BC+: perfect κέκαυμαι Refs 5th c.BC+; infinitive κεκαῦσθαι Refs 4th c.BC+
I kindle, πυρὰ πολλά Refs 8th c.BC+ —middle, πῦρ κείαντο they lighted them a fire, Refs 8th c.BC+:—passive, to be lighted, burn, πυραὶ νεκύων καίοντο Refs 8th c.BC+; αἱ φλόγες αἱ καιόμεναι.. περὶ τὸν οὐρανόν the meteors which blaze, Refs 4th c.BC+; of ore, to be smelted, Refs
II set on fire, burn, μηρία, ὀστέα, Refs 8th c.BC+:—passive, νηυσὶν καιομένῃσιν Refs
II.2 make hot, of the sun, ἀνθρώπους Refs 5th c.BC+; [Χείμαρρος] ἠελίῳ κεκαυμένος smelted, Refs 1st c.AD+
II.3 of extreme cold, ἡ Χιὼν καίει τῶν κυνῶν τὰς ῥῖνας Refs 5th c.BC+; κάειν λέγεται.. τὸ ψυχρόν, οὐχ ὡς τὸ θερμόν Refs 4th c.BC+
II.4 passive, of fever-heat, τὰ ἐντὸς ἐκάετο Refs 5th c.BC+: metaphorically, of passion, especially of love, to be on fire, ἐν φρασὶ καιομένα Refs 5th c.BC+; καίεσθαί τινος (i.e. ἔρωτι) Refs 4th c.BC+; also καομένη Ἑλλάς Greece being in a fever of excitement, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.5 suffer from inflammation, ἐκαύθη ἔσω Refs 5th c.BC+
III burn and destroy (in war), τέμνειν καὶ κ., κ. καὶ πορθεῖν, waste with fire and sword, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV of surgeons, cauterize, ὤμους Refs 5th c.BC+:—in passive, Refs to use knife and cautery, Refs 5th c.BC+
V burn or bake pottery, κανθάρους uncertain in 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| kaialōκαίουσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | light | 1× |
| kaiotōκαίεται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | burned | 2× |
| kaiimiκαυθήσομαι | will happen · Ifuture passive indicative 1st person singular | I would be burned | 1× |
| kaiorōntosκαιόμενος | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine | burning | 2× |
| kaiorōntasκαιομένη | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine | burning | 1× |
| kaiorōntemκαιόμενον | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle direct singular neuter | burning | 1× |
| kaiorōntauκαιομένης | happening now · of, belonging topresent middle or passive participle genitive singular feminine | burns | 1× |
| kaiorōntaκαιομένῃ | happening now · to, forpresent middle or passive participle dative singular feminine | burns | 1× |
| kaiorōntoisκαιόμενοι | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine | burning | 1× |
| kaiorōntaisκαιόμεναι | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural feminine | burning | 1× |
| kaiorēnteκεκαυμένῳ | has happened · to, forperfect middle or passive participle dative singular neuter | blazing | 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 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 4 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiamō | kaiame | kaiami | kaiama | kaiamē | kaiamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiasō | kaiase | kaiasi | kaiasa | kaiasē | kaiaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiatō | kaiate | kaiati | kaiata | kaiatē | kaiatelē |
| we 1st person plural | kaianō | kaiane | kaiani | kaiana | kaianē | kaianelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiavō | kaiave | kaiavi | kaiava | kaiavē | kaiavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | kaialō1×καίουσιν | kaiale | kaiali | kaiala | kaialē | kaialelē |
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 | kaiomō | kaiome | kaiomē | kaiomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiosō | kaiose | kaiosē | kaioselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiotō2×καίεται | kaiote | kaiotē | kaiotelē |
| we 1st person plural | kaionō | kaione | kaionē | kaionelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiovō | kaiove | kaiovē | kaiovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | kaiolō | kaiole | kaiolē | kaiolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiimi1×καυθήσομαι | kaiima |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiisi | kaiisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiiti | kaiita |
| we 1st person plural | kaiini | kaiina |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiivi | kaiiva |
| they 3rd person plural | kaiili | kaiila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiameiō | kaiameia | kaiameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiaseiō | kaiaseia | kaiaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiateiō | kaiateia | kaiateiē |
| we 1st person plural | kaianeiō | kaianeia | kaianeiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiaveiō | kaiaveia | kaiaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | kaialeiō | kaialeia | kaialeiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiomeiō | kaiomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | kaioseiō | kaioseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaioteiō | kaioteiē |
| we 1st person plural | kaioneiō | kaioneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaioveiō | kaioveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | kaioleiō | kaioleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiiseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiiteia |
| we 1st person plural | kaiineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiiveia |
| they 3rd person plural | kaiileia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | kaiasōr | kaiasar | kaiasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiatōr | kaiatar | kaiatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiavōr | kaiavar | kaiavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | kaialōr | kaialar | kaialēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | kaiosōr | kaiosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiotōr | kaiotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiovōr | kaiovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | kaiolōr | kaiolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | kaiisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiivar |
| they 3rd person plural | kaiilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiamoiō | kaiamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiasoiō | kaiasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiatoiō | kaiatoia |
| we 1st person plural | kaianoiō | kaianoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiavoiō | kaiavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | kaialoiō | kaialoia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | kaionoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | kaioloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kaiimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | kaiisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kaiitoia |
| we 1st person plural | kaiinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | kaiivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | kaiiloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | kaiarō | kaiari | kaiara | kaiarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | kaiorō | kaiorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | kaiiri | kaiira |
Used as an adjective — participle, 9 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | kaiarōntos | kaiarintos | kaiarantos | kaiarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | kaiorōntos8×καιόμενος | kaiorēntos1× | ||
| acted on passive voice | kaiirintos | kaiirantos |
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
kai 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
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
13 occurrences, every one of them listed
kaialō“light”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Matthew 5:15oude kaialō luchnon kai tithalō auton hupo ton …Neither do people light a lamp and put it under …
kaiotō“burned”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular2×
Matthew 13:40“to be burned up”… oun sullegotō teim zizanieim kai pure kaiotō, houtōs eti en ta sunteleia tou …As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
John 15:6… kai eis tem purem balalō kai kaiotō.… up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
kaiimi“I would be burned”will happen · Ifuture passive indicative 1st person singular1×
1 Corinthians 13:3“I would be burned”… ean paradōameia tem sōmem mu, hina kaiimi, agapan de mē echameiō, oudenem ōfelomō.… I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.
kaiorōntos“burning”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine2×
John 5:35“burning”ekeinos ate tos luchnos tos kaiorōntos kai fanarōntos, vis de thelava agalliira …John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a …
Revelation 8:10“blazing”… piptata ek tou ouranou asteros megos kaiorōntos hōs lampadas, kai piptata epi tem …… and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of …
kaiorōntas“burning”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine1×
Luke 24:32… pros allēloin; Ouchi tas kardias nu kaiorōntas ate en ni hōs lalate ni …… each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with …
kaiorōntem“burning”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle direct singular neuter1×
Revelation 8:8… salpizata; kai hōs orem megem pure kaiorōntem balita eis tan thalassan; kai geneta …… and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the …
kaiorōntau“burns”happening now · of, belonging topresent middle or passive participle genitive singular feminine1×
Revelation 19:20“burns”… eis tan limnan teu pureu tau kaiorōntau en theie.But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
kaiorōnta“burns”happening now · to, forpresent middle or passive participle dative singular feminine1×
Revelation 21:8… merem autoiu en ta limna ta kaiorōnta pure kai theie, hem atō tos …… will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is …
kaiorōntois“burning”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
Luke 12:35… tais osfuais perizōnorēntais kai tois luchnois kaiorōntois,… for service and keep your lamps burning.
kaiorōntais“burning”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural feminine1×
Revelation 4:5“burning”… kai brontais; kai hepta lampadais pureu kaiorōntais enōpion tou thronou, heim alō teim …… lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits …
kaiorēnte“blazing”has happened · to, forperfect middle or passive participle dative singular neuter1×
Hebrews 12:18“blazing”Ouk gar proserchavē psēlaforōnte kai kaiorēnte pure kai gnofo kai zofo kai …For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;