verb
kleptamō
Strong’sG2813
I steal
stem klept-13 times in the New Testamentin 6 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
κλέπτω means to steal — to take something, typically secretly and without right 1234. It can be used without stating an object, or with a direct object naming the thing taken 13. Strong's describes it more colloquially as to filch 2.
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 G2813 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidklep'-to
to filch
Froma primary verb;
King Jamessteal.
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
Ionic dialect imperfect κλέπτεσκον Refs 5th c.BC+: future κλέψω Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist ἔκλεψα Refs 8th c.BC+: perfect κέκλοφα Refs 5th c.BC+; later participle κεκλεβώς Refs 1st c.BC+:—passive, aorist 1 ἐκλέφθην Refs 5th c.BC+aorist 2 ἐκλάπην [ᾰ] Refs 5th c.BC+; later participle κλεπείς Refs 2nd c.AD+: perfect κέκλεμμαι Refs 5th c.BC+. (Cf. Latin clèpere, Gothic hlifan (κλέπτειν), hliftus (κλέπτης)):—steal, with accusative or absolutely, Refs 8th c.BC+; τῆς γενεῆς ἔκλεψε from that breed Anchises stole, i.e. foals of that breed,Refs 6th c.BC+; carry off, κλέψεν Μήδειαν Refs 5th c.BC+; πυρὸς σέλας κ., of Prometheus, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. τοὺς μηνύοντας spirit away the deponents, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐξ ἐπάλξεων πλεκταῖσιν ἐς γῆν σῶμα κ. let it down secretly, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. μορφάς, of painters, steal forms (by transferring them to canvas), Refs 2nd c.AD+
2 in participle active, thievish, κλέπτον βλέπει he has a thief s look, Refs 5th c.BC+; κλέπτον τὸ χρῆμα τἀνδρός he's an arrant thief, Refs
II c.accusative person, cozen, cheat, πάρφασις, ἥ τ᾽ ἔκλεψε νόον Refs 8th c.BC+; οὐκ ἔστι Διὸς κλέψαι νόον Hes: Refs 8th c.BC+; κλέπτει νιν οὐ θεός, οὐ βροτός, ἔργοις οὔτε βουλαῖς Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, κλέπτεται ὁ ἀκροατής Refs 4th c.BC+; προβαίνειν κλεπτόμενος to go on blindfold, Refs 5th c.BC+; κλέπτεταί οἱ ἡ αὐγή his vision becomes deceptive, Refs 5th c.BC+ the deception is passed off, Refs 4th c.BC+
III conceal, keep secret, θεοῖο γόνον Refs 5th c.BC+; disguise, διαβολαῖς νέαις κλέψας τὰ πρόσθε σφάλματ᾽ Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, κλέπτεται τὸ μετρικόνRefs 4th c.AD+
IV do secretly or treacherously. δόλοισι κ. σφαγάς execute slaughter by secret frauds, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. μύθους whisper malicious rumours, Refs; κλέπτων ἢ βιαζόμενος by fraud or open force, Refs 5th c.BC+; κλεπτομένη λαλιά secret, clandestine, Refs 2nd c.AD+
IV.2 seize or occupy secretly, τὰ ὄρη Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.3 effect or bring about clandestinely, γάμον κ. δώροις Refs 3rd c.BC+:—passive, to be 'smuggled in', Refs 4th c.BC+
IV.4 get rid of imperceptibly, τὸ δοκεῖν.. Refs 1st c.BC+:—passive, τοῦ πόσου κλεπτομένου Refs 3rd c.AD+
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| kleptasōκλέπτεις | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | steal | 1× |
| kleptalōκλέπτουσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | steal | 2× |
| kleptasiκλέψεις | will happen · youfuture active indicative 2nd person singular | steal | 2× |
| kleptalaἔκλεψαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | stole … away | 1× |
| kleptaseiaκλέψῃς | happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular | steal | 2× |
| kleptateiaκλέψῃ | happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular | steal | 1× |
| kleptaleiaκλέψωσιν | happened · theyaorist active subjunctive 3rd person plural | steal … away | 1× |
| kleptatōrκλεπτέτω | happening now · he/she/itpresent active imperative 3rd person singular | steal | 1× |
| kleptarōκλέπτειν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | steal | 1× |
| kleptarōntosκλέπτων | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | steals | 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, 6 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kleptamō | kleptame | kleptami | kleptama | kleptamē | kleptamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | kleptasō1×κλέπτεις | kleptase | kleptasi2×κλέψεις | kleptasa | kleptasē | kleptaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kleptatō | kleptate | kleptati | kleptata | kleptatē | kleptatelē |
| we 1st person plural | kleptanō | kleptane | kleptani | kleptana | kleptanē | kleptanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kleptavō | kleptave | kleptavi | kleptava | kleptavē | kleptavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | kleptalō2×κλέπτουσιν | kleptale | kleptali | kleptala1×ἔκλεψαν | kleptalē | kleptalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 4 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kleptameiō | kleptameia | kleptameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | kleptaseiō | kleptaseia2×κλέψῃς | kleptaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kleptateiō | kleptateia1×κλέψῃ | kleptateiē |
| we 1st person plural | kleptaneiō | kleptaneia | kleptaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kleptaveiō | kleptaveia | kleptaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | kleptaleiō | kleptaleia1×κλέψωσιν | kleptaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | kleptasōr | kleptasar | kleptasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kleptatōr1×κλεπτέτω | kleptatar | kleptatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | kleptavōr | kleptavar | kleptavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | kleptalōr | kleptalar | kleptalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kleptamoiō | kleptamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | kleptasoiō | kleptasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kleptatoiō | kleptatoia |
| we 1st person plural | kleptanoiō | kleptanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | kleptavoiō | kleptavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | kleptaloiō | kleptaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | kleptarō1×κλέπτειν | kleptari | kleptara | kleptarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | kleptarōntos1×κλέπτων | kleptarintos | kleptarantos | kleptarēntos |
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
klept 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
kleptasō“steal”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular1×
Romans 2:21… ouk didaskasō? tos kērussarōntor mē kleptarō kleptasō?… who preach against stealing, do you steal?
kleptalō“steal”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural2×
Matthew 6:19… afanizatō, kai hopou kleptois diorussalō kai kleptalō;… and where thieves break in and steal.
Matthew 6:20… kai hopou kleptois ouk diorussalō oude kleptalō;… thieves do not break in and steal.
kleptasi“steal”will happen · youfuture active indicative 2nd person singular2×
Matthew 19:18… Tem Ouk foneuasi, Ouk moicheuasi, Ouk kleptasi, Ouk pseudomarturasi,… do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
Romans 13:9… gar; Ouk moicheuasi, Ouk foneuasi, Ouk kleptasi, Ouk epithumasi, kai ei tinas heteras …… adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other …
kleptala“stole … away”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Matthew 28:13… hoti Tois mathētois autou nuktau ercharantois kleptala auton nu koimorōntoiu;… His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
kleptaseia“steal”happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular2×
Mark 10:19… oidasē; Mē foneuaseia, Mē moicheuaseia, Mē kleptaseia, Mē pseudomarturaseia, Mē aposteraseia, Timasōr ton …… do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do …
Luke 18:20… oidasē; Mē moicheuaseia, Mē foneuaseia, Mē kleptaseia, Mē pseudomarturaseia, Timasōr ton patron su …… adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor …
kleptateia“steal”happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
John 10:10… kleptos ouk erchotō ei mē hina kleptateia kai thuateia kai apolateia; mis erchama …The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have …
kleptaleia“steal … away”happened · theyaorist active subjunctive 3rd person plural1×
Matthew 27:64… hēmerau, mēpote ercharantois tois mathētois autou kleptaleia auton kai legaleia to lao; Egerita …… Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has …
kleptatōr“steal”happening now · he/she/itpresent active imperative 3rd person singular1×
Ephesians 4:28tos kleptarōntos mēketi kleptatōr, mallon de kopiatōr ergazorōntos tai idiai …He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing …
kleptarō“steal”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive1×
Romans 2:21“steal”… siauton ouk didaskasō? tos kērussarōntor mē kleptarō kleptasō?… do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
kleptarōntos“steals”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine1×
Ephesians 4:28“steals”tos kleptarōntos mēketi kleptatōr, mallon de kopiatōr ergazorōntos …… stealing must steal no longer, but must work …