verb
kollomō
Strong’sG2853
I glue, cleave, keep company with
stem koll-12 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books9 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
κολλάομαι (from κολλάω, "to glue") means literally to glue or cement together, to join or unite firmly 1234. Physical objects can be joined in this way, such as mending a broken item or fusing one substance to another 3.
In its more common biblical use, the passive or reflexive form means to cleave to, join oneself to, or keep company with a person or thing 1234. It describes a close attachment, as of one person joining another, joining oneself to what is good, or dust clinging to something; it can also describe abstract things like sins being said to reach or join together up to heaven 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
κολλάω, -ῶ
(< κόλλα, glue), [in LXX chiefly for דּבק;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2853 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidkol-lah'-o
to glue, i.e. (passively or reflexively) to stick (figuratively)
Fromfrom κόλλα ("glue");
King Jamescleave, join (self), keep company.
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
(κόλλα) glue, cement, τι περὶ τὸν τράχηλον, τι πρός τι, Refs 5th c.BC+; mend a broken vessel, Refs 3rd c.BC+
2 join one metal or other substance to another, κ. χρυσὸν ἔν τε λευκὸν ἐλέφαντα, i.e. make [a crown] inlaid with gold and ivory, Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, κολλώμενα glued together, opposed to γομφούμενα, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ κολλώμενος σίδηρος welded iron, Refs 1st c.AD+
II generally, join fast together, unite, ἄλφιτον ὕδατι Refs 5th c.BC+; χαλκὸν ἐπ᾽ ἀνέρι κολλᾶν, of one applying a cupping-glass, Refs 6th c.BC+; close up wounds, Refs —passive, κολλέεσθαι, of poison entering the system, Refs 5th c.BC+; κολλᾷ καὶ συνδεῖ πάντα ἤθη [ὁ πόθος] Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, cleave to, κεκόλληται γένος πρὸς ἄτᾳ is indissolubly bound to.. (Blomf. for προσάψαι), Refs 4th c.BC+; of persons, κ. τινί NT; of things, ὁ κονιορτὸς ὁ κολληθείς τινι NT+1st c.AD+
III put together, build, Refs 5th c.BC+:— middle, fit together, τροχάλεια Refs 4th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| kollitiκολληθήσεται | will happen · he/she/itfuture passive indicative 3rd person singular | joined | 1× |
| kollitaἐκολλήθη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular | hired … out | 1× |
| kollilaἐκολλήθησαν | happened · theyaorist passive indicative 3rd person plural | piled up | 1× |
| kollisarκολλήθητι | happened · youaorist passive imperative 2nd person singular | join | 1× |
| kollorōκολλᾶσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | join | 3× |
| kollorōntosκολλώμενος | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine | joined | 2× |
| kollorōntoisκολλώμενοι | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine | cling | 1× |
| kollirantonκολληθέντα | happened · objectaorist passive participle accusative singular masculine | clings | 1× |
| kollirantoisκολληθέντες | happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative plural masculine | joined | 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, 3 occurrences
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 | kollomō | kollome | kollomē | kollomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | kollosō | kollose | kollosē | kolloselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kollotō | kollote | kollotē | kollotelē |
| we 1st person plural | kollonō | kollone | kollonē | kollonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kollovō | kollove | kollovē | kollovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | kollolō | kollole | kollolē | kollolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kollimi | kollima |
| you 2nd person singular | kollisi | kollisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kolliti1×κολληθήσεται | kollita1×ἐκολλήθη |
| we 1st person plural | kollini | kollina |
| ye 2nd person plural | kollivi | kolliva |
| they 3rd person plural | kollili | kollila1×ἐκολλήθησαν |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kollomeiō | kollomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | kolloseiō | kolloseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kolloteiō | kolloteiē |
| we 1st person plural | kolloneiō | kolloneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | kolloveiō | kolloveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | kolloleiō | kolloleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kollimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | kolliseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kolliteia |
| we 1st person plural | kollineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | kolliveia |
| they 3rd person plural | kollileia |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | kollosōr | kollosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kollotōr | kollotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | kollovōr | kollovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | kollolōr | kollolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | kollisar1×κολλήθητι |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kollitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | kollivar |
| they 3rd person plural | kollilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kollomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | kollosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kollotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | kollonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | kollovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | kolloloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | kollimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | kollisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | kollitoia |
| we 1st person plural | kollinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | kollivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | kolliloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | kollorō3×κολλᾶσθαι | kollorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | kolliri | kollira |
Used as an adjective — participle, 5 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | kollorōntos3×κολλώμενος | kollorēntos | ||
| acted on passive voice | kollirintos | kollirantos2× |
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
koll 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.
12 occurrences, every one of them listed
kolliti“joined”will happen · he/she/itfuture passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Matthew 19:5“joined”… ton patron kai tan mētēran kai kolliti ta gunaika autou, kai eli tois …… leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
kollita“hired … out”happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Luke 15:15kai poreuirantos kollita heno toiu politoiu tau chōrau ekeinau, …So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country …
kollila“piled up”happened · theyaorist passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Revelation 18:5hoti kollila autau tais hamartais achri tou ouranou, …For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered …
kollisar“join”happened · youaorist passive imperative 2nd person singular1×
Acts 8:29“join”… tem pneumem to Filippo; Proserchasar kai kollisar te harme houte.The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by …
kollorō“join”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive3×
Acts 5:13toiu de loipoiu oudenos tolmate kollorō autoi, alla megalunate autoin tos laos,… highly, no one else dared to join them.
Acts 9:26Paragenerantos de eis Ierousalēm peirazate kollorō toi mathētoi; kai pantois fobole auton, …… arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all …
Acts 10:28… epistovō hōs athemitem atō andro Ioudaio kollorō ē proserchorō allofulo; kami tos theos …… it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But …
kollorōntos“joined”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular masculine2×
1 Corinthians 6:16“joined”ē ouk oidavē hoti tos kollorōntos ta porna henem sōmem atō? Eli …Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
1 Corinthians 6:17“joined”tos de kollorōntos to kurio henem pneumem atō.But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
kollorōntois“cling”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
Romans 12:9Tas agapas anupokritas. apostugarōntois tem ponērem, kollorōntois te agathe;… be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
kolliranton“clings”happened · objectaorist passive participle accusative singular masculine1×
Luke 10:11Kai ton koniorton ton kolliranton ni ek tau polau vu eis …… the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off …
kollirantois“joined”happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative plural masculine1×
Acts 17:34tinois de androis kollirantois auto pisteuala, en hoi kai Dionusios …But some joined him and believed, including Dionysius the …