noun · masculine
lithos
Strong’sG3037
a stone
stem lith-59 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books8 of 10 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
λίθος refers to a stone 4 — an ordinary piece of rock, whether a small stone that could be thrown or turned into bread 1, a large stone used to seal or block a tomb 1, a building stone 1, the stone of a millstone 1, or a precious stone or gem 1. Strong's notes that it can also carry the specific sense of a stumbling-stone 2.
The word is also used figuratively 123. It describes Christ as the chosen and precious cornerstone, and as the "living stone," and elsewhere as the stone that causes stumbling 1. Believers, too, are described as "living stones" 1. The word is likewise used of the stone tablets on which the law was written 1, and of stone idols 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
λίθος, -ου, ὁ
(and, in Att., of precious stones, ἡ.), [in LXX for אֶבֶן, Ge 11:3, al.; λ. τίμιος, for פָּז, Ps 18 (19):10 20 (21):3, Pr 8:19, al.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3037 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidlee'-thos
a stone (literally or figuratively)
Fromapparently a primary word;
King James(mill-, stumbling-)stone.
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
o((see. below 11), stone, Refs 8th c.BC+; especially of the stones thrown by warriors, τρηχὺς λ., λ. ὀκριόεις, Refs 8th c.BC+; also, stonequoit, Refs 8th c.BC+; of building- stones, λίθοι βασιλικοί Refs 5th c.BC+; λίθον ἕψειν 'to lose one's labour', Refs 5th c.BC+; also of stupid persons, 'blockheads', λίθοι Refs 6th c.BC+; λ. τις, ou) dou/lh Refs 3rd c.BC+; προσηγορεύθη διὰ τὸ μὴ φρονεῖν λ., of Niobe, Refs 5th c.BC+; λίθῳ λαλεῖς proverbial of ἀναίσθητοι, Refs
2 stone as a substance, opposed to wood, flesh, etc., ἐπεὶ οὔ σφι λ. χρὼς οὐδὲ σίδηρος Refs 8th c.BC+; λαοὺς δὲ λίθους ποίησε turned into stone, petrified,Refs 8th c.BC+; as an emblem of hard-heartedness, σοὶ δ᾽ αἰεὶ κραδίη στερεωτέρη ἐστὶ λίθοιο Refs 3rd c.BC+
II λίθος, ἡ, twice in Refs 8th c.BC+: later mostly of some special stone, as the magnet is called Μαγνῆτις λ. by Refs 5th c.BC+; also Λυδία λ. by Refs 5th c.BC+ = touchstone); Ἡρακλεία λ. by Refs 5th c.BC+; so of a touchstone, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἡ διαφανὴς λ. a piece of crystal used for a burning-glass, Refs 5th c.BC+; χυτὴ λ. was perhaps a kind of glass, and so an older name for ὕαλος, Refs 5th c.BC+; λ. = precious stone is feminine in Refs 5th c.BC+; in the sense of marble mostly masculine, λευκὸς λ. Refs 5th c.BC+; Πάριος λ. Refs 5th c.BC+; λ. Θάσιος, Αἰγύπτιος, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; compare λυχνίας, -ίτη; πώρινος λ. tufa, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 collectively, πέφυκε λίθος.. ἄφθονος, ἐξ οὗ.. Refs 5th c.BC+
III grave-stone (feminine), Refs 3rd c.BC+
IV at Athens, λίθος, ὁ, was a name for various blocks of stone used for rostra or platforms, as,
IV.1 the βῆμα (which see) of the Pnyx, Refs 5th c.BC+
IV.2 another in the ἀγορά used by the κήρυκες, Refs 1st c.AD+; probably the same as ὁ πρατὴρ λ., on which the auctioneer stood when selling slaves, etc., Refs 2nd c.AD+
IV.3 an altar in the ἀγορά, at which the Thesmothetae, arbitrators, and witnesses took their oaths, Refs 4th c.BC+; compare λιθωμότης.
IV.4 two stones on which litigants stood in the Areopagus, Refs 2nd c.AD+
V piece on a draughtboard, Refs 7th c.BC+
VI in Medicine texts, stone in the bladder, calculus, Refs 5th c.BC+
VII Δία λίθον ὀμνύναι, = Latin Jovem lapidem jurare, Refs 2nd c.BC+
VIII λίθοι χαλάζης hail- stones, LXX
IX λ. ὁ οὐ λ. the philosophers' stone, 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
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 | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | lithos9×λίθος | lithois4×λίθοι |
| object accusative | lithon26×λίθον | lithoin3×λίθους |
| direct address vocative | lithor | lithoir |
| of, belonging to genitive | lithou2×λίθου | lithoiu2×λίθων |
| to, for dative | litho10×λίθῳ | lithoi3×λίθοις |
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
litho 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.
59 occurrences, every one of them listed
lithos“stone”subjectnominative singular9×
Matthew 24:2… legamō vi, ouk mē afiēkiteia hōde lithos epi lithon hos ouk kataluiti.… Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another …
Mark 13:2… megain oikodomain? ouk mē afiēkiteia hōde lithos epi lithon hos ouk mē kataluiteia.… great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another …
Mark 16:4kai anableparantais theōralō hoti apokuliotē tos lithos, ate gar megos sfodra.… looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though …
Luke 17:2lusiteleiatō auto ei lithos mulikos perikeiotō peri ton trachēlon autou …… be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to …
Luke 21:6… ercheli hēmerais en hai ouk afiēkiti lithos epi litho hos ouk kataluiti.… time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every …
John 11:38… tem mnēmeiem; ate de spēlaiem, kai lithos epikeiote epi aute.… It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
Acts 4:11houtos atō tos lithos tos exouthenirantos hupo vu toiu oikodomoiu, …This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become …
1 Peter 2:7… tas timas toi pisteuarōntoi; apistarōntoi de lithos hon apodokimazala tois oikodomarōntois houtos genita …… those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the …
1 Peter 2:8kai lithos proskommeu kai petras skandaleu; hois proskoptalō …and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of …
lithon“stone”objectaccusative singular26×
Matthew 4:6… cheiraiu airali sin, mēpote proskoptaseia pros lithon ton podon su.… not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
Matthew 7:9… aitati tos huios autou arton mē lithon epidōati auto?… for bread, will give him a stone?
Matthew 21:42… Iēsus; Oudepote anagnōskava en tai grafai; Lithon hon apodokimazala tois oikodomarōntois houtos genita …… never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the …
Matthew 21:44Kai tos piptarantos epi ton lithon houton sunthliti; epi hon de an …He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but …
Matthew 24:2“stone”… ouk mē afiēkiteia hōde lithos epi lithon hos ouk kataluiti.… tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Matthew 27:60… latomata en ta petra, kai proskuliarantos lithon megon ta thura teu mnēmeieu aperchata.… rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb …
Matthew 27:66… poreuirantois asfalizela ton tafon sfragizarantois ton lithon meta tau koustōdiau.… secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.
Matthew 28:2… ek ouranou kai prosercharantos apokuliata ton lithon kai kathote epanō autou.… descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
Mark 12:10oude tan grafan houtan anagnōskava; Lithon hon apodokimazala tois oikodomarōntois, houtos genita …… you never read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the …
Mark 13:2“stone”… ouk mē afiēkiteia hōde lithos epi lithon hos ouk mē kataluiteia.… Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Mark 15:46… ate latomorēntem ek petrau, kai proskuliata lithon epi tan thuran teu mnēmeieu.… the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.
Mark 16:3… pros heautain; Tinos apokuliati ni ton lithon ek tau thurau teu mnēmeieu?… another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”
Luke 4:11… cheiraiu airali sin mēpote proskoptaseia pros lithon ton podon su.… not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
Luke 19:44“stone”… su en si, kai ouk afiēkali lithon epi lithon en si, anti heiu …… will level you to the ground — you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not …
Luke 19:44… si, kai ouk afiēkali lithon epi lithon en si, anti heiu ouk gnōskasa …… walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not …
Luke 20:17… Tinem oun atō tem graforēntem houtem; Lithon hon apodokimazala tois oikodomarōntois, houtos genita …… of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the …
Luke 20:18pantos tos piptarantos epi ekeinon ton lithon sunthliti; epi hon de an piptateia, …Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but …
Luke 24:2heuriskala de ton lithon apokuliorēnton apo teu mnēmeieu,They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
John 8:7… anamartētos vu prōtem epi autan ton lithon balatar… be the first to cast a stone at her.”
John 11:39legatō tos Iēsus; Airavar ton lithon. legatō auto tas adelfas tou teleutarēntou …“Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he …
John 11:41airala oun ton lithon. tos de Iēsus airata toin ofthalmoin …So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward …
John 20:1… eis tem mnēmeiem, kai blepatō ton lithon airorēnton ek teu mnēmeieu.… the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
Romans 9:33kathōs grafotē; Idou tithamō en Siōn lithon proskommeu kai petran skandaleu, kai tos …… See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of …
1 Peter 2:4Pros hon proserchorōntois, lithon zōarōnton, hupo anthrōpoiu men apodokimazorēnton para …… you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and …
1 Peter 2:6… en grafa; Idou tithamō en Siōn lithon akrogōniaion eklekton entimon, kai tos pisteuarōntos …… See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and …
Revelation 18:21Kai airata henos angelos ischuros lithon hōs mulinon megon, kai balata eis …… a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone …
lithou“stones”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
Luke 22:41kai autos apospita apo autoiu hōsei lithou bolan, kai titharantos teim gonueim proseuchoteAnd He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt …
Revelation 18:12gomon chrusou kai argurou kai lithou timiou kai margaritoiu kai bussineu kai …cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple …
litho“stone”to, fordative singular10×
Luke 4:3… huios asō tou theou, legasar to litho houto hina geneteia artos.… the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Luke 21:6“stone”… en hai ouk afiēkiti lithos epi litho hos ouk kataluiti.… come when not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Acts 17:29… ofeilanō nomizarō chruso ē arguro ē litho, charagme technau kai enthumēsiau anthrōpou, tem …… is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill …
Romans 9:32… alla hōs ek ergeiu; proskoptala to litho teu proskommeu,… works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
Revelation 4:3“stone”kai tos kathorōntos homoios horasia litho iaspia kai sardie, kai irias kuklothen …The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed …
Revelation 17:4… kai kokkinem, kai chrusorēntas chrusie kai litho timio kai margaritoi, echarōntas potēriem chrusouem …… and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her …
Revelation 18:16… kai kokkinem kai chrusorēntar chrusie kai litho timio kai margarito,… scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
Revelation 21:11“stone”… tou theou; tos fōstēros autau homoios litho timiotato, hōs litho iaspia krustallizarōnto;… glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
Revelation 21:11“stone”… fōstēros autau homoios litho timiotato, hōs litho iaspia krustallizarōnto;… God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
Revelation 21:19… themeliois teu teicheu tau polau panto litho timio kosmorēntois; tos themelios tos prōtos …… adorned with every kind of precious stone: The first foundation was jasper, the …
lithois“stones”subjectnominative plural4×
Matthew 4:3… asō tou theou, legasar hina tois lithois houtois artois geneleia.… the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Mark 13:1… toiu mathētoiu autou; Didaskalor, ide potapois lithois kai potapais oikodomais.… Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!”
Luke 19:40… vi, hoti ean houtois siōpali, tois lithois krazali.… if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”
1 Peter 2:5kai autois hōs lithois zōarōntois oikodomovō oikos pneumatikos eis hierateumem …you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual …
lithoin“stones”objectaccusative plural3×
John 8:59airala oun lithoin hina balaleia epi auton; Iēsus de …At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus …
John 10:31Bastazala oun palin lithoin tois Ioudaiois hina lithazaleia auton.… this, the Jews again picked up stones to stone Him.
1 Corinthians 3:12… epoikodomatō epi ton themelion chruson, arguron, lithoin timioin, xuleim, chorton, kalamēan,… this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,
lithoiu“stones”of, belonging togenitive plural2×
Matthew 3:9… hoti dunotō tos theos ek toiu lithoiu houtoiu egerara tekneim to Abraam.… tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for …
Luke 3:8… hoti dunotō tos theos ek toiu lithoiu houtoiu egerara tekneim to Abraam.… tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for …
lithoi“stones”to, fordative plural3×
Mark 5:5… orei ate krazarōntos kai katakoptarōntos heauton lithoi.… crying out and cutting himself with stones.
Luke 21:5… tinoiu legarōntoiu peri teu hiereu, hoti lithoi kaloi kai anathemei kosmotē legata;… the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and consecrated gifts, Jesus said,
2 Corinthians 3:7… diakonias tou thanatou en grammei entuporēntas lithoi genita en doxa, hōste mē dunorō …… which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the …