noun · neuter
marturiem
Strong’sG3142
witness, evidence, testimony
stem marturi-20 times in the New Testamentin 12 of 27 books2 of 6 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
μαρτύριον means testimony, evidence, witness, or proof — something that attests or demonstrates a fact, whether about a person, an event, or a claim 1234. It is used of testimony given concerning someone or something, and appears in phrases such as "for a testimony/witness" describing the effect or purpose of an act or message 1.
In the Greek Old Testament the word also has a more specific, technical use: it can denote the tablets of the Decalogue kept in the sacred Tabernacle 23, and it occurs in the set phrase "the tent of the testimony," referring to the Tabernacle itself 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
μαρτύριον, -ου, τό
(< μάρτυρ), [in LXX chiefly for מוֹעֵד, also for עֵדָה, עֵדוּת and cogn. forms;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3142 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmar-too'-ree-on
something evidential, i.e. (genitive case) evidence given or (specially), the Decalogue (in the sacred Tabernacle)
Fromneuter of a presumed derivative of G3144;
King Jamesto be testified, testimony, witness.
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
testimony, proof, πρῶτον καὶ μέγιστον μ. Refs 5th c.BC+; μαρτύριον δέ.., followed by γάρ, here is a proof, namely.., Refs, etc.; μέγα τόδε μ.,.. γάρ Refs 5th c.BC+
II τὰ μ. the tables of the Decalogue, LXX
III shrine of a martyr, Refs 6th 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
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 or object direct | marturiem4×μαρτύριον | marturieim |
| of, belonging to genitive | marturieu2×μαρτυρίου | marturieiu |
| to, for dative | marturie | marturiei |
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
marturie 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.
20 occurrences, every one of them listed
marturiem“testimony”subject or objectdirect singular4×
1 Corinthians 1:6kathōs tem marturiem tou Christou bebaiita en vi,because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
2 Corinthians 1:12“testimony”… gar kauchēsias nu houtas atō, tem marturiem tau suneidēsiau nu, hoti en hagiota …For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity …
2 Thessalonians 1:10… pantoi toi pisteuarantoi, hoti pisteuita tem marturiem nu epi vin, en ta hēmera …… including you who have believed our testimony.
1 Timothy 2:6… dōarantos heauton antilutrem huper pantoiu, tem marturiem kairoi idioi;… as a ransom for all — the testimony that was given at just the …
marturieu“testimony”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
Acts 7:44Tas skēnas teu marturieu ate toi patroi nu en ta …… fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It …
Revelation 15:5… anoigita tos naos tau skēnau teu marturieu en to ourano,… the temple — the tabernacle of the Testimony — was opened in heaven.
marturiem14×
Matthew 8:4… tem dōrem hem prostassata Mōusos eis marturiem autoi.… gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”
Matthew 10:18“testimony”… kai basilevoin agivi heneken mu eis marturiem autoi kai tei ethnei.On My account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.
Matthew 24:14… basileiau en hola ta oikoumena eis marturiem pantei tei ethnei, kai tote hēkati …… in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the …
Mark 1:44… katharismou su heim prostassata Mōusos eis marturiem autoi.… prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
Mark 6:11… ton hupokatō toiu podoiu vu eis marturiem autoi.… you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”
Mark 13:9“testimony”… kai basilevoiu stēivi heneken mu eis marturiem autoi.… you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
Luke 5:14… katharismou su kathōs prostassata Mōusos eis marturiem autoi.… prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
Luke 9:5… apo toiu podoiu vu apotinassavōr eis marturiem epi autoin.… you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”
Luke 21:13“witness”apobaineti vi eis marturiem.This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses.
Acts 4:33kai dunamia mega apodōale tem marturiem tois apostolois tau anastasiau tou kuriou …… the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord …
1 Corinthians 2:1… logou ē sofiau katangelarōntos vi tem marturiem tou theou.… as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2 Timothy 1:8Mē oun epaischuniseia tem marturiem tou kuriou nu mēde min ton …… do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me …
Hebrews 3:5“testimony”… to oiko autou hōs therapontos eis marturiem teiu lalirinteiu,… was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later.
James 5:3“witness”… katiotē, kai tos ios autoiu eis marturiem vi eti kai esthieti tain sarkain …… silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.