verb
merimnamō
Strong’sG3309
I am anxious, distracted
stem merimn-19 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books8 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
μεριμνάω means to be anxious or worried, to be troubled with care 1234. This sense is used without an object, or with a thing specified as the source of worry, or with a clause asking "how" one will manage, or about "the next day" 1. It can describe being weighed down with many cares 3. Paul uses it of not being anxious at all 1.
The word also means to care for, attend to, or be concerned about something, in a more positive or neutral sense of giving it thought and attention, taking an object such as "the things of the Lord," "the things of the world," or "the things concerning you" 1. This usage can also take the form of being careful to do something 3.
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
μεριμνάω, -ῶ
(< μέριμνα), [in LXX: Ps 37 (38):18 (דּאג), etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3309 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmer-im-nah'-o
to be anxious about
Fromfrom G3308;
King James(be, have) care(-ful), take thought.
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
care for, be anxious about, meditate upon, ἔργον μεριμνῶν ποῖον..; Refs 5th c.BC+; especially of philosophers, τὰ <μὲν ἀ>φανῆ μ. Refs 5th c.BC+; πολλὰ μ. to be cumbered with many cares, NT+5th c.BC+: c.infinitive, to be careful to do, ὁ μεριμνήσας τὰ δίκαια λέγειν NT+5th c.BC+:—passive, to be treated with anxious care, Refs 2nd c.AD+; ἔννοια, ἀμφισβήτησις μ., 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| merimnasōμεριμνᾷς | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | worried | 1× |
| merimnatōμεριμνᾷ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | concerned about | 4× |
| merimnavōμεριμνᾶτε | happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural | worry | 2× |
| merimnatiμεριμνήσει | will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular | worry | 2× |
| merimnaleiōμεριμνῶσι | happening now · theypresent active subjunctive 3rd person plural | have … care | 1× |
| merimnaveiaμεριμνήσητε | happened · yeaorist active subjunctive 2nd person plural | worry | 4× |
| merimnavōrμεριμνᾶτε | happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural | worry about | 3× |
| merimnarōntosμεριμνῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | worrying | 2× |
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, 9 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merimnamō | merimname | merimnami | merimnama | merimnamē | merimnamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | merimnasō1×μεριμνᾷς | merimnase | merimnasi | merimnasa | merimnasē | merimnaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merimnatō4×μεριμνᾷ | merimnate | merimnati2×μεριμνήσει | merimnata | merimnatē | merimnatelē |
| we 1st person plural | merimnanō | merimnane | merimnani | merimnana | merimnanē | merimnanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | merimnavō2×μεριμνᾶτε | merimnave | merimnavi | merimnava | merimnavē | merimnavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | merimnalō | merimnale | merimnali | merimnala | merimnalē | merimnalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 5 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merimnameiō | merimnameia | merimnameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | merimnaseiō | merimnaseia | merimnaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merimnateiō | merimnateia | merimnateiē |
| we 1st person plural | merimnaneiō | merimnaneia | merimnaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | merimnaveiō | merimnaveia4×μεριμνήσητε | merimnaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | merimnaleiō1×μεριμνῶσι | merimnaleia | merimnaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 3 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | merimnasōr | merimnasar | merimnasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merimnatōr | merimnatar | merimnatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | merimnavōr3×μεριμνᾶτε | merimnavar | merimnavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | merimnalōr | merimnalar | merimnalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merimnamoiō | merimnamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | merimnasoiō | merimnasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merimnatoiō | merimnatoia |
| we 1st person plural | merimnanoiō | merimnanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | merimnavoiō | merimnavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | merimnaloiō | merimnaloia |
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 | merimnarō | merimnari | merimnara | merimnarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | merimnarōntos2×μεριμνῶν | merimnarintos | merimnarantos | merimnarēntos |
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
merimn 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.
19 occurrences, every one of them listed
merimnasō“worried”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular1×
Luke 10:41… legata auta tos kurios; Marthar Marthar, merimnasō kai thorubazosō peri polleim,… Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things.
merimnatō“concerned about”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular4×
1 Corinthians 7:32“cares for”… de vin amerimnoin arō. tos agamos merimnatō teim tou kuriou, pōs areskateia to …I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:33tos de gamarantos merimnatō teim tou kosmou, pōs areskateia ta …But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how …
1 Corinthians 7:34… gunaikas tas agamas kai tas parthenas merimnatō teim tou kuriou, hina ateiō hagias …… The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the work of the Lord, how …
1 Corinthians 7:34… kai te pneume; tas de gamarantas merimnatō teim tou kosmou, pōs areskateia to …… spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, how …
merimnavō“worry”happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural2×
Matthew 6:28kai peri endumeu tinem merimnavō? katamathavar teim krineim tou agrou pōs …And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies …
Luke 12:26“anxious”… elachistem dunovō, tinem peri teiu loipeiu merimnavō?… small thing, why do you worry about the rest?
merimnati“worry”will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Matthew 6:34… eis tan aurion, tas gar aurion merimnati heautau; arketem ta hēmera tas kakias …… worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble …
Philippians 2:20“concerned”… isopsuchon hotinos gnēsiōs teim peri vu merimnati,… like him who will genuinely care for your needs.
merimnaleiō“have … care”happening now · theypresent active subjunctive 3rd person plural1×
1 Corinthians 12:25… sōme, alla tem autem huper allēloiu merimnaleiō teim meleim.… body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another.
merimnaveia“worry”happened · yeaorist active subjunctive 2nd person plural4×
Matthew 6:31mē oun merimnaveia legarōntois; Tinem esthianeia? ē; Tinem pinaneia? …Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or …
Matthew 6:34mē oun merimnaveia eis tan aurion, tas gar aurion …Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry …
Matthew 10:19hotan de paradōaleia vin, mē merimnaveia pōs ē tinem lalaveia; dōiti gar …… they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to …
Luke 12:11… tain archain kai tain exousiain, mē merimnaveia pōs ē tinem apologeveia ē tinem …… synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what …
merimnavōr“worry about”happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural3×
Matthew 6:25Dia houtem legamō vi; mē merimnavōr ta psucha vu tinem esthiaveia, mēde …Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will …
Luke 12:22… autou; Dia houtem legamō vi, mē merimnavōr ta psucha tinem esthiaveia, mēde te …… Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat …
Philippians 4:6“worry about”mēdenem merimnavōr, alla en pante ta proseucha kai …… anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with …
merimnarōntos“worrying”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine2×
Matthew 6:27tinos de ek vu merimnarōntos dunotō prostithara epi tan hēlikian autou …Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to …
Luke 12:25tinos de ek vu merimnarōntos dunotō epi tan hēlikian autou prostithara …Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to …