verb
merizomō
Strong’sG3307
I divide, part, share
stem meriz-14 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books6 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
μερίζω means to divide something into parts, and, closely related, to distribute or share something out among others.
In the sense of dividing, it describes splitting something into separate pieces 1234, and can be used of a person or group being split by factions or turned against itself 13. It is used this way of Christ himself being spoken of as divided 13, and of a kingdom or house dividing against itself 1.
In the sense of distributing, it describes apportioning or bestowing something on someone, such as giving out food or bestowing a gift, share, or measure of something 123. Related to this, it can also carry the notion of differing or being at odds over something, or of taking or sharing a part in something 23.
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
μερίζω
(< μέρος), [in LXX chiefly for חלק;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3307 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmer-id'-zo
to part, i.e. (literally) to apportion, bestow, share, or (figuratively) to disunite, differ
Fromfrom G3313;
King Jamesdeal, be difference between, distribute, divide, give participle
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
Doric dialect μερ-ίσδω, Refs 2nd c.BC+: Attic dialect future -ιῶ Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist ἐμέρισα Refs 3rd c.BC+; Doric dialect participle μερίξας Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect μεμέρικα Refs 1st c.BC+:—middle, future -ίσομαι LXX+4th c.BC+: aorist ἐμερισάμην Refs 4th c.BC+: perfect μεμέρισμαι Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, future μεριοῦμαι Refs 4th c.BC+: aorist ἐμερίσθην Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect μεμέρισμαι Refs 4th c.BC+: (μερίς):—divide, distribute, Refs 5th c.BC+; καθ᾽ ἕκαστον εἶδος πολιτείας μ. make a division, Refssplit up the amount, Refsdivide by.., Refs 2nd c.AD+
2 assign a part, allot, ἐφ᾽ ἕκαστον μ. τὸ φιλεῖν Refs 4th c.BC+; μ. τοὺς τόκους πρὸς τὸν πλοῦν allot the interest according to the voyage, i.e. pay only a part of it, if a part only of the voyage has been performed, Refs 4th c.BC+; allot, assign spheres of duty, τινι Refs; apportion, allocate funds, Refs 3rd c.BC+ (passive, Refs 1st c.BC+; bestow, Refs 1st c.AD+; κατὰ τόπους μ. τὰς ἀναγραφάς divide, arrange them, Refs 1st c.BC+; μ. τινὰ τοῖς ποιηταῖς, i. e. make one a theme for several tragedies, Refs 4th c.AD+:—passive, to be delivered over, εἰς ὕβριν καὶ δουλείανRefs 5th c.BC+
3 sever, cut off, πελέκει χεῖρα Refs 4th c.AD+
4 apply by turns, τὰς χεῖρας τῷ τε τείχει καὶ τῇ λύρᾳ Refs
II middle, μερίζεσθαί τι divide among themselves, χρήματα Refs 4th c.BC+; take possession of, τι Refs 4th c.BC+; ἠρόμην αὐτὸν πότερα μεμερισμένος εἴη πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφόν whether he had gone shares with his brother, Refs
II.2 with genitive of things, get a portion of, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2.b take part in, τοῦ ἀδικήματος Refs 4th c.BC+
III passive, to be divided, κατὰ μέρος Refs 5th c.BC+; μ. πρὸς ἑκάστην διοίκησιν (i.e. αἱ πρόσοδοι) are distributed, Refs; ἐς πᾶσαν πεῖραν μ. make attempts in every direction, Refs 2nd c.AD+
III.2 to be dispersed, ὕδωρ ὑπὸ πυρὸς μερισθέν Refs 5th c.BC+; to be split up, ἄνθρωπος πληγῇ τινι μεριζόμενος Refs 3rd c.AD+: metaphorically, have divided interests, disperse one's energy,Refs 5th c.BC+; also, to be split into parties or factions, Refs 2nd c.BC+; μεμέρισται ὁ Χριστό; NT
III.3 to be reckoned as part, ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τινος μ. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| merizataἐμέρισεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | assigned | 5× |
| merizitaἐμερίσθη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular | divided | 2× |
| merizotēμεμέρισται | has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | divided | 2× |
| meriziteiaμερισθῇ | happened · he/she/itaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person singular | divided | 2× |
| merizeraμερίσασθαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist middle infinitive | divide | 1× |
| merizirantasμερισθεῖσα | happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative singular feminine | divided | 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 204, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 9 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizamō | merizame | merizami | merizama | merizamē | merizamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | merizasō | merizase | merizasi | merizasa | merizasē | merizaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizatō | merizate | merizati | merizata5×ἐμέρισεν | merizatē | merizatelē |
| we 1st person plural | merizanō | merizane | merizani | merizana | merizanē | merizanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizavō | merizave | merizavi | merizava | merizavē | merizavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | merizalō | merizale | merizali | merizala | merizalē | merizalelē |
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 | merizomō | merizome | merizomē | merizomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | merizosō | merizose | merizosē | merizoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizotō | merizote | merizotē2×μεμέρισται | merizotelē |
| we 1st person plural | merizonō | merizone | merizonē | merizonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizovō | merizove | merizovē | merizovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | merizolō | merizole | merizolē | merizolelē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizemi | merizema |
| you 2nd person singular | merizesi | merizesa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizeti | merizeta |
| we 1st person plural | merizeni | merizena |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizevi | merizeva |
| they 3rd person plural | merizeli | merizela |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizimi | merizima |
| you 2nd person singular | merizisi | merizisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | meriziti | merizita2×ἐμερίσθη |
| we 1st person plural | merizini | merizina |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizivi | meriziva |
| they 3rd person plural | merizili | merizila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 2 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizameiō | merizameia | merizameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | merizaseiō | merizaseia | merizaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizateiō | merizateia | merizateiē |
| we 1st person plural | merizaneiō | merizaneia | merizaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizaveiō | merizaveia | merizaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | merizaleiō | merizaleia | merizaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizomeiō | merizomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | merizoseiō | merizoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizoteiō | merizoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | merizoneiō | merizoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizoveiō | merizoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | merizoleiō | merizoleiē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizemeia |
| you 2nd person singular | merizeseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizeteia |
| we 1st person plural | merizeneia |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizeveia |
| they 3rd person plural | merizeleia |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | meriziseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | meriziteia2×μερισθῇ |
| we 1st person plural | merizineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | meriziveia |
| they 3rd person plural | merizileia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | merizasōr | merizasar | merizasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizatōr | merizatar | merizatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizavōr | merizavar | merizavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | merizalōr | merizalar | merizalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | merizosōr | merizosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizotōr | merizotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizovōr | merizovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | merizolōr | merizolēr |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | merizesar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizetar |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizevar |
| they 3rd person plural | merizelar |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | merizisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizivar |
| they 3rd person plural | merizilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizamoiō | merizamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | merizasoiō | merizasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizatoiō | merizatoia |
| we 1st person plural | merizanoiō | merizanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizavoiō | merizavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | merizaloiō | merizaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | merizosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | merizonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | merizoloiō |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | merizesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizetoia |
| we 1st person plural | merizenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | merizeloia |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | merizimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | merizisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | merizitoia |
| we 1st person plural | merizinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | merizivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | meriziloia |
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 | merizarō | merizari | merizara | merizarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | merizorō | merizorē | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | merizeri | merizera1×μερίσασθαι | ||
| acted on passive voice | meriziri | merizira |
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 | merizarōntos | merizarintos | merizarantos | merizarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | merizorōntos | merizorēntos | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | merizerintos | merizerantos | ||
| acted on passive voice | merizirintos | merizirantos2× |
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
meriz 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.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
merizata“assigned”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular5×
Mark 6:41… paratithaleiō autoi, kai toin duo ichthoin merizata pantoi.… set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
Romans 12:3“assigned”… tem sōfronarō, hekasto hōs tos theos merizata metrem pistiau.… yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given …
1 Corinthians 7:17Ei mē hekasto hōs merizata tos kurios, hekaston hōs kalatē tos …… the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God …
2 Corinthians 10:13… kata tem metrem tou kanonou hou merizata ni tos theos metreu, efiknera achri …… field of influence that God has assigned to us — a field that reaches …
Hebrews 7:2ho kai dekatan apo panteiu merizata Abraam, prōtem men hermēneuorōntos basilevos dikaiosunau …and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything …
merizita“divided”happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular2×
Matthew 12:26… Satanos ton Satanon ekbalatō, epi heauton merizita; pōs oun stēiti tas basileias autou?… Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his …
Mark 3:26… tos Satanos anastēata epi heauton kai merizita, ouk dunotō stēara alla telem echatō.And if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot …
merizotē“divided”has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular2×
1 Corinthians 1:13merizotē tos Christos? mē Paulos staurita huper …Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were …
1 Corinthians 7:34kai merizotē. kai tas gunaikas tas agamas kai …and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is …
meriziteia“divided”happened · he/she/itaorist passive subjunctive 3rd person singular2×
Mark 3:24kai ean basileias epi heautan meriziteia, ouk dunotō stēira tas basileias ekeinas;If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand.
Mark 3:25kai ean oikias epi heautan meriziteia, ouk duneti tas oikias ekeinas stēira;If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand.
merizera“divide”happened · the “to …” formaorist middle infinitive1×
Luke 12:13… auto; Didaskalor, legasar to adelfo mu merizera meta mu tan klēronomian.… Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
merizirantas“divided”happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative singular feminine2×
Matthew 12:25… enthumēsiain autoiu legata autoi; Pantas basileias merizirantas kata heautau erēmotō, kai pantas polas …… Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste …
Matthew 12:25… erēmotō, kai pantas polas ē oikias merizirantas kata heautau ouk stēiti.… waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.