noun · feminine
metanoias
Strong’sG3341
repentance, a change of mind
stem metanoi-22 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books2 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
Repentance, a change of mind or heart 1234 — specifically, in most of its biblical uses, turning away from sin 1. This can be a general change of mind about wrongdoing 2, a felt sense of guilt or compunction over it 2, or, by extension, the reversal of an earlier decision 2.
The word is also used of an afterthought, meaning a change of mind not tied to sin or guilt, such as regret over an action or decision in general 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
μετάνοια, -οίας, ἡ
(< μετανοέω), [in LXX: Pr 14:15, Wi 11:23 12:10, 19, Si 44:16*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3341 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmet-an'-oy-ah
(subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication, reversal (of (another's) decision)
Fromfrom G3340;
King Jamesrepentance.
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
change of mind or heart, repentance, regret, NT+5th c.BC+
II Rhet., afterthought, correction, Refs
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 | metanoias | metanoiais |
| object accusative | metanoian12×μετάνοιαν | metanoiain |
| direct address vocative | metanoiar | metanoiair |
| of, belonging to genitive | metanoiau10×μετανοίας | metanoiaiu |
| to, for dative | metanoia | metanoiai |
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
metanoia 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.
22 occurrences, every one of them listed
metanoian“repentance”objectaccusative singular12×
Matthew 3:11… men vin baptizamō en hude eis metanoian; tos de opisō mu erchorōntos ischuroteros …I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One …
Luke 5:32… erchamē kalara dikaioin alla hamartōloin eis metanoian.… call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Luke 24:47kai kērussira epi te onome autou metanoian kai afesian hamartaiu eis panteim teim …and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be …
Acts 5:31… hupsata ta dexa autou, teu dōara metanoian to Israēl kai afesian hamartaiu;… and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
Acts 11:18… kai tei ethnei tos theos tan metanoian eis zōan dōata.… God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
Acts 20:21… tē kai Hellēnoi tan eis theon metanoian kai pistian eis ton kurion nu …… to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our …
Romans 2:4… hoti tem chrēstem tou theou eis metanoian sin agatō?… that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
2 Corinthians 7:9… hoti lupiva, alla hoti lupiva eis metanoian, lupiva gar kata theon, hina en …… because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that …
2 Corinthians 7:10tas gar kata theon lupas metanoian eis sōtērēan ametamelētan ergazotō; tas de …Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret …
2 Timothy 2:25… antidiatithorōntoin, mēpote dōateia autoi tos theos metanoian eis epignōsian alētheiau,… hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the …
Hebrews 6:6kai parapiptarantoin, palin anakainizarō eis metanoian, anastaurarōntoin heautoi ton huion tou theou …… fallen away — to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the …
2 Peter 3:9… boulorōntos tinoin apolera alla pantoin eis metanoian chōrara.… perish but everyone to come to repentance.
metanoiau“repentance”of, belonging togenitive singular10×
Matthew 3:8poiavar oun karpon axion tau metanoiauProduce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.
Mark 1:4… baptizarōntos en ta erēma kērussarōntos baptismem metanoiau eis afesian hamartaiu.… the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 3:3… pantan perichōran tou Iordanou kērussarōntos baptismem metanoiau eis afesian hamartaiu,… the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
Luke 3:8poiavar oun karpoin axioin tau metanoiau; kai mē archeveia legarō en heautoi; …Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say …
Luke 15:7“repentance”… ennea dikaioi hotinois ouk chreian echalō metanoiau.… over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
Acts 13:24… pro prosōpeu tau eisodau autou baptismem metanoiau panto to lao Israēl.… Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Acts 19:4legata de Paulos; Iōannos baptizata baptismem metanoiau, to lao legarōntos eis ton erchorōnton …… John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe …
Acts 26:20… epistrefarō epi ton theon, axieim tau metanoiau ergeim prassarōntoin.… God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
Hebrews 6:1… teleiotan feroneiō, mē palin themelion katabalorōntois metanoiau apo nekreiu ergeiu, kai pistiau epi …… not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith …
Hebrews 12:17… metepeita thelarōntos klēronomara tan eulogian apodokimazita, metanoiau gar topon ouk heuriskata, kaiper meta …… He could find no ground for repentance, though he sought the blessing with …