conjunction
mēte
Strong’sG3383
nor, neither, not even
stem mēte-34 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 booksnever changes form
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
μήτε is a negative connective meaning "neither... nor," "nor," or "not even", used to join two or more negated clauses or terms 1234. It is most often used doubled, as "μήτε... μήτε," to mean "neither... nor" 13, and can also combine with other negatives such as μή or μηδέ in a single sentence to add further negated items 13. It differs from οὔτε the way μή differs from οὐ 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
μή-τε,
negative particle, differing from οὔτε as μή from οὐ,G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3383 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
and not, mostly doubled, μήτε.. μήτε.. neither.. nor.., Refs 8th c.BC+; μήτε.., μήτ᾽ οὖν.. Refs 8th c.BC+; μήτε.., μηδέ, see at {μηδέ}; μήτε..,{τε}.. both not.., and.., Refs 8th c.BC+; also μήτε.., δέ.. Refs 5th c.BC+; μή.., μήτε.. Refs 5th c.BC+
2 μήτε is perhaps sometimes omitted in the former of two clauses, ἑκόντα μήτ᾽ ἄκοντα 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.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
34 occurrences, every one of them listed
mēte34×
Matthew 5:34… de legamō vi mē omnuara holōs; mēte en to ourano, hoti thronos atō …… you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s …
Matthew 5:35mēte en ta gēa, hoti hupopodiem atō …or by the earth, for it is …
Matthew 5:35… hoti hupopodiem atō toiu podoiu autou; mēte eis Hierosolumeim, hoti polas atō tou …… earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the …
Matthew 5:36“and … not”mēte en ta kefala su omnuaseia, hoti …… should you swear by your head, for you cannot …
Matthew 11:18erchata gar Iōannos mēte esthiarōntos mēte pinarōntos, kai legalō; Daimonem …For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say …
Matthew 11:18erchata gar Iōannos mēte esthiarōntos mēte pinarōntos, kai legalō; Daimonem echatō;For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has …
Luke 7:33… Iōannos tos baptistos mē esthiarōntos arton mēte pinarōntos oinon, kai legavō; Daimonem echatō;… neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
Luke 9:3… autoin; Mēdenem airavōr eis tan hodan, mēte rabdan mēte pēran mēte arton mēte …… for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no …
Luke 9:3“nor”… airavōr eis tan hodan, mēte rabdan mēte pēran mēte arton mēte arguriem, mēte …“Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second …
Luke 9:3“nor”… tan hodan, mēte rabdan mēte pēran mēte arton mēte arguriem, mēte ana duo …… nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second …
Luke 9:3“nor”… mēte rabdan mēte pēran mēte arton mēte arguriem, mēte ana duo chitōnoin echarō.… told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second …
Luke 9:3“not”… mēte pēran mēte arton mēte arguriem, mēte ana duo chitōnoin echarō.… staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second …
Acts 23:8“or”… men gar legalō mē arō anastasian mēte angelon mēte pneumem, Farisaiois de homologalō …For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
Acts 23:8… legalō mē arō anastasian mēte angelon mēte pneumem, Farisaiois de homologalō teim amfotereim.… is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them …
Acts 23:12“neither”… sustrofan tois Ioudaiois anathematizala heautoin legarōntois mēte esthiara mēte pinara heōs hou apoktenaleia …… daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
Acts 23:12“nor”… Ioudaiois anathematizala heautoin legarōntois mēte esthiara mēte pinara heōs hou apoktenaleia ton Paulon.… came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
Acts 23:21“neither”… androis polloterois tesserakonta, hotinois anathematizala heautoin mēte esthiara mēte pinara heōs hou anairaleia …… you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they …
Acts 23:21“nor”… tesserakonta, hotinois anathematizala heautoin mēte esthiara mēte pinara heōs hou anairaleia auton, kai …… more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are …
Acts 27:20mēte de hēliou mēte astreiu epifanarōnteiu epi …When neither sun nor stars appeared for many …
Acts 27:20mēte de hēliou mēte astreiu epifanarōnteiu epi polloterain hēmerain, cheimōnou …When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and …
2 Thessalonians 2:2“either”… vin apo tou nouou mēde throorō mēte dia pneumeu mēte dia logou mēte …… easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming …
2 Thessalonians 2:2… nouou mēde throorō mēte dia pneumeu mēte dia logou mēte dia epistolau hōs …… disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be …
2 Thessalonians 2:2… mēte dia pneumeu mēte dia logou mēte dia epistolau hōs dia nu, hōs …… alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us …
1 Timothy 1:7“either”thelarōntois arō nomodidaskalois, mē noarōntois mēte heim legalō mēte peri tineiu diabebaiolō.… want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so …
1 Timothy 1:7… nomodidaskalois, mē noarōntois mēte heim legalō mēte peri tineiu diabebaiolō.… not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.
Hebrews 7:3“neither”apatōros, amētōros, agenealogētos, mēte archan hēmeraiu mēte zōau telem echarōntos, …Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the …
Hebrews 7:3“nor”apatōros, amētōros, agenealogētos, mēte archan hēmeraiu mēte zōau telem echarōntos, afomoiorēntos de to …Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of …
James 5:12“either”… panteiu de, adelfoir mu, mē omnuavōr, mēte ton ouranon mēte tan gēan mēte …Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any …
James 5:12… mu, mē omnuavōr, mēte ton ouranon mēte tan gēan mēte alloson tinon horkon; …… do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath …
James 5:12… mēte ton ouranon mēte tan gēan mēte alloson tinon horkon; atōr de vu …… swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let …
Revelation 7:1… mē pnateiō anemos epi tau gēau mēte epi tau thalassau mēte epi pantem …… no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
Revelation 7:1… tau gēau mēte epi tau thalassau mēte epi pantem dendrem.… would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
Revelation 7:3legarōntos; Mē adikaveia tan gēan mēte tan thalassan mēte teim dendreim, achri …“Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have …
Revelation 7:3… adikaveia tan gēan mēte tan thalassan mēte teim dendreim, achri sfragizaneia toin douloin …… not harm the land or sea or trees until we have placed a …