verb
nēfamō
Strong’sG3525
I am calm, vigilant, sober
stem nēf-6 times in the New Testamentin 3 of 27 books4 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
* νήφω,
SYN.: ἀγρυπνέω, γρηγορέω.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3525 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidnay'-fo
to abstain from wine (keep sober), i.e. (figuratively) be discreet
Fromof uncertain affinity;
King Jamesbe sober, watch.
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 νάφω (see. infr. II), used by early writers only in present, mostly in participle: later imperfect ἔνηφον Refs 6th c.AD+aorist ἔνηψα NT+5th c.BC+:—to be sober, drink no wine, οὔτε τι γὰρ ν. οὔτε λίην μεθύω Refs 7th c.BC+participle νήφων as adjective, ={νηφάλιος}, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸ τοὺς μεθύοντας... πλείω ζημίαν ἀποτίνειν τῶν ν. Legal Pittaciap. Refs 5th c.BC+; ν. θεός, i.e. water, Refs 5th c.BC+
II metaphorically, to be self-controlled, Refs 5th c.BC+; to be sober and wary, νᾶφε καὶ μέμνασ᾽ ἀπιστεῖν NT+5th c.BC+; νήψατε εἰς προσευχάς NT+1st c.AD+; καρδίῃ νήφοντος poetical cited in Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 ν. ἐκ κακοῦ recover oneself from.., Refs 3rd c.AD+; ἐγερθέντων καὶ νηψάντων ἀπὸ τῆς πτώσεως Procl.[same place]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| nēfaneiōνήφωμεν | happening now · wepresent active subjunctive 1st person plural | be sober | 2× |
| nēfasōrνῆφε | happening now · youpresent active imperative 2nd person singular | be sober | 1× |
| nēfavarνήψατε | happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural | sober | 2× |
| nēfarōntoisνήφοντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | self-controlled | 1× |
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, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | nēfamō | nēfame | nēfami | nēfama | nēfamē | nēfamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | nēfasō | nēfase | nēfasi | nēfasa | nēfasē | nēfaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | nēfatō | nēfate | nēfati | nēfata | nēfatē | nēfatelē |
| we 1st person plural | nēfanō | nēfane | nēfani | nēfana | nēfanē | nēfanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | nēfavō | nēfave | nēfavi | nēfava | nēfavē | nēfavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | nēfalō | nēfale | nēfali | nēfala | nēfalē | nēfalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | nēfameiō | nēfameia | nēfameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | nēfaseiō | nēfaseia | nēfaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | nēfateiō | nēfateia | nēfateiē |
| we 1st person plural | nēfaneiō2×νήφωμεν | nēfaneia | nēfaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | nēfaveiō | nēfaveia | nēfaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | nēfaleiō | nēfaleia | nēfaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 3 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | nēfasōr1×νῆφε | nēfasar | nēfasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | nēfatōr | nēfatar | nēfatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | nēfavōr | nēfavar2×νήψατε | nēfavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | nēfalōr | nēfalar | nēfalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | nēfamoiō | nēfamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | nēfasoiō | nēfasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | nēfatoiō | nēfatoia |
| we 1st person plural | nēfanoiō | nēfanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | nēfavoiō | nēfavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | nēfaloiō | nēfaloia |
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 | nēfarō | nēfari | nēfara | nēfarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | nēfarōntos1× | nēfarintos | nēfarantos | nēfarēntos |
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
nēf 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.
6 occurrences, every one of them listed
nēfaneiō“be sober”happening now · wepresent active subjunctive 1st person plural2×
1 Thessalonians 5:6“self-controlled”… hōs tois loipois, alla grēgoraneiō kai nēfaneiō.… not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:8nis de hēmerau arōntois nēfaneiō, enduerantois thōrakon pistiau kai agapau kai …… belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith …
nēfasōr“be sober”happening now · youpresent active imperative 2nd person singular1×
2 Timothy 4:5sis de nēfasōr en pantei, kakopathasar, ergem poiasar euangelistou, …But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do …
nēfavar“sober”happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural2×
1 Peter 4:7“sober-minded”… tem telem engizatē. sōfronavar oun kai nēfavar eis proseuchain;The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so …
1 Peter 5:8“sober”nēfavar, grēgoravar. tos antidikos vu diabolos hōs …… and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring …
nēfarōntois“self-controlled”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
1 Peter 1:13“self-controlled”… anazōnerantois tain osfuain tau dianoiau vu, nēfarōntois teleiōs, elpizavar epi tan ferorōntan vi …… prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of …