verb
ofeilamō
Strong’sG3784
I owe, ought
stem ofeil-35 times in the New Testamentin 13 of 27 books13 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
Owe money, or be a debtor to someone: used of an actual financial debt owed to a person, and in the passive of the debt itself that is due 1234. This literal sense covers being in debt and owing a sum to someone 13.
By extension, to be under obligation, bound, or obliged to do something — "ought," "must," "should" 1234. This covers a wide range of duty, from what one is morally bound to do to what one is required or destined to do 123. Strong's also notes a moral shade in which the word can describe failing in one's duty 2.
In one New Testament instance the word carries a special sense of having wronged someone, rather than simply being in their debt 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
ὀφείλω,
[in LXX: De 15:2, Is 24:2 (נשׁה, נשׁא), Ez 18:7 (חוב), Wi 12:15, 20, al.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3784 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidof-i'-lo
to owe (pecuniarily); figuratively, to be under obligation (ought, must, should); morally, to fail in duty
Fromprobably from the base of G3786 (through the idea of accruing);
King Jamesbehove, be bound, (be) debt(-or), (be) due(-ty), be guilty (indebted), (must) need(-s), ought, owe, should.
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
imperfect ὤφειλον; Epic dialect ὀφέλλω (also Aeolic dialect, Refs 4th c.BC+imperfect ὤφελλον or ὄφελλον, see infr. II. Refs 8th c.BC+: future ὀφειλήσω Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist 1 ὠφείλησα Refs 5th c.BC+ (ἐπ-): perfect ὠφείληκα: pluperfect -ήκεινRefs 4th c.BC+aorist 2 ὤφελον (see. below Refs:—passive, aorist participle ὀφειληθείς Refs 5th c.BC+. (Cretan dialect ὀφήλω Refs, written ὀπέλο Refs 4th c.AD+ ὀφέλλω (see. above) and ὀφήλω Refs 4th c.BC+: in early Attic dialect Inscrr. written both ὀφελ -IG 12.91.8Refs:—owe, have to pay or account for, τὸ καὶ μοιχάγρι᾽ ὀφέλλει Refs 8th c.BC+; ὅτι μοι.. ζωάγρι᾽ ὀφέλλειςRefs 8th c.BC+; τί ὀφείλω; what do I owe? Refs 5th c.BC+; ὀ. ἀργύριον, χρέα, Refs 5th c.BC+ to be debtor to another, Refs 5th c.BC+: absolutely, to be in debt, Refs 5th c.BC+; οἱ ὀφείλοντες debtors, Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, to be due, ἔνθα χρεῖός μοι ὀφέλλεται (variant{ὀφείλεται}) Refs 8th c.BC+; τὸ ὀφειλόμενον a debt,Refs 5th c.BC+
2 metaphorically, ὀ. μέλος τινί Refs 5th c.BC+; ὀ. χάριν, see at {χάρις} Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, ὀφείλεταί τινι ἐκ θεῶν κλέος Refs 5th c.BC+; τοὐφειλόμενον πράσσουσα Δίκη what is due, Refs 4th c.BC+
3 as a legal term, to be bound to render, εὐθύνας ὤφειλον Refs 5th c.BC+, incur a penalty, ζημίαν Refs 5th c.BC+
4 in passive, of persons, to be due or liable to, θανάτῳ πάντες ὀφειλόμεθα LXX+4th c.BC+our help is due, Refs 1st c.BC+
II with infinitive, to be bound, to be obliged to do, ὀφέλλετε ταῦτα πένεσθαι ye are bound, ye ought to.., Refs 8th c.BC+; and of things, ought to be, ὁ λόγος οὐκ ἀκριβῶς ὀ. λέγεσθαι Refs 4th c.BC+:—passive, δράσαντι γάρ τοι καὶ παθεῖν ὀφείλεται Refs 4th c.BC+; σοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ὀφείλεται παθεῖν it is thy destiny to.., Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 in this signification Epic dialect imperfect ὤφελλον or ὄφελλον and aorist ὤφελον or ὄφελον are used of that which one has not, but ought to have, done (ought being the pret. of owe), ὤφελεν ἀθανάτοισιν εὔχεσθαι Refs 8th c.BC+
II.3 these tenses are also used, followed by present or aorist infinitive, in wishes that something were or had been in present or past, ἀνδρὸς.. ὤφελλον ἀμείνονος εἶναι ἄκοιτις I ought to be.., would that I were.. ! Refs 8th c.BC+; τὴν ὄφελ᾽ ἐν νήεσσι κατακτάμεν Ἄρτεμις would that Artemis had slain her !, Refs 8th c.BC+ O that thou hadst!, Refs 8th c.BC+ O that I had.. !,Refs 8th c.BC+; ὡς ὄφελεν.. Refs 8th c.BC+.. would thou hadst never.. !, Refs 8th c.BC+; ὤφελες.. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὤφελε.. Refs 5th c.BC+; εἴθ᾽ ὤφελ᾽.. Refs 5th c.BC+; εἰ γὰρ ὤφελον.. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὡς ὤφελες.. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὡς μήποτ᾽ ὤφελον.. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὄφελε.. Refs 5th c.BC+; μήποτ᾽ ὄφελον.. Refs 5th c.BC+ is used in late Epic dialect, ὡς μὴ ὤφειλες ἱκέσθαι Refs 8th c.BC+
II.3.b with indicative, ὤφελε μηδ᾽ ἐγένοντο θοαὶ νέες Refs 3rd c.BC+
II.3.c ὄφελον (adverb accusative to Refs 2nd c.AD+ in this signification: with accusative et infinitive, ὤμοι ἐγών, ὄφελόν με.. ὀλέσθαι NT+1st c.AD+; ὤφελον (sic) εἰ ἐδυνάμεθα πέτασθαι Refs 2nd c.AD+infinitive, ὄφελομ μὲν ἡ θεὸς.. στερῆσαι.. Refs 2nd c.BC+
III impersonal ὀφείλει, it behoves, with accusative et infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὄφελλέ με μήτε.. εἰσοράαν κτλ. Refs 3rd c.BC+participle, absolutely, αἱ ὀφείλουσαι ἱερουργίαι τῶν θεῶν the due services of the gods, Refs 2nd c.AD+; κατὰ τὸν ὀφείλοντα καιρόν Refs 2nd c.AD+. (ὦφλον, ὤφληκα, aorist and perfect of ὀφλισκάνω, were probably originally aorist and perfect of ὀφείλω: ὄφελον in signf. II. Refs may be originally neuter participle of ὤφελε (signification 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ofeilasōὀφείλεις | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | owe | 3× |
| ofeilatōὀφείλει | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | ought | 11× |
| ofeilanōὀφείλομεν | happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural | ought | 7× |
| ofeilavōὀφείλετε | happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural | ought | 1× |
| ofeilalōὀφείλουσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | ought | 2× |
| ofeilameὤφειλον | was happening · Iimperfect active indicative 1st person singular | ought | 1× |
| ofeilateὤφειλεν | was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | owed | 3× |
| ofeilaneὠφείλομεν | was happening · weimperfect active indicative 1st person plural | ought | 1× |
| ofeilaveὠφείλετε | was happening · yeimperfect active indicative 2nd person plural | need | 1× |
| ofeilavōrὀφείλετε | happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural | owe | 1× |
| ofeilarōntoὀφείλοντι | happening now · to, forpresent active participle dative singular masculine | indebted | 1× |
| ofeilarōntoisὀφείλοντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | ought | 1× |
| ofeilorōntemὀφειλόμενον | happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle direct singular neuter | debt | 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 140, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 30 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 | ofeilamō | ofeilame1×ὤφειλον | ofeilami | ofeilama | ofeilamē | ofeilamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | ofeilasō3×ὀφείλεις | ofeilase | ofeilasi | ofeilasa | ofeilasē | ofeilaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeilatō11×ὀφείλει | ofeilate3×ὤφειλεν | ofeilati | ofeilata | ofeilatē | ofeilatelē |
| we 1st person plural | ofeilanō7×ὀφείλομεν | ofeilane1×ὠφείλομεν | ofeilani | ofeilana | ofeilanē | ofeilanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeilavō1×ὀφείλετε | ofeilave1×ὠφείλετε | ofeilavi | ofeilava | ofeilavē | ofeilavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeilalō2×ὀφείλουσιν | ofeilale | ofeilali | ofeilala | ofeilalē | ofeilalelē |
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 | ofeilomō | ofeilome | ofeilomē | ofeilomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | ofeilosō | ofeilose | ofeilosē | ofeiloselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeilotō | ofeilote | ofeilotē | ofeilotelē |
| we 1st person plural | ofeilonō | ofeilone | ofeilonē | ofeilonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeilovō | ofeilove | ofeilovē | ofeilovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeilolō | ofeilole | ofeilolē | ofeilolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ofeilameiō | ofeilameia | ofeilameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | ofeilaseiō | ofeilaseia | ofeilaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeilateiō | ofeilateia | ofeilateiē |
| we 1st person plural | ofeilaneiō | ofeilaneia | ofeilaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeilaveiō | ofeilaveia | ofeilaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeilaleiō | ofeilaleia | ofeilaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ofeilomeiō | ofeilomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | ofeiloseiō | ofeiloseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeiloteiō | ofeiloteiē |
| we 1st person plural | ofeiloneiō | ofeiloneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeiloveiō | ofeiloveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeiloleiō | ofeiloleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | ofeilasōr | ofeilasar | ofeilasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeilatōr | ofeilatar | ofeilatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeilavōr1×ὀφείλετε | ofeilavar | ofeilavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeilalōr | ofeilalar | ofeilalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | ofeilosōr | ofeilosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeilotōr | ofeilotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeilovōr | ofeilovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeilolōr | ofeilolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ofeilamoiō | ofeilamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | ofeilasoiō | ofeilasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeilatoiō | ofeilatoia |
| we 1st person plural | ofeilanoiō | ofeilanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeilavoiō | ofeilavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeilaloiō | ofeilaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ofeilomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | ofeilosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ofeilotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | ofeilonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | ofeilovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | ofeiloloiō |
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 | ofeilarō | ofeilari | ofeilara | ofeilarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | ofeilorō | ofeilorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 4 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | ofeilarōntos2× | ofeilarintos | ofeilarantos | ofeilarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | ofeilorōntos2× | ofeilorēntos |
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
ofeil 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.
35 occurrences, every one of them listed
ofeilasō“owe”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular3×
Matthew 18:28… auton pnigate legarōntos; Apodōasar ei tinem ofeilasō.… him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’
Luke 16:5… kuriou heautou legate to prōto; Posem ofeilasō to kurio mu?… master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.
Luke 16:7epeita hetero legata; Sis de posem ofeilasō? tos de legata; Hekaton koroin sitou; …… another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he …
ofeilatō“ought”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular11×
Matthew 23:16… omnuateia en to chruso tou naou ofeilatō.… gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
Matthew 23:18… en te dōre te epanō auteu ofeilatō.… the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’
John 19:7“ought”… nomon echanō, kai kata ton nomon ofeilatō apothnēskara, hoti huion theou heauton poiata.“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
1 Corinthians 7:36… nomizatō ean ateiō huperakmas, kai houtōs ofeilatō genorō, hem thelatō poiatōr; ouk hamartatō; …… is beyond her youth and they ought to marry, let him do as …
1 Corinthians 9:10“ought”… legatō? dia nin gar grafita, hoti ofeilatō epi elpida tos arotriarōntos arotriarō, kai …… this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher …
1 Corinthians 11:7andros men gar ouk ofeilatō katakaluptorō tan kefalan, eikonas kai doxas …A man ought not to cover his head, since …
1 Corinthians 11:10dia houtem ofeilatō tas gunaikas exousian echarō epi tau …For this reason a woman ought to have a sign of authority …
2 Corinthians 12:14“ought”… teim vu alla vin, ouk gar ofeilatō teim tekneim toi gonevoi thēsaurizarō, alla …… your possessions, but you. For children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for …
Philemon 1:18ei de tinem adikata sin ē ofeilatō, houtem mi ellogasōr;… wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my …
Hebrews 5:3kai dia autan ofeilatō, kathōs peri tou laou, houtōs kai …That is why he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own …
1 John 2:6“ought”tos legarōntos en auto menarō ofeilatō kathōs ekeinos peripatata kai autos peripatarō.… to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
ofeilanō“ought”happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural7×
Acts 17:29“ought”genem oun huparcharōntois tou theou ouk ofeilanō nomizarō chruso ē arguro ē litho, …Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image …
Romans 15:1Ofeilanō de nis tois dunatois teim asthenēmeim …We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of …
2 Thessalonians 1:3“ought”Eucharistarō ofeilanō to theo pantote peri vu, adelfoir, …… to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is …
2 Thessalonians 2:13“ought”Nis de ofeilanō eucharistarō to theo pantote peri vu, …But we should always thank God for you, brothers who …
1 John 3:16… tan psuchan autou tithata; kai nis ofeilanō huper toiu adelfoiu tain psuchain tithara.… His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for …
1 John 4:11… tos theos agapata nin, kai nis ofeilanō allēloin agaparō.… God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
3 John 1:8nis oun ofeilanō hupolabarō toin toioutoin, hina sunergois genoneiō …Therefore we ought to support such men, so that …
ofeilavō“ought”happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural1×
John 13:14“ought”… kurios kai tos didaskalos, kai vis ofeilavō allēloiu niptarō toin podoin;… I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
ofeilalō“ought”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural2×
Romans 15:27“ought”… tei pneumatikei autoiu koinōnala teim ethneim, ofeilalō kai en tei sarkikei leitourgara autoi.… For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.
Ephesians 5:28houtōs ofeilalō kai tois androis agaparō tain heautoiu …In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their …
ofeilame“ought”was happening · Iimperfect active indicative 1st person singular1×
2 Corinthians 12:11“ought”… afronos; vis min anankazava; mis gar ofeilame hupo vu sustēorō. oudenem gar husterama …… become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those …
ofeilate“owed”was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular3×
Matthew 18:28… heuriskata henon toiu sundouloiu autou hos ofeilate auto hekaton dēnarieim, kai kratarantos auton …… one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed …
Luke 7:41… chreofeiletois ale danisto tino; tos henos ofeilate dēnarieim pentakosioi, tos de heteros pentēkonta.… debtors to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the …
Hebrews 2:17hothen ofeilate kata panteim toi adelfoi homoiira, hina …For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in …
ofeilane“ought”was happening · weimperfect active indicative 1st person plural1×
Luke 17:10“ought”… legavōr hoti Doulois achreiois anō, hem ofeilane poiara poianē.… you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
ofeilave“need”was happening · yeimperfect active indicative 2nd person plural1×
1 Corinthians 5:10“need”… pleonektoi kai harpagoi ē eidōlolatroi, epei ofeilave ara ek tou kosmou exerchara.… sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
ofeilavōr“owe”happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural1×
Romans 13:8“owe”Mēdeno mēdenem ofeilavōr, ei mē tem allēloin agaparō; tos …… indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves …
ofeilarōnto“indebted”happening now · to, forpresent active participle dative singular masculine1×
Luke 11:4“indebted”… nu, kai gar autois afiēkanō panto ofeilarōnto ni; kai mē eisferaseia nin eis …… forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
ofeilarōntois“ought”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Hebrews 5:12kai gar ofeilarōntois arō didaskalois dia ton chronon, palin …Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone …
ofeilorōntem“debt”happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle direct singular neuter2×
Matthew 18:30… eis fulakan heōs hou apodōateia tem ofeilorōntem.… prison until he could pay his debt.
Matthew 18:34… basanistoi heōs hou apodōateia pantem tem ofeilorōntem.… he should repay all that he owed.