verb
ōfelamō
Strong’sG5623
I help, benefit, do good
stem ōfel-15 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 books11 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
Ὠφελέω means to help, benefit, or do good, and in the passive to profit or gain advantage 1234. It is used both absolutely, of doing good or being of use with no object stated, and with a person as object, meaning to be of service to or benefit someone 13. It also occurs with two accusatives (a person and a thing), meaning to profit someone in respect of something 1. The passive voice is used of a person receiving help or deriving profit or advantage 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
ὠφελέω, -ῶ
(< ὄφελος), [in LXX chiefly for יָעַל hi.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5623 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saido-fel-eh'-o
to be useful, i.e. to benefit
Fromfrom the same as G5622;
King Jamesadvantage, better, prevail, profit.
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
future -ήσω Refs: aorist ὠφέλησα Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect -ηκα Refs 5th c.BC+: pluperfect ὠφελήκη Refs:—passive, future ὠφεληθήσομαι Refs 5th c.BC+; more frequently future middle in passive sense, ὠφελήσομαι Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist ὠφελήθην Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect ὠφέλημαι Refs 5th c.BC+: pluperfect ὠφέλητο Refs 5th c.BC+: (ὄφελος):—help, aid, succour, first in Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to βλάπτω, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to ζημιόω, Refs 5th c.BC+ —Construction:
I absolutely, to be of use or service, τὰ μηδὲν ὠφελοῦντα Refs 5th c.BC+
I.2 with accusative person, to be of service to, benefit, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὠ. τινα ἔς τι to be of use to one towards a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; τί δέ μ᾽ ὠφελήσουσ᾽ οἱ ῥυθμοὶ πρὸς τἄλφιτ; how will rhythms help me to earn my bread? Refs 5th c.BC+, compare 145b: with participle, αὐτοὺς ὠφελεῖ προσκείμενον Refs 5th c.BC+
I.2.b especially of a general, enrich his soldiers by booty, Refs 1st c.AD+
I.3 in Poets also (see. Thom.Mag.Refs 5th c.BC+; the compounds προσωφελέω, ἐπωφελέω, συνωφελέω also take both constructions.
I.4 with genitive, uncertain in οὐδεὶς ἔρωτος τοῦδ᾽ ἐφαίνετ᾽ ὠφελῶν Refs 5th c.BC+
I.5 with accusative cognate, ὠφελίαν ὠ. τινα to render him a service, Refs 5th c.BC+ adjective, οὐδέν τινα ὠ. to do one no service, Refs 5th c.BC+; πολλά, πλέον, πλεῖστον, ὡς πλεῖστα ὠ. τινα, Refs 5th c.BC+
II passive, receive help or succour, derive profit or advantage, πρός τινος from a person or thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὑπό or παρά τινος, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὠ. τοῦ νόμου to derive benefit from.., Refs 5th c.BC+; τινι by a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ ὠφελεῖσθαι to make something out of me, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐκ τῶν ὑμετέρων help the mselves, Refs 5th c.BC+: especially of troops, acquire booty, πολλὰ παρὰ τὴν στρατείαν ὠ. Refs 1st c.AD+; ὠφελεῖσθαι πρός τι acquire advantage towards a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+participle, ὠφελεῖσθαι ἰδών to be profited by the sight of a thing, 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ōfelatōὠφελεῖ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | profit | 4× |
| ōfelavōὠφελεῖτε | happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural | accomplishing | 1× |
| ōfelomōὠφελοῦμαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | gain | 1× |
| ōfelotōὠφελεῖται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | profit | 1× |
| ōfelamiὠφελήσω | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | benefit | 1× |
| ōfelatiὠφελήσει | will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular | profit | 1× |
| ōfelitiὠφεληθήσεται | will happen · he/she/itfuture passive indicative 3rd person singular | profit | 1× |
| ōfelataὠφέλησεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | benefit | 1× |
| ōfelilaὠφελήθησαν | happened · theyaorist passive indicative 3rd person plural | benefited | 1× |
| ōfeliseiaὠφεληθῇς | happened · youaorist passive subjunctive 2nd person singular | benefit … received | 2× |
| ōfelirantasὠφεληθεῖσα | happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative singular feminine | better | 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 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 12 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 | ōfelamō | ōfelame | ōfelami1×ὠφελήσω | ōfelama | ōfelamē | ōfelamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelasō | ōfelase | ōfelasi | ōfelasa | ōfelasē | ōfelaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelatō4×ὠφελεῖ | ōfelate | ōfelati1×ὠφελήσει | ōfelata1×ὠφέλησεν | ōfelatē | ōfelatelē |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelanō | ōfelane | ōfelani | ōfelana | ōfelanē | ōfelanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelavō1×ὠφελεῖτε | ōfelave | ōfelavi | ōfelava | ōfelavē | ōfelavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelalō | ōfelale | ōfelali | ōfelala | ōfelalē | ōfelalelē |
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 | ōfelomō1×ὠφελοῦμαι | ōfelome | ōfelomē | ōfelomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelosō | ōfelose | ōfelosē | ōfeloselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelotō1×ὠφελεῖται | ōfelote | ōfelotē | ōfelotelē |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelonō | ōfelone | ōfelonē | ōfelonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelovō | ōfelove | ōfelovē | ōfelovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelolō | ōfelole | ōfelolē | ōfelolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ōfelimi | ōfelima |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelisi | ōfelisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfeliti1×ὠφεληθήσεται | ōfelita |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelini | ōfelina |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelivi | ōfeliva |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelili | ōfelila1×ὠφελήθησαν |
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 | ōfelameiō | ōfelameia | ōfelameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelaseiō | ōfelaseia | ōfelaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelateiō | ōfelateia | ōfelateiē |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelaneiō | ōfelaneia | ōfelaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelaveiō | ōfelaveia | ōfelaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelaleiō | ōfelaleia | ōfelaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ōfelomeiō | ōfelomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfeloseiō | ōfeloseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfeloteiō | ōfeloteiē |
| we 1st person plural | ōfeloneiō | ōfeloneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfeloveiō | ōfeloveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfeloleiō | ōfeloleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ōfelimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfeliseia2×ὠφεληθῇς |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfeliteia |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfeliveia |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelileia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelasōr | ōfelasar | ōfelasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelatōr | ōfelatar | ōfelatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelavōr | ōfelavar | ōfelavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelalōr | ōfelalar | ōfelalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelosōr | ōfelosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelotōr | ōfelotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelovōr | ōfelovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelolōr | ōfelolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelivar |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ōfelamoiō | ōfelamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelasoiō | ōfelasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelatoiō | ōfelatoia |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelanoiō | ōfelanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelavoiō | ōfelavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfelaloiō | ōfelaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ōfelomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfeloloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ōfelimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | ōfelisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ōfelitoia |
| we 1st person plural | ōfelinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | ōfelivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | ōfeliloia |
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 | ōfelarō | ōfelari | ōfelara | ōfelarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | ōfelorō | ōfelorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | ōfeliri | ōfelira |
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 | ōfelarōntos | ōfelarintos | ōfelarantos | ōfelarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | ōfelorōntos | ōfelorēntos | ||
| acted on passive voice | ōfelirintos | ōfelirantos1× |
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
ōfel 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.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
ōfelatō“profit”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular4×
Matthew 27:24“getting”horarantos de tos Pilatos hoti oudenem ōfelatō alla mallon thorubos genotō labarantos hudem …When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed …
Mark 8:36tinem gar ōfelatō anthrōpon kerdainara ton kosmon holon kai …What does it profit a man to gain the whole …
John 6:63… atō tem zōopoiarōntem, tas sarkas ouk ōfelatō oudenem; teim rēmeim heim mis lalamē …The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken …
Romans 2:25“of value”Peritomas men gar ōfelatō ean nomon prassaseiō; ean de parabatos …Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break …
ōfelavō“accomplishing”happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural1×
John 12:19“accomplishing”… legala pros heautoin; Theōravō hoti ouk ōfelavō oudenem; ide tos kosmos opisō autou …… the Pharisees said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no good. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”
ōfelomō“gain”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
1 Corinthians 13:3… kaiimi, agapan de mē echameiō, oudenem ōfelomō.… body, but have not love, I gain nothing.
ōfelotō“profit”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Luke 9:25tinem gar ōfelotō anthrōpos kerdainarantos ton kosmon holon heauton …What does it profit a man to gain the whole …
ōfelami“benefit”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular1×
1 Corinthians 14:6… pros vin glōssai lalarōntos, tinem vin ōfelami, ean mē vi lalameia ē en …… speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you, unless I bring you some …
ōfelati“profit”will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Galatians 5:2“profit”… hoti ean peritemoveiō Christos vin oudenem ōfelati.… tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
ōfeliti“profit”will happen · he/she/itfuture passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Matthew 16:26tinem gar ōfeliti anthrōpos ean ton kosmon holon kerdainateia …What will it profit a man if he gains the …
ōfelata“benefit”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Hebrews 4:2“benefit”… anō euangelizorēntois kathaper kakeinois, alla ouk ōfelata tos logos tau akoau ekeinoin, mē …… good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the …
ōfelila“benefited”happened · theyaorist passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Hebrews 13:9“benefited”… kardian, ouk brōmei, en hei ouk ōfelila tois peripatarōntois.… for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to …
ōfeliseia“benefit … received”happened · youaorist passive subjunctive 2nd person singular2×
Matthew 15:5… mētēra; Dōrem hem ean ek mu ōfeliseia,… or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted …
Mark 7:11… atō Dōrem, hem ean ek mu ōfeliseia,… or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is …
ōfelirantas“better”happened · subjectaorist passive participle nominative singular feminine1×
Mark 5:26“better”… teim para autau panteim kai mēdenem ōfelirantas alla mallon eis tem cheirōnem ercharantas,She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse.