verb
paraitomō
Strong’sG3868
I make excuse, refuse, reject
stem parait-12 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books8 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
παραιτέομαι
The word can mean simply to ask something of someone as a favor, to beg it from another person 1.
More often it carries the sense of declining or refusing something. This includes entreating that something not happen or be brought about 13, turning away from or avoiding a duty, teaching, or person as unwelcome 1234, and excusing oneself from an invitation, asking to be let off 13. Strong's and Dodson likewise give the range refuse, decline, shun, reject, make excuse 24.
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
παρ-αιτέομαι, -οῦμαι,
[in LXX for בּקשׁ pi., etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3868 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
beg of or from another, ask as a favour of him, τινά τι Refs 5th c.BC+; τι Refs 5th c.BC+: with infinitive added, ἓν δ᾽ αὐτοὺς παραιτησώμεθα, ἐπίδηλον ἡμῖν.. ποιεῖν, ἢν τοῖς ἔπεσι χαίρωσι Refs 5th c.BC+: with infinitive for accusative, θεοὺς παραιτοῦ τῶν σ᾽ ἔρως ἔχει τυχεῖν Refs 4th c.BC+; Προμηθέα -εῖται Ἐπιμηθεὺς αὐτὸς νεῖμαι asks P. for permission to.., Refs 5th c.BC+
2 παραιτησάμενος βασιλέα having obtained the king's leave, Refs 5th c.BC+: generally, intercede with, appeal to a person, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. σφέας, ὡς ἄξουσι.. entreating them and saying that.., Refs 5th c.BC+: with double accusative, beg one's pardon for.., σὲ παραιτοῦμαι τάδε Refs 5th c.BC+
3 with accusative et infinitive, entreat one to.., Refs 5th c.BC+; παραιτήσομαι δ᾽ ὑμᾶς μηδὲν ἀχθεσθῆναί μοι Refs 4th c.BC+: with genitive person et infinitive, beg of.., παραιτήσῃ πατρὸς φυγὰς ἀφεῖναι Refs 5th c.BC+: with infinitive only, π. μηδὲν τούτων δρᾶν Refs 5th c.BC+
II with accusative of things, avert by entreaty, deprecate, τὴν ὀργήν NT+4th c.BC+
II.2 decline, deprecate, χάριν NT+5th c.BC+; π. [τὰ ὦτα] refuse to hear, Refs 2nd c.AD+; refuse, βρώσεις Refs 3rd c.AD+infinitive, παλιλλογεῖν παρῄτηται Refs 8th c.BC+; also τοὺς πολλοὺς χαρακτῆρας παρῃτημέναι εἰσὶν αἱ ἀντωνυμίαι do not admit.., Refs 2nd c.AD+; reject a theory, interpretation, or MRefs 5th c.BC+; except, Refs; reject the use of, avoid, τὴν λογικήν Refs 2nd c.AD+
II.2.b demand exemption from, τὴν εἰς τὸ μέλλον γεωργίαν Refs 2nd c.AD+; ἀρχήν Refs 3rd c.AD+
II.3 with accusative person, ask him to excuse one, decline his invitation, Refs 2nd c.BC+; παραιτησάμενος Ἔφορον, Latin pace Ephori, NTpassive, ἔχε με παρῃτημένονRefs
II.4 π. γυναῖκα divorce her, Refs 1st c.AD+; π. οἰκέτην dismiss him, Refs 2nd c.AD+:—passive, τὴν παραίτησιν ᾗ παρὰ τοῦ Καρακάλλου παρῄτητο Refs 2nd c.AD+
II.5 of medicines, relieve, ναυσίαν Refs 1st c.AD+
III with accusative person, intercede for, beg off, especially from punishment, Refs 5th c.BC+; Θεσσαλοὺς τοῦ Μηδισμοῦ π. excuse them from the charge of Medism, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| paraitomōπαραιτοῦμαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | escape | 1× |
| paraitoleπαρῃτοῦντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | requested | 1× |
| paraitelaπαρῃτήσαντο | happened · theyaorist middle indicative 3rd person plural | begged | 1× |
| paraiteveiaπαραιτήσησθε | happened · yeaorist middle subjunctive 2nd person plural | refuse | 1× |
| paraitosōrπαραιτοῦ | happening now · youpresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person singular | avoid | 4× |
| paraitorōπαραιτεῖσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | make excuses | 1× |
| paraiterantoisπαραιτησάμενοι | happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative plural masculine | refused | 1× |
| paraitorēntonπαρῃτημένον | has happened · objectperfect middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine | excuse | 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 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 3 occurrences
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 | paraitomō1×παραιτοῦμαι | paraitome | paraitomē | paraitomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | paraitosō | paraitose | paraitosē | paraitoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraitotō | paraitote | paraitotē | paraitotelē |
| we 1st person plural | paraitonō | paraitone | paraitonē | paraitonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraitovō | paraitove | paraitovē | paraitovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | paraitolō | paraitole1×παρῃτοῦντο | paraitolē | paraitolelē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | paraitemi | paraitema |
| you 2nd person singular | paraitesi | paraitesa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraiteti | paraiteta |
| we 1st person plural | paraiteni | paraitena |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraitevi | paraiteva |
| they 3rd person plural | paraiteli | paraitela1×παρῃτήσαντο |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 1 occurrence
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | paraitomeiō | paraitomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | paraitoseiō | paraitoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraitoteiō | paraitoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | paraitoneiō | paraitoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraitoveiō | paraitoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | paraitoleiō | paraitoleiē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | paraitemeia |
| you 2nd person singular | paraiteseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraiteteia |
| we 1st person plural | paraiteneia |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraiteveia1×παραιτήσησθε |
| they 3rd person plural | paraiteleia |
Commands — imperative mood, 4 occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | paraitosōr4×παραιτοῦ | paraitosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraitotōr | paraitotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraitovōr | paraitovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | paraitolōr | paraitolēr |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | paraitesar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraitetar |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraitevar |
| they 3rd person plural | paraitelar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | paraitomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | paraitosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraitotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | paraitonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraitovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | paraitoloiō |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | paraitemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | paraitesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paraitetoia |
| we 1st person plural | paraitenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | paraitevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | paraiteloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | paraitorō1×παραιτεῖσθαι | paraitorē | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | paraiteri | paraitera |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | paraitorōntos | paraitorēntos2× | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | paraiterintos | paraiterantos1× |
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
parait 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.
12 occurrences, every one of them listed
paraitomō“escape”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
Acts 25:11“escape”… kai axiem thanatou prassamē tinem, ouk paraitomō tem apothnēskara; ei de oudenem atō …… guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth …
paraitole“requested”was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Mark 15:6“requested”… heortan apoluate autoi henon desmion hon paraitole.… at the feast to release to the people a prisoner of their …
paraitela“begged”happened · theyaorist middle indicative 3rd person plural1×
Hebrews 12:19“begged”… kai fōna rēmeiu, hau tois akouarantois paraitela mē prostithira autoi logon;… to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken.
paraiteveia“refuse”happened · yeaorist middle subjunctive 2nd person plural1×
Hebrews 12:25Blepavōr mē paraiteveia ton lalarōnton; ei gar ekeinois ouk …… to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the …
paraitosōr“avoid”happening now · youpresent middle or passive imperative 2nd person singular4×
1 Timothy 4:7“have nothing to do with”toin de bebēloin kai graōdoin muthoin paraitosōr. gumnazasōr de siauton pros eusebeian;But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.
1 Timothy 5:11neoterain de chērain paraitosōr; hotan gar katastrēnialeia tou Christou, gamarō …But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when …
2 Timothy 2:23“avoid”tain de mōrain kai apaideutain zētēsiain paraitosōr, horarēntos hoti gennalō machain;But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds …
Titus 3:10… anthrōpon meta henan kai deuteran nouthesian paraitosōr,Reject a divisive man after a first …
paraitorō“make excuses”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive1×
Luke 14:18kai archela apo henau pantois paraitorō. tos prōtos legata auto; Agron agorazama …… after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have …
paraiterantois“refused”happened · subjectaorist middle participle nominative plural masculine1×
Hebrews 12:25… gar ekeinois ouk ekfeugala epi gēau paraiterantois ton chrēmatizarōnton, pollem mallon nis tois …… people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth …
paraitorēnton“excuse”has happened · objectperfect middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine2×
Luke 14:18“excused”… horara auton; erōtamō sin, echasōr min paraitorēnton.… to go see it. Please excuse me.’
Luke 14:19… dokimazara auteim; erōtamō sin, echasōr min paraitorēnton.… going to try them out. Please excuse me.’