noun · feminine
paraklēsias
Strong’sG3874
exhortation, entreaty, encouragement, comfort
stem paraklēsi-29 times in the New Testamentin 11 of 27 books4 of 10 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
Παράκλησις means an appeal or urgent request, made to someone whose help is needed 123; a call for aid that can shade into entreaty or asking something of someone 123.
It also means exhortation, encouragement, or urging someone on to a course of action, as when a speech is meant to move people to act rightly 1234; this includes something spoken to a gathering or read aloud, and can describe a person who is himself a source of such encouragement 1.
It further means comfort or consolation, the relief or solace given to someone in distress 1234, including comfort that comes from God, from Scripture, or in connection with a hoped-for national deliverance 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
παρά-κλησις, -εως, ἡ
(< παρακαλέω), [in LXX: Jb 21:2, Ps 93 (94):19, Ho 13:14, Na 3:7, Is 57:18 66:11, Je 16:7 (נחם, its parts and derivatives), Je 38 (31):9 (תַּחֲנוּן), Is 28:29 30:7, I Mac 10:24 12:9, II Mac 7:24 15:11*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3874 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpar-ak'-lay-sis
imploration, hortation, solace
Fromfrom G3870;
King Jamescomfort, consolation, exhortation, intreaty.
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
calling to one's aid, summons, οἱ ἐκ παρακλήσεως συγκαθήμενοι a packed party in the assembly, Refs 4th c.BC+
2 imploring, appealing, τινος of or on the part of one, Refs 5th c.BC+; deprecation, συγγνώμης δεῖ καὶ π. Refs 1st c.BC+
3 invocation of gods, Refs 4th c.AD+
4 demand, request, Refs 2nd c.BC+; κατὰ-σιν on demand, Refs 3rd c.AD+
II exhortation, address, πρὸς τὸν ὄχλον Refs 5th c.BC+; οὐ π. εὑρόντες, ἀλλὰ παραίνεσιν γράψαντες not a mere address to their feelings, but counsel to act rightly, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀξιώσεισκαὶ-κλήσεις Refs 2nd c.BC+
III consolation, LXX+NT+3rd 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
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | paraklēsias3×παράκλησις | paraklēsiais |
| object accusative | paraklēsian7×παράκλησιν | paraklēsiain |
| direct address vocative | paraklēsiar | paraklēsiair |
| of, belonging to genitive | paraklēsiau12×παρακλήσεως | paraklēsiaiu |
| to, for dative | paraklēsia7×παρακλήσει | paraklēsiai |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
paraklēsia 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.
29 occurrences, every one of them listed
paraklēsias“comfort”subjectnominative singular3×
2 Corinthians 1:5… dia tou Christou perisseuatō kai tas paraklēsias nu.… us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
Philippians 2:1Ei tinas oun paraklēsias en Christo, ei tinem paramuthiem agapau, …Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from …
1 Thessalonians 2:3“exhortation”tas gar paraklēsias nu ouk ek planau oude ek …For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives …
paraklēsian“encouragement”objectaccusative singular7×
Luke 2:25… anthrōpos houtos dikaios kai eulabos, prosdechorōntos paraklēsian tou Israēl, kai pneumem ate hagiem …… devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit …
Luke 6:24… vi toi plousioi, hoti apechavō tan paraklēsian vu.… for you have already received your comfort.
1 Corinthians 14:3… de profēteuarōntos anthrōpoi lalatō oikodoman kai paraklēsian kai paramuthian.… speaks to men for their edification, encouragement, and comfort.
2 Corinthians 8:17hoti tan men paraklēsian decheta, spoudaioteros de huparcharōntos authairetos exerchata …… not only did he welcome our appeal, but he is eagerly coming to …
2 Thessalonians 2:16… nu, tos agaparantos nin kai dōarantos paraklēsian aiōnian kai elpidan agathan en charita,… loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
Philemon 1:7charan gar pollan echama kai paraklēsian epi ta agapa su, hoti teim …I take great joy and encouragement in your love, because you, brother …
Hebrews 6:18“encouragement”… en hei adunatem pseudera theon, ischuran paraklēsian echaneiō tois katafugarantois kratara tau prokeiorōntau …… unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may …
paraklēsiau“comfort”of, belonging togenitive singular12×
Acts 4:36… toiu apostoloiu, hem atō methermēneuorōntem huios paraklēsiau, Leuitos, Kuprios te gene,… called Barnabas (vvv meaning Son of Encouragement),
Acts 13:15“exhortation”… ei tinos atō en vi logos paraklēsiau pros ton laon, legavōr.… them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
Romans 15:4… dia tau hupomonau kai dia tau paraklēsiau taiu grafaiu tan elpidan echaneiō.… so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have …
Romans 15:5… de theos tau hupomonau kai tau paraklēsiau dōatoia vi tem autem fronarō en …… the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another …
2 Corinthians 1:3… patros toiu oiktirmoiu kai theos pantau paraklēsiau,… compassion and the God of all comfort,
2 Corinthians 1:4… toin en panta thlipsia dia tau paraklēsiau hau parakalonō autois hupo tou theou.… those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
2 Corinthians 1:6eite de thlibonō, huper tau vu paraklēsiau kai sōtērēau; eite parakalonō, huper tau …… are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted …
2 Corinthians 1:6… sōtērēau; eite parakalonō, huper tau vu paraklēsiau tau energorōntau en hupomona teiu auteiu …… are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance …
2 Corinthians 1:7… avō teiu pathēmeiu, houtōs kai tau paraklēsiau.… also you will share in our comfort.
2 Corinthians 8:4“exhortation”meta pollau paraklēsiau dorōntois nu, tan charitan kai tan …… earnestly pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
Hebrews 12:5kai eklanthanovē tau paraklēsiau, hotinas vi hōs huioi dialegotō, Huior …And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My …
Hebrews 13:22… vin, adelfoir, anechovōr tou logou tau paraklēsiau, kai gar dia brachuoiu epistelama vi.… to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have only written to …
paraklēsia“comfort”to, fordative singular7×
Acts 9:31“comfort”… to fobo tou kuriou kai ta paraklēsia teu hagieu pneumeu plēthunote.… living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 15:31“encouragement”anagnōskarantois de chairila epi ta paraklēsia.When the people read it, they rejoiced at its …
Romans 12:8“exhortation”eite tos parakalarōntos en ta paraklēsia, tos metadōarōntos en haplota, tos prostēorōntos …… him encourage; if it is …
2 Corinthians 7:4“comfort”… mi kauchēsias huper vu; plēromē ta paraklēsia, huperperisseuomō ta chara epi panta ta …… is my pride in you; I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows.
2 Corinthians 7:7… parousia autou, alla kai en ta paraklēsia ha parakalita epi vi, anangelarōntos ni …… his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He …
2 Corinthians 7:13“comfort”dia houtem parakalonē. Epi de ta paraklēsia nu perissoterōs mallon chairina epi ta …… account of this, we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were even more delighted by the joy of …
1 Timothy 4:13heōs erchomō prosechasōr ta anagnōsia, ta paraklēsia, ta didaskalia.… the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.