verb
pauomō
Strong’sG3973
I cause to cease
stem pau-15 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books12 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
παύω means to cause to cease, stop, or restrain something, and in its middle/passive form to cease, leave off, or stop oneself from doing something 124.
In the active sense, it is used with a direct object to mean bringing something to an end or hindering it 12. In the middle sense, common in the New Testament, it describes a person ceasing or leaving off an action, often followed by a participle describing what is stopped, or by a genitive noun naming the thing ceased from 1. Strong's likewise notes both the transitive use (to restrain, bring to an end) and the intransitive use (to quit, desist, come to an end) 2.
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
παύω,
[in LXX for כּלה pi., etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3973 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpow'-o
to stop (transitively or intransitively), i.e. restrain, quit, desist, come to an end
Froma primary verb ("pause");
King Jamescease, leave, refrain.
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
Refs 8th c.BC+: Ionic dialect imperfect παύεσκον Refs 8th c.BC+: future παύσω Refs 8th c.BC+; Epic dialect infinitive παυσέμεν (κατα-) Refsaorist ἔπαυσα Refs, Epic dialect παῦσα Refs: perfect πέπαυκα Refs 4th c.BC+:—middle and passive, Ionic dialect imperfect παυέσκετο Refs 8th c.BC+: future παύσομαι Refs 8th c.BC+; πεπαύσομαι only Refs 5th c.BC+; παυσθήσομαι (variant παυθ-) Refs 5th c.BC+; later παήσομαι (ἀνα-) NT: aorist ἐπαυσάμην Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐπαύθην, Epic dialect παύθην, Refs 8th c.BC+, etc.; ἐπαύσθην Refs 5th c.BC+ H.: perfect πέπαυμαι Refs 8th c.BC+
I causal, make to end,
I.1 with accusative only, bring to an end, check, sometimes of persons, ἵνα παύσομεν ἄγριον ἄνδρα Refs 8th c.BC+; stop or silence by death, Refs 8th c.BC+:—passive and middle, take one's rest, ἐνὶ κλισίῃ Refs 8th c.BC+; cease, have done, Refs 8th c.BC+; of one singing or speaking, Refs 5th c.BC+: generally, middle denotes willing, passive forced, cessation.
I.1.b mostly of things, make an end of, stop, abate, χόλον, μένος, νεῖκος πολέμοιο, ῥόον, ὀδύνας, etc., Refs 8th c.BC+; λύπας ᾠδαῖς π. Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.; π. τόξον let the bow rest, Refs 8th c.BC+; π. τὸν νόμον annul it, Refs; π. τὸν λόγον close it, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. τείχη raze them, Refs 2nd c.AD+:—passive, Refs 5th c.BC+
I.2 with accusative person et genitive of things, hinder, keep back, or give one rest, from a thing, π. Ἕκτορα μάχης, πόνοιο Ἀχιλῆα, Θάμυριν ἀοιδῆς, Πηνελόπειαν κλαυθμοῖο, Refs 8th c.BC+; π. τινὰ ἀλκῆς, ἄλης, καμάτοιο, ὀδυνάων, Refs 8th c.BC+; τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ ἀμα θίας Refs 5th c.BC+; [τῆς νόσου] Refs 4th c.BC+; π. τινὰ τῆς βασιληΐης depose one from being king, Refs 5th c.BC+; τινὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς, τῆς στρατηγίας, Refs 8th c.BC+:—passive and middle, rest or cease from a thing, πολέμοιο, μάχης, ἔργων, πόνου, γόοιο, κλαυθμοῦ, ὀδυνάων, κλαγγῆς, etc., Refs 8th c.BC+; τῆς μάχης, τοῦ δρόμου, Refs 5th c.BC+; παύεσθαι ἀρχῆς to be deposed from, or reach the term of, office, Refs 5th c.BC+
I.3 with present participle, stop a person from.., π. τινὰ ἀριστεύοντα stop him from doing bravely, Refs 8th c.BC+; γελῶντας ἐχθροὺς π. Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive and middle, leave off doing.., ὅθ᾽ ὕπνος ἕλοι, παύσαιτό τε νηπιαχεύων when he stopped playing, Refs 8th c.BC+; of things, ἄνεμος μὲν ἐπαύσατο.. θύων Refs 8th c.BC+participle is frequently to be supplied, αἷμα, φλόξ, ἄνεμος ἐπαύσατο, the blood stopped [flowing], the fire [burning], the wind [blowing], Refs 8th c.BC+; so Ῥοδώπιος πέρι πέπαυμαι (i.e. λέγων) Refs 5th c.BC+
I.4 less frequently with infinitive, stop a person from.., ἔμ᾽ ἔπαυσας ἐπὶ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι Refs 8th c.BC+ inserted, θνητούς γ᾽ ἔπαυσα μὴ προδέρκεσθαι μόρον Refs 5th c.BC+
I.4.b middle with infinitive, Refs 1st c.AD+
I.5 middle, yield, give, of timber, opposed to ἵστασθαι, Refs 4th c.BC+
II intransitive in imperative παῦε, cease, leave off (παύου is rare, Refs 8th c.BC+ stop! have done! be quiet! παῦε, μὴ λέξῃς πέρα Refs 5th c.BC+, where the other Verbs are plural; παῦ, apocalyptic for παῦε, παῦ, μηδὲν ὄμνυ᾽ Refs 4th c.BC+: also imperative middle, παῦσαι λέγουσα Refs 6th c.BC+; παύσασθε νοῦν ἔχοντες (to be read λέγοντες) Refs 4th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| pauomōπαύομαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | cease | 1× |
| pauotōπαύεται | happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | stops | 1× |
| pauonōπαυόμεθα | happening now · wepresent middle or passive indicative 1st person plural | ceased | 1× |
| pauoleἐπαύοντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | cease | 1× |
| pauesiπαύσῃ | will happen · youfuture middle indicative 2nd person singular | stop | 1× |
| paueliπαύσονται | will happen · theyfuture middle indicative 3rd person plural | cease | 1× |
| pauemaἐπαυσάμην | happened · Iaorist middle indicative 1st person singular | cease | 1× |
| pauetaἐπαύσατο | happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular | finished | 2× |
| pauelaἐπαύσαντο | happened · theyaorist middle indicative 3rd person plural | ceased | 3× |
| pauotēπέπαυται | has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | ceased | 1× |
| pauatarπαυσάτω | happened · he/she/itaorist active imperative 3rd person singular | keep | 1× |
| paueraπαύσασθαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist middle infinitive | ceased | 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, 13 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 | pauamō | pauame | pauami | pauama | pauamē | pauamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | pauasō | pauase | pauasi | pauasa | pauasē | pauaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauatō | pauate | pauati | pauata | pauatē | pauatelē |
| we 1st person plural | pauanō | pauane | pauani | pauana | pauanē | pauanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauavō | pauave | pauavi | pauava | pauavē | pauavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | paualō | pauale | pauali | pauala | paualē | paualelē |
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 | pauomō1×παύομαι | pauome | pauomē | pauomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | pauosō | pauose | pauosē | pauoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauotō1×παύεται | pauote | pauotē1×πέπαυται | pauotelē |
| we 1st person plural | pauonō1×παυόμεθα | pauone | pauonē | pauonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauovō | pauove | pauovē | pauovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | pauolō | pauole1×ἐπαύοντο | pauolē | pauolelē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | pauemi | pauema1×ἐπαυσάμην |
| you 2nd person singular | pauesi1×παύσῃ | pauesa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paueti | paueta2×ἐπαύσατο |
| we 1st person plural | paueni | pauena |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauevi | paueva |
| they 3rd person plural | paueli1×παύσονται | pauela3×ἐπαύσαντο |
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 | pauameiō | pauameia | pauameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | pauaseiō | pauaseia | pauaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauateiō | pauateia | pauateiē |
| we 1st person plural | pauaneiō | pauaneia | pauaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauaveiō | pauaveia | pauaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | paualeiō | paualeia | paualeiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | pauomeiō | pauomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | pauoseiō | pauoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauoteiō | pauoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | pauoneiō | pauoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauoveiō | pauoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | pauoleiō | pauoleiē |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | pauemeia |
| you 2nd person singular | paueseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | paueteia |
| we 1st person plural | paueneia |
| ye 2nd person plural | paueveia |
| they 3rd person plural | paueleia |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | pauasōr | pauasar | pauasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauatōr | pauatar1×παυσάτω | pauatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauavōr | pauavar | pauavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | paualōr | paualar | paualēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | pauosōr | pauosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauotōr | pauotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauovōr | pauovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | pauolōr | pauolēr |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | pauesar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauetar |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauevar |
| they 3rd person plural | pauelar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | pauamoiō | pauamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | pauasoiō | pauasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauatoiō | pauatoia |
| we 1st person plural | pauanoiō | pauanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauavoiō | pauavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | paualoiō | paualoia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | pauomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | pauosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | pauonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | pauoloiō |
acts on or for itself middle voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | pauemoia |
| you 2nd person singular | pauesoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | pauetoia |
| we 1st person plural | pauenoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | pauevoia |
| they 3rd person plural | paueloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | pauarō | pauari | pauara | pauarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | pauorō | pauorē | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | paueri | pauera1×παύσασθαι |
Used as an adjective — participle, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | pauarōntos | pauarintos | pauarantos | pauarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | pauorōntos | pauorēntos | ||
| acts on or for itself middle voice | pauerintos | pauerantos |
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
pau 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
pauomō“cease”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular1×
Ephesians 1:16“cease”ouk pauomō eucharistarōntos huper vu mneian poiorōntos epi …I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
pauotō“stops”happening now · he/she/itpresent middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 6:13… pseudēsoin legarōntoin; Tos anthrōpos houtos ouk pauotō lalarōntos rēmeim kata tou topou tou …… witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and …
pauonō“ceased”happening now · wepresent middle or passive indicative 1st person plural1×
Colossians 1:9“ceased”… nis, apo hau hēmerau akouana, ouk pauonō huper vu proseuchorōntois kai aitorōntois hina …… since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to …
pauole“cease”was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 5:42“cease”… te hiere kai kata oikon ouk pauole didaskarōntois kai euangelizorōntois ton christon Iēsun.… day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
pauesi“stop”will happen · youfuture middle indicative 2nd person singular1×
Acts 13:10… huior diabolou, echthror pantau dikaiosunau, ouk pauesi diastrefarōntos tain hodain kuriou tain euthuain?… deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the …
paueli“cease”will happen · theyfuture middle indicative 3rd person plural1×
1 Corinthians 13:8… eite de profēteiais, katargili; eite glōssais, paueli; eite gnōsias, katargiti.… where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will …
pauema“cease”happened · Iaorist middle indicative 1st person singular1×
Acts 20:31“cease”… hoti trietian nuktan kai hēmeran ouk pauema meta dakrueiu nouthetarōntos henon hekaston.… and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
paueta“finished”happened · he/she/itaorist middle indicative 3rd person singular2×
Luke 5:4hōs de paueta lalarōntos, legata pros ton Simōnon; Epanagasar …When Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put …
Luke 11:1… auton en topo tino proseuchorōnton, hōs paueta, legata tinos toiu mathētoiu autou pros …… a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested …
pauela“ceased”happened · theyaorist middle indicative 3rd person plural3×
Luke 8:24“ceased”… kai to kludōno teu hudeu, kai pauela, kai geneta galēnas.The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters, and they subsided, and all was calm.
Acts 21:32… horarantois ton chiliarchon kai toin stratiōtoin pauela tuptarōntois ton Paulon.… the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
Hebrews 10:2epei ouk an pauela prosferorōntais, dia tem mēdenan echarō ēti …… could, would not the offerings have ceased? For the worshipers would have been …
pauotē“ceased”has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
1 Peter 4:1“ceased”… ennoian hoplizevar, hoti tos pascharantos sarka pauotē hamartau,… His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
pauatar“keep”happened · he/she/itaorist active imperative 3rd person singular1×
1 Peter 3:10… zōan agaparō kai horara hēmerain agathain pauatar tan glōssan apo kakoseu kai cheileim …… life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his …
pauera“ceased”happened · the “to …” formaorist middle infinitive1×
Acts 20:1“ceased”Meta de tem pauera ton thorubon metapemperantos tos Paulos toin …When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples. And after encouraging them …