verb
peiromō
Strong’sG3987
I try, attempt
stem peir-once in the New Testament1 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
πειράω, more commonly as depon., πειράομαι,
[in LXX for נסה;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3987 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidpi-rah'-o
to test (subjectively), i.e. (reflexively) to attempt
Fromfrom G3984;
King Jamesassay.
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+: imperfect
A ἐπείρων Refs 5th c.BC+future -άσω [ᾱ] Refs: aorist ἐπείρᾱσα Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect πεπείρᾱκα Refs 2nd c.AD+ —passive, aorist ἐπειράθην [ᾱ] Refs 5th c.BC+; compare πειράζω.
B more frequently in middle πειράομαι, Refs 8th c.BC+future -άσομαι [ᾱ] Refs 5th c.BC+; Doric dialect 2nd pers. plural πειρασεῖσθε Refs 5th c.BC+aorist ἐπειρᾱσάμην, Ionic dialect ἐπειρησάμην, Refs 8th c.BC+; but aorist passive ἐπειρήθην, Attic dialect ἐπειράθην [ᾱ], found in middle sense, Refs 8th c.BC+perfect πεπείρᾱμαι, Ionic dialect -ημαι, Refs 8th c.BC+: 3rd.pers. plural pluperfect ἐπεπείραντο Refs 2nd c.AD+, Ionic dialect ἐπεπειρέατο Refs 5th c.BC+
A active, attempt, endeavour, try, with infinitive, μήτε τις.. πειράτω διακέρσαι ἐμὸν ἔπος Refs 8th c.BC+: with adjective neuter, πολλὰ πειρῶντες Refs 5th c.BC+: with infinitive understood, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.II with genitive person, make trial of one, μή μευ πειράτω, for the purpose of persuading, Refs 8th c.BC+; of things, τευχέων Refs 3rd c.BC+: in hostile sense, make an attempt on, μήλων πειρήσοντα Refs 8th c.BC+; οὐ πειρᾶν τῆς πόλιος, πρὶν.. Refs 5th c.BC+
A.III absolutely, ναυσὶ π. make an attempt by sea, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.IV with accusative of things, experience, τύχης ἐπήρειαν Refs 2nd c.AD+
A.IV.2 with accusative person, make an attempt on a woman's honour, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, πειραθεὶς ὁ Ἁρμόδιος ὑπὸ Ἱππάρχου Refs 5th c.BC+; see below Refs 5th c.BC+
B more frequently in middle, with infinitive, try to do, Refs 8th c.BC+: with future infinitive, Refs 1st c.AD+infinitive is sometimes understood, πειρήσεται (i.e. ἀλύξαι) Refs 8th c.BC+; by ἐάν or ἄν, Refs 5th c.BC+; by μὴ.., lest.., Refs 8th c.BC+; by ὅπως.., Refs 5th c.BC+: with participle, frequently in Refs 5th c.BC+; προσβαίνωνRefs; π. σκοπῶν Refs 5th c.BC+?? with neuter adjective, τὰ μεγάλα καὶ τὰ μικρὰ π. Refs 5th c.BC+
B.II most frequently (V.Refs 4th c.BC+
B.II.1 with genitive person, make trial of one, Refs 8th c.BC+; νῦν σεῦ, ξεῖνε, ὀΐω πειρήσεσθαι, εἰRefs 8th c.BC+; ἦ πρῶτ᾽ ἐξερέοιτο ἕκαστά τε πειρήσαιτο test him in each particular, Refs 8th c.BC+; π. θεοῦ make trial of, tempt a god, Refs 5th c.BC+: in hostile sense, πρὶν πειρήσαιτ᾽ Ἀχιλῆος Refs 8th c.BC+; π. τῆς Πελοποννήσου make an attempt on it, Refs 5th c.BC+
B.II.2 with genitive of things, make proof or trial of.., σθένεος Refs 8th c.BC+; χειρῶν καὶ σθένεος π., ἢ.. ἦ.. Refs 8th c.BC+; try one's chance at or in a work or contest, ἔργου Refs; ἀέθλου, ἀέθλων, Refs 8th c.BC+; make proof of, try a weapon, τόξου Refs arrows whose force they were soon to make trial of, i. e.feel, Refs; also, make proof of, have experience of, especially in perfect passive, first in Refs 8th c.BC+; πειρασάμενος ἀγαθῶν, δουλείας, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὀρφανίας π., i.e. to be an orphan, Refs 3rd c.BC+; but π. τινὸς μετρίου find him moderate by experience or on trial, Refs 1st c.AD+; also, πεπείρανται ὅτι.. Refs 5th c.BC+
B.II.3 absolutely, try one's fortune, try the chances of war, αἴ κε θεὸς πειρώμενος ἐνθάδ᾽ ἵκηται Refs 8th c.BC+; πειρώμενος ἢ ἐν ἀέθλῳ ἠὲ καὶ ἐν πολέμῳ making trial of one's powers, Refs; Ἕκτορι πειρηθῆναι ἀντιβίην, ἢ.. ἦ.. to try one's fortune against him, Refs; περὶ δ᾽ αὐτῆς πειρηθήτω (i.e. τῆς ἵππου) let him try for her, as a prize, Refs
B.III make a trial or put a matter to the test, ἐν σοὶ πειρώμεθα Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐπειρήσαντο πόδεσσι tried their luck in the foot-race, Refs 8th c.BC+; also π. σὺν ἔντεσι, σὺν τεύχεσι π., Refs 8th c.BC+perfect, οὐδέ τί πω μύθοισι πεπείρημαι I have not tried myself, have not found my skill, in words, Refs 8th c.BC+; πεπειραμένος σαφῶς οἶδα by experience, Refs
B.IV with accusative person, make an attempt onRefs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| peiroleἐπειρῶντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | tried | 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 54, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peiromō | peirome | peiromē | peiromelē |
| you 2nd person singular | peirosō | peirose | peirosē | peiroselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peirotō | peirote | peirotē | peirotelē |
| we 1st person plural | peironō | peirone | peironē | peironelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | peirovō | peirove | peirovē | peirovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | peirolō | peirole1×ἐπειρῶντο | peirolē | peirolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peiromeiō | peiromeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | peiroseiō | peiroseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peiroteiō | peiroteiē |
| we 1st person plural | peironeiō | peironeiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | peiroveiō | peiroveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | peiroleiō | peiroleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | peirosōr | peirosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peirotōr | peirotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | peirovōr | peirovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | peirolōr | peirolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | peiromoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | peirosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | peirotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | peironoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | peirovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | peiroloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no 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 | peirorō | peirorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, no 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 | peirorōntos | peirorēntos |
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
peir 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.
1 occurrence, every one of them listed
peirole“tried”was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 26:21… min Ioudaiois sullaberantois en te hiere peirole diacheirizera.… me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.