verb
plēthunomō
Strong’sG4129
I increase, multiply
stem plēthun-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
To increase, multiply — used of making something greater in number or amount, and also of something itself becoming numerous, growing, or abounding 1234. The word can take a direct object (to increase or multiply something) or be used intransitively or in the passive, of people or things becoming many or being multiplied 123.
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
πληθύνω
(causal of πληθύω, to be full, < πληθύς, Ion. for πλῆθος), [in LXX chiefly for רבה hi.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4129 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidplay-thoo'-no
to increase (transitively or intransitively)
Fromfrom another form of G4128;
King Jamesabound, multiply.
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 -ῠνῶNT: aorist ἐπλήθυνα Refs 5th c.AD+ —causal of πληθύω, increase, multiply, LXX+1st c.AD+:—passive, ταῖς γυναιξὶ τὸ γάλα πληθύνεται abounds, Refs 4th c.BC+
2 make multiple, 'plurify', κατὰ ἀναλογίαν [τὸ ἡνωμένον] ἐπληθύναμεν τῶν κατωτέρω πεπληθυσμένων τὸν πρῶτον πληθυσμόν Dam.[same place]; θεοὶ -όμενοι μὲν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, περὶ αὐτὸν δὲ ἑνοειδῶς ὄντες Refs 4th c.AD+
3 intransitive, see at {πληθύω} Refs
4 use the plural, Refs 8th c.BC+
II passive, to be in the majority, prevail, δήμου.. χεὶρ ὅπῃ πληθύνεται (codex middle πληθύεται) Refs 4th c.BC+infinitive, ταύτην ἐπαινεῖν.. πληθύνομαι I follow the majority, Refs: perfect πεπλήθυνται LXX
II.2 Grammars, [τὸ ἀπαρέμφατον] οὐ πληθύνεται the infinitive has no plural, Refs 2nd c.AD+
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| plēthunoteἐπληθύνετο | was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | increased | 3× |
| plēthunamiπληθυνῶ | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | multiply | 1× |
| plēthunatiπληθυνεῖ | will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular | multiply | 1× |
| plēthunitaἐπληθύνθη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular | multiplied | 1× |
| plēthunitoiaπληθυνθείη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive optative 3rd person singular | multiplied | 3× |
| plēthuniraπληθυνθῆναι | happened · the “to …” formaorist passive infinitive | increase | 1× |
| plēthunarōntosπληθύνων | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | multiplying | 1× |
| plēthunarōntoiuπληθυνόντων | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine | increasing in number | 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, 6 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 | plēthunamō | plēthuname | plēthunami1×πληθυνῶ | plēthunama | plēthunamē | plēthunamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunasō | plēthunase | plēthunasi | plēthunasa | plēthunasē | plēthunaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunatō | plēthunate | plēthunati1×πληθυνεῖ | plēthunata | plēthunatē | plēthunatelē |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunanō | plēthunane | plēthunani | plēthunana | plēthunanē | plēthunanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunavō | plēthunave | plēthunavi | plēthunava | plēthunavē | plēthunavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunalō | plēthunale | plēthunali | plēthunala | plēthunalē | plēthunalelē |
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 | plēthunomō | plēthunome | plēthunomē | plēthunomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunosō | plēthunose | plēthunosē | plēthunoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunotō | plēthunote3×ἐπληθύνετο | plēthunotē | plēthunotelē |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunonō | plēthunone | plēthunonē | plēthunonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunovō | plēthunove | plēthunovē | plēthunovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunolō | plēthunole | plēthunolē | plēthunolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | plēthunimi | plēthunima |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunisi | plēthunisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthuniti | plēthunita1×ἐπληθύνθη |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunini | plēthunina |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunivi | plēthuniva |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunili | plēthunila |
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 | plēthunameiō | plēthunameia | plēthunameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunaseiō | plēthunaseia | plēthunaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunateiō | plēthunateia | plēthunateiē |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunaneiō | plēthunaneia | plēthunaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunaveiō | plēthunaveia | plēthunaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunaleiō | plēthunaleia | plēthunaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | plēthunomeiō | plēthunomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunoseiō | plēthunoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunoteiō | plēthunoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunoneiō | plēthunoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunoveiō | plēthunoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunoleiō | plēthunoleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | plēthunimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthuniseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthuniteia |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthuniveia |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunileia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunasōr | plēthunasar | plēthunasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunatōr | plēthunatar | plēthunatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunavōr | plēthunavar | plēthunavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunalōr | plēthunalar | plēthunalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunosōr | plēthunosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunotōr | plēthunotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunovōr | plēthunovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunolōr | plēthunolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunivar |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunilar |
Wishes — optative mood, 3 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | plēthunamoiō | plēthunamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunasoiō | plēthunasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunatoiō | plēthunatoia |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunanoiō | plēthunanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunavoiō | plēthunavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunaloiō | plēthunaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | plēthunomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | plēthunonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthunoloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | plēthunimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | plēthunisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | plēthunitoia3×πληθυνθείη |
| we 1st person plural | plēthuninoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | plēthunivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | plēthuniloia |
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 | plēthunarō | plēthunari | plēthunara | plēthunarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | plēthunorō | plēthunorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | plēthuniri | plēthunira1×πληθυνθῆναι |
Used as an adjective — participle, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | plēthunarōntos2×πληθύνων | plēthunarintos | plēthunarantos | plēthunarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | plēthunorōntos | plēthunorēntos | ||
| acted on passive voice | plēthunirintos | plēthunirantos |
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
plēthun 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
plēthunote“increased”was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular3×
Acts 6:7“increased”… tos logos tou theou auxanate, kai plēthunote tos arithmos toiu mathētoiu en Ierousalēm …So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 9:31“increased in numbers”… kai ta paraklēsia teu hagieu pneumeu plēthunote.… Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 12:24“multiplied”… de logos tou theou auxanate kai plēthunote.But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.
plēthunami“multiply”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular1×
Hebrews 6:14… mēn eulogarōntos eulogami sin kai plēthunarōntos plēthunami sin;… I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.”
plēthunati“multiply”will happen · he/she/itfuture active indicative 3rd person singular1×
2 Corinthians 9:10… kai arton eis brōsian chorēgati kai plēthunati ton sporon vu kai auxanati teim …… bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will …
plēthunita“multiplied”happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 7:17“multiplied”… to Abraam, auxanata tos laos kai plēthunita en Aigupta,… promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in …
plēthunitoia“multiplied”happened · he/she/itaorist passive optative 3rd person singular3×
1 Peter 1:2“multiplied”… Iēsu Christou; charitas vi kai eirēnas plēthunitoia.… obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours …
2 Peter 1:2charitas vi kai eirēnas plēthunitoia en epignōsia tou theou kai Iēsu …Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of …
Jude 1:2elesem vi kai eirēnas kai agapas plēthunitoia.Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
plēthunira“increase”happened · the “to …” formaorist passive infinitive1×
Matthew 24:12“increase”kai dia tem plēthunira tan anomian psuchiti tas agapas toiu …Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
plēthunarōntos“multiplying”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine1×
Hebrews 6:14“multiplying”… Ei mēn eulogarōntos eulogami sin kai plēthunarōntos plēthunami sin;… I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.”
plēthunarōntoiu“increasing in number”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine1×
Acts 6:1En de tai hēmerai houtai plēthunarōntoiu toiu mathētoiu geneta gongusmos toiu Hellēnistoiu …… those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began …