verb
ploutamō
Strong’sG4147
I become rich
stem plout-12 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books9 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 be or become rich — to possess or gain wealth or material goods 124. In this literal sense the word can be used with phrases marking the source of the wealth, such as becoming rich from or out of something 1.
The word is also used metaphorically, of being rich toward God rather than in material terms, and of God being rich in giving to all people 1. In this metaphorical use it can also describe someone becoming rich, or having become rich, without that riches being of a worldly kind 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
πλουτέω, -ῶ,
[in LXX chiefly for עשׁר hi.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4147 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidploo-teh'-o
to be (or become) wealthy (literally or figuratively)
Fromfrom G4148;
King Jamesbe increased with goods, (be made, wax) rich.
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
(πλοῦτος) to be rich, wealthy, opposed to πένομαι, τάχα σε ζηλώσει ἀεργὸς πλουτεῦντα Refs 8th c.BC+becomes rich, Refs 6th c.BC+; π. μέγα, μάλιστα, μεγάλως, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὄναρ πεπλουτηκέναι 'build castles in the air', Refs 5th c.BC+; π. ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν to be rich from the public purse, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 with genitive of things, to be rich in a thing, πόνου Refs 5th c.BC+; πλουτῖον (i.e. -τεῖον, for the sake of meter for -τέον) τέκνων.. δωμάτιον Refs
3 with dative of things, π. ἐμπύροισιν Refs 5th c.BC+; σιδήρῳ, χαλκῷ, Refs 5th c.BC+
4 with accusative cognate, π. πλοῦτον Refs 2nd c.AD+; π. φίλους, φιλίαν, Refs 4th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ploutavaἐπλουτήσατε | happened · yeaorist active indicative 2nd person plural | rich | 1× |
| ploutalaἐπλούτησαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | rich | 2× |
| ploutamēπεπλούτηκα | has happened · Iperfect active indicative 1st person singular | become wealthy | 1× |
| ploutaseiaπλουτήσῃς | happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular | rich | 1× |
| ploutaveiaπλουτήσητε | happened · yeaorist active subjunctive 2nd person plural | rich | 1× |
| ploutarōπλουτεῖν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | rich | 2× |
| ploutarōntosπλουτῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | rich | 2× |
| ploutarōntoinπλουτοῦντας | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine | rich | 1× |
| ploutarantoisπλουτήσαντες | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | became rich | 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 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 4 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ploutamō | ploutame | ploutami | ploutama | ploutamē1×πεπλούτηκα | ploutamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | ploutasō | ploutase | ploutasi | ploutasa | ploutasē | ploutaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ploutatō | ploutate | ploutati | ploutata | ploutatē | ploutatelē |
| we 1st person plural | ploutanō | ploutane | ploutani | ploutana | ploutanē | ploutanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ploutavō | ploutave | ploutavi | ploutava1×ἐπλουτήσατε | ploutavē | ploutavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | ploutalō | ploutale | ploutali | ploutala2×ἐπλούτησαν | ploutalē | ploutalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ploutameiō | ploutameia | ploutameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | ploutaseiō | ploutaseia1×πλουτήσῃς | ploutaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ploutateiō | ploutateia | ploutateiē |
| we 1st person plural | ploutaneiō | ploutaneia | ploutaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | ploutaveiō | ploutaveia1×πλουτήσητε | ploutaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | ploutaleiō | ploutaleia | ploutaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | ploutasōr | ploutasar | ploutasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ploutatōr | ploutatar | ploutatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | ploutavōr | ploutavar | ploutavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | ploutalōr | ploutalar | ploutalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | ploutamoiō | ploutamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | ploutasoiō | ploutasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | ploutatoiō | ploutatoia |
| we 1st person plural | ploutanoiō | ploutanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | ploutavoiō | ploutavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | ploutaloiō | ploutaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | ploutarō2×πλουτεῖν | ploutari | ploutara | ploutarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 4 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | ploutarōntos3×πλουτῶν | ploutarintos | ploutarantos1× | ploutarēntos |
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
plout 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.
12 occurrences, every one of them listed
ploutava“rich”happened · yeaorist active indicative 2nd person plural1×
1 Corinthians 4:8Ēdē korennuorēntois avō, ēdē ploutava, chōris nu basilava; kai ofelon ge …… you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings …
ploutala“rich”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural2×
Revelation 18:3“become rich”… ek tau dunamiau teu strēneu autau ploutala.… the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”
Revelation 18:19“rich”… tas polas tas megas, en ha ploutala pantois tois echarōntois teim ploieim en …… to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single …
ploutamē“become wealthy”has happened · Iperfect active indicative 1st person singular1×
Revelation 3:17“become wealthy”hoti legasō hoti Plousios amō kai ploutamē kai oudenem chreian echamō, kai ouk …You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
ploutaseia“rich”happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular1×
Revelation 3:18… mu chrusiem purorēntem ek pureu hina ploutaseia, kai himatieim leukeim hina peribaleseia kai …… fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may …
ploutaveia“rich”happened · yeaorist active subjunctive 2nd person plural1×
2 Corinthians 8:9… arōntos, hina vis ta ekeinou ptōcheia ploutaveia.… you through His poverty might become rich.
ploutarō“rich”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive2×
1 Timothy 6:9tois de boulorōntois ploutarō empiptalō eis peirasmon kai pagidan kai …Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become …
1 Timothy 6:18agathoergarō, ploutarō en ergei kalei, eumetadotoin arō, koinōnikoin,… them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be …
ploutarōntos“rich”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine2×
Luke 12:21… thēsaurizarōntos heauto kai mē eis theon ploutarōntos.… treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Romans 10:12“rich”… Hellēnou, tos gar autos kurios pantoiu, ploutarōntos eis pantoin toin epikalorōntoin auton;… Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
ploutarōntoin“rich”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine1×
Luke 1:53peinarōntoin empimplēata agatheiu kai ploutarōntoin exapostelata kenoin.… good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
ploutarantois“became rich”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Revelation 18:15“became rich”tois emporois houteiu, tois ploutarantois apo autau, apo makrothen stēeli dia …The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of …