verb
profēteuamō
Strong’sG4395
I foretell, prophesy
stem profēteu-28 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books15 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
Foretell or predict future events, speaking of what is to come 1234. This sense appears where the word refers to announcing things that will happen 1, and can be used with reference to a subject or occasion being spoken about 1.
Speak forth or declare God's message under divine inspiration, whether or not the content concerns the future 123. This is described as the primary sense of the word, telling forth divine counsels rather than specifically predicting events, with the future-telling aspect being only incidental in many uses 1. It covers exercising the prophetic office generally, including inspired speech, exposition, or preaching 23.
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
προφητεύω
(< προφήτης), [in LXX chiefly for נבא ni., hith.;]
SYN.: μαντεύομαι, q.v.
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4395 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidprof-ate-yoo'-o
to foretell events, divine, speak under inspiration, exercise the prophetic office
Fromfrom G4396;
King Jamesprophesy.
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
Doric dialect προφᾱτ- Refs 5th c.BC+ —in imperfect and aorist 1 the augment is sometimes placed after the preposition, προ-εφήτευον, -εφήτευσαLXX+NT:— to be a προφήτης or interpreter of the gods, μαντεύεο, Μοῖσα, προφατεύσω δ᾽ ἐγώ Refs 5th c.BC+; τίς προφητεύει θεο; who is his interpreter? Refs 5th c.BC+; οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις σοι προφητεύσει τάδε will be thy intermediary in asking this, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἡ μανία.. προφητεύσασα with oracular power, Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, τὰ προφητευθέντα Refs 8th c.BC+
II expound, interpret, preach, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, NT+4th c.AD+
III hold office of προφήτης, Θεοδώρου προφᾱτεύοντος Refs 2nd c.AD+
IV to be a quack doctor, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| profēteuanōπροφητεύομεν | happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural | prophesy | 1× |
| profēteualeἐπροφήτευον | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | prophesied | 1× |
| profēteualiπροφητεύσουσιν | will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural | prophesy | 3× |
| profēteuataἐπροφήτευσεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | prophesied | 5× |
| profēteuanaἐπροφητεύσαμεν | happened · weaorist active indicative 1st person plural | prophesy | 1× |
| profēteualaἐπροφήτευσαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | prophesied | 1× |
| profēteuaveiōπροφητεύητε | happening now · yepresent active subjunctive 2nd person plural | prophesy | 2× |
| profēteualeiōπροφητεύωσιν | happening now · theypresent active subjunctive 3rd person plural | prophesy | 1× |
| profēteuasarΠροφήτευσον | happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular | prophesy | 3× |
| profēteuarōπροφητεύειν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | prophesy | 2× |
| profēteuaraπροφητεῦσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | prophesy | 1× |
| profēteuarōntosπροφητεύων | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | prophesies | 4× |
| profēteuarōntasπροφητεύουσα | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular feminine | prophesies | 1× |
| profēteuarōntaisπροφητεύουσαι | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural feminine | prophesied | 1× |
| profēteuarantoisπροφητεύσαντες | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | prophesied | 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, 12 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | profēteuamō | profēteuame | profēteuami | profēteuama | profēteuamē | profēteuamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | profēteuasō | profēteuase | profēteuasi | profēteuasa | profēteuasē | profēteuaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | profēteuatō | profēteuate | profēteuati | profēteuata5×ἐπροφήτευσεν | profēteuatē | profēteuatelē |
| we 1st person plural | profēteuanō1×προφητεύομεν | profēteuane | profēteuani | profēteuana1×ἐπροφητεύσαμεν | profēteuanē | profēteuanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | profēteuavō | profēteuave | profēteuavi | profēteuava | profēteuavē | profēteuavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | profēteualō | profēteuale1×ἐπροφήτευον | profēteuali3×προφητεύσουσιν | profēteuala1×ἐπροφήτευσαν | profēteualē | profēteualelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 3 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | profēteuameiō | profēteuameia | profēteuameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | profēteuaseiō | profēteuaseia | profēteuaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | profēteuateiō | profēteuateia | profēteuateiē |
| we 1st person plural | profēteuaneiō | profēteuaneia | profēteuaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | profēteuaveiō2×προφητεύητε | profēteuaveia | profēteuaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | profēteualeiō1×προφητεύωσιν | profēteualeia | profēteualeiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 3 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | profēteuasōr | profēteuasar3×Προφήτευσον | profēteuasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | profēteuatōr | profēteuatar | profēteuatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | profēteuavōr | profēteuavar | profēteuavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | profēteualōr | profēteualar | profēteualēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | profēteuamoiō | profēteuamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | profēteuasoiō | profēteuasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | profēteuatoiō | profēteuatoia |
| we 1st person plural | profēteuanoiō | profēteuanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | profēteuavoiō | profēteuavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | profēteualoiō | profēteualoia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | profēteuarō2×προφητεύειν | profēteuari | profēteuara1×προφητεῦσαι | profēteuarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 7 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | profēteuarōntos6×προφητεύων | profēteuarintos | profēteuarantos1× | profēteuarēntos |
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
profēteu 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.
28 occurrences, every one of them listed
profēteuanō“prophesy”happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural1×
1 Corinthians 13:9… mereu gar gnōskanō kai ek mereu profēteuanō;… we know in part and we prophesy in part,
profēteuale“prophesied”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 19:6… epi autoin, lalale tē glōssai kai profēteuale.… and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
profēteuali“prophesy”will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural3×
Acts 2:17… pneumeu mu epi pantan sarkan, kai profēteuali tois huiois vu kai tais thugatrais …… people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions …
Acts 2:18… ekchami apo teu pneumeu mu, kai profēteuali.… in those days, and they will prophesy.
Revelation 11:3… dōami toi duo marturoi mu, kai profēteuali hēmerain chilioi diakosioi hexēkonta, peribalorēntois sakkoin.… my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
profēteuata“prophesied”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular5×
Matthew 15:7hupokritoir, kalōs profēteuata peri vu Ēsaios legarōntos;You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
Mark 7:6tos de legata autoi; Kalōs profēteuata Ēsaios peri vu toiu hupokritoiu, hōs …Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it …
Luke 1:67… patros autou pimplēita pneumeu hagieu kai profēteuata legarōntos;… filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
John 11:51“prophesied”… alla archierevos arōntos tou eniautou ekeinou profēteuata hoti mellate Iēsus apothnēskarō huper teu …… Instead, as high priest that year, he was prophesying that Jesus would die for the nation,
Jude 1:14Profēteuata de kai houtoi hebdomos apo Adam …Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is …
profēteuana“prophesy”happened · weaorist active indicative 1st person plural1×
Matthew 7:22… Kurior kurior, ouk te se onome profēteuana, kai te se onome daimoneim ekbalana, …… day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your …
profēteuala“prophesied”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Matthew 11:13… profētois kai tos nomos heōs Iōannou profēteuala;… all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
profēteuaveiō“prophesy”happening now · yepresent active subjunctive 2nd person plural2×
1 Corinthians 14:1“prophesy”… de teim pneumatikeim, mallon de hina profēteuaveiō.… pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of …
1 Corinthians 14:5… vin lalarō glōssai, mallon de hina profēteuaveiō; megoteros de tos profēteuarōntos ē tos …… but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than …
profēteualeiō“prophesy”happening now · theypresent active subjunctive 3rd person plural1×
1 Corinthians 14:24“prophesy”ean de pantois profēteualeiō, eiserchateia de tinos apistos ē idiōtos, …But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to …
profēteuasar“prophesy”happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular3×
Matthew 26:68legarōntois; Profēteuasar ni, christor, tinos atō tos paiarantos …and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”
Mark 14:65… kai kolafizarō auton kai legarō auto; Profēteuasar, kai tois hupēretois rapismei auton labala.… their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with …
Luke 22:64kai perikaluptarantois auton eperōtale legarōntois; Profēteuasar, tinos atō tos paiarantos sin?They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?”
profēteuarō“prophesy”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive2×
1 Corinthians 14:31dunovō gar kata henon pantois profēteuarō, hina pantois mathaleiō kai pantois parakaloleiōFor you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may …
1 Corinthians 14:39hōste, adelfoir mu, zēlavōr tem profēteuarō, kai tem lalarō mē kōluavōr glōssai;So, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in …
profēteuara“prophesy”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
Revelation 10:11Kai legalō mi; Datō sin palin profēteuara epi laoi kai ethnei kai glōssai …And they told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations …
profēteuarōntos“prophesies”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine4×
1 Corinthians 11:4pantos andros proseuchorōntos ē profēteuarōntos kata kefalau echarōntos kataischunatō tan kefalan …Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his …
1 Corinthians 14:3tos de profēteuarōntos anthrōpoi lalatō oikodoman kai paraklēsian kai …But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification …
1 Corinthians 14:4… lalarōntos glōssa heauton oikodomatō; tos de profēteuarōntos ekklēsan oikodomatō.… edifies himself, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
1 Corinthians 14:5… de hina profēteuaveiō; megoteros de tos profēteuarōntos ē tos lalarōntos glōssai, ektos ei …… rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks …
profēteuarōntas“prophesies”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular feminine1×
1 Corinthians 11:5pantas de gunaikas proseuchorōntas ē profēteuarōntas akatakalupta ta kefala kataischunatō tan kefalan …And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her …
profēteuarōntais“prophesied”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural feminine1×
Acts 21:9houto de ale thugatrais tessares parthenais profēteuarōntais.He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
profēteuarantois“prophesied”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine1×
1 Peter 1:10“prophesied”… tois peri tau eis vin charitau profēteuarantois,… this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and …