verb
prolegamō
Strong’sG4302
I forewarn
stem proleg-15 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books10 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
προλέγω means to say or tell something beforehand, to predict or foretell 124, as when speaking of events yet to come 12. It occurs once in the Greek Old Testament with this sense of announcing something in advance 1.
The word can also mean to declare or state plainly, to say outright 1, a sense some interpreters take it to have in certain New Testament warnings rather than as a prediction of the future 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
προ-λέγω,
[in LXX: Is 41:26 (נגד hi.)*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4302 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
pick out, choose, prefer, Ἀθηναίων προλελεγμένοι Refs 8th c.BC+
II foretell, Aeolic dialect aorist participle προλέξαις Refs 7th c.BC+; predict, of an oracle, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. πρόρρησιν, of a physician, variant in Refs 5th c.BC+
II.b say beforehand, ταῦτα, ὅτι.. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὡς προλέλεκται as was said above, Refs 4th c.BC+; ὁ προλεχθείς the aforesaid, PMasp.Refs 6th c.AD+
II.c προλεγόμεναι (i.e. θέσεις) first principles, Refs 1st c.BC+
II.d μακρὰ προλεγομένγ a long syllable placed, uttered first, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.2 state publicly, proclaim, προὔλεγον τὸ ψήφισμα καθελοῦσι μὴ ἂν γίγνεσθαι πόλεμον Refs 5th c.BC+: with accusative et infinitive, Refs 4th c.BC+
II.3 π. τινὶ ἀπιέναι order him to.., Refs 5th c.BC+; caution, warn, π. τινὶ μὴ φεύγειν Refs 5th c.BC+
II.4 denounce punishment, π. δεσμόν τινι 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| prolegamōπρολέγω | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | warning | 2× |
| proleganeπροελέγομεν | was happening · weimperfect active indicative 1st person plural | told … beforehand | 1× |
| prolegamaπροεῖπον | happened · Iaorist active indicative 1st person singular | warned … before | 1× |
| prolegataπροεῖπε | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | foretold | 1× |
| proleganaπροείπαμεν | happened · weaorist active indicative 1st person plural | told … beforehand | 1× |
| prolegamēπροείρηκα | has happened · Iperfect active indicative 1st person singular | warned | 4× |
| prolegatēπροείρηκεν | has happened · he/she/itperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | predicted | 1× |
| proleganēπροειρήκαμεν | has happened · weperfect active indicative 1st person plural | said before | 1× |
| prolegotēπροείρηται | has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | said before | 1× |
| prolegorēnteiuπροειρημένων | has happened · of, belonging toperfect middle or passive participle genitive plural neuter | predictions | 2× |
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 140, 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 | prolegamō2×προλέγω | prolegame | prolegami | prolegama1×προεῖπον | prolegamē4×προείρηκα | prolegamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | prolegasō | prolegase | prolegasi | prolegasa | prolegasē | prolegaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegatō | prolegate | prolegati | prolegata1×προεῖπε | prolegatē1×προείρηκεν | prolegatelē |
| we 1st person plural | proleganō | prolegane1×προελέγομεν | prolegani | prolegana1×προείπαμεν | proleganē1×προειρήκαμεν | proleganelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegavō | prolegave | prolegavi | prolegava | prolegavē | prolegavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegalō | prolegale | prolegali | prolegala | prolegalē | prolegalelē |
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 | prolegomō | prolegome | prolegomē | prolegomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | prolegosō | prolegose | prolegosē | prolegoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegotō | prolegote | prolegotē1×προείρηται | prolegotelē |
| we 1st person plural | prolegonō | prolegone | prolegonē | prolegonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegovō | prolegove | prolegovē | prolegovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegolō | prolegole | prolegolē | prolegolelē |
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 | prolegameiō | prolegameia | prolegameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | prolegaseiō | prolegaseia | prolegaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegateiō | prolegateia | prolegateiē |
| we 1st person plural | proleganeiō | proleganeia | proleganeiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegaveiō | prolegaveia | prolegaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegaleiō | prolegaleia | prolegaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | prolegomeiō | prolegomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | prolegoseiō | prolegoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegoteiō | prolegoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | prolegoneiō | prolegoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegoveiō | prolegoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegoleiō | prolegoleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | prolegasōr | prolegasar | prolegasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegatōr | prolegatar | prolegatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegavōr | prolegavar | prolegavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegalōr | prolegalar | prolegalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | prolegosōr | prolegosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegotōr | prolegotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegovōr | prolegovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegolōr | prolegolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | prolegamoiō | prolegamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | prolegasoiō | prolegasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegatoiō | prolegatoia |
| we 1st person plural | proleganoiō | proleganoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegavoiō | prolegavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegaloiō | prolegaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | prolegomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | prolegosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | prolegotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | prolegonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | prolegovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | prolegoloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | prolegarō | prolegari | prolegara | prolegarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | prolegorō | prolegorē |
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 | prolegarōntos | prolegarintos | prolegarantos | prolegarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | prolegorōntos | prolegorēntos2× |
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
proleg 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
prolegamō“warning”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular2×
2 Corinthians 13:2“say in advance”prolegamē kai prolegamō hōs pareiarōntos tem deuterem kai apeiarōntos …I already warned you the second time I …
Galatians 5:21“warning”… kōmois, kai teim homoieim houtei, heim prolegamō vi kathōs prolegama hoti tois teim …… drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice …
prolegane“told … beforehand”was happening · weimperfect active indicative 1st person plural1×
1 Thessalonians 3:4“told … beforehand”kai gar hote pros vin ane, prolegane vi hoti mellanō thliborō, kathōs kai …Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know …
prolegama“warned … before”happened · Iaorist active indicative 1st person singular1×
Galatians 5:21… homoieim houtei, heim prolegamō vi kathōs prolegama hoti tois teim toiouteim prassarōntois basileian …… I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things …
prolegata“foretold”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 1:16… adelfoir, date plērira tan grafan han prolegata tem pneumem tem hagiem dia stomeu …… be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning …
prolegana“told … beforehand”happened · weaorist active indicative 1st person plural1×
1 Thessalonians 4:6… kurios peri panteiu houteiu, kathōs kai prolegana vi kai diamarturena.… such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
prolegamē“warned”has happened · Iperfect active indicative 1st person singular4×
Matthew 24:25idou prolegamē vi.See, I have told you in advance.
Mark 13:23vis de blepavōr; prolegamē vi panteim.… be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.
2 Corinthians 7:3pros katakrisian ouk legamō, prolegamē gar hoti en tai kardiai nu …… this to condemn you. I have said before that you so occupy our hearts …
2 Corinthians 13:2prolegamē kai prolegamō hōs pareiarōntos tem deuterem …I already warned you the second time I was …
prolegatē“predicted”has happened · he/she/itperfect active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Romans 9:29“predicted”kai kathōs prolegatē Ēsaios; Ei mē kurios Sabaōth enkatalipata …It is just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants …
proleganē“said before”has happened · weperfect active indicative 1st person plural1×
Galatians 1:9hōs proleganē, kai arti palin legamō, ei tinos …As we have said before, so now I say again: If …
prolegotē“said before”has happened · he/she/itperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Hebrews 4:7“said before”… David legarōntos meta tosouton chronon, kathōs prolegotē, Sēmeron ean tau fōnau autou akouaveia, …… a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not …
prolegorēnteiu“predictions”has happened · of, belonging toperfect middle or passive participle genitive plural neuter2×
2 Peter 3:2“spoken in the past”mimnēskira teiu prolegorēnteiu rēmeiu hupo toiu hagioiu profētoiu kai …… was foretold by the holy prophets and commanded by …
Jude 1:17“predictions”… de, agapētoir, mimnēskivar teiu rēmeiu teiu prolegorēnteiu hupo toiu apostoloiu tou kuriou nu …But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ