verb
sunechomō
Strong’sG4912
I press together, confine, compel, am afflicted with
stem sunech-12 times in the New Testamentin 5 of 27 books11 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
συνέχω means, at its most literal, to press or hold together, to hem in — used in the New Testament of ears being shut or stopped, and of a crowd pressing in on someone from every side 123.
It also means to hold in custody, to keep under guard, as of a prisoner kept under watch 123.
Beyond this, it means to constrain or compel — of a force (such as love) that presses a person to act, and, in the passive, of a person being constrained, hard pressed, or held fast by some pressure or word laid on them 123.
Finally, in the passive it is used of illness or trouble: to be seized or afflicted with, to be suffering from a sickness or distress 1234.
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
συν-έχω
[in LXX for עצר, חבר, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4912 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidsoon-ekh'-o
to hold together, i.e. to compress (the ears, with a crowd or siege) or arrest (a prisoner); figuratively, to compel, perplex, afflict, preoccupy
King Jamesconstrain, hold, keep in, press, lie sick of, stop, be in a strait, straiten, be taken with, throng.
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
aorist συνέσχον:—middle, future συνέξομαι in passive sense, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, aorist συνεσχέθην Refs 4th c.BC+: future infinitive συσχεθήσεσθαι Refs 1st c.BC+ W.:—hold or keep together, confine, secure, ὅθι ζωστῆρος ὀχῆες χρύσειοι σύνεχον [θώρηκα] Refs 8th c.BC+; ἵνα τε ξυνέχουσι τένοντες ἀγκῶνος where the sinews of the elbow hold [it] together, Refsmeet, see below Refs; Ὠκεανός.. συνεῖχε σάκος enclosed, compassed it, Refs 8th c.BC+; Αἴτνα σ. [Τυφῶνα] Refs 5th c.BC+; τὼ μηρὼ σ. hold them together, Refs 5th c.BC+; συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν closed or stopped their ears, NT; μηδὲ συσχέτω ἐπ᾽ ἐμὲ φρέαρ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ let not the pit close its mouth upon me, LXX; τὸ δέρμα σ. [τὰ ὀστᾶ] Refs 5th c.BC+; Ἄτλας ἅπαντα σLXXpassive, τὸ λεγόμενον ἐν φρέατι συσχόμενος” trapped in a well, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁ καρπὸς.. ἂν μὴ πλυθῇ.. συνέχεται sticks together, Refs 4th c.BC+; τὸ στόμα οὐ συνεσχέθη ἔτι my mouth was no longer closed, LXX
2 keep together, keep from dispersing, στράτευμα, δύναμιν, Refs 5th c.BC+; continue, keep on, μὴ πλείους πέντε ἡμερῶν σύσχῃς τὸ ὕδωρ (the flooding) Refs 3rd c.BC+; keep, τοὺς πολίτας σ. ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις Refs 1st c.AD+; preserve, οἱ ἅλες ἐπὶ πλεῖστον [τὰ σώματα] συνέχοντες Refs 1st c.AD+; maintain, σ. τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐκ τῶν ἱεροσυληθέντων λειψάνων Refs 1st c.BC+:—passive, to be continuous, Refs 4th c.BC+; to be maintained, πᾶσα ἕξις.. ὑπὸ τῶν καταλλήλων ἔργων συνέχεται καὶ αὔξεται Refs 2nd c.AD+
2.b of social and political order, σ. πόλεις keep states together, keep them from falling to pieces, maintain them, Refs 5th c.BC+; καὶ θεοὺς καὶ ἀνθρώπους ἡ κοινωνία σ. Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν οἴνῳ τὰς ἀρχὰς συνεῖχε conducted the government over wine, LXX+5th c.BC+; ξ. τὴν εἰρεσίαν keep the rowers together, make them pull in time, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων συνέχεσθαι Refs 5th c.BC+
2.c keep together in friendship, ἁμέ Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, τὸ ὂν συνέχεται.. φιλίᾳ Refs 5th c.BC+
2.d passive also, engage in close combat, ἐγχειριδίοισι Refs 5th c.BC+; of sexual intercourse, Refs 4th c.BC+
2.e occupy or engage, ἑαυτὸν ἐν γυναιξὶ καὶ θιάσοις Refs 1st c.AD+
3 contain, comprise, embrace, εἷς λόγος πάσας τὰς αἰσθήσεις σ. Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸ συνέχον the chief matter, Refs 2nd c.BC+ the chief reason for.. , Refs 2nd c.BC+; τῆς σωτηρίας the chief means of.. , Refs; τὰ σ. τῶν ἐγγράπτων the chief clauses, Refs —passive, τὸν πρὸς τῇ ὑπεκλύσει πυρετὸν ὑπ᾽ ἄλλης αἰτίας συνέχεσθαι is chiefly caused (compare συνεκτικός) by.., Refs 2nd c.AD+
4 detain, τὰς καμήλους ἐν τῇ Νεχθενίβιος (i.e. κώμῃ) Refs 3rd c.BC+; sequestrate, Refs 3rd c.BC+; keep under arrest, NT+3rd c.BC+:—passive, συνέχομαι ἐμ φυλακῇ Refs 3rd c.BC+, etc.; of things held as security, Refs 3rd c.BC+
5 constrain or force one to a thing, ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ σ. ἡμᾶς NT; oppress, NT+2nd c.AD+passive, συνέχεσθαί τινι to be constrained, distressed, afflicted, and, generally, to be affected by anything whether in mind or body, πατρὶ συνείχετο.. χαλεπῷ Refs 5th c.BC+; σ. πολέμῳ, δουληΐῃ, Refs 5th c.BC+; δίψῃ, πόνῳ, NT+5th c.BC+; τῷ λόγῳ (variant{πνεύματι}) NT+1st c.BC+; συνεχομένη τῇ συνειδήσειLXX
6 constrain, hinder, hold back, Refs 5th c.BC+; σύσχῃ τὸν οὐρανόν shut up the heaven, LXX; συνεσχέθη ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦLXX; συνεσχέθη ἡ θραῦσις ἐπάνωθεν Ἰσραήλ the plague was stayed from Israel,LXX+2nd c.AD+
7 hold at the same time, δύο σχολάς Refs 1st c.BC+
8 buy up and withhold, make a corner in, σῖτον LXX
9 Grammars, σ. τὸ ἄρθρον to be accompanied by the article, Refs 2nd c.AD+
10 συνέσχον I also received.. , Refs 3rd c.AD+
II intransitive, meet, seeRefs 4th c.BC+; πρός τι to be connected with, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| sunechatōσυνέχει | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | controls | 1× |
| sunechalōσυνέχουσίν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | crowding | 1× |
| sunechomōσυνέχομαι | happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular | distressed | 2× |
| sunechoteσυνείχετο | was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular | occupied | 1× |
| sunecholeσυνείχοντο | was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural | seized | 1× |
| sunechaliσυνέξουσίν | will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural | hem … in | 1× |
| sunechalaσυνέσχον | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | stopped | 1× |
| sunecharōntoisσυνέχοντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | holding | 1× |
| sunechorōntasσυνεχομένη | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine | suffering from | 1× |
| sunechorōntonσυνεχόμενον | happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine | suffering | 1× |
| sunechorōntoinσυνεχομένους | happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle accusative plural masculine | afflicted | 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 140, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 8 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 | sunechamō | sunechame | sunechami | sunechama | sunechamē | sunechamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | sunechasō | sunechase | sunechasi | sunechasa | sunechasē | sunechaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechatō1×συνέχει | sunechate | sunechati | sunechata | sunechatē | sunechatelē |
| we 1st person plural | sunechanō | sunechane | sunechani | sunechana | sunechanē | sunechanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechavō | sunechave | sunechavi | sunechava | sunechavē | sunechavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | sunechalō1×συνέχουσίν | sunechale | sunechali1×συνέξουσίν | sunechala1×συνέσχον | sunechalē | sunechalelē |
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 | sunechomō2×συνέχομαι | sunechome | sunechomē | sunechomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | sunechosō | sunechose | sunechosē | sunechoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechotō | sunechote1×συνείχετο | sunechotē | sunechotelē |
| we 1st person plural | sunechonō | sunechone | sunechonē | sunechonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechovō | sunechove | sunechovē | sunechovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | sunecholō | sunechole1×συνείχοντο | sunecholē | sunecholelē |
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 | sunechameiō | sunechameia | sunechameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | sunechaseiō | sunechaseia | sunechaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechateiō | sunechateia | sunechateiē |
| we 1st person plural | sunechaneiō | sunechaneia | sunechaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechaveiō | sunechaveia | sunechaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | sunechaleiō | sunechaleia | sunechaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | sunechomeiō | sunechomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | sunechoseiō | sunechoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechoteiō | sunechoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | sunechoneiō | sunechoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechoveiō | sunechoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | sunecholeiō | sunecholeiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | sunechasōr | sunechasar | sunechasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechatōr | sunechatar | sunechatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechavōr | sunechavar | sunechavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | sunechalōr | sunechalar | sunechalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | sunechosōr | sunechosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechotōr | sunechotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechovōr | sunechovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | sunecholōr | sunecholēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | sunechamoiō | sunechamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | sunechasoiō | sunechasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechatoiō | sunechatoia |
| we 1st person plural | sunechanoiō | sunechanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechavoiō | sunechavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | sunechaloiō | sunechaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | sunechomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | sunechosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | sunechotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | sunechonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | sunechovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | sunecholoiō |
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 | sunecharō | sunechari | sunechara | sunecharē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | sunechorō | sunechorē |
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 | sunecharōntos1× | sunecharintos | sunecharantos | sunecharēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | sunechorōntos3× | sunechorēntos |
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
sunech 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
sunechatō“controls”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular1×
2 Corinthians 5:14“controls”tas gar agapas tou Christou sunechatō nin, krinarantoin houtem hoti henos huper …For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore …
sunechalō“crowding”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Luke 8:45… legata tos Petros; Epistator, tois ochlois sunechalō sin kai apothlibalō.… Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.”
sunechomō“distressed”happening now · Ipresent middle or passive indicative 1st person singular2×
Luke 12:50baptismem de echamō baptizira, kai pōs sunechomō heōs hotinou teliteia.… a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!
Philippians 1:23“hard pressed”sunechomō de ek teiu duo, tan epithumian …… am torn between the two. I desire to depart …
sunechote“occupied”was happening · he/she/itimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
Acts 18:5“occupied”… tos tē Silos kai tos Timotheos, sunechote to logo tos Paulos, diamarturorōntos toi …And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that …
sunechole“seized”was happening · theyimperfect middle or passive indicative 3rd person plural1×
Luke 8:37“seized”… aperchara apo autoiu, hoti fobo mego sunechole; autos de embainarantos eis ploiem hupostrefata.… Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started …
sunechali“hem … in”will happen · theyfuture active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Luke 19:43… charakon si kai perikuklali sin kai sunechali sin pantothen,… barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.
sunechala“stopped”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 7:57“stopped”krazarantois de fōna mega sunechala teim oueim autoiu, kai hormala homothumadōs …… they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.
sunecharōntois“holding”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Luke 22:63Kai tois androis tois sunecharōntois auton empaizale auto derarōntois,The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and …
sunechorōntas“suffering from”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine1×
Luke 4:38… Simōnou. pentheras de tou Simōnou ate sunechorōntas pureto mego, kai erōtala auton peri …… home of Simon, whose mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. So they appealed …
sunechorōnton“suffering”happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle accusative singular masculine1×
Acts 28:8… patron tou Popliou puretoi kai dusenterie sunechorōnton katakeiorō, pros hon tos Paulos eisercharantos …… of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went …
sunechorōntoin“afflicted”happening now · objectpresent middle or passive participle accusative plural masculine1×
Matthew 4:24“afflicted”… kakōs echarōntoin poikilai nosai kai basanai sunechorōntoin, daimonizorōntoin kai selēniazorōntoin kai paralutikoin, kai …… ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed …