noun · neuter
thelēmem
Strong’sG2307
will, wish, desire
stem thelēm-62 times in the New Testamentin 18 of 27 books3 of 6 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
Will, in the sense of that which is willed - a purpose, decree, or precept that someone has determined should be done 12. This is the sense used of God's will as a plan or requirement to be carried out, and of directives or commands given to others 1.
Will also in the sense of the act of willing itself - a wish, desire, choice, or inclination on the part of the one willing, rather than the thing decreed 12. Related to this is the sense of taking pleasure or delight in something 3. This general sense of will or desire covers ordinary human wanting as well as divine wanting 41.
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
† θέλημα, -τος, τό
(< θέλω), [in LXX chiefly for חָפֶץ, also for רָצוֹן, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2307 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidthel'-ay-mah
a determination (properly, the thing), i.e. (actively) choice (specially, purpose, decree; abstractly, volition) or (passively) inclination
Fromfrom the prolonged form of G2309;
King Jamesdesire, pleasure, will.
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
(θέλω) will, NT+5th c.BC+
II ἔστιν μοι θ. ἔν τινι pleasure in.., LXX:—also θελ-ήμη, ἡ, Refs 9th 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
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject or object direct | thelēmem14×θέλημα | thelēmeim |
| of, belonging to genitive | thelēmeu14×θελήματος | thelēmeiu |
| to, for dative | thelēme6×θελήματι | thelēmei |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
thelēme 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.
62 occurrences, every one of them listed
thelēmem“will”subject or objectdirect singular14×
Matthew 6:10erchatar tas basileias su, genitar tem thelēmem su, hōs en ourano kai epi …Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it …
Matthew 18:14“will”houtōs ouk atō thelēmem emprosthen tou patrou vu tou en …In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little …
Matthew 26:42… ean mē autem pinameia, genitar tem thelēmem su.… unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
Luke 22:42… potēriem apo mu; plēn mē tem thelēmem mu alla tem sem genotōr.… cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”
John 6:39houtem de atō tem thelēmem tou pemparantou min hina pantem hem …And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that …
John 6:40houtem gar atō tem thelēmem tou patrou mu hina pantos tos …For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the …
Acts 21:14… autou hēsuchazana legarantois; Tou kuriou tem thelēmem genotōr.… quieted down and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
Romans 12:2… eis tem dokimazarō vin tinem tem thelēmem tou theou, tem agathem kai euarestem …… is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
1 Corinthians 16:12“willing”… toiu adelfoiu; kai pantōs ouk ate thelēmem hina nun erchateia, ercheti de hotan …… with the brothers. He was not at all inclined to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.
Ephesians 5:17… genovōr afronois, alla suniēkavōr tinem tem thelēmem tou kuriou;… foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
1 Thessalonians 4:3houtem gar atō thelēmem tou theou, tos hagiasmos vu, apechorō …For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You …
1 Thessalonians 5:18en pante eucharistavōr; houtem gar thelēmem theou en Christo Iēso eis vin.… every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 2:15hoti houtōs atō tem thelēmem tou theou, agathopoiarōntoin fimarō tan toiu …For it is God’s will that by doing good you should …
1 Peter 3:17kreittonem gar agathopoiarōntoin, ei thelatoiō tem thelēmem tou theou, pascharō ē kakopoiarōntoin.… is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than …
thelēmeu“will”of, belonging togenitive singular14×
John 1:13“will”hois ouk ek haimeiu oude ek thelēmeu sarkau oude ek thelēmeu androu alla …children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of …
John 1:13… oude ek thelēmeu sarkau oude ek thelēmeu androu alla ek theou gennila.… blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
Romans 15:32… en chara ercharantos pros vin dia thelēmeu theou sunanapauemeia vi.so that by God’s will I may come to you with …
1 Corinthians 1:1Paulos klētos apostolos Christou Iēsu dia thelēmeu theou kai Sōsthenos tos adelfos… apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
1 Corinthians 7:37… exousian de echatō peri teu idieu thelēmeu, kai houtem krinatē en ta idia …… no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not …
2 Corinthians 1:1Paulos apostolos Christou Iēsu dia thelēmeu theou kai Timotheos tos adelfos ta …… apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother …
2 Corinthians 8:5… prōtem to kurio kai ni dia thelēmeu theou,… and then to us, through the will of God.
Ephesians 1:1Paulos apostolos Christou Iēsu dia thelēmeu theou toi hagioi toi arōntoi en …… apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in …
Ephesians 1:5… eis auton, kata tan eudokian teu thelēmeu autou,… to the good pleasure of His will,
Ephesians 1:9gnōrizarantos ni tem mustēriem teu thelēmeu autou, kata tan eudokian autou han …… to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which …
Ephesians 1:11… panteim energarōntou kata tan boulan teu thelēmeu autou,… everything by the counsel of His will,
Colossians 1:1Paulos apostolos Christou Iēsu dia thelēmeu theou kai Timotheos tos adelfos… apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
Colossians 1:9… aitorōntois hina plēriveia tan epignōsian teu thelēmeu autou en panta sofia kai sunesia …… you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
2 Timothy 1:1Paulos apostolos Christou Iēsu dia thelēmeu theou kata epangelian zōau tau en …… apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise …
thelēme“will”to, fordative singular6×
Luke 23:25… aitole, ton de Iēsun paradōata te thelēme autoiu.… he handed Jesus over to their will.
Romans 1:10… pōs ēdē pote euodimi en te thelēme tou theou erchara pros vin.… that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to …
Colossians 4:12… stēiveia teleiois kai plērofororēntois en pante thelēme tou theou.… and fully assured in the full will of God.
Hebrews 10:10en he thelēme hagiazorēntois anō dia tau prosforau teu …And by that will, we have been sanctified through the …
1 Peter 4:2eis tem mēketi anthrōpoiu epithumiai alla thelēme theou ton epiloipon en sarka biara …… for human passions, but for the will of God.
2 Peter 1:21ouk gar thelēme anthrōpou ferita profēteias pote, alla hupo …… was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from …
thelēmem26×
Matthew 7:21… toiu ouranoiu, alla tos poiarōntos tem thelēmem tou patrou mu tou en toi …… but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Matthew 12:50hotinos gar an poiateia tem thelēmem tou patrou mu tou en ouranoi, …For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is …
Matthew 21:31tinos ek toiu duo poiata tem thelēmem tou patrou? legalō; Tos prōtos. legatō …Which of the two did the will of his father?” “The first,” they …
Mark 3:35hos gar an poiateia tem thelēmem tou theou, houtos adelfos mu kai …For whoever does the will of God is My brother and …
Luke 12:47… de tos doulos tos gnōskarantos tem thelēmem tou kuriou autou kai mē hetoimazarantos …That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or …
Luke 12:47… mē hetoimazarantos ē poiarantos pros tem thelēmem autou deriti pollain;… get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
John 4:34… Ēmem brōmem atō hina poiameia tem thelēmem tou pemparantou min kai teleiameia autou …… My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and …
John 5:30… dikaias atō, hoti ouk zētamō tem thelēmem tem ēmem alla tem thelēmem tou …… I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who …
John 5:30… tem thelēmem tem ēmem alla tem thelēmem tou pemparantou min.… seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 6:38… tou ouranou ouk hina poiameiō tem thelēmem tem ēmem alla tem thelēmem tou …… heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of …
John 6:38… tem thelēmem tem ēmem alla tem thelēmem tou pemparantou min;… own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
John 7:17ean tinos thelateiō tem thelēmem autou poiarō, gnōsketi peri tau didachau …If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching …
John 9:31… ean tinos theosebos ateiō kai tem thelēmem autou poiateiō houtou akouatō.… who worships Him and does His will.
Acts 22:14… patroiu nu procheirizeta sin gnōskara tem thelēmem autou kai horara ton dikaion kai …… has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One …
Romans 2:18kai gnōskasō tem thelēmem kai dokimazasō teim diaferarōnteim katēchorōntos ek …if you know His will and approve of what is superior …
Galatians 1:4… aiōnou tou enstēarēntou ponērou kata tem thelēmem tou theou kai patrou nu,… present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Ephesians 6:6… alla hōs doulois Christou poiarōntois tem thelēmem tou theou, ek psuchau… as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
2 Timothy 2:26… zōgrorēntois hupo autou eis tem ekeinou thelēmem.… has taken them captive to his will.
Hebrews 10:7… mu, teu poiara, tos theor, tem thelēmem su.… I have come to do Your will, O God.’”
Hebrews 10:9… legatē; Idou hēkamō teu poiara tem thelēmem su; anairatō tem prōtem hina tem …… I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first to …
Hebrews 10:36hupomonau gar echavō chreian hina tem thelēmem tou theou poiarantois komizeveia tan epangelian;… that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what …
Hebrews 13:21… pante agathe eis tem poiara tem thelēmem autou, poiarōntos en ni tem euarestem …… every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us …
1 Peter 4:19hōste kai tois pascharōntois kata tem thelēmem tou theou pisto ktisto paratitholōr tain …… those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their …
1 John 2:17… epithumias autou, tos de poiarōntos tem thelēmem tou theou menatō eis ton aiōnon.… its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.
1 John 5:14… hoti ean tinem aitoneiō kata tem thelēmem autou akouatō nu.… we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Revelation 4:11… ktizasa teim panteim, kai dia tem thelēmem su ale kai ktizila.… You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”
thelēmeim2×
Acts 13:22… kardian mu, hos poiati panteim teim thelēmeim mu.… man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its …
Ephesians 2:3… epithumiai tau sarkau nu, poiarōntois teim thelēmeim tau sarkau kai taiu dianoiaiu, kai …… of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we …