verb
thuamō
Strong’sG2380
I sacrifice, kill
stem thu-14 times in the New Testamentin 6 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
θύω means to offer sacrifice to a god, especially by slaying a victim, and can also cover offerings made by burning or pouring out food and drink 1234.
The word also carries the more general sense of to kill or slaughter, with no sacrificial idea attached, as when an animal is killed for food 123.
Strong's traces the word's proper, underlying sense to blowing or smoking (as of fire), from which the meaning "sacrifice" developed by extension 2.
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
θύω,
[in LXX chiefly for זבח, also for שׁחט, etc.;] as in cl.;
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2380 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidthoo'-o
properly, to rush (breathe hard, blow, smoke), i.e. (by implication) to sacrifice (properly, by fire, but genitive case); by extension to immolate (slaughter for any purpose)
Froma primary verb;
King Jameskill, (do) sacrifice, slay.
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
Aimperfect ἔθυον, Epic dialect θῦον Refs 8th c.BC+, Ionic dialect θύεσκον Refs 6th c.BC+future θύσω [ῡ] Refs 5th c.BC+, Doric dialect θυσῶ Refs 3rd c.BC+; 3rd.pers. plural θυσέοντι Refs: aorist ἔθῡσα Refs 8th c.BC+, Epic dialect θῦσα Refs: perfect τέθῠκα Refs 5th c.BC+:—middle, future θύσομαι Refs 5th c.BC+ (as passive, Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist ἐθυσάμην Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, future τῠθήσομαι Refs 1st c.BC+aorist ἐτύθην [ῠ] Refs 5th c.BC+ (participle written θυθέν Refs 4th c.BC+: perfect τέθῠμαι Refs 5th c.BC+: pluperfect ἐτέθῠτο Refs. [ῡ in future and aorist, ῠ in perfect active and passive, and aorist passive; ῡ generally in present and imperfect, except in trisyllable cases of participle, θῠοντα Refs 8th c.BC+; ἔθύ?~Xε, θύ?~Xων, Refs 5th c.BC+; θύ?~Xειν, at the end of a line, Refs 5th c.BC+; θύ?~Xεις, θύ?~Xω, Refs 3rd c.BC+; θύ?~Xωντι 3rd.pers. plural present subjunctive, Refs 3rd c.BC+
A.I active, offer by burning meat or drink to the gods (τὸ θύειν δωρεῖσθαί ἐστι τοῖς θεοῖς Refs 8th c.BC+; ἦ ῥα καὶ ἄρ γματα θῦσε θεοῖς, of a drink-offering, Refs 8th c.BC+; so ἔνθα δὲ πῦρ κήαντες ἐθύσαμεν (i.e. τῶν τυρῶν) made an offering of cheese,Refs 5th c.BC+; πέλανον, δεῖπνα, Refs 4th c.BC+; πυρούς, ναστούς, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.I.2 sacrifice, slay a victim, [τῷ ἡλίῳ] θ. ἵππους (variant{ἵπποισι})Refs 5th c.BC+; θ. θῦμα, θυσίαν, Refs 5th c.BC+; θ. διαβατήρια, ἐπινίκια, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, τὰ τεθυμένα the flesh of the victim, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ τεθ. ἱεράRefs
A.I.2.b simply, slaughter, LXX+5th c.BC+
A.I.3 absolutely, offer sacrifice, Refs 5th c.BC+; τοῖσι θεοῖσι θ. Refs 5th c.BC+
A.I.4 celebrate with offerings or sacrifices, σῶστρα θ. Refs 5th c.BC+
A.I.5 with doubleaccusative, εὐαγγέλια θ. ἑκατὸν βοῦς sacrifice a hundred oxen for the good news, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.I.6 Ἑστίᾳ θύειν, proverbial of niggards, because sacrifices to Hestia admitted no one to share the offering, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.II middle, cause a victim to be offered, τῶν θυμάτων ὧν δεῖ θύεσθαι καὶ παρίστασθαι Refs 1st c.BC+, etc.: hence frequently absolutely, consult the gods, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐπὶ Κρότωνα, ἐπὶ τῷ Πέρσῃ, i.e. on marching against.. , Refs 5th c.BC+infinitive, θ. ἰέναι offer sacrifice [to learn] whether to go or not, Refsactive, ἔθυε (variant{ἐθύετο}) τῷ Διί.. πότερά οἱ λῷον καὶ ἄμεινον εἴη.. Refs; διαβατήρια θύεσθαι, as in active, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.II.2 metaphorically, tear in pieces, of wild beasts, Refs 4th c.BC+, cf. Sanskritdhūmás, Latin fumus 'smoke', θυμιάω, θύος, θυήλημα, τύφω, perhaps θεῖον (A), Latin suffire; compare {θύω})
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| thualōθύουσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | sacrifice | 2× |
| thualeἔθυον | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | sacrificed | 1× |
| thuasaἔθυσας | happened · youaorist active indicative 2nd person singular | killed | 1× |
| thuataἔθυσεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | killed | 1× |
| thuitaἐτύθη | happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular | sacrificed | 1× |
| thuateiaθύσῃ | happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular | kill | 1× |
| thuasarθῦσον | happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular | kill | 2× |
| thuavarθύσατε | happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural | kill | 1× |
| thuarōθύειν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | offer sacrifice | 2× |
| thuorōθύεσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | sacrificed | 1× |
| thuorēnteimτεθυμένα | has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle direct plural neuter | slaughtered | 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 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 6 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 | thuamō | thuame | thuami | thuama | thuamē | thuamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | thuasō | thuase | thuasi | thuasa1×ἔθυσας | thuasē | thuaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuatō | thuate | thuati | thuata1×ἔθυσεν | thuatē | thuatelē |
| we 1st person plural | thuanō | thuane | thuani | thuana | thuanē | thuanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuavō | thuave | thuavi | thuava | thuavē | thuavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | thualō2×θύουσιν | thuale1×ἔθυον | thuali | thuala | thualē | thualelē |
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 | thuomō | thuome | thuomē | thuomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | thuosō | thuose | thuosē | thuoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuotō | thuote | thuotē | thuotelē |
| we 1st person plural | thuonō | thuone | thuonē | thuonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuovō | thuove | thuovē | thuovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | thuolō | thuole | thuolē | thuolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | thuimi | thuima |
| you 2nd person singular | thuisi | thuisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuiti | thuita1×ἐτύθη |
| we 1st person plural | thuini | thuina |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuivi | thuiva |
| they 3rd person plural | thuili | thuila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | thuameiō | thuameia | thuameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | thuaseiō | thuaseia | thuaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuateiō | thuateia1×θύσῃ | thuateiē |
| we 1st person plural | thuaneiō | thuaneia | thuaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuaveiō | thuaveia | thuaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | thualeiō | thualeia | thualeiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | thuomeiō | thuomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | thuoseiō | thuoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuoteiō | thuoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | thuoneiō | thuoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuoveiō | thuoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | thuoleiō | thuoleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | thuimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | thuiseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuiteia |
| we 1st person plural | thuineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuiveia |
| they 3rd person plural | thuileia |
Commands — imperative mood, 3 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | thuasōr | thuasar2×θῦσον | thuasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuatōr | thuatar | thuatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuavōr | thuavar1×θύσατε | thuavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | thualōr | thualar | thualēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | thuosōr | thuosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuotōr | thuotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuovōr | thuovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | thuolōr | thuolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | thuisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuivar |
| they 3rd person plural | thuilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | thuamoiō | thuamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | thuasoiō | thuasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuatoiō | thuatoia |
| we 1st person plural | thuanoiō | thuanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuavoiō | thuavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | thualoiō | thualoia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | thuomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | thuosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | thuonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | thuoloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | thuimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | thuisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | thuitoia |
| we 1st person plural | thuinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | thuivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | thuiloia |
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 | thuarō2×θύειν | thuari | thuara | thuarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | thuorō1×θύεσθαι | thuorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | thuiri | thuira |
Used as an adjective — participle, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | thuarōntos | thuarintos | thuarantos | thuarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | thuorōntos | thuorēntos1× | ||
| acted on passive voice | thuirintos | thuirantos |
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
thu 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.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
thualō“sacrifice”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural2×
1 Corinthians 10:20“sacrifice”alla hoti heim thualō, daimonei kai ouk theo thualō, ouk …No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you …
1 Corinthians 10:20“sacrifice”… heim thualō, daimonei kai ouk theo thualō, ouk thelamō de vin koinōnoin teiu …… offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
thuale“sacrificed”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Mark 14:12… hēmera teiu azumeiu, hote tem pascha thuale, legalō auto tois mathētois autou; Pou …… the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do …
thuasa“killed”happened · youaorist active indicative 2nd person singular1×
Luke 15:30“killed”… su ton bion meta pornaiu erchata, thuasa auto ton siteuton moschon.… from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
thuata“killed”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Luke 15:27… hoti Tos adelfos su hēkatō, kai thuata tos patros su ton moschon ton …… he said, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has …
thuita“sacrificed”happened · he/she/itaorist passive indicative 3rd person singular1×
1 Corinthians 5:7… azumois. kai gar tem pascha nu thuita Christos;… Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
thuateia“kill”happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
John 10:10… erchotō ei mē hina kleptateia kai thuateia kai apolateia; mis erchama hina zōan …… thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that …
thuasar“kill”happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular2×
Acts 10:13… geneta fōnas pros auton; Anastēarantos, Petror, thuasar kai esthiasar.… said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
Acts 11:7… kai fōnau legarōntau mi; Anastēarantos, Petror, thuasar kai esthiasar.… saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’
thuavar“kill”happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural1×
Luke 15:23kai feravōr ton moschon ton siteuton, thuavar, kai esthiarantois eufranineia,Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.
thuarō“offer sacrifice”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive2×
Acts 14:13“offer sacrifice”… pulōnoin ferarantos sun toi ochloi thelate thuarō.… the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.
Acts 14:18“offering sacrifice”… molis katapauala toin ochloin teu mē thuarō autoi.… hardly stop the crowds from sacrificing to them.
thuorō“sacrificed”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive1×
Luke 22:7… tas hēmeras teiu azumeiu, ha date thuorō tem pascha;… the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed.
thuorēnteim“slaughtered”has happened · subjectperfect middle or passive participle direct plural neuter1×
Matthew 22:4“slaughtered”… tois taurois mu kai teim sitisteim thuorēnteim, kai panteim hetoimeim; deute eis toin …… my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’