οὐ
ou · G3756 · Greek · 1,622 occurrences
Meanings
-
not
Marker of negative propositions
ExamplesMatthew 2:18 “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”
Matthew 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”
-
Marker of an affirmative response to a question
ExamplesMatthew 6:30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Matthew 7:22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
Matthew 12:3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions—
-
no
A negative response to questions or statements or an emphatic negation of a statement
ExamplesMatthew 5:37 “But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil origin.
Matthew 13:29 “But he said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.
John 1:21 And so they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
-
by no means, certainly not
A marker of emphatic negation
ExamplesMark 13:30 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Luke 1:15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.
-
not
A marker of a strongly emphatic affirmative response to a question
ExamplesJohn 18:11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, am I not to drink it?”
How it’s used In 13 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ὅςwho, which, that 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 5 groups
- εὐδοκέωto be pleased, to delight in 1
- θυσίαsacrifice 1
- ἁμαρτίαsin 1
- ὁλοκαύτωμαwhole burnt offering 1
- προσφοράoffering 1
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- εὐθέωςimmediately, right away, then 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- γυνήwoman, wife 2
- ἀνήρman, husband 1
Named alongside itApposition
7 occurrences in 7 groups
- δεσπότηςmaster 1
- θεόςGod 1
- σπέρμαseed, descendants 1
- στέφανοςcrown 1
- ΧριστόςChrist, Messiah 1
- ἀδελφόςbrother 1
What it doesIt is the subject
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- εὐχαριστέωto give thanks, to thank 1
- ἀγαπάωto love 1
- παραγγέλλωto order, to command 1
What is done to itIt is the object
49 occurrences in 34 groups
- λέγωto say 7
- ἔπωto say 6
- γράφωto write 4
- εἴδωto know 3
- Other words · 30 groups that occur once or twice (32) 32
It is given or told toIndirect object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- διακονέωto serve 1
Second object ofSecond object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- καθίστημιto appoint, to put in charge 1
What it is said to bePredicate
6 occurrences in 4 groups
- οὐnot 2
- τίςwho? what?, why? for what reason? 2
- οἰκίαhouse, home, dwelling 1
- τοιοῦτοςsuch 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
20 occurrences in 20 groups
- Other words · 20 groups that occur once or twice (25) 25
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- μετάwith, after 2
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
2 occurrences in 3 groups
- διαθήκηcovenant 1
- ζημίαloss 1
- ὕβριςharm, insult 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 1 word
- μή mḗ · G3361 · not
- Both particles express negation, but with complementary grammatical distributions. While μή typically appears in subjunctive contexts, prohibitions, and purpose clauses, οὐ functions as the standard negation particle for indicative statements and categorical denials.
In the other Testament 4 words
- לֹא lôʼ · H3808 · not, no
- Greek οὐ (ou, G3756) and Hebrew לֹא (lôʼ, H3808) are the primary absolute negative particles in their respective languages, used to negate statements, commands, and questions with equivalent syntactic scope and semantic force.
- אַיִן ʼayin · H369 · from where?
- Hebrew אַיִן (ʼayin, H369) serves as a primary negative particle expressing non-existence or absence, directly parallel to Greek οὐ (ou, G3756) as the standard absolute negative adverb, both functioning as the unmarked negation in their respective languages.
- בַּל bal · H1077 · not
- Greek οὐ serves as the standard absolute negative adverb across all contexts, while Hebrew בַּל functions as a negative particle with specific modal nuances (prohibition, prevention, or hypothetical negation), often translating to 'lest' or 'never' in English; both negate propositions but בַּל carries stronger modal force than simple declarative negation.
- לָא lâʼ · H3809 · not, no
- οὐ (ou, G3756) is the standard Greek absolute negative adverb corresponding to Aramaic לָא (lâʼ, H3809), the primary negative particle in Aramaic portions of the biblical text; both function as the unmarked negation in their respective languages and co-occur systematically in aligned translation contexts.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- [Glosses - en]69.13
- This domain covers οὐ used within a fixed emphatic-negation idiom, as Peter refuses to let Jesus wash his feet: “Peter said to Him, ‘Never shall You wash my feet!’” (John 13:8)
- No69.2
- This domain covers οὐ as a bare negative answer given as its own reply, as Jesus teaches on the plainness of speech: “But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil origin.” (Matthew 5:37)
- Not69.3
- Here οὐ is the ordinary negative particle denying a statement, as Jesus clarifies the purpose of His coming: “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)
- By no means, certainly not69.5
- This domain covers οὐ intensified into an emphatic denial, as the writer of Hebrews recalls God's own promise of unfailing presence: “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER ABANDON YOU.” (Hebrews 13:5)
- Markers for an Affirmative Response to Questions69.11
- This lexeme also introduces a rhetorical question that anticipates an affirmative answer: “Is this not the carpenter's son? Is His mother not called Mary...?” (Matthew 13:55).
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon before a consonant, οὐκ before a vowel with a smooth breathing, and οὐχ before an…
1. absolutely and accented, οὐ, nay, no (Winer's Grammar, 476 (444)): in answers, ὁ δέ φησίν. οὐ, Mt 13:29; ἀπεκρίθη. Οὐ, Jn 1:21; (), cf. 7:12; repeated, οὐ οὐ, it strengthens the negation, nay, nay, by no means, Mt 5:37; ἤτω ὑμῶν τό οὐ οὐ, let your denial be truthful, Jas 5:12; on 2 Cor 1:17-19, see ναί.
2. It is joined to other words — to a finite verb, simply to deny that what is declared in the verb applies to the subject of the sentence: Mt 1:25 (οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτήν); Mk 3:25; Lk 6:43; Jn 10:28; Acts 7:5; Rom 1:16, and times without number. It has the same force when conjoined to participles: ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων, 1 Cor 9:26; οὐκ ὄντος αὐτῷ τέκνου, at the time when he had no child, Acts 7:5 (μή ὄντος would be, although he had no child); add, Rom 8:20; 1 Cor 4:14; 2 Cor 4:8; Gal 4:8, Gal 4:27; Col 2:19; Phm 3:3; Heb 11:35; 1 Pet 1:8; ὁ... οὐκ ὤν ποιμήν, Jn 10:12 (where according to classical usage μή must have been employed, because such a person is imagined as is not a shepherd; (cf. Buttmann, 351 (301) and μή, I. 5 b.)). in relative sentences: εἰσιν... τινες οἱ οὐ πιστεύουσιν, Jn 6:64; add, Mt 10:38; Mt 12:2; Lk 6:2; Rom 15:21; Gal 3:10, etc.; οὐκ ἐστιν ὅς and οὐδέν ἐστιν ὁ followed by a future: Mt 10:26; Lk 8:17; Lk 12:2; τίς ἐστιν, ὅς οὐ followed by a present indicative: Acts 19:35; Heb 12:7; cf. Winers Grammar, 481 (448); Buttmann, 355 (305); in statements introduced by ὅτι after verbs of understanding, perceiving, saying, etc.: Jn 5:42; Jn 8:55, etc.; ὅτι οὐκ (where οὐκ is pleonastic) after ἀρνεῖσθαι, 1 Jn 2:22; cf. Buttmann, § 148, 13; (Winer's Grammar, § 65, 2 β.); — to an infinitive, where μή might have been expected: τίς ἔτι χρεία κατά τήν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ ἕτερον ἀνίστασθαι ἱερέα καί οὐ κατά τήν τάξιν Ἀαρών λέγεσθαι, Heb 7:11 (where the difficulty is hardly removed by saying (e. g. with Winer's Grammar, 482 (449)) that οὐ belongs only to κατά τήν τάξιν Ἀαρών, not to the infinitive). it serves to deny other parts of statements: οὐκ ἐν σοφία λόγου, 1 Cor 1:17; οὐ μέλανι, οὐκ ἐν πλαξί λιθίναις, 2 Cor 3:3, and many other examples; — to deny the object, ἔλεος (R G ἔλεον) θέλω, οὐ θυσίαν, Mt 9:13; Mt 12:7; οὐκ ἐμέ δέχεται, Mk 9:37. It blends with the term to which it is prefixed into a single and that an affirmative idea (Winers Grammar, 476 (444); cf. Buttmann, 347 (298)); as, οὐκ ἐάω, to present, hinder, Acts 16:7; Acts 19:30 (cf., on this phrase, Herm. ad Vig., p. 887f); οὐκ ἔχω, to be poor, Mt 13:12; Mk 4:25 (see ἔχω, I. 2 a., p. 266{b}); τά οὐκ ἀνήκοντα (or ἅ οὐκ ἀνῆκεν, L T Tr WH), unseemly, dishonorable, Eph 5:4 (see μή, I. 5 d. at the end, p. 410a; (cf. Buttmann, § 148, 7{a}.; Winer's Grammar, 486 (452))); often so as to form a litotes; as, οὐκ ἀγνοέω, to know well, 2 Cor 2:11 (Wis. 12:10); οὐκ ὀλίγοι, not a few, i. e. very many, Acts 17:4, Acts 17:12; Acts 19:23; Acts 15:2; Acts 14:28; Acts 27:20; οὐ πολλαί ἡμέραι, a few days, Lk 15:13; Jn 2:12; Acts 1:5; οὐ πολύ, Acts 27:14; οὐ μετρίως, Acts 20:12; οὐκ ἄσημος, not undistinguished (A. V. no mean etc.), Acts 21:39; οὐκ ἐκ μέτρου, Jn 3:34. it serves to limit the term to which it is joined: οὐ πάντως, not altogether, not entirely (see πάντως, c. β.); οὐ πᾶς, not any and every one, Mt 7:21; plural, οὐ πάντες, not all, Mt 19:11; Rom 9:6; Rom 10:16; οὐ πᾶσα σάρξ, not every kind of flesh, 1 Cor 15:39; οὐ παντί τῷ λαῷ, not to all the people, Acts 10:41; on the other hand, when οὐ is joined to the verb, πᾶς... οὐ must be rendered no one, no (as in Hebrew, now כָּל... לֹא, now לֹא... כָּל; cf. Winer, Lex. Hebrew et Chald., p. 513f): Lk 1:31; Eph 5:5; 1 Jn 2:21; Rev 22:3; πᾶσα σάρξ... οὐ with a verb, no flesh, no mortal, Mt 24:22; Mk 13:20; Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16; cf. Winers Grammar, § 26, 1; (Buttmann, 121 (106)). Joined to a noun it denies and annuls the idea of the noun; as, τόν οὐ λαόν, a people that is not a people (German einNichtvolk, a no-people), Rom 9:25, cf. 1 Pet 2:10; ἐπ' οὐκ ἔθνει (R. V. with that which is no nation), Rom 10:19 (so עָם לֹא; אֵל לֹא, a no-god, Deut 32:21; עֵץ לֹא, a not-wood, Isa 10:15; οὐκ ἀρχιερεύς, 2 Macc. 4:13; ἡ οὐ διάλυσις, Thucydides 1, 137, 4; ἡ οὐ περιτείχισις 3, 95, 2; ἡ οὐκ ἐξουσία 5, 50, 3; δἰ ἀπειροσυναν... κουκ ἀπόδειξιν, Euripides, Hippolytus 196, and other examples in Greek writings; non sutor, Horace sat. 2, 3, 106; non corpus, Cicero, acad. 1, 39 at the end); cf. Winers Grammar, 476 (444); (Buttmann, § 148, 9); ἡ οὐκ ἠγαπημένη, Rom 9:25; οἱ οὐκ ἠλεημένοι, 1 Pet 2:10.
3. followed by another negative,
a. it strengthens the negation: οὐ κρίνω οὐδένα, Jn 8:15; add, Mk 5:37; 2 Cor 11:9 (8); οὗ οὐκ ἦν οὐδέπω οὐδείς κείμενος, Lk 23:53 (see οὐδέπω); οὐκ... οὐδέν, nothing at all, Lk 4:2; Jn 6:63; Jn 11:49; Jn 12:19; Jn 15:5; οὐ μέλει σοι περί οὐδενός, Mt 22:16; οὐκ... οὐκέτι, Acts 8:39; cf. Matthiae, § 609, 3; Kühner, ii. § 516; Winers Grammar, § 55, 9{b}; (Buttmann, § 148, 11).
b. as in Latin, it changes a negation into an affirmation (cf. Matthiae, § 609, 2; Klotz ad Devar. ii. 2, p. 695f; Winers Grammar, § 55, 9 a.; Buttmann, § 148, 12); οὐ παρά τοῦτο οὐκ ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος, not on this account is it not of the body, i. e. it belongs to the body, does not cease to be of the body, 1 Cor 12:15; οὐ δυνάμεθα ἅ εἴδομεν καί ἠκούσαμεν μή λαλεῖν, we are unable not to speak (A. V. we cannot but speak), Acts 4:20.
4. It is used in disjunctive statements where one thing is denied that another may be established (Winers Grammar, § 55, 8; cf. Buttmann, 356 (306)): οὐκ... ἀλλά, Lk 8:52; Lk 24:6 (WH reject the clause); Jn 1:33; Jn 7:10, Jn 7:12, Jn 7:16; Jn 8:49; Acts 10:41; Rom 8:20; 1 Cor 15:10; 2 Cor 3:3; 2 Cor 8:5; Heb 2:16, etc.; see ἀλλά II. 1; οὐχ ἵνα... ἀλλ' ἵνα, Jn 3:17; οὐχ ἵνα... ἀλλά, Jn 6:38; οὐ μόνον... ἀλλά καί, see ἀλλά, II. 1 and μόνος, 2; οὐκ... εἰ μή, see εἰ, III. 8 c., p. 171{b}; οὐ μή with subjunctive aorist followed by εἰ μή, Rev 21:27 (see εἰ as above, β.).
5. It is joined to other particles: οὐ μή, not at all, by no means, surely not, in no wise, see μή, IV.; οὐ μηκέτι with aorist subjunctive Mt 21:19 L T Tr marginal reading WH. μή οὐ, where μή is interrogative (Latinnum) and οὐ negative (cf. Buttmann, 248 (214), 354 (304); Winer's Grammar, 511 (476)): Rom 10:18; 1 Cor 9:4; 1 Cor 11:22. εἰ οὐ, see εἰ, III. 11, p. 172a. οὐ γάρ (see γάρ, I., p. 109b), Acts 16:37.
6. As in Hebrew לֹא with imperfect, so in Biblical Greek οὐ with 2 person future is used in emphatic prohibition (in secular authors it is milder; cf. Winers Grammar, § 43, 5 c.; also 501f (467f); (Buttmann, § 139, 64); Fritzsche on Matthew, p. 259f (cf. p. 252f) thinks otherwise, but not correctly): Mt 6:5; and besides in the moral precepts of the O. T., Mt 4:7; Mt 19:18; Lk 4:12; Acts 23:5; Rom 7:7; Rom 13:9.
7. οὐ is used interrogatively — when an affirmative answer is expected (Latinnonne; (Winers Grammar, § 57, 3{a}; Buttmann, 247 (213))): Mt 6:26, Mt 6:30; Mt 17:24; Mk 4:21; Mk 12:24; Lk 11:40; Jn 4:35; Jn 7:25; Acts 9:21; Rom 9:21; 1 Cor 9:1, 1 Cor 9:6f, 12; Jas 2:4, and often; οὐκ οἴδατε κτλ.; and the like, see εἰδῶ, II. 1, p. 174{a}; ἀλλ' οὐ, Heb 3:16 (see ἀλλά, I. 10, p. 28{a}); οὐκ ἀποκρίνῃ οὐδέν; answerest thou nothing at all? Mk 14:60; Mk 15:4; — where an exclamation of reproach or wonder, which denies directly, may take the place of a negative question: Mk 4:13, Mk 4:38; Lk 17:18; Acts 13:10 (cf. Buttmann, § 139, 65); (on which see ἄρα, 1); cf. Winer's Grammar, as above; οὐ μή πίω αὐτό; shall I not drink it? Jn 18:11; cf. Winers Grammar, p. 512 (477); (cf. Buttmann, § 139, 2).
G3756 — οὐχ
, see οὐ.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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