ἀγωνίζομαι
agōnízomai · G75 · Greek · 8 occurrences
Meanings
-
to struggle, to fight
To engage in intense struggle, involving physical or nonphysical force against strong opposition
ExamplesJohn 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
1 Timothy 4:10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers.
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
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to compete, to struggle
To compete in an athletic contest, with emphasis on effort
Examples1 Corinthians 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
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to make every effort to, to do everything possible to, to strain oneself to
To strive to do something with great intensity and effort
ExamplesLuke 13:24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Colossians 1:29 For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power which works mightily within me.
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
How it’s used In 6 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
8 occurrences in 6 groups
- Not stated (participle) 3
- ὑπηρέτηςservant, officer 1
- Not stated: we 1
- Not stated: I 1
- Not stated: you (more than one) 1
- Not stated: you (one person) 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἀγώνstruggle, fight, race 2
- ἐλπίζωto hope 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 4 groups
- εἰςto+ οὗτοςthis 1
- ἐνin+ προσευχήprayer 1
- κατάaccording to, against, down+ ἐνέργειαworking, power 1
- ὑπέρfor+ σύyou 1
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἵναso that, in order to 1
- πάντοτεalways 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐγκρατεύομαιto control oneself 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἔπωto say 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.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- To struggle, to fight39.29
- This verb denotes contending against an adversary, as in John 18:36's statement, "If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews."
- To compete, to struggle50.1
- The verb also denotes competing in an athletic contest, as in 1 Corinthians 9:25's statement that everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.
- To make every effort to, to do everything possible to, to strain oneself to68.74
- The verb also denotes straining every effort toward a goal, as in Luke 13:24's exhortation, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."
Word family 51 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon imperfect ἠγωνιζόμην; perfect ἠγώνισμαι; a deponent middle verb (cf. Winer's Grammar, 260…
1. to enter a contest; contend in the gymnastic games: 1 Cor 9:25.
2. universally, to contend with adversaries, fight: followed by ἵνα μή, Jn 18:36.
3. figuratively to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers antagonistic to the gospel: Col 1:29; 1 Tim 4:10 (L T Tr text WH text; for Rec. ὀνειδιζόμεθα); ἀγωνίζομαι ἀγῶνα (often used by the Greeks also, especially the Attic), 1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7.
4. to endeavor with strenuous zeal, strife, to obtain something; followed by an infinitive, Lk 13:24; ὑπέρ τίνος ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς, ἵνα, Col 4:12. (Compare: ἀνταγωνίζομαι, ἐπαγωνίζομαι, καταγωνίζομαι, συναγωνίζομαι.)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 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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