dynamai · can, be able

What it means

dynamai (δύναμαι) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “can, be able”.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To have the ability or strength to do something.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Can, be able to do something. From the same family as δύναμις, “power”, and δυνατός, “possible, powerful”.

• What a person can or cannot do Luke 19:3Mark 2:4
• What God is able to do Luke 3:8Jude 1:24
• “No household servant can serve two masters” Luke 16:13
• In a plea: “if you can” Mark 9:22Luke 5:12

How we translate it

“Can” 72 times, “cannot” 60, “able” 43, “could” 31. English chooses between “can” and “be able” according to the sentence (“God is able”, Luke 3:8).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• can ×72
• cannot ×60
• able ×43
• could ×31
• unable ×2
• out ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×27
• Mark×33
• Luke×26
• John×37
• Acts×21
• Romans×4
• 1 Corinthians×15
• 2 Corinthians×3
• Galatians×1
• Ephesians×5
• Philippians×1
• 1 Thessalonians×2
• 1 Timothy×3
• 2 Timothy×3
• Hebrews×9
• James×6
• 1 John×2
• Jude×1
• Revelation×10

• Matthew 3:9

  and do not presume to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

• Matthew 5:14

  You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.

• Matthew 5:36

  Nor swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

• Matthew 6:24

  “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold on to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

• Matthew 6:27

  And which of you, by worrying, can add a single cubit to his span of life?

• Matthew 7:18

  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit.

• Matthew 8:2

  And look, a leper came and was bowing down before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

• Matthew 9:15

  And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

• Matthew 9:28

  When he had gone into the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus says to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They say to him, “Yes, Lord.”

• Matthew 10:28

  And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

• Matthew 12:29

  Or how can anyone enter into the strong man’s house and carry off his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

• Matthew 12:34

  Offspring of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

• Matthew 16:3

  And in the morning, ‘Today there will be a storm, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but the signs of the times you cannot discern.

• Matthew 17:16

  And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.”

• Matthew 17:19

  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

• Matthew 19:12

  For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

• Matthew 19:25

  And when the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

• Matthew 20:22

  But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” They say to him, “We can.”

• Matthew 22:46

  And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day to question him any longer.

• Matthew 26:9

  For this could have been sold for much and given to the poor.”

• Matthew 26:42

  Again, a second time, he went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, let your will be done.”

• Matthew 26:53

  Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will put at my side right now more than twelve legions of angels?

• Matthew 26:61

  and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the sanctuary of God and in three days to build it.’”

• Matthew 27:42

  “Others he saved; himself he cannot save. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

• Mark 1:40

  And a man with leprosy comes to him, begging him and kneeling, and saying to him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

• Mark 1:45

  But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the word, so that he could no longer enter a town openly, but was out in deserted places; and they kept coming to him from everywhere.

• Mark 2:4

  And when they could not bring him to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where he was; and having dug through, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.

• Mark 2:7

  “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

• Mark 2:19

  And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

• Mark 3:20

  And he comes home; and the crowd gathers again, so that they could not even eat bread.

• Mark 3:23

  And having summoned them, he was saying to them in parables, “How can Satan drive out Satan?

• Mark 3:24

  And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

• Mark 3:25

  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

• Mark 3:26

  And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he has an end.

• Mark 3:27

  But no one can enter into the strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

• Mark 4:32

  and when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.”

• Mark 4:33

  And with many such parables he was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear;

• Mark 5:3

  He had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one could bind him any longer, not even with a chain,

• Mark 6:5

  And he could not do any miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.

• Mark 6:19

  And Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, and she could not;

And 169 more times.