aiōnios · eternal

What it means

aiōnios (αἰώνιος) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “eternal”.

Belonging to God's age and without end.

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. Without end, like the life God gives.
2. That has always existed.

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

Word study

Eternal: belonging to the age (αἰών, G165) and without end; at times, without beginning. It is said above all of the life God gives, but also of punishment, of fire, of the covenant and of God himself.

• “Eternal life” John 3:16John 17:3
• The eternal punishment and the eternal fire Matthew 25:46Matthew 25:41
• What is not seen is eternal 2 Corinthians 4:18
• “Eternal redemption”, “the eternal dwellings” Hebrews 9:12Luke 16:9
• “Before eternal times” 2 Timothy 1:9

How we translate it

“Eternal” 68 times (most often with “life”) and “forever” once. This edition's glossary sets aiōn / aiōnios = “age / eternal”, so that the kinship of the two words can be seen. “Eternal life” translates ζωὴ αἰώνιος. The phrase of 2 Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 is translated literally, “before eternal times”.

How it is translated

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

• eternal ×68
• forever ×1

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Matthew×6
• Mark×4
• Luke×4
• John×17
• Acts×2
• Romans×4
• 2 Corinthians×3
• Galatians×1
• 2 Thessalonians×2
• 1 Timothy×3
• 2 Timothy×2
• Titus×3
• Philemon×1
• Hebrews×6
• 1 Peter×1
• 2 Peter×1
• 1 John×6
• Jude×2
• Revelation×1

• Matthew 18:8

  And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter into life maimed or lame than having two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.

• Matthew 19:16

  And look, one man came to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I may have eternal life?”

• Matthew 19:29

  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

• Matthew 25:41

  Then he will say also to those at the left, ‘Go from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

• Matthew 25:46

  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

• Mark 3:29

  but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”

• Mark 10:17

  And as he was going out on the way, a man ran up and knelt before him and was asking him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

• Mark 10:30

  who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

• Mark 16:8

  And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Shorter ending: And all that they had been commanded they reported briefly to those around Peter. And after these things Jesus himself also sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.

• Luke 10:25

  And look, a certain expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

• Luke 16:9

  And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they may welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

• Luke 18:18

  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

• Luke 18:30

  who will not receive back many times as much in this time, and in the age to come, eternal life.”

• John 3:15

  so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

• John 3:16

  For God loved the world in this way: that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

• John 3:36

  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

• John 4:14

  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty, ever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

• John 4:36

  the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together.

• John 5:24

  Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes the one who sent me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

• John 5:39

  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify about me;

• John 6:27

  Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you; for on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

• John 6:40

  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

• John 6:47

  Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.

• John 6:54

  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

• John 6:68

  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life,

• John 10:28

  and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, ever; and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

• John 12:25

  Whoever holds his life dear loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

• John 12:50

  And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.”

• John 17:2

  just as you have given him authority over all flesh, so that to all that you have given him he may give eternal life.

• John 17:3

  And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus the Messiah.

• Acts 13:46

  And Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves not worthy of eternal life, look, we are turning to the nations.

• Acts 13:48

  And when the nations heard this, they were rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

• Romans 2:7

  to those who by perseverance in good work seek glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life;

• Romans 5:21

  so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus the Messiah our Lord.

• Romans 6:22

  But now, having been set free from sin and made slaves to God, you have your fruit for sanctification, and the end, eternal life.

• Romans 6:23

  For the pay of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in the Messiah Jesus our Lord.

• 2 Corinthians 4:17

  For our momentary light affliction is producing for us beyond all measure an eternal weight of glory,

• 2 Corinthians 4:18

  as we do not look at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.

• 2 Corinthians 5:1

  For we know that if our earthly house of the tent is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.

• Galatians 6:8

  because the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

And 29 more times.