emprosthen · before, in front of

What it means

emprosthen (ἔμπροσθεν) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “before, in front of”.

In front of, before.

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. Points to the place in front of someone, in their sight, or to the one who goes first.

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

Word study

In front of, before: in someone’s presence or ahead of him, in space or in time. It works almost always as a preposition.

• Before people, to be seen Matthew 6:1Matthew 5:16
• Acknowledging Jesus before people Matthew 10:32Luke 12:8
• Before the judgment seat, before a judge 2 Corinthians 5:10Matthew 27:11Matthew 25:32
• Going ahead John 10:4Luke 19:28
• “Has come to be ahead of me” John 1:15

How we translate it

“Before” 32 times; “ahead of” or “ahead” 8 when someone goes in front (John 10:4); “in front of” 4. Some Greek expressions are rendered by their sense: “so it was well-pleasing before you” (Matthew 11:26), “it is not the will of your Father” (Matthew 18:14), and “before the judgment seat” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

How it is translated

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

• before ×32
• ahead of ×5
• front of ×4
• ahead ×3
• at ×2
• Father ×1
• front ×1

Where it appears

• Matthew×18
• Mark×2
• Luke×10
• John×5
• Acts×2
• 2 Corinthians×1
• Galatians×1
• Philippians×1
• 1 Thessalonians×4
• 1 John×1
• Revelation×3

• Matthew 5:16

  In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 5:24

  leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

• Matthew 6:1

  “Be careful not to practice your righteousness before people in order to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 6:2

  So when you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be glorified by people. Truly I tell you, they have received in full their reward.

• Matthew 7:6

  “Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor throw your pearls before the pigs, so that they will not trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.

• Matthew 10:32

  So everyone who acknowledges me before people, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven;

• Matthew 10:33

  but whoever denies me before people, I too will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

• Matthew 11:10

  This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’

• Matthew 11:26

  Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before you.

• Matthew 17:2

  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as the light.

• Matthew 18:14

  So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

• Matthew 23:13

  But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are going in to go in.

• Matthew 25:32

  And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

• Matthew 26:70

  But he denied it before all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”

• Matthew 27:11

  Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said, “You say so.”

• Matthew 27:29

  And after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand; and kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

• Mark 2:12

  And he got up, and at once picking up the mat, he went out before all of them, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

• Mark 9:2

  And after six days Jesus takes along Peter and James and John, and leads them up onto a high mountain by themselves alone. And he was transfigured before them,

• Luke 5:19

  And not finding how they could bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with the stretcher into the middle, in front of Jesus.

• Luke 7:27

  This is the one about whom it is written: Look, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way ahead of you.

• Luke 10:21

  In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before you.

• Luke 12:8

  And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before people, the Son of Man also will acknowledge him before the angels of God;

• Luke 14:2

  And look, there was a certain man with dropsy in front of him.

• Luke 19:4

  And running ahead he climbed up into a sycamore-fig tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.

• Luke 19:27

  But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring here and slaughter them before me.’”

• Luke 19:28

  And after saying these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

• Luke 21:36

  But stay awake at every time, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to happen, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

• John 1:15

  John testifies about him and has cried out, saying, “This was the one I spoke of: ‘He who comes after me has come to be ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”

• John 1:30

  This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who has come to be ahead of me, because he existed before me.’

• John 3:28

  You yourselves testify for me that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’

• John 10:4

  When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.

• John 12:37

  But though he had done so many signs before them, they were not believing in him,

• Acts 10:4

  And he, staring at him and becoming terrified, said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have gone up as a memorial before God.

• Acts 18:17

  And they all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and were beating him in front of the judgment seat; and none of these things mattered to Gallio.

• 2 Corinthians 5:10

  For we all must be made manifest before the judgment seat of the Messiah, so that each one may receive the things done through the body, according to what he did, whether good or bad.

• Galatians 2:14

  But when I saw that they were not walking straight in line with the truth of the good news, I said to Cephas before all: If you, being a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how is it that you compel the nations to live like Jews?

• Philippians 3:13

  Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting the things behind and straining toward the things ahead,

• 1 Thessalonians 1:3

  remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah,

• 1 Thessalonians 2:19

  For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting? Or is it not also you, before our Lord Jesus at his coming?

• 1 Thessalonians 3:9

  For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice because of you before our God,

And 8 more times.