legō · say

What it means

legō (λέγω) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “say”.

Speak; in the passive, "be called".

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 express something in words to others.
2. To say to oneself, to think.
3. What something written says, like Scripture.
4. To mean, refer to something.
5. To call someone by a name.

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

Word study

Say, speak. It is from the same root as λόγος, “word”. In the passive it means “be called”.

• To say; it introduces words or questions Matthew 16:15
• Jesus' formula “truly I tell you” Matthew 5:18John 3:3
• “But I tell you”: teaching on his own authority Matthew 5:22
• Called, nicknamed Matthew 1:16John 11:16

How we translate it

“Said” 779 times, “saying” 527, “says” 347, “say” 269, “I tell” 141, “tell” 62. The Gospels often use the present tense to tell a story (“He says to them”, Matthew 16:15), and the translation keeps it where the Greek has it. In the passive, “called” (“Jesus, the one called Messiah”). In ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀμήν is translated “truly”, as this edition's glossary sets for the opening of a saying of Jesus: “Truly, truly, I tell you”.

How it is translated

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

• said ×779
• saying ×527
• says ×347
• say ×269
• I tell ×141
• tell ×62
• called ×40
• told ×38
• speak ×21
• telling ×19
• others ×90

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Matthew×505
• Mark×291
• Luke×532
• John×473
• Acts×233
• Romans×48
• 1 Corinthians×33
• 2 Corinthians×15
• Galatians×11
• Ephesians×7
• Philippians×4
• Colossians×3
• 1 Thessalonians×2
• 2 Thessalonians×2
• 1 Timothy×4
• 2 Timothy×2
• Titus×2
• Philemon×2
• Hebrews×44
• James×13
• 2 Peter×1
• 1 John×8
• 2 John×2
• Jude×3
• Revelation×105

• Matthew 1:16

  And Jacob fathered Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, the one called Messiah.

• Matthew 1:20

  And as he was considering these things, look, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

• Matthew 1:22

  And all this has happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, when he says:

• Matthew 2:2

  saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to bow down before him.”

• Matthew 2:5

  And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written through the prophet:

• Matthew 2:8

  And sending them to Bethlehem, he said, “Go and inquire precisely about the child; and when you find him, report to me, so that I too may come and bow down before him.”

• Matthew 2:13

  And when they had withdrawn, look, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.”

• Matthew 2:15

  and he was there until the death of Herod, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, when he says, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

• Matthew 2:17

  Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, when he says:

• Matthew 2:20

  saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life have died.”

• Matthew 2:23

  and he came and settled in a town called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

• Matthew 3:2

  and saying, “Change your minds, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

• Matthew 3:3

  For this is the one spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, when he says, “A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

• Matthew 3:7

  But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, “Offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

• 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 3:14

  But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be immersed by you, and you come to me?”

• Matthew 3:15

  But Jesus answered and said to him, “Allow it now, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allows him to do so.

• Matthew 3:17

  And look, a voice from the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

• Matthew 4:3

  And the one testing him came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

• Matthew 4:4

  But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘A person will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out through the mouth of God.’”

• Matthew 4:6

  and says to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will lift you up, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone.’”

• Matthew 4:9

  and he said to him, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and bow down before me.”

• Matthew 4:10

  Then Jesus says to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall bow down before the Lord your God, and him alone you shall serve.’”

• Matthew 4:14

  so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, when he says:

• Matthew 4:17

  From then on Jesus began to proclaim and to say, “Change your minds, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

• Matthew 4:18

  And walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

• Matthew 4:19

  And he says to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.”

• Matthew 5:2

  And opening his mouth, he was teaching them, saying,

• Matthew 5:11

  Happy are you when they insult you and persecute you and say every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

• Matthew 5:18

  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota or one stroke will ever pass from the law until all things take place.

• Matthew 5:20

  For I tell you that unless your righteousness far exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

• Matthew 5:21

  “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to the judgment.’

• Matthew 5:22

  But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘Fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.

• Matthew 5:26

  Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.

• Matthew 5:27

  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

• Matthew 5:28

  But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman in order to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

• Matthew 5:31

  And it was said, ‘Whoever sends away his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

• Matthew 5:32

  But I tell you that everyone who sends away his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who has been sent away commits adultery.

• Matthew 5:33

  “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but you shall fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’

• Matthew 5:34

  But I tell you not to swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

And 2305 more times.