Greek

To release

ἀφίημιStrong’s G0863

aphiēmi

Appears in 133 verses of the New Testament

In short

Aphiēmi is the Greek word usually translated “having left”, “left” and “do permit”. It appears in 133 verses of the New Testament.

“And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.”

Matthew 3:15 KJV

Meaning

Usually translated “having left”, “left” and “do permit”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.

How it's translated

having left 14
left 7
do permit 5
do leave 5
do forgive 5
are forgiven 5
to forgive 5
will be forgiven 5

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most

Matthew 40
Mark 34
Luke 29
John 14
Acts 3
1 Corinthians 3

11 books in all.

Related words

Explore in Scripture

All 133 verses, by book

Matthew 40: 3:15 4:11 4:20 4:22 5:24 5:40 6:12 6:14 6:15 7:4 8:15 8:22 9:2 9:5 9:6 12:31 12:32 13:30 13:36 15:14 18:12 18:21 18:27 18:32 18:35 19:14 19:27 19:29 22:22 22:25 23:13 23:23 23:38 24:2 24:40 24:41 26:44 26:56 27:49 27:50
Mark 34: 1:18 1:20 1:31 1:34 2:5 2:7 2:9 2:10 3:28 4:12 4:36 5:19 5:37 7:8 7:12 7:27 8:13 10:14 10:28 10:29 11:6 11:16 11:25 11:26 12:12 12:19 12:20 12:22 13:2 13:34 14:6 14:50 15:36 15:37
Luke 29: 4:39 5:11 5:20 5:21 5:23 5:24 6:42 7:47 7:48 7:49 8:51 9:60 10:30 11:4 12:10 12:39 13:8 13:35 17:3 17:4 17:34 17:35 17:36 18:16 18:28 18:29 19:44 21:6 23:34
John 14: 4:3 4:28 4:52 8:29 10:12 11:44 11:48 12:7 14:18 14:27 16:28 16:32 18:8 20:23
Acts 3: 5:38 8:22 14:17
Romans 2: 1:27 4:7
1 Corinthians 3: 7:11 7:12 7:13
Hebrews 2: 2:8 6:1
James 1: 5:15
1 John 2: 1:9 2:12
Revelation 3: 2:4 2:20 11:9

Greek dictionary

ἀφίημι aphiēmi · to release

ἀφ-ίημι, [in LXX for נשׂא, נוח hi., נתן, סלח ni., עזב, etc. ;] 1. to send forth, send away, let go: of divorce (DB, iii, 274a), τ. γυναῖκα (Hdt.), 1Co.7:11-13; of death, τ. πνεῦμα (Gen.35:18, Hdt., al.), Mat.27:50; (φωνήν, to utter a cry, Mrk.15:37; of debts, to remit, forgive (cl.), τ. δανεῖον, Mat.18:27; τ. ὀφειλήν, Mat.18:32; esp. of sins (Cremer 296f.), τ. ἁμαρτίας, ἁμαρτήματα, ἀνομίας, Mat.9:2, Rom.4:7" (LXX), 1Jn.1:9, al.; punctiliar and iterative present (M, Pr., 119), Mrk.2:5, Luk.11:4; Ion. pf., ἀφέωνται (M, Pr., 38), Luk.5:23. …

From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “release” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

RELE'ASE, verb transitive

To set free from restraint of any kind, either physical or moral; to liberate from prison, confinement or servitude.
To free from pain, care, trouble, grief, etc.
To free from obligation or penalty; as, to release one from debt, from a promise or covenant.
To quit; to let go, as a legal claim; as, to release a debt or forfeiture. Deuteronomy 15:1

All definitions and other forms of “release”

To discharge or relinquish a right to lands or tenements, by conveying it to another that has some right or estate in possession, as when the person in remainder releases his right to the tenant in possession; when one co-parcener releases his right to the other; or the mortgagee releases his claim to the mortgager.
To relax. [Not in use.]

RELE'ASE, noun

Liberation or discharge from restraint of any kind, as from confinement or bondage.
Liberation from care, pain or any burden.
Discharge from obligation or responsibility, as from debt, penalty or claim of any kind; acquittance.
In law, a release or deed of release is a conveyance of a man's right in lands or tenements to another who has some estate in possession; a quitclaim.

Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.