klinō (to bow/lay down)

Meaning

Usually translated “may lay”, “decline” and “bowing”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.

How it's translated

he may lay 2
to decline 1
bowing 1
has declined 1
having bowed 1
put to flight 1

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

Where it's used most

Luke 4
Matthew 1
John 1
Hebrews 1

4 books in all.

Explore in Scripture

Luke 9:12And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.
Luke 9:58And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Luke 24:5And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Luke 24:29But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
John 19:30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Hebrews 11:34Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Greek dictionary

κλίνω klinō · to bow/lay down

κλίνω [in LXX chiefly for נָטָה ;] 1. to make to bend, to bow: τ. κεφαλήν (of one dying), Jhn.19:30; τ. πρόσωτον (of terrified persons), Luk.24:5. 2. to make to lean, to rest: τ. κεφαλήν (in sleep), Mat.8:20, Luk.9:58. 3. As in Hom., of soldiers, to turn (to flight), παρεμβολάς, Heb.11:34. 4. In late Gk. (as mid, in cl.), to decline: intrans., ἡ ἡμέρα, Luk.9:12 24:29.† (AS)

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

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

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

DECLI'NE, verb intransitive

[Latin to lean.]

To lean downward; as, the head declines towards the earth.
To lean from a right line; to deviate; in a literal sense.
To lean or deviate from rectitude, in a moral sense; to leave the path of truth or justice, or the course prescribed.“Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies” Psalms 119:157
To fall; to tend or draw towards the close; as, the day declines.

All definitions and other forms of “decline”

To avoid or shun; to refuse; not to comply; not to do; as, he declined to take any part in the concern.
To fall; to fail; to sink; to decay; to be impaired; to tend to a less perfect state; as, the vigor of youth declines in age; health declines; virtue declines; religion declines; national credit and prosperity decline under a corrupt administration.
To sink; to diminish; to fall in value; as, the prices of land and goods decline at the close of a war.

DECLI'NE, verb transitive

To bend downward; to bring down.
To bend to one side; to move from a fixed point or right line.
To shun or avoid; to refuse; not to engage in; to be cautious not to do or interfere; not to accept or comply with; as, he declined the contest; he declined the offer; he declined the business or pursuit.
To inflect; to change the termination of a word, for forming the oblique cases; as, Dominus, Domini, Domino, Dominum, Domine.

DECLI'NE, noun

Literally, a leaning from; hence, a falling off; a tendency to a worse state; diminution or decay; deterioration; as the decline of life; the decline of strength; the decline of virtue and religion; the decline of revenues; the decline of agriculture, commerce or manufactures; the decline of learning.

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