To worry
μεριμνάωStrong’s G3309merimnaō
Appears in 17 verses of the New Testament
In short
Merimnaō is the Greek word usually translated “being anxious”, “are you anxious” and “shall you be anxious”. It appears in 17 verses of the New Testament.
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”
Meaning
Usually translated “being anxious”, “are you anxious” and “shall you be anxious”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- being anxious 2
- are you anxious 2
- shall you be anxious 2
- may be anxious 2
- cares for 2
- do be anxious about 1
- will be anxious about 1
- you are anxious 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Matthew 6
- Luke 5
- 1 Corinthians 4
- Philippians 2
4 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Matthew 6:27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
- Matthew 6:28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
- Matthew 6:31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
- Matthew 6:34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
- Matthew 10:19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
- Luke 10:41And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
Greek dictionary
μεριμνάω merimnaō · to worry
μεριμνάω, -ῶ (μέριμνα), [in LXX: Psa.38:18 (דָּאַג), etc. ;] 1. to be anxious: absol., Mat.6:27, 31, Luk.12:25; μηδὲν μ., Php.4:6; with dative of thing(s), Mat.6:25, Luk.12:22; before περί, Mat.6:28, Luk.10:41 12:26; πῶς, Mat.10:19, Luk.12:11; εἰς τὴν αὔριον, Mat.6:34. 2. to care for: with accusative, τὰ τ. κυριου, 1Co.7:32-34; τὰ τ. κόσμου, 1Co.7:34; τὰ περί ὑμῶν, Php.2:20; before ὑπέρ, 1Co.12:25; with genitive (a construction otherwise unknown), ἑαυτῆς (WH; τὰ ἑ. Rec.; see Bl., § 35, 7), Mat.6:34 (cf. προ-μεριμνάω).† (AS)
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “worry” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
WORRY, verb transitive
- To tease; to trouble; to harass with importunity, or with care and anxiety.
- To fatigue; to harass with labor; a popular sense of the word.
- To harass by pursuit and barking; as, dogs worry sheep.
- To tear; to mangle with the teeth.
All definitions
- To vex; to persecute brutally.
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.