Word study
Confident
5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “confident”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “confident” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Greek words (New Testament)
- πείθω peíthōI persuade, urgetranslated this way 6 times of its 50 uses · Strong’s G3982Verb · Translated: convinced 10, confident 6, persuaded 4, trusted 2Full study and all 50 verses →
Acts 26:26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.
2 Corinthians 10:7 You are looking at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself that we belong to Christ just as much as he does.
- θαῤῥέω tharrhéōI am courageous, of good cheertranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G2292Verb · Translated: always confident 1, confident 1, complete confidence 1, bold 1Full study and all 6 verses →
2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
- ὑπόστασις hypóstasisassurance, substance, realitytranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G5287Noun · Translated: confident 2, assurance 2, nature 1Full study and all 5 verses →
2 Corinthians 9:4 Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we — to say nothing of you — would be ashamed of having been so confident.
2 Corinthians 11:17 In this confident boasting of mine, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool.
- πεποίθησις pepoíthēsisconfidence, trusttranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G4006Noun · Translated: confidence 3, Confident 1, by 1, bold 1Full study and all 6 verses →
2 Corinthians 1:15 Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing.
- παῤῥησία parrhēsíafreedom, confidencetranslated this way 1 time of its 30 uses · Strong’s G3954Noun · Translated: confidence 10, publicly 4, plainly 4, boldness 3Full study and all 30 verses →
1 John 2:28 And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.