Word study
Self control
7 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: self-control, self-controlled. 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 “self control” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐγκράτεια enkráteiaself-mastery, self-controltranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1466Noun · Translated: self-control 4Full study and all 3 verses →
- σώφρων sṓphrōnself-controlled, temperatetranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G4998Adjective · Translated: self-controlled 4Full study and all 4 verses →
- σωφροσύνη sōphrosýnēsanity, sobrietytranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G4997Noun · Translated: self-control 2, sobriety 1Full study and all 3 verses →
- ἀκρασία akrasíaincontinence, intemperance, lack of restrainttranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G192Noun · Translated: self-indulgence 1, lack of self-control 1Full study and all 2 verses →
- σωφρονισμός sōphronismósself-control, self-disciplinetranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G4995Noun · Translated: self-control 1Full study and its 1 verse →
- ἀκρατής akratḗslacking self-control, inclined to excesstranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G193Adjective · Translated: without self-control 1Full study and its 1 verse →
- σωφρονέω sōphronéōI am sober-minded, exercise self-controltranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G4993Verb · Translated: right mind 2, sober judgment 1, sound mind 1, self-controlled 1Full study and all 6 verses →
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.
What the Bible says about self control: passages by topic →
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.