ἀπόλλυμι
to destroy
‘to destroy’ is one of 7 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Tense
- Future
- Action expected in future time.
- Aorist
- Action viewed as a simple whole, without regard to duration — often past (perfective aspect).
- Present
- Ongoing or general action in present time (imperfective aspect).
- Perfect
- A completed past action with continuing present results.
- Imperfect
- Continuous or repeated action in past time (“was writing”).
Voice
- Active
- The subject performs the action.
- Middle
- The subject acts on or for itself, or with special interest in the action.
- Middle or Passive
- A form that may be middle or passive — resolved by context.
- Passive
- The subject receives the action.
Mood
- Indicative
- States a fact or asks a factual question (the mood of reality).
- Subjunctive
- Expresses probability, purpose, or possibility (the mood of contingency).
- Infinitive
- A verbal noun (“to write”), unmarked for person or number.
- Participle
- A verbal adjective (“writing,” “having written”).
- Imperative
- Expresses a command or request.
Case
- Dative
- The case of the indirect object, means, or location — “to / for / with / in.”
- Accusative
- The case of the direct object and of extent.
- Nominative
- The case of the subject (and the predicate nominative).
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
Person
- 3rd person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Neuter
- Grammatically neuter.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one.
Every verse where G622 appears in the Book of 2 John — 1 distinct verse. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Greek form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Greek New Testament; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences of this word are not indexed here.
2 John
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
απολλυμι (apóllymi) is a Greek verb most often rendered “to destroy.” Ranging over 7 senses, it is not a single-sense word. It turns up in 84 verses across 16 books, a moderately common footprint. It concentrates in Luke, which alone accounts for 29% of its uses. Scripture first uses it in Matthew 2:13. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G622 catalogs a Greek word from the Greek New Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Greek New Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 84
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 84 distinct verses.
- 16 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 16 of 27 New Testament books.
- #194
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Greek words (rank 194 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 84 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the New Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Some books belong to more than one corpus (Luke is in both the Gospels and the Lukan corpus, and so on), so these shares overlap and need not total 100%. Each figure is a share of the word’s 84 distinct verses.
- Gospels 60 verses · 71%
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 26 verses · 31%
- Johannine 12 verses · 14%
- Pauline corpus 12 verses · 14%
- General (Catholic) Epistles 8 verses · 10%
- Hebrews 1 verse · 1%
- Revelation 1 verse · 1%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Destroy 15×, Perish 15×, Shall lose 8×
- American Standard Version: Destroy 13×, Perish 12×, Perished 7×
- Berean Standard Bible: Destroy 8×, Loses 7×, Lost 6×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Destroy 11×, Perish 9×, Perishing 6×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G622 across 100 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 14 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G622 across 95 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 23 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G622 across 90 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 24 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G622 across 106 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 23 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
7 senses in Thayer's, in lexicon order
The 7 senses Thayer's distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin
- render useless
- to kill
- to declare that one must be put to death
- metaph. to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell
- to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed
- to lose
Word origin
Derived from απο (apó) (G575) — from.
Forms in the corpus
The 33 distinct written forms G622 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that tense’s occurrences in the concordance.
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G622, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- απαγγελλω apangéllō G518 to report
- απαγχομαι apánchomai G519 to strangle
- απαγω apágō G520 to lead away
- απαιρω apaírō G522 to take away
- απαιτεω apaitéō G523 to demand back
- απαλγεω apalgéō G524 to cease grieving
- απαλλασσω apallássō G525 to depart
- απαλλοτριοω apallotrióō G526 to estrange
- απανταω apantáō G528 to meet
- απαρνεομαι aparnéomai G533 to deny
- απαρτι apárti G534 henceforth
- απαρχη aparchḗ G536 to offer firstfruits
- απαυγασμα apaúgasma G541 brightness
- απειδω apeídō G542 to look away
- απειμι ápeimi G548 to depart
- απειμι ápeimi G549 to depart
- απειπομην apeipómēn G550 to declare
- απεκδεχομαι apekdéchomai G553 waiting for
- απεκδυομαι apekdýomai G554 to despoil
- απελαυνω apelaúnō G556 to drive away
- απελεγμος apelegmós G557 censure
- απελευθερος apeleútheros G558 freedman
- απελπιζω apelpízō G560 not despairing
- απεναντι apénanti G561 opposite
+85 more words share this root (not shown).
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 114 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word απολλυμι appears 278 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 270 verses in 28 books.
- 278
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 270
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 28 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 28 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Genesis 18:23 ἀποὀλλύω
- Exodus 10:7 ἀποὀλλύω
- Leviticus 7:20 ἀποὀλλύω
- Numbers 14:12 ἀποὀλλύω
- Deuteronomy 2:12 ἀποὀλλύω
- Joshua 7:7 ἀποὀλλύω
- Judges 5:31 ἀποὀλλύω
- 1 Samuel 9:3 ἀποὀλλύω
- 2 Samuel 1:27 ἀποὀλλύω
- 2 Kings 10:19 ἀποὀλλύω
- 2 Chronicles 22:10 ἀποὀλλύω
- Esther 3:7 ἀποὀλλύω
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G622) appears in the Greek Septuagint — showing the first 50 of 270. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Genesis 18:23 ἀποὀλλύω Abraham drew near, and said, "Will you consume the righteous with the wicked?
- Genesis 18:24 ἀποὀλλύω What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are therein?
- Genesis 18:28 ἀποὀλλύω What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?" He said, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there."
- Genesis 18:29 ἀποὀλλύω He spoke to him yet again, and said, "What if there are forty found there?" He said, "I will not do it for the forty's sake."
- Genesis 18:30 ἀποὀλλύω He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?" He said, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."
- Genesis 18:31 ἀποὀλλύω He said, "See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the twenty's sake."
- Genesis 18:32 ἀποὀλλύω He said, "Oh don't let the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. What if ten are found there?" He said, "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake."
- Genesis 19:13 ἀποὀλλύω for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is grown great before Yahweh. Yahweh has sent us to destroy it."
- Genesis 19:15 ἀποὀλλύω When the morning arose, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife, and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city."
- Genesis 20:4 ἀποὀλλύω Now Abimelech had not come near her. He said, "Lord, will you kill even a righteous nation?
- Genesis 35:4 ἀποὀλλύω They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
- Exodus 10:7 ἀποὀλλύω Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh, their God. Don't you yet know that Egypt is destroyed?"
- Exodus 19:24 ἀποὀλλύω Yahweh said to him, "Go down and you shall bring Aaron up with you, but don't let the priests and the people break through to come up to Yahweh, lest he break forth on them."
- Exodus 30:38 ἀποὀλλύω Whoever shall make any like that, to smell of it, he shall be cut off from his people."
- Leviticus 7:20 ἀποὀλλύω but the soul who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that belongs to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 7:21 ἀποὀλλύω When anyone touches any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal, or any unclean abomination, and eats some of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which belong to Yahweh, that soul shall be cut off from his people.'"
- Leviticus 7:25 ἀποὀλλύω For whoever eats the fat of the animal, of which men offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, even the soul who eats it shall be cut off from his people.
- Leviticus 7:27 ἀποὀλλύω Whoever it is who eats any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people.'"
- Leviticus 17:10 ἀποὀλλύω "'Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
- Leviticus 20:3 ἀποὀλλύω I also will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people because he has given of his seed to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
- Leviticus 20:5 ἀποὀλλύω then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all who play the prostitute after him, to play the prostitute with Molech, from among their people.
- Leviticus 20:6 ἀποὀλλύω "'The person that turns to those who are mediums, and to the wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
- Leviticus 23:30 ἀποὀλλύω Whoever it is who does any manner of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
- Leviticus 26:6 ἀποὀλλύω "'I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one will make you afraid; and I will remove evil animals out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
- Leviticus 26:38 ἀποὀλλύω You will perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies will eat you up.
- Leviticus 26:41 ἀποὀλλύω I also walked contrary to them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled, and they then accept the punishment of their iniquity;
- Numbers 14:12 ἀποὀλλύω I will strike them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.
- Numbers 16:26 ἀποὀλλύω He spoke to the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.
- Numbers 16:33 ἀποὀλλύω So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed on them, and they perished from among the assembly.
- Numbers 17:27 ἀποὀλλύω
- Numbers 21:29 ἀποὀλλύω Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh: He has given his sons as fugitives, His daughters into captivity, To Sihon king of the Amorites.
- Numbers 21:30 ἀποὀλλύω We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even to Dibon, We have laid waste even to Nophah, Which [reaches] to Medeba.
- Numbers 24:19 ἀποὀλλύω Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, Shall destroy the remnant from the city.
- Numbers 24:20 ἀποὀλλύω He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; But his latter end shall come to destruction.
- Numbers 24:24 ἀποὀλλύω But ships [shall come] from the coast of Kittim, They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; He also shall come to destruction.
- Numbers 32:39 ἀποὀλλύω The children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were therein.
- Numbers 33:52 ἀποὀλλύω then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured [stones], and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places:
- Numbers 33:53 ἀποὀλλύω and you shall take possession of the land, and dwell therein; for to you have I given the land to possess it.
- Numbers 33:55 ἀποὀλλύω But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those who you let remain of them be as pricks in your eyes, and as thorns in your sides, and they shall vex you in the land in which you dwell.
- Deuteronomy 2:12 ἀποὀλλύω The Horites also lived in Seir before, but the children of Esau succeeded them; and they destroyed them from before them, and lived in their place; as Israel did to the land of his possession, which Yahweh gave to them.)
- Deuteronomy 2:21 ἀποὀλλύω a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place;
- Deuteronomy 4:26 ἀποὀλλύω I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto you go over the Jordan to possess it; you shall not prolong your days on it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 7:23 ἀποὀλλύω But Yahweh your God will deliver them up before you, and will confuse them with a great confusion, until they be destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 7:24 ἀποὀλλύω He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name to perish from under the sky: there shall no man be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them.
- Deuteronomy 8:19 ἀποὀλλύω It shall be, if you shall forget Yahweh your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
- Deuteronomy 8:20 ἀποὀλλύω As the nations that Yahweh makes to perish before you, so shall you perish; because you wouldn't listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
- Deuteronomy 9:3 ἀποὀλλύω Know therefore this day, that Yahweh your God is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will bring them down before you: so shall you drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as Yahweh has spoken to you.
- Deuteronomy 11:4 ἀποὀλλύω and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how Yahweh has destroyed them to this day;
- Deuteronomy 11:17 ἀποὀλλύω and the anger of Yahweh be kindled against you, and he shut up the sky, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and you perish quickly from off the good land which Yahweh gives you.
- Deuteronomy 12:2 ἀποὀλλύω You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree:
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G622) in the Septuagint — not a translation of any one Hebrew word. The store carries no word-level Hebrew↔Greek alignment, so no Hebrew original is asserted here. Counts come from the recovered LXX Strong's tagging — high-frequency vocabulary is well covered, while rare or late forms may be untagged — so they reflect tagged occurrences and may slightly undercount.
