μαρτυρέω,
μαρτυρῶ; imperfect 3 person plural
ἐμαρτύρουν; future
μαρτυρήσω; 1 aorist
ἐμαρτύρησα; perfect
μεμαρτύρηκα; passive, present
μαρτυροῦμαι; imperfect
ἐμαρτυρουμην; perfect
μεμαρτύρημαι; 1 aorist
ἐμαρτυρήθην; from (
Simonides,
Pindar),
Aeschylus,
Herodotus down;
to be a witness, to bear witness, testify, i. e.
to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, or that (so in the N. T.)
he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration (sometimes in the N. T. the apostles are said
μαρτυρεῖν, as those who had been eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses of the extraordinary sayings, deeds and sufferings of Jesus, which proved his Messiahship; so too Paul, as one to whom the risen Christ had visibly appeared; cf.
John 15:27;
John 19:35;
John 21:24;
Acts 23:11;
1 Corinthians 15:15;
1 John 1:2, cf.
Acts 1:22;
Acts 2:32;
Acts 3:15;
Acts 4:33;
Acts 5:32;
Acts 10:39,
41;
Acts 13:31;
Acts 26:16; (cf. Westcott (Speaker's) commentary on John, Introduction, p. 45f));
a. in general; absolutely,
to give (not to keep back) testimony:
John 15:27;
Acts 26:5; followed by
ὅτι recitative and the orat. direct.,
John 4:39; also preceded by
λέγων,
John 1:32;
μαρτυρεῖν εἰς with an accusative of the place into (unto) which the testimony (concerning Christ) is borne,
Acts 23:11 (see
εἰς, A. I. 5 b.);
μαρτυρῶ, inserted parenthetically (
Winer's Grammar, § 62, 2),
2 Corinthians 8:3; equivalent to
to prove or confirm by testimony, 1 John 5:6f; used of Jesus, predicting what actually befell him,
John 13:21; of God, who himself testifies in the Scriptures that a thing is so (viz. as the author declares), followed by the recitative
ὅτι,
Hebrews 7:17 R.
μαρτυρεῖται followed by
περί with the genitive of a person,
to bear witness concerning one:
John 1:7f;
περί τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, concerning man, i. e. to tell what one has himself learned about the nature, character, conduct, of men,
John 2:25 (see
ἄνθρωπος, 1 a.);
περί τίνος, followed by direct discourse,
John 1:15; the Scriptures are said to testify
περί Ἰησοῦ, i. e. to declare things which make it evident that he was truly sent by God,
John 5:39; God is said to do the same — through the Scriptures,
John 5:37, cf.
John 8:18; through the expiation wrought by the baptism and death of Christ, and the Holy Spirit giving souls assurance of this expiation,
1 John 5:6-9; so John the Baptist, as being a 'prophet',
John 5:32; so the works which he himself did,
John 5:36 (there followed by
ὅτι);
John 10:25; so the Holy Spirit,
John 15:26; the apostles,
John 15:27; so Christ himself
περί ἑαυτοῦ,
John 5:31;
John 8:13f,
18.
περί with the genitive of the thing,
John 21:24;
περί τοῦ κακοῦ, to bring forward evidence to prove
τό κακόν,
John 18:23. with the accusative of a cognate noun,
μαρτυρίαν μαρτυρεῖν περί with a genitive of the person,
John 5:32;
1 John 5:9 Rec.;
1 John 5:10 (
τήν αὐτήν μαρτυρίαν,
μαρτυρεῖν,
Plato, Eryx., p. 399 b.;
τήν μαρτυρίαν αὐτοῦ ἥν τῇ ἀρετή μαρτυρεῖ,
Epictetus diss. 4, 8, 32 (cf.
Winers Grammar, 225 (211);
Buttmann, 148 (129))); with an accusative of the thing,
to testify a thing, bear witness to (of) anything:
John 3:11,
32; supply
αὐτό in
John 19:35;
τίνι τί,
1 John 1:2;
ὅς ἐμαρτύρησε...
Χριστοῦ, who has borne witness of (viz., in this book, i. e. the Apocalypse) what God has spoken and Jesus Christ testified (namely, concerning future events; see
λόγος, I. 2 b.
ἐ.),
Revelation 1:2;
ὁ μαρτύρων ταῦτα he that testifieth these things i. e. has caused them to be testified by the prophet, his messenger,
Revelation 22:20;
μαρτυρῆσαι ὑμῖν ταῦτα ἐπί (
L Tr marginal reading
WH marginal reading
ἐν)
ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις, to cause these things to be testified to you in the churches or
for, on account of, the churches,
Revelation 22:16 — unless
ἐπί be dropped from the text and the passage translated,
to you, viz.
the (seven) churches (of Asia Minor), the prophet reverting again to
Revelation 1:4; cf. DeWette, Bleek, Düsterdieck, ad loc.; (others, retaining
ἐπί, render it
over, concerning, cf.
Revelation 10:11;
Winers Grammar, 393 (368) c.; see
ἐπί, B. 2 f.
β. at the end). of testimony borne not in word but by deed, in the phrase used of Christ
μαρτυρεῖν τήν καλήν ὁμολογίαν, to witness the good confession, to attest the truth of the (Christian) profession by his sufferings and death,
1 Timothy 6:13, where cf. Hofmann. Passive:
Romans 3:21 (a righteousness such as the Scriptures testify that God ascribes to believers, cf.
Romans 4:3).
μεμαρτύρηκα followed by
ὅτι that, John 1:34 (cf.
Winer's Grammar, 273 (256)); (
John 4:44);
John 12:17 (here
Rst Tr text
WH ὅτε);
1 John 4:14;
περί with the genitive of a person followed by
ὅτι,
John 5:36;
John 7:7;
κατά τίνος, against (so
Winers Grammar, 382 (357), Meyer, others; yet see
κατά, I. 2 b.) one, followed by
ὅτι,
1 Corinthians 15:15. with a dative of the thing i. e. for the benefit of, in the interests of, a thing (cf.
Buttmann, § 133, 11):
τῇ ἀλήθεια,
John 5:33;
John 18:37;
σου τῇ ἀλήθεια (see
ἀλήθεια, II.), to bear witness unto thy truth, how great it is,
3 John 1:3,
6; used of the testimony which is given in deeds to promote some object:
τῷ λόγῳ,
Acts 14:3 (
T prefixes
ἐπί); with a dative (of a thing) incommodi:
μαρτυρεῖτε (
T Tr WH μάρτυρες ἐστε)
τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν πατέρων, by what ye are doing ye add to the deeds of your fathers a testimony which proves that those things were done by them,
Luke 11:48. with a dative of the person:
to declare to one by testimony (by suggestion, instruction),
Hebrews 10:15; followed by direct discourse,
Revelation 22:18 G L T Tr WH;
to testify to one what he wishes one to testify concerning him:
Acts 22:5; followed by
ὅτι,
Matthew 23:31;
John 3:28;
Romans 10:2;
Galatians 4:15;
Colossians 4:13; followed by an accusative with an infinitive
Acts 10:43; to give testimony in one's favor, to commend (
Winers Grammar, § 31, 4 b.;
Buttmann, as above):
John 3:26;
Acts 13:22;
Acts 15:8; passive
μαρτυροῦμαι witness is borne to me, it is witnessed of me (
Winers Grammar, § 39, 1;
Buttmann, § 134, 4): followed by
ὅτι,
Hebrews 7:8; followed by
ὅτι recitative and direct discourse,
Hebrews 7:17 L T Tr WH; followed by an infinitive belonging to the subject,
Hebrews 11:4f.
b. emphatically;
to utter honorable testimony, give a good report: with a dative of the person,
Luke 4:22;
ἐπί τίνι, on account of, for a thing,
Hebrews 11:4 (here
L Tr read
μαρτυροῦντος ἐπί κτλ.
τῷ Θεῷ (but see the commentaries));
μεμαρτύρηται τίνι ὑπό τίνος,
3 John 1:12; passive
μαρτυροῦμαι to be borne (good)
witness to, to be well reported of, to hate (good)
testimony borne to one, accredited, attested, of good report, approved: Acts 6:3 (
Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 17, 1f [ET]; 18, 1 [ET]; 19, 1 [ET]; 47, 4 [ET]); followed by
ἐν with a dative of the thing in which the commmended excellence appears,
1 Timothy 5:10;
Hebrews 11:2 (
ἐπί τίνι, for a thing,
Athen. 1, p. 25 f.; (yet cf.
Winer's Grammar, 387 (362) note));
διά τίνος, to have (honorable) testimony borne to one through (by) a thing,
Hebrews 11:39;
ὑπό with the genitive of the person giving honorable testimony,
Acts 10:22;
Acts 16:2;
Acts 22:12 (
Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 38, 2 [ET]; 44, 3 [ET];
Ignatius ad Philad. c. 5, 2 [ET] cf. 11, 1 [ET] and ad Eph. 12, 2 [ET];
Antoninus 7, 62); with the dative of the person testifying (equivalent to
ὑπό τίνος),
Acts 26:22 R G.
c. middle, according to a false reading,
to conjure, implore:
1 Thessalonians 2:12 (11), where
T Tr WH have rightly restored
μαρτυρόμενοι. (Compare:
ἐπιμαρτυρέω,
συνεπιμαρτυρέω,
καταμαρτυρέω,
συμμαρτυρέω.)
THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON, Electronic Database.
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