To display information about the grammar of the Bible's words, choose a Bible version that has a "G" on the line to the right of the version in the drop-down list in the Bible version / Commentaries menu in the Find Bar. Currently, the King James version of the Bible is grammar-capable, with other Bible versions to follow.
STEPBible displays grammatical information at the bottom of the pop-up window that appears when you hover over a word in the displayed Bible text.Click on the word of interest to display vocabulary information in the Original Word tab in the right side panel.
Click here for help with Greek and Hebrew grammar.
To readers who have not learned about Greek and Hebrew grammar (probably most readers), exploring the Bible from the perspective of its grammar might seem like a difficult challenge. Nevertheless, consider the following brief study to assess the merits of exploring for yourself the grammar of Bible passages that interest you.
A brief illustrative grammar study: In the following two passages, STEPBible indicates that the words "be filled" have somewhat different grammatical descriptions. Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; here, STEPBible describes be filled as: Verb Present Passive Imperative 2nd Plural. Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. here STEPBible describes be filled as: Verb Aorist Passive Subjunctive 2nd Plural. Clicking on Search for this word (~89 occurrences) in the Original Word tab will reveal the numerous ways in which the Greek word πληρόω (plēroō) 'to fulfill' (G4137) has been rendered in the KJV, and clicking on each instance in the list will reveal that besides the different contexts of its usage, the grammatical descriptions of its usage also vary, and in correspondence with its contexts. In both the above two passages, "you (ye)" are the subject (implied in Eph 5:18, declared in Eph 3:19). In both passages, be filled is a verb, passive, and 2nd plural. A verb indicates action. Passive voice indicates that the subject (you) are being acted upon. 2nd plural indicates "you all." ...you (all) be filled... Here, the grammar for the verb be filled diverges in the two passages: In Eph 5:18, be filled is Present, Imperative. Present tense in Greek suggests an ongoing or continuous action, more so than in English. The imperative mood exhorts. ...you (all) be continuously being filled...! In Eph 3:19 be filled is Aorist, Subjunctive. The Aorist tense expresses a completed action, usually in the past; but, it doesn't specify past, present or future. The subjunctive mood refers to action as a possibility, maybe conditional. ...that ye might be filled... The larger context of this passage (supplied below) gives validation to the grammar described above. The word "that" connects what precedes it with what follows, as an outcome. Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. |
Teaching ancient Hebrew and Greek grammar exceeds the scope of this User Guide, but you my find the following useful in pursuing a better understanding of the Bible.
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Italic indicates examples. Click links for more details.
| Things | Describing | Connections |
|---|---|---|
| Noun: thought | Adverb: thoughtfully (for verbs) | Preposition: by thought &; (affects nouns) |
| - Nominative: he thought | Adjective: thoughtful (for nouns) | Particle: think up (affects verbs) |
| - Accusative: thought him dull | - Comparative: more thoughtful | - Relative: which thinking |
| - Dative: thought about him | - Superlative: most thoughtful | - Conditional: if thinking |
| - Genitive: his thought | Article: the thought | - Negative: not thinking |
| - Vocative: “Think, you” | Demonstrative: that thought | |
| - Proper: Alexander | Possessive: his thought | Conjunction: and thought |
| - Locative: Alexandria | Interrogative: which thought? | Interjection: Oi! Think! |
| - Gentilic: Alexandrian | Feminine: she | |
| Pronoun | Masculine: he | |
| - Possessive: his | Neuter: it | |
| - Reciprocal: himself | Singular: he | |
| - Interrogative: who? | Plural: they | |
| - Relative: who | Indeclinable: one |
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| Doing | ||
|---|---|---|
| Greek verbs | ||
| Verb Tense | Verb Voice | Verb Mood |
| Present: he thinks | Active: he thinks | Indicative: he thinks |
| Future: he will think | Passive: he thinks | Infinitive: he thinks |
| Imperfect: he thought | Middle: thinks himself | Imperative: do think! |
| Perfect: he did think | 1st Person: me, us | Subjunctive: he may think |
| Pluperfect: he had thought | 2nd Person: you | Optative: please think |
| Aorist: he thought (past, or present, or future) | 3rd Person: he, she, they | Participle: thinking, thinker |
| Hebrew verbs | ||
| Verb Tense | Verb Voice | Verb Mood |
| Perfect: (starts a paragraph) he thought/thinks (briefly) | Qal/Active: he thinks | Indicative: he thinks |
| Imperfect: (starts a paragraph) he will think/thinks (long) | Niphal/Passive: it is thought | Infinitive absolute: to think |
| Sequential Perfect: he will think/thinks (long) | Hithpael/Reflexive: thinks himself | Infinitive construct: to certainly think |
| Sequential Imperfect: he thought/thinks (briefly) | Piel/Intensive-Resultative: he plans (ie a related meaning) | Imperative: to certainly think (only Imperfective) |
| Hiphil/Causative-Declarative: he considers (ie a related meaning) | Cohortative: let us think (only Imperfective) | |
| Other Stems (more combinations of the above) | Jussive: may he think (only Imperfective) | |
| Paragogic: do think (only Imperfective) | ||
| Participle: thinking, thinker |
Example sentances:
| She | took | her | to | him | and | his men | were shouting | up: | Hey you! |
| Object, | Verb, | Subject, | Preposition, | Indirect Object, | Conjunction, | Possessive, | Participle, | Particle, | Interjection |
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | Vocative |
Notes:
* Greek generally follows the order Subject, Verb, Object, but doesn’t need to because cases determine the meaning.
* Hebrew generally follows the order Verb, Subject, Object, and an Object marker (eth) helps determine the meaning.
| I prayed that this | may happen | Let it happen | and | I will praise you | |
| Greek | Perfect | Subjunctive | Optative | Future | |
| Hebrew | Perfect | Imperfect | Jussive | Sequential Perfect |
Notes:
* Optative is rare, and usually a subjunctive is used instead, just as English often uses an indicative instead of subjunctive (eg “I wish this will happen” instead of “I wish this would happen.”
* Subjunctive used to exist but it disappeared by the time of Biblical Hebrew, so the Imperfect is used instead.
* Jussive isn’t often different from the Imperfect form in Hebrew, so it may be parsed as ‘Imperfect.’
* Sequential verbs are used within paragraphs. The prefix (vav) reverses the tense, so this carries a Future sense.
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