2518. katheudó
Lexical Summary
katheudó: To sleep

Original Word: καθεύδω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: katheudó
Pronunciation: kath-yoo'-do
Phonetic Spelling: (kath-yoo'-do)
KJV: (be a-)sleep
NASB: asleep, sleeping, sleep, do their sleeping, goes to bed, sleep do, sleeper
Word Origin: [from G2596 (κατά - according) and heudo "to sleep"]

1. to lie down to rest
2. (by implication) to fall asleep
{literally or figuratively}

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
to sleep

From kata and heudo (to sleep); to lie down to rest, i.e. (by implication) to fall asleep (literally or figuratively) -- (be a-)sleep.

see GREEK kata

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from kata and heudó (to sleep)
Definition
to sleep
NASB Translation
asleep (8), do their sleeping (1), goes to bed (1), sleep (3), sleep do (1), sleeper (1), sleeping (8).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2518: καθεύδω

καθεύδω; imperfect 3 person plural ἐκάθευδον; from Homer down; the Sept. mostly for שָׁכַב;

1. to fall asleep, to drop off to sleep: Matthew 25:5.

2. to sleep;

a. properly: Matthew 8:24; Matthew 9:24 (on this and its parallels, cf. B. D. American edition, p. 1198{a}); ; Mark 4:27, 38; Mark 5:39; Mark 13:36; Mark 14:37, 40; Luke 8:52; Luke 22:46; 1 Thessalonians 5:7.

b. euphemistically, to be dead: 1 Thessalonians 5:10; (Psalm 87:6 (); Daniel 12:2).

c. metaphorically, to yield to sloth and sin, and be indifferent to one's salvation: Ephesians 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:6.

Topical Lexicon
Overview of Biblical Usage

The verb καθεύδω occurs twenty-two times in the Greek New Testament, spanning the Gospels, Pauline Epistles, and a key liturgical quotation in Ephesians. It denotes literal sleep, figurative death, and spiritual lethargy. Context determines whether the word paints a scene of ordinary human rest, exposes human frailty, or warns against complacency as the Day of the Lord approaches.

Physical Sleep as Human Rest

A number of passages depict simple bodily repose. Jesus Himself “was sleeping” during the Galilean storm (Matthew 8:24; Mark 4:38), illustrating His true humanity and perfect trust in His Father. The sower “sleeps and rises night and day” while the seed grows apart from his effort (Mark 4:27), spotlighting the mysterious, God-given growth of the kingdom. In the Parable of the Ten Virgins “they all became drowsy and fell asleep” (Matthew 25:5), a realistic portrayal of human limits that sets the stage for the decisive midnight cry.

Jesus Christ and Sleep

Christ’s sleep in the boat contrasts His serene authority with the disciples’ panic, foreshadowing His power over nature. In Gethsemane He finds Peter, James, and John repeatedly “sleeping” (Matthew 26:40, 43, 45; Mark 14:37, 40, 41; Luke 22:46). Their sluggishness heightens the loneliness of His suffering and the necessity of prayerful vigilance: “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” (Mark 14:37). These moments expose the weakness of the flesh and highlight the sufficiency of Christ’s obedience.

Sleep and the Growth of the Kingdom

Mark 4:27 portrays the farmer’s nightly sleep while God causes the seed to sprout. The image reassures believers that kingdom advance is ultimately divine work. Likewise, Matthew 13:25 warns that “while men were sleeping” the enemy sowed weeds, reminding the church that negligence gives opportunity to evil.

Sleep as a Metaphor for Death

When Jesus approaches the corpse of Jairus’s daughter He insists, “The child is not dead but asleep” (Mark 5:39; cf. Matthew 9:24; Luke 8:52). Here καθεύδω softens the horror of death and signals Christ’s intent to awaken her. Although the crowd laughs, the narrative vindicates Jesus: physical death is no final barrier to the Author of life. In this sense sleep becomes a pledge of resurrection.

Sleep as Spiritual Lethargy

Paul appropriates the term for moral and spiritual dullness. “So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6). Nighttime habits belong to the unregenerate; believers are “sons of light and sons of day.” Verse 7 contrasts those who “sleep at night” with the alert church, while verse 10 grants assurance: Christ “died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.”

Eschatological Watchfulness

Jesus’ eschatological discourse stresses readiness: “Otherwise, he may arrive without warning and find you sleeping” (Mark 13:36). Καθεύδω thus becomes a symbol for careless unpreparedness when the Son of Man returns. The parable of the Virgins ends with an imperative that guards against such peril: “Keep watch” (Matthew 25:13).

Pastoral and Discipleship Applications

1. Encourage dependence: Like the farmer, ministers plant and water but rest, leaving growth to God.
2. Cultivate vigilance: Gethsemane shows that prayer guards against temptation; spiritual sleep leads to failure.
3. Comfort the grieving: Christ’s terminology for Jairus’s daughter grounds the Christian view of death as temporary.
4. Sustain hope: Whether a believer dies before the Parousia or remains alive, union with Christ is secure (1 Thessalonians 5:10).

Historical and Early Church Reflections

Early Christian epitaphs often employed the noun κοιμητήριον (“sleeping place,” our “cemetery”) derived from the same semantic field, reflecting confidence in bodily resurrection. Patristic writers such as Tertullian cited Christ’s words about the sleeping child to argue against soul-sleep while affirming the interim state of the righteous dead as restful anticipation.

Theological Summary

Καθεύδω weaves together three strands of biblical theology:
• Creation order—nightly rest is a divine gift.
• Redemption—Christ’s mastery over storms, temptation, and death redeems human vulnerability.
• Consummation—believers live in wakeful expectancy, certain that the One who awakens the dead will soon appear.

Thus every occurrence of Strong’s 2518 presses the church to rest in God’s sovereignty, rise from spiritual stupor, and watch for the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
εκάθευδε εκαθευδεν εκάθευδεν ἐκάθευδεν εκαθευδον εκάθευδον ἐκάθευδον κάθευδε καθευδει καθεύδει καθευδειν καθεύδειν καθευδεις καθεύδεις Καθευδετε Καθεύδετε καθευδη καθεύδη καθεύδῃ καθεύδης καθευδοντας καθεύδοντας καθευδοντες καθεύδοντες καθευδόντων καθεύδουσι καθευδουσιν καθεύδουσιν καθεύδω καθευδωμεν καθεύδωμεν καθευδων καθεύδων ekatheuden ekátheuden ekatheudon ekátheudon katheude katheudē katheudei katheúdei katheúdēi katheudein katheúdein katheudeis katheúdeis Katheudete Katheúdete katheudomen katheudōmen katheúdomen katheúdōmen katheudon katheudōn katheúdon katheúdōn katheudontas katheúdontas katheudontes katheúdontes katheudousin katheúdousin
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Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 8:24 V-IIA-3S
GRK: αὐτὸς δὲ ἐκάθευδεν
NAS: but Jesus Himself was asleep.
KJV: but he was asleep.
INT: he himself however was sleeping

Matthew 9:24 V-PIA-3S
GRK: κοράσιον ἀλλὰ καθεύδει καὶ κατεγέλων
NAS: has not died, but is asleep. And they [began] laughing
KJV: dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed
INT: girl but sleeps And they laughed at

Matthew 13:25 V-PNA
GRK: δὲ τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους
NAS: his men were sleeping, his enemy
KJV: while men slept, his enemy
INT: moreover the [time] while slept the men

Matthew 25:5 V-IIA-3P
GRK: πᾶσαι καὶ ἐκάθευδον
NAS: got drowsy and [began] to sleep.
KJV: slumbered and slept.
INT: all and slept

Matthew 26:40 V-PPA-AMP
GRK: εὑρίσκει αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας καὶ λέγει
NAS: and found them sleeping, and said
KJV: findeth them asleep, and saith
INT: finds them sleeping and he says

Matthew 26:43 V-PPA-AMP
GRK: εὗρεν αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας ἦσαν γὰρ
NAS: and found them sleeping, for their eyes
KJV: and found them asleep again: for
INT: he finds them sleeping were indeed

Matthew 26:45 V-PIA-2P
GRK: λέγει αὐτοῖς Καθεύδετε τὸ λοιπὸν
NAS: to them, Are you still sleeping and resting?
KJV: saith unto them, Sleep on now, and
INT: says to them Sleep later on

Mark 4:27 V-PSA-3S
GRK: καὶ καθεύδῃ καὶ ἐγείρηται
NAS: and he goes to bed at night and gets
KJV: And should sleep, and rise
INT: and should sleep and rise

Mark 4:38 V-PPA-NMS
GRK: τὸ προσκεφάλαιον καθεύδων καὶ ἐγείρουσιν
NAS: was in the stern, asleep on the cushion;
KJV: the hinder part of the ship, asleep on
INT: the cushion sleeping And they awaken

Mark 5:39 V-PIA-3S
GRK: ἀπέθανεν ἀλλὰ καθεύδει
NAS: has not died, but is asleep.
KJV: dead, but sleepeth.
INT: is dead but sleeps

Mark 13:36 V-PPA-AMP
GRK: εὕρῃ ὑμᾶς καθεύδοντας
NAS: suddenly and find you asleep.
KJV: he find you sleeping.
INT: he should find you sleeping

Mark 14:37 V-PPA-AMP
GRK: εὑρίσκει αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας καὶ λέγει
NAS: and found them sleeping, and said
KJV: findeth them sleeping, and saith
INT: finds them sleeping And he says

Mark 14:37 V-PIA-2S
GRK: Πέτρῳ Σίμων καθεύδεις οὐκ ἴσχυσας
NAS: Simon, are you asleep? Could
KJV: Simon, sleepest thou? couldest
INT: to Peter Simon sleep you not were you able

Mark 14:40 V-PPA-AMP
GRK: εὗρεν αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας ἦσαν γὰρ
NAS: and found them sleeping, for their eyes
KJV: he found them asleep again, (for
INT: he found them sleeping were indeed

Mark 14:41 V-PIA-2P
GRK: λέγει αὐτοῖς Καθεύδετε τὸ λοιπὸν
NAS: to them, Are you still sleeping and resting?
KJV: saith unto them, Sleep on now, and
INT: says to them Sleep on now

Luke 8:52 V-PIA-3S
GRK: ἀπέθανεν ἀλλὰ καθεύδει
NAS: for she has not died, but is asleep.
KJV: dead, but sleepeth.
INT: she is dead but sleeps

Luke 22:46 V-PIA-2P
GRK: αὐτοῖς Τί καθεύδετε ἀναστάντες προσεύχεσθε
NAS: to them, Why are you sleeping? Get
KJV: Why sleep ye? rise
INT: to them Why sleep you Having risen up pray

Ephesians 5:14 V-PPA-NMS
GRK: Ἔγειρε ὁ καθεύδων καὶ ἀνάστα
NAS: Awake, sleeper, And arise
KJV: Awake thou that sleepest, and
INT: Awake [you] that sleep and rise up

1 Thessalonians 5:6 V-PSA-1P
GRK: οὖν μὴ καθεύδωμεν ὡς οἱ
NAS: so then let us not sleep as others
KJV: let us not sleep, as [do] others;
INT: then not we should sleep as the

1 Thessalonians 5:7 V-PPA-NMP
GRK: οἱ γὰρ καθεύδοντες νυκτὸς καθεύδουσιν
NAS: For those who sleep do their sleeping
KJV: For they that sleep sleep
INT: those who indeed sleep by night sleep

1 Thessalonians 5:7 V-PIA-3P
GRK: καθεύδοντες νυκτὸς καθεύδουσιν καὶ οἱ
NAS: who sleep do their sleeping at night,
KJV: they that sleep sleep in the night;
INT: sleep by night sleep and they that

1 Thessalonians 5:10 V-PSA-1P
GRK: γρηγορῶμεν εἴτε καθεύδωμεν ἅμα σὺν
NAS: or asleep, we will live
KJV: or sleep, we should live
INT: we might watch or we might sleep together with

Strong's Greek 2518
22 Occurrences


ἐκάθευδεν — 1 Occ.
ἐκάθευδον — 1 Occ.
καθεύδῃ — 1 Occ.
καθεύδει — 3 Occ.
καθεύδειν — 1 Occ.
καθεύδεις — 1 Occ.
Καθεύδετε — 3 Occ.
καθεύδωμεν — 2 Occ.
καθεύδων — 2 Occ.
καθεύδοντας — 5 Occ.
καθεύδοντες — 1 Occ.
καθεύδουσιν — 1 Occ.

2517
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