3089. luó
Lexical Summary
luó: To loose, to release, to dissolve, to break, to destroy

Original Word: λύω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: luó
Pronunciation: loo'-o
Phonetic Spelling: (loo'-o)
KJV: break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-)loose, melt, put off
NASB: untie, released, broken, untying, destroyed, destroy, loose
Word Origin: [a primary verb]

1. to "loosen"
2. (by usage) to break, destroy, or dissolve
3. (maritally) to divorce
{literally or figuratively}

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
break up, dissolve, loose

A primary verb; to "loosen" (literally or figuratively) -- break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-)loose, melt, put off. Compare rhegnumi.

see GREEK rhegnumi

HELPS Word-studies

3089 lýō – properly, loose (unleash) let go; release (unbind) so something no longer holds together; (figuratively) release what has been held back (like Christ "releasing" the seven seals in the scroll in Revelation).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. verb
Definition
to loose, to release, to dissolve
NASB Translation
annuls (1), break (1), breaking (1), broke down (1), broken (4), destroy (2), destroyed (3), loose (2), loosed (2), putting an end to (1), release (1), released (7), removed (1), take off (1), unbind (1), untie (8), untied (1), untying (4).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 3089: λύω

λύω; imperfect ἐλυον; 1 aorist ἔλυσά; passive, present λύομαι; imperfect ἐλυομην; perfect 2 person singular λέλυσαι, participle λελυμενος; 1 aorist ἐλυθην; 1 future λυθήσομαι; from Homer down; the Sept. several times for פָּתַח, to open, הִתִּיר and Chaldean שְׁרֵא (Daniel 3:25; Daniel 5:12); to loose; i. e.:

1. to loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened: properly, the bandages of the feet, the shoes, Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:27; Acts (); (so for נָשַׁל to take off, Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15); πῶλον (δεδεμένον), Matthew 21:2; Mark 11:2,( L marginal reading),f; Luke 19:30f, 33; bad angels, Revelation 9:14f; τόν βοῦν ἀπό τῆς φάτνης, Luke 13:15; tropically: of husband and wife joined together by the bond of matrimony, λέλυσαι ἀπό γυναικός (opposed to δέδεσαι γυναικί), spoken of a single man, whether he has already had a wife or has not yet married, 1 Corinthians 7:27.

2. to loose one bound, i. e. to unbind, release from bonds, set free: one bound up (swathed in bandages), John 11:44; bound with chains (a prisoner), Acts 22:30 (where Rec. adds ἀπό τῶν δεσμῶν); hence, equivalent to to discharge from prison, let go, Acts 24:26 Rec. (so as far back as Homer); in Apocalyptic vision of the devil (κεκλεισμένον), Revelation 20:3; ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς αὐτοῦ, 7; metaphorically, to free (ἀπό δεσμοῦ) from the bondage of disease (one held by Satan) by restoration to health, Luke 13:16; to release one bound by the chains of sin, ἐκ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, Revelation 1:5 L T Tr WH (see λούω at the end (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 30, 6 a.)).

3. to loosen, undo, dissolve, anything bound, tied, or compacted together: the seal of a book, Revelation 5:2 (5 Rec.); tropically, τόν δεσμόν τῆς γλώσσης τίνος, to remove an impediment of speech, restore speech to a dumb man, Mark 7:35 (Justin, hist. 13, 7, 1 cui nomen Battos propter linguae obligationem init; 6 linguae nodis solutis loqui primum coepit); an assembly, i. e. to dismiss, break up: τήν συναγωγήν, passive, Acts 13:43 (ἀγορην, Homer, Iliad 1, 305; Odyssey 2, 257, etc.; Apoll. Rh. 1, 708; τήν στρατιάν, Xenophon, Cyril 6, 1, 2); of the bonds of death, λύειν τάς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θαντου, Acts 2:24 (see ὠδίν). Laws, as having binding force, are likened to bonds; hence, λύειν is equivalent to to annul, subvert; to do away with; to deprive of authority, whether by precept or by act: ἐντολήν, Matthew 5:19; τόν νόμον, John 7:23; τό σάββατον, the commandment concerning the sabbath, John 5:18; τήν γραφήν, John 10:35; cf. Kuinoel on Matthew 5:17; (on the singular reading λύει τόν Ἰησοῦ, 1 John 4:3 WH marginal reading see Westcott's Commentary at the passage); by a Chaldean and Talmudic usage (equivalent to אַתֵּר, שְׁרֵא (cf. Winer's Grammar, 32)), opposed to δέω (which see 2 c.), to declare lawful: Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18 (but cf. Weiss in Meyer 7te Aufl. ad the passages cited). to loose what is compacted or built together, to break up, demolish, destroy: properly, in passive ἐλύετο πρύμνα, was breaking to pieces, Acts 27:41; τόν ναόν, John 2:19; τό μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ, Ephesians 2:14 (τά τείχη, 1 Esdr. 1:52; γέφυραν, Xenophon, an. 2, 4, 17f); to dissolve something coherent into parts, to destroy: passive (τούτων πάντων λυομένων, 2 Peter 3:11); τά στοιχεῖα (καυσούμενα), 2 Peter 3:10; οὐρανοί (πυρούμενοι), 2 Peter 3:12; metaphorically, to overthrow, do away with: τά ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου, 1 John 3:8. (Compare: ἀναλύω, ἀπολύω, διαλύω, ἐκλύω, ἐπιλύω, καταλύω, πυραλύω.)

Topical Lexicon
Scope of Use

The verb translated “to loose, untie, release, break up, destroy, abolish” appears forty-two times in the Greek New Testament and spans the full range of redemptive history—from the literal untying of a colt to the final dissolution of the present heavens and earth. Its occurrences cluster around five spheres: everyday untying, legal or social release, deliverance from satanic or mortal bondage, apostolic authority in church discipline, and eschatological dissolution.

Literal Loosing of Bonds and Objects

The most basic sense concerns the simple act of untying or freeing a physical object. Jesus directs His disciples, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to Me” (Matthew 21:2; also Mark 11:4-5; Luke 19:30-33). The bystanders’ question in Mark 11:5—“Why are you untying the colt?”—shows the everyday nature of the term.

John 11:44 conveys the same literal action when Jesus orders Lazarus’ grave-clothes removed: “Unbind him and let him go”. Physical restraints are taken off so that life and movement may resume, foreshadowing deeper spiritual realities.

Release from Legal or Social Obligations

The verb also describes setting someone free from binding contracts or obligations. Paul advises the unmarried, “Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife” (1 Corinthians 7:27). Here the dissolution of a marriage covenant is in view; the tie has been legally loosed.

Luke employs the term in the courtroom. A Roman commander “released” Paul from his bonds so he might learn the charge against him (Acts 22:30). Likewise, after the shipwreck on Malta, the stern of the vessel “was being broken up” (Acts 27:41), showing the verb’s extension to the disintegration of material structures.

Spiritual Liberation and Redemption

The heart of New Testament theology emerges when the verb speaks of liberation from death, sin, and satanic oppression. Peter proclaims at Pentecost, “God raised Him up, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him” (Acts 2:24). The resurrection is portrayed as the decisive unbinding of death’s cords.

In Luke 13:16 Jesus asks, “Should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound these eighteen years, be released from her bonds on the Sabbath?”. The Sabbath healings demonstrate that God’s rest includes freedom from the devil’s chains.

John summarizes Christ’s mission: “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The verb underscores a total dismantling of Satan’s operations, not merely a temporary respite.

Revelation 1:5 celebrates the fruit of that victory: Jesus Christ “loved us and released us from our sins by His blood”. The shedding of blood effects a permanent emancipation.

Authority to Bind and Loose in the Kingdom

Jesus entrusts His disciples with derivative authority: “Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19; 18:18). In context the terms refer to admitting or excluding, forgiving or retaining—actions carried out in harmony with heaven’s prior decree. The passive perfect in heaven underscores divine initiative; earthly ministry enacts what the Father has already willed.

The same pattern appears in John 20:23, where the post-resurrection commission links the forgiveness of sins with Spirit-empowered proclamation. The church does not create forgiveness; it announces and administers it.

Christological Fulfillment and Abolition of Barriers

Ephesians 2:14-15 portrays Christ as the One who “has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and ordinances”. The verb pictures the tearing down of the Jew-Gentile barrier, producing one new humanity. Far from negating the moral law, this abolition fulfills its ceremonial shadows and unites formerly estranged peoples into a single body.

Eschatological Unbinding and Cosmic Dissolution

Future texts employ the verb to describe both the loosing of demonic forces and the final disintegration of creation. Four angels “having been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind” (Revelation 9:15). Satan himself “will be released from his prison” after the thousand years (Revelation 20:3, 7).

Peter applies the term three times to the fiery end of the universe: “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire” (2 Peter 3:10-12). What was once spoken into cohesion will be loosed into nothingness, making way for “new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

Pastoral and Missional Implications

1. Proclaim liberation. Preaching should announce Christ’s finished work that has loosed believers from sin’s penalty and power (Revelation 1:5; Acts 2:24).
2. Exercise church discipline wisely. Leaders must loose repentant sinners and bind unrepentant ones in fidelity to heaven’s verdict (Matthew 18:18; 1 Corinthians 5).
3. Offer tangible relief. Following Jesus’ example, ministry includes literal acts of unbinding—feeding the hungry, visiting prisoners, healing the oppressed (Luke 13:16).
4. Live with holy detachment. Since the elements will be loosed, believers set their hope on the coming kingdom and invest in eternal realities (2 Peter 3:11-12).

Connection to Old Testament Imagery

Prophets foretold a Messiah who would “proclaim liberty to the captives” (Isaiah 61:1). The Greek verb in Luke 4:18 (“set free”) corresponds conceptually. Additionally, God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt and from Babylon foreshadowed the greater unbinding accomplished at Calvary.

Summary

Across the New Testament the verb translated “loose” traces a single redemptive arc:

• Physical untying → legal release → spiritual emancipation
• Authority invested in Christ → authority delegated to the church
• Past deliverance at the cross → future deliverance in cosmic renewal

In every occurrence, the word proclaims that God in Christ breaks every chain—personal, societal, and cosmic—until nothing remains to hinder perfect fellowship with Him.

Forms and Transliterations
ελυε έλυε ἔλυε ἔλυεν ελυετο ελύετο ἐλύετο ελυθη ελύθη ἐλύθη ελυθησαν ελύθησαν ἐλύθησαν έλυσά έλυσας έλυσε ελυσεν έλυσεν ἔλυσεν λελυμενα λελυμένα λελυμενον λελυμένον λελυμένους λελυσαι λέλυσαι λέλυται λύε λυει λύει λυετε λύετε λυθεισης λυθείσης λυθη λυθή λυθῇ λυθηναι λυθήναι λυθῆναι λυθησεται λυθήσεται λυθησονται λυθήσονται λυομενων λυομένων λυοντες λύοντες λυοντων λυόντων λυουσιν λύουσιν λυσαι λύσαι λῦσαι λυσαντες λύσαντες λυσαντι λύσαντι λυσας λύσας λυσατε λύσατε λύσει λυση λύση λύσῃ λυσης λύσης λύσῃς λυσητε λύσητε Λυσον λύσον Λῦσον λύσουσι λυσω λύσω λύων eluen elueto elusen eluthe eluthē eluthesan eluthēsan elyen élyen elyeto elýeto elysen élysen elythe elythē elýthe elýthē elythesan elythēsan elýthesan elýthēsan lelumena lelumenon lelusai lelymena lelyména lelymenon lelyménon lelysai lélysai luei luete luomenon luomenōn luontes luonton luontōn luousin lusai lusantes lusanti lusas lusate luse lusē luses lusēs lusete lusēte luso lusō Luson luthe luthē lutheises lutheisēs luthenai luthēnai luthesetai luthēsetai luthesontai luthēsontai lyei lýei lyete lýete lyomenon lyomenōn lyoménon lyoménōn lyontes lýontes lyonton lyontōn lyónton lyóntōn lyousin lýousin lysai lŷsai lysantes lýsantes lysanti lýsanti lysas lýsas lysate lýsate lyse lysē lýsei lýsēi lýseis lýsēis lyses lysēs lysete lysēte lýsete lýsēte lyso lysō lýso lýsō Lyson Lŷson lythe lythē lythêi lythē̂i lytheises lytheisēs lytheíses lytheísēs lythenai lythênai lythēnai lythē̂nai lythesetai lythēsetai lythḗsetai lythesontai lythēsontai lythḗsontai
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Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 5:19 V-ASA-3S
GRK: ἐὰν οὖν λύσῃ μίαν τῶν
NAS: Whoever then annuls one of the least
KJV: therefore shall break one
INT: if then shall break one of the

Matthew 16:19 V-ASA-2S
GRK: ὃ ἐὰν λύσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς
NAS: and whatever you loose on earth
KJV: whatsoever thou shalt loose on
INT: whatever if you might loose on the

Matthew 16:19 V-RPM/P-NNS
GRK: γῆς ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς
NAS: on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
KJV: earth shall be loosed in heaven.
INT: earth will be loosed in the

Matthew 18:18 V-ASA-2P
GRK: ὅσα ἐὰν λύσητε ἐπὶ τῆς
NAS: and whatever you loose on earth
KJV: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth
INT: how many if you shall loose on the

Matthew 18:18 V-RPM/P-NNP
GRK: γῆς ἔσται λελυμένα ἐν οὐρανῷ
NAS: on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
KJV: earth shall be loosed in heaven.
INT: earth will be loosed in heaven

Matthew 21:2 V-APA-NMP
GRK: μετ' αὐτῆς λύσαντες ἀγάγετέ μοι
NAS: [there] and a colt with her; untie them and bring
KJV: her: loose [them], and bring
INT: with her having untied [them] bring [them] to me

Mark 1:7 V-ANA
GRK: ἱκανὸς κύψας λῦσαι τὸν ἱμάντα
NAS: to stoop down and untie the thong
KJV: worthy to stoop down and unloose.
INT: fit having stooped down to untie the strap

Mark 7:35 V-AIP-3S
GRK: ἀκοαί καὶ ἐλύθη ὁ δεσμὸς
NAS: of his tongue was removed, and he [began] speaking
KJV: of his tongue was loosed, and he spake
INT: ears and was loosed the band

Mark 11:2 V-AMA-2P
GRK: ἀνθρώπων ἐκάθισεν λύσατε αὐτὸν καὶ
NAS: sat; untie it and bring
KJV: man sat; loose him, and bring
INT: of men has sat having untied it also

Mark 11:4 V-PIA-3P
GRK: ἀμφόδου καὶ λύουσιν αὐτόν
NAS: in the street; and they untied it.
KJV: and they loose him.
INT: crossing and they untied it

Mark 11:5 V-PPA-NMP
GRK: Τί ποιεῖτε λύοντες τὸν πῶλον
NAS: are you doing, untying the colt?
KJV: What do ye, loosing the colt?
INT: What are you doing untying the colt

Luke 3:16 V-ANA
GRK: εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς λῦσαι τὸν ἱμάντα
NAS: not fit to untie the thong
KJV: worthy to unloose: he
INT: I am fit to untie the strap

Luke 13:15 V-PIA-3S
GRK: σαββάτῳ οὐ λύει τὸν βοῦν
NAS: of you on the Sabbath untie his ox
KJV: of you on the sabbath loose his ox
INT: Sabbath not does he untie the ox

Luke 13:16 V-ANP
GRK: οὐκ ἔδει λυθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ
NAS: should she not have been released from this
KJV: years, be loosed from
INT: not ought [she] to be loosed from the

Luke 19:30 V-APA-NMP
GRK: ἐκάθισεν καὶ λύσαντες αὐτὸν ἀγάγετε
NAS: sat; untie it and bring
KJV: man sat: loose him, and bring
INT: sat and having untied it bring [it]

Luke 19:31 V-PIA-2P
GRK: Διὰ τί λύετε οὕτως ἐρεῖτε
NAS: you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say,
KJV: Why do ye loose [him]? thus
INT: because of why do you untie [it] thus will you say

Luke 19:33 V-PPA-GMP
GRK: λυόντων δὲ αὐτῶν
NAS: As they were untying the colt,
KJV: as they were loosing the colt,
INT: on untying moreover of them

Luke 19:33 V-PIA-2P
GRK: αὐτούς Τί λύετε τὸν πῶλον
NAS: to them, Why are you untying the colt?
KJV: them, Why loose ye the colt?
INT: them Why untie you the colt

John 1:27 V-ASA-1S
GRK: ἄξιος ἵνα λύσω αὐτοῦ τὸν
NAS: I am not worthy to untie.
KJV: worthy to unloose.
INT: worthy that I should untie of him the

John 2:19 V-AMA-2P
GRK: εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Λύσατε τὸν ναὸν
NAS: answered them, Destroy this
KJV: said unto them, Destroy this temple,
INT: said to them Destroy the temple

John 5:18 V-IIA-3S
GRK: οὐ μόνον ἔλυεν τὸ σάββατον
NAS: He not only was breaking the Sabbath,
KJV: not only had broken the sabbath, but
INT: not only did he break the Sabbath

John 7:23 V-ASP-3S
GRK: ἵνα μὴ λυθῇ ὁ νόμος
NAS: of Moses will not be broken, are you angry
KJV: not be broken; are ye angry
INT: that not might be broken the law

John 10:35 V-ANP
GRK: οὐ δύναται λυθῆναι ἡ γραφή
NAS: (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
KJV: the scripture cannot be broken;
INT: not is able be broken the Scripture

John 11:44 V-AMA-2P
GRK: Ἰησοῦς αὐτοῖς Λύσατε αὐτὸν καὶ
NAS: said to them, Unbind him, and let
KJV: saith unto them, Loose him, and
INT: Jesus to them Unbind him and

Acts 2:24 V-APA-NMS
GRK: θεὸς ἀνέστησεν λύσας τὰς ὠδῖνας
NAS: raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony
KJV: hath raised up, having loosed the pains
INT: God raised up having loosed the agony

Strong's Greek 3089
42 Occurrences


ἔλυεν — 1 Occ.
ἐλύετο — 1 Occ.
ἔλυσεν — 1 Occ.
ἐλύθη — 1 Occ.
ἐλύθησαν — 1 Occ.
λελυμένα — 1 Occ.
λελυμένον — 1 Occ.
λέλυσαι — 1 Occ.
λύει — 1 Occ.
λύετε — 2 Occ.
λυομένων — 1 Occ.
λύοντες — 1 Occ.
λυόντων — 1 Occ.
λύουσιν — 1 Occ.
λῦσαι — 4 Occ.
λύσαντες — 2 Occ.
λύσαντι — 1 Occ.
λύσας — 2 Occ.
λύσατε — 3 Occ.
λύσῃ — 2 Occ.
λύσῃς — 1 Occ.
λύσητε — 1 Occ.
λύσω — 1 Occ.
Λῦσον — 2 Occ.
λυθῇ — 1 Occ.
λυθῆναι — 3 Occ.
λυθήσεται — 2 Occ.
λυθήσονται — 1 Occ.
λυθείσης — 1 Occ.

3088
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