Lexical Summary martureó: To bear witness, testify, give evidence, affirm that one has seen, heard, or experienced something. Original Word: μαρτυρέω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to bear witness, testifyFrom martus; to be a witness, i.e. Testify (literally or figuratively) -- charge, give (evidence), bear record, have (obtain, of) good (honest) report, be well reported of, testify, give (have) testimony, (be, bear, give, obtain) witness. see GREEK martus NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom martus Definition to bear witness, testify NASB Translation add...testimony (1), attested (1), bear...witness (1), bear witness (1), continued to testify (1), gained approval (2), given (1), gives (1), good reputation (1), having a reputation (1), obtained the testimony (1), obtained the witness (1), received a good testimony (1), speaking well (1), testified (17), testifies (7), testify (25), testifying (5), testimony (5), well spoken (3), witness (1), witnessed (2), witnesses (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3140: μαρτυρέωμαρτυρέω, 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 wire 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); 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.) The verb occurs seventy-six times, centering on the idea of giving credible, authoritative testimony. John’s writings contain more than half of the occurrences, portraying a chain of testimony that authenticates Jesus Christ. Luke, Paul, the writer to the Hebrews, Peter, and John alike employ the word to highlight Spirit-empowered witness in proclamation, conduct, and historical record. Witness to the Identity of Jesus Christ 1. John the Baptist: “He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe” (John 1:7). The Baptist’s role inaugurates New-Testament testimony, pointing beyond himself to the incarnate Word. Witness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit • The Father: “The Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me” (John 5:37). Witness of Scripture Hebrew Scripture is personified as giving ongoing testimony: “But now apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets” (Romans 3:21). By appealing to the Old Testament, New-Testament authors present a united canonical voice concerning salvation in Christ. Witness in the Life of Believers 1. Verbal proclamation: Early Christians “remained for a long time…speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders” (Acts 14:3). Witness before Civil and Religious Authorities • Apostolic defense: Paul appeals to the high priestly council, “You yourselves can testify” (Acts 22:5), rooting his defense in verifiable history. Eschatological Witness Revelation frames testimony as both present proclamation and final validation: Connection to Martyrdom The cognate noun “martyr” derives from the same root. Faithful testimony often incurs suffering; yet the witness is victorious: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). Thus preaching, suffering, and ultimate vindication belong together in biblical theology. Legal and Covenantal Background In both Jewish and Greco-Roman law, the validity of a matter was established by the testimony of reliable witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; John 8:17). New-Testament writers leverage this framework to show that the gospel rests on multiple converging lines of evidence—divine, prophetic, apostolic, and experiential. Pastoral and Missional Implications • Proclamation with integrity: Ministers must deliver Christ-centered testimony that aligns with their conduct (2 Corinthians 4:2). Summary The verb encapsulates God’s comprehensive strategy to authenticate salvation history: the Father’s declaration, the Son’s self-revelation, the Spirit’s inner witness, Scripture’s prophetic voice, and the church’s ongoing proclamation in word and deed. Together these strands form an unbroken, God-given testimony that secures faith, advances mission, and anticipates final vindication at Christ’s return. Englishman's Concordance Matthew 23:31 V-PIA-2PGRK: ὥστε μαρτυρεῖτε ἑαυτοῖς ὅτι NAS: So you testify against yourselves, KJV: Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, INT: So that you bear witness to yourselves that Luke 4:22 V-IIA-3P John 1:7 V-ASA-3S John 1:8 V-ASA-3S John 1:15 V-PIA-3S John 1:32 V-AIA-3S John 1:34 V-RIA-1S John 2:25 V-ASA-3S John 3:11 V-PIA-1P John 3:26 V-RIA-2S John 3:28 V-PIA-2P John 3:32 V-PIA-3S John 4:39 V-PPA-GFS John 4:44 V-AIA-3S John 5:31 V-PSA-1S John 5:32 V-PPA-NMS John 5:32 V-PIA-3S John 5:33 V-RIA-3S John 5:36 V-PIA-3S John 5:37 V-RIA-3S John 5:39 V-PPA-NFP John 7:7 V-PIA-1S John 8:13 V-PIA-2S John 8:14 V-PSA-1S John 8:18 V-PPA-NMS Strong's Greek 3140 |
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