Greek word · G1159

δαπανάω

dapanaō

to spend

To spend, pay out, cover costs; to use up, consume, exhaust; sometimes to waste.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

δαπανάω, -ῶ

[in LXX: Tobit 1:7, 1Ma.14:32, al. ;]

1. to spend, expend: with accusative, Mark 5:26; before ἐπί, with dative of person(s), Acts 21:24; ὑπέρ, 2 Corinthians 12:15.

2. to consume, squander: Luke 15:14; ἐν τ. ἡδσναῖς (on the constr. with ἐν, see Hort, Mayor, in l.), James 4:3 (cf. ἐκ-, προσ- δ.).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: To spend, pay out, cover costs; to use up, consume, exhaust; sometimes to waste.
Against the English: KJV "consume", WEB/NIV/NASB/ESV "spend", BSB "squander". "Spend" is the neutral core; "squander" adds a note of waste that the context supports but the word itself does not always carry.
Used elsewhere in the period: The woman with the haemorrhage "had spent (dapanēsasa) all she had" (Mark 5:26); the prodigal "had spent (dapanēsantos) everything" (Luke 15:14); Paul pays the costs of men under a vow (Acts 21:24); "I will gladly spend and be spent" (2 Cor 12:15). Common in papyri for paying expenses.

Range of meaning: To spend money or resources, to pay expenses, to bear costs. It can also mean to use something up or consume it. The basic picture is outlay: money leaving your purse.
Against the English: KJV, ESV and NASB keep the bare 'spend'. That is accurate, but in English it can sound vaguely figurative ('spend time'). BSB writes 'spend my money', which brings out the financial sense the context requires.
Used elsewhere in the period: Mark 5:26: the woman had 'spent all she had' on doctors. Luke 15:14: the prodigal 'had spent everything'. Acts 21:24: Paul is asked to 'pay the expenses' of men under a vow. James 4:3: to 'spend it on your pleasures'. Papyri and inscriptions use it constantly for paying costs (BDAG).

Range of meaning: To spend or pay out money. It can also mean to waste or squander (Luke 15:14; James 4:3). Here it is neutral: to bear the cost.
Against the English: BSB, WEB: 'pay their expenses'. KJV: 'be at charges with them', an older idiom meaning 'pay their costs', not 'bring charges against'. Modern readers may misread the KJV phrase.
How it drifted: The KJV's 'be at charges' has become archaic, and today 'charges' suggests accusations.
Used elsewhere in the period: Numbers 6:14–15 requires each Nazirite to bring a year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb for a sin offering, a ram for a peace offering, a basket of unleavened bread and cakes, and grain and drink offerings. For four men that is twelve animals plus the rest. Josephus reports that King Agrippa I, on arriving in Jerusalem, 'arranged for a great many Nazirites to be shaved', meaning he paid for their offerings, as a public act of piety (Antiquities 19.294). The Mishnah tractate Nazir also discusses sponsoring another person's Nazirite offerings.

Mark · 1

Mark 5:26 δαπανήσασα having spent

She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse.

Luke · 1

Luke 15:14 δαπανήσαντος When was spending

After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.

Acts · 1

Acts 21:24 δαπάνησον do bear expense

Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is no truth to these rumors about you, but that you also live in obedience to the law.

Here: 'Pay out' or 'cover the cost'. The cost was the set of animal and grain offerings needed to end a Nazirite vow, which was a large sum for four men.

2 Corinthians · 1

2 Corinthians 12:15 δαπανήσω will spend

And for the sake of your souls, I will most gladly spend my money and myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?

Here: Future active: 'I will spend'. This is ordinary money language, paying costs out of your own pocket. It picks up v.14's parents 'saving up' for their children.

James · 1

James 4:3 δαπανήσητε. you may spend [it].

And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

Here: "You may spend [it]": to pay out or use something up until it is gone. The tense pictures the whole act of spending as one finished event. The object ("it") is implied: whatever God would give.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.