Greek word · G1314

διαφυλάσσω

diaphylassō

to protect

'To guard carefully, protect thoroughly, keep safe'. It is phylassō ('guard, keep watch') made stronger by dia- ('through, completely').

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δια-φυλάσσω

[in LXX chiefly for שָׁמַר (as Psalms 91:11) ;]

to guard carefully (M, Pr., 116), defend: with accusative, Luke 4:10 (LXX).†

(AS)

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

In depth

From the study of Luke 4:10

Range of meaning

'To guard carefully, protect thoroughly, keep safe'. It is phylassō ('guard, keep watch') made stronger by dia- ('through, completely').

Against the English

BSB/NIV 'guard you carefully' shows the strengthening prefix. KJV 'keep thee' is accurate in older English, but modern readers may hear 'retain' instead of 'protect'. ESV/WEB 'guard you' loses a little of the intensity.

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears only here in the New Testament and comes directly from the Greek Psalm 90:11, where it translates Hebrew lishmorkha (from shamar, 'to guard, watch over'). The Septuagint uses it elsewhere for God's protective keeping, e.g. Genesis 28:15 variants and Deuteronomy 32:10 ('he guarded him as the apple of his eye').

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 4:10 διαφυλάξαι to guard

    For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully,

    Here: The prefix dia- strengthens the verb: guard all the way through, keep completely safe. This is the only place it appears in the New Testament, and it comes straight from the Greek Psalm.

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