Greek word · G1578

ἐκκλίνω

ekklinō

to turn from

To bend or turn aside, to swerve out of the way, to shun or steer clear of.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐκ-κλίνω

[in LXX for נָטָה, סוּר, etc. ;]

intrans., to turn aside, turn away: metaphorically, from the right path, absol., Romans 3:12 (LXX); from evil, absol., 1 Peter 3:11; before ἀπό, with genitive of person(s), Romans 16:17.†

(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 Romans 16:17

Range of meaning

To bend or turn aside, to swerve out of the way, to shun or steer clear of.

Against the English

KJV and ESV have 'avoid'. BSB, WEB and NASB have 'turn away from', NIV 'keep away from'. All are fair. 'Turn aside' keeps the picture of changing one's path.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Psalm 33:15 (Hebrew/English 34:14), 'turn aside (ekklinon) from evil and do good', quoted in 1 Pet 3:11. Rom 3:12, 'all have turned aside'. Proverbs in the Greek Old Testament often use it for steering clear of the path of the wicked.

From the study of Romans 3:12

Range of meaning

To bend or turn away from a course: swerve, turn aside, avoid, shun. In moral use it means turning off the right road (Romans 16:17, 'turn away from them'; 1 Peter 3:11, 'turn away from evil').

Against the English

KJV 'gone out of the way' keeps the road picture best. 'Turned away' (BSB, WEB, NIV) and 'turned aside' (ESV) are accurate, but 'turned away' can sound like turning your back on a person. The Greek pictures leaving a path.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint uses it often for Hebrew sur, 'turn aside', especially for Israel turning aside 'from the way' God commanded (e.g. Deuteronomy 5:32; 17:11, 'turn aside neither to the right nor to the left'). Psalm 13:3 in the Septuagint (= Psalm 14:3) is Paul's direct source.

From the study of 1 Peter 3:11

Range of meaning

To bend or turn aside out of the way; to avoid or shun; to turn away from (a person, a path, wrongdoing).

Against the English

KJV "eschew" (from Old French eschiver, to shun) was accurate but is now archaic. "Turn away from" keeps the picture of physically stepping off a route.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint it often translates Hebrew sur, "turn aside". It is part of a fixed wisdom formula: "fear the LORD and turn away from evil" (Prov 3:7; Job 1:1, 1:8). In the NT: Rom 3:12 ("all have turned aside") and Rom 16:17 ("turn away from them").

Where it appears

Romans · 2

  1. Romans 3:12 ἐξέκλιναν, turned away,

    All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

    Here: 'They turned aside', a picture of leaving the road. The past tense sums up the whole human story as one act of swerving off God's way. In the Psalm it translates Hebrew sar, 'turned aside'.

  2. Romans 16:17 ἐκκλίνετε do turn away

    Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.

    Here: Present imperative: keep bending your path away from them. The picture is a traveller giving something a wide berth, as in the Greek Psalm 'turn aside from evil' (Ps 34:14). It is not a word for formal expulsion.

1 Peter · 1

  1. 1 Peter 3:11 ἐκκλινάτω he should turn away

    He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

    Here: A command in the third person ("he must turn aside"). The picture is stepping off a path to get out of the way of something. It translates the Hebrew sur, "depart, turn aside", in Psalm 34:14.

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