Greek word · G1634

ἐκψύχω

ekpsychō

to expire

'To breathe out', to expire or die. From ek ('out') and psychē ('breath, life'). It is also used of fainting or losing consciousness.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 25, 2026

What it means

ἐκ-ψύχω

[in LXX: Judges 4:21 A (עוּף), Ezekiel 21:7 (כָּהָה pi.)* ;]

to expire, breathe one's last: Acts 5:5, 10 12:23 (cf. ἐκπνέω; Cremer, 906).†

(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 breathe out', to expire or die. From ek ('out') and psychē ('breath, life'). It is also used of fainting or losing consciousness.
Against the English: KJV 'gave up the ghost', ESV 'breathed his last', YLT 'expired', and BSB, WEB, NASB and NIV 'died'. 'Breathed his last' and 'expired' keep the breath image. 'Gave up the ghost' meant exactly that in 1611 but now misleads.
How it drifted: In 1611 English 'ghost' (Old English gāst) meant breath, spirit or life-principle, as in 'Holy Ghost'. Today 'ghost' means a spectre, so 'gave up the ghost' sounds either spooky or like a joke about a machine breaking down.
Used elsewhere in the period: Used in Greek medical writing for fainting or expiring. In Ezek 21:7 (21:12 LXX) it describes people fainting from terror. In the New Testament it appears only in Acts 5:5, 5:10 and 12:23.

Range of meaning: From ek ('out') + psychō ('breathe, blow'), related to psychē ('breath, life, soul'). It means to breathe one's last or expire. In some Greek writers it can also mean to faint or lose consciousness.
Against the English: BSB, WEB and NLT have 'died', which is correct but flat. ESV and NASB have 'breathed his last', which keeps the picture. The KJV's 'gave up the ghost' was exact in 1611, when 'ghost' meant spirit or breath (as in 'Holy Ghost'), but it now suggests a spook.
How it drifted: English 'ghost' narrowed from 'spirit, breath of life' to 'the apparition of a dead person,' so the KJV idiom now sounds odd or comic to modern ears.
Used elsewhere in the period: Rare in the Greek Bible. LXX Judges 4:21 (Codex Alexandrinus) uses it of Sisera dying with Jael's tent-peg through his skull. LXX Ezekiel 21:7 (21:12 in the Greek numbering) uses it of people fainting or losing heart in terror. In the NT it appears only in Acts 5:5, 5:10 and 12:23, where Herod Agrippa, 'struck by an angel of the Lord,' is eaten by worms and 'breathed his last.' W. K. Hobart (1882) listed it as a medical term showing Luke was a physician. H. J. Cadbury (1926) showed that it is ordinary literary Greek, so that argument no longer stands.

Acts · 3

Acts 5:5 ἐξέψυξεν. he breathed his last.

On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.

Here: Literally 'he breathed out' his psychē, his breath or life. A rare, vivid word for death. In the New Testament it is used only here, of Sapphira (5:10) and of Herod Agrippa struck down by God (12:23).
Acts 5:10 ἐξέψυξεν· breathed her last;

At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Acts 12:23 ἐξέψυξεν.¶ he breathed his last.

Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

Here: Literally 'breathed out [his life-breath]', a plain word for dying. In the New Testament it is used only three times, all in Acts and all of people who die under God's judgment: Ananias (5:5), Sapphira (5:10) and Herod.

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