ἔμπροσθεν

Matthew 5:16 ἔμπροσθεν before

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Here: In full public view. Matthew uses the exact phrase again at 6:1 to warn against doing righteous acts 'before people' in order to be seen by them. The difference between the two passages is where the credit ends up.

Matthew 5:24 ἔμπροσθεν before

leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Here: Positioned facing the altar, at the very point of handing the offering over to the priests.

Matthew 6:1 ἔμπροσθεν before

“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Here: 'In front of' people, as before an audience. It is the same phrase as 5:16 ('let your light shine before men'), so being seen is not the problem by itself. The purpose clause that follows is.

Matthew 6:2 ἔμπροσθέν before

So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

Here: The picture is a herald going ahead to announce someone. The same word appears in 6:1, "before people", so the trumpet is a form of the forbidden performing "in front of" an audience.

Matthew 7:6 ἔμπροσθεν before

Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Here: 'In front of.' The pearls are dropped right in front of the pigs' snouts, as if they were fodder.

Matthew 10:32 ἔμπροσθεν ἔμπροσθεν before

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.

Here: "In front of", in public view, in the presence of people who are watching and judging. In this chapter that includes courtrooms (10:17–18).

Matthew 10:33 ἔμπροσθεν ἔμπροσθεν before

But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

Here: In the presence of witnesses. After vv. 17–18 (councils, synagogues, governors, kings), the picture is a public hearing, often a literal courtroom.

Matthew 11:10 ἔμπροσθέν before

This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’

Here: Repeats the idea of going ahead. The doubling ('before your face… before you') stresses that the messenger only goes first and is not the main figure.

Matthew 11:26 ἔμπροσθέν before

Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

Here: 'Before you' echoes the reverent Jewish way of speaking of God's will as something 'before' him or 'from before' him (Hebrew lifnê, Aramaic qŏdām). In effect it means 'your will'.

Matthew 17:2 ἔμπροσθεν before

There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

Here: 'In front of', 'in full view of'. It stresses that the disciples saw it with their own eyes, which makes them witnesses (compare 2 Peter 1:16–18).

Matthew 18:14 ἔμπροσθεν of

In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Here: Literally "in front of" the Father. It mirrors a Hebrew/Aramaic way of speaking ("it was pleasing before the LORD") that talks about God's wishes respectfully and a little indirectly. Most English drops it. YLT keeps it as "in presence of".

Matthew 23:13 ἔμπροσθεν before

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

Here: 'In front of people': the door is slammed in their faces while they stand at it, trying to get in.

Matthew 25:32 ἔμπροσθεν before

All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Here: Being in the presence of a ruler or judge. This is courtroom and throne-room language: standing before the seated king for his verdict.

Matthew 26:70 ἔμπροσθεν before

But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”

Here: "In front of, in the presence of." The denial is a public act with witnesses. This is the same word Jesus used in "whoever denies me before people" (10:33).

Matthew 27:11 ἔμπροσθεν before

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

Here: "In the presence of." This is the accused facing the bench. Matthew uses the same word in 25:32, where all nations are gathered "before" the Son of Man as judge.

Matthew 27:29 ἔμπροσθεν before

And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Here: 'Before him,' facing him as courtiers would face a throne.

Mark 2:12 ἔμπροσθεν before

And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Here: 'In full view of.' Stresses that the healing was public and could be checked, which is the point Jesus made in verse 10: 'that you may know...'.

Mark 9:2 ἔμπροσθεν before

After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them.

Here: "In front of" them, in their sight. The event is described as something they actually saw, which sets up their role as witnesses later (9:9).

Luke 5:19 ἔμπροσθεν before

but they could not find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

Luke 7:27 ἔμπροσθέν before

This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’

Luke 10:21 ἔμπροσθέν before

At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

Here: “Before you”: a reverent Jewish way of saying “you willed it” without speaking of God too directly.

Luke 12:8 ἔμπροσθεν ἔμπροσθεν before

I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.

Here: 'In the presence of.' The picture is of standing in front of an audience or a court.

Luke 14:2 ἔμπροσθεν before

Right there before Him was a man with dropsy.

Luke 19:4 ἔμπροσθεν front

So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

Luke 19:27 ἔμπροσθέν before

And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”

Here: 'In my presence'. A public execution in front of the king shows that his rule is now unchallenged. Luke repeats the word in the very next verse, where Jesus 'went on ahead (emprosthen)' up to Jerusalem.

Luke 19:28 ἔμπροσθεν ahead

After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Luke 21:36 ἔμπροσθεν before

So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Here: Face to face with him, as before a judge or king.

John 1:15 ἔμπροσθέν precedence

John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’”

Here: “In front of me”. It is the spatial opposite of “behind me”, used here for rank: he has moved ahead of John in standing.

John 1:30 ἔμπροσθέν precedence

This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’

Here: Literally "in front of". It is the exact spatial opposite of opisō ("behind"). Here it means in front in rank and honour: the one walking behind has moved to the head of the line.

John 3:28 ἔμπροσθεν before

You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but am sent ahead of Him.’

Here: 'Ahead of' in space and time, like a herald who runs in front of a king. It echoes 1:15 and 1:30, where the same word says the one coming after John 'ranks ahead of' him.

John 10:4 ἔμπροσθεν before

When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

Here: Spatial: he walks out in front. The shepherd leads from the front and does not drive from behind.

John 12:37 ἔμπροσθεν before

Although Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still did not believe in Him.

Here: The signs were public and seen first-hand, done 'before their eyes'. Nobody could plead that they had not seen them.

Acts 10:4 ἔμπροσθεν before

Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

Here: 'In front of God', in his presence. This echoes the Old Testament phrase for offerings and memorials set 'before the LORD'.

Acts 18:17 ἔμπροσθεν before

At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.

Here: Right in front of the tribunal, in full view of the Roman governor. That is what makes Gallio's non-intervention striking.

2 Corinthians 5:10 ἔμπροσθεν before

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

Here: "In front of." It pictures a person standing in full view of the official seated on the platform.

Galatians 2:14 ἔμπροσθεν before

When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Here: The rebuke was public. Peter's withdrawal had been public and had swayed the whole community, so the correction was public too.

Philippians 3:13 ἔμπροσθεν ahead

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

Here: Usually a preposition, but here, with the article, it works as a noun: 'the things in front'. On the track that means the finish line and the prize (3:14), which is the resurrection hope of 3:11.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 ἔμπροσθεν before

and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here: 'In the presence of'. In this letter the word is used for standing before God at Jesus' coming (2:19; 3:13). Here it most likely says where the remembering happens, in prayer before God, though it may also hint that their hope will be vindicated in God's presence.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 ἔμπροσθεν before

After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

Here: Literally "in front of", standing face to face. In this letter it is the language of appearing before God or Christ to be evaluated (1:3; 3:9, 13).

1 Thessalonians 3:9 ἔμπροσθεν before

How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?

Here: 'Before', in God's presence. The joy is not private feeling but something held out to God in prayer. The same word in 2:19 and 3:13 points to standing before God at Christ's coming.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 ἔμπροσθεν before

so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.

Here: 'In the presence of', face to face. It suggests standing before a judge or king for inspection, as in 2:19.

1 John 3:19 ἔμπροσθεν before

And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence:

Here: 'In front of', 'in the presence of'. Often used of standing before a judge or king; here, standing before God.

Revelation 4:6 ἔμπροσθεν in front

And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.

Here: On the front of their bodies.

Revelation 19:10 ἔμπροσθεν before

So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Here: Places John face-down in front of the angel.

Revelation 22:8 ἔμπροσθεν before

And I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things.

Here: In front of the angel, low enough to be at its feet.