ἐπερωτάω

Matthew 12:10 ἐπηρώτησαν they asked

and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

Here: A formal 'put a question to'. The subject 'they' is not named in this verse, but from 12:2 and 12:14 it is the Pharisees. In Mark and Luke they silently watch him. Matthew has them say the question out loud, which turns the scene into a public test.

Matthew 16:1 ἐπηρώτησαν they asked

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

Here: 'They asked' or 'they questioned.' Followed by an infinitive, as here, it works as a request or demand: they asked him to do something. The KJV's 'desired' catches this sense of request.

Matthew 17:10 ἐπηρώτησαν asked

The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

Here: "They asked / put a question to." Elsewhere in Matthew opponents use this verb to test Jesus (16:1; 22:23, 35), but here it is the honest question of puzzled students. The past tense presents it as a single act of asking.

Matthew 22:23 ἐπηρώτησαν they questioned

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him.

Here: "They put a question to" him. In this chapter the verb is part of a public contest of questions meant to test Jesus (22:35, 41, 46), not a sincere request for information.

Matthew 22:35 ἐπηρώτησεν questioned [Him]

One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:

Here: A single, pointed act of questioning (aorist tense, a completed event). Matthew uses the same verb when Jesus answers with his own counter-question in 22:41 and in the closing 'no one dared ask him anything more' (22:46). This sets up a contest of questions.

Matthew 22:41 ἐπηρώτησεν questioned

While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them:

Here: A simple past tense: Jesus put a question to them. It is the same verb used for the Sadducees (22:23) and for the Pharisees' lawyer who 'questioned him, testing him' (22:35). Now Jesus is the one asking.

Matthew 22:46 ἐπερωτῆσαι to question

No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.

Here: To put a question to someone, often probingly. In Matthew this verb is used of hostile questions meant to test or trap Jesus (12:10; 16:1; 22:23, 35). Here it means the public trap questions of 22:15–40.

Matthew 27:11 ἐπηρώτησεν questioned

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

Here: To question someone formally. Here it is the magistrate's own questioning of the accused, which was the core of a Roman governor's hearing.

Mark 5:9 ἐπηρώτα He was asking

“What is your name?” Jesus asked. “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”

Mark 7:5 ἐπερωτῶσιν questioned

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”

Mark 7:17 ἐπηρώτων were asking

After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable.

Mark 8:23 ἐπηρώτα He was asking

So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.

Here: "He was asking / he began asking." The tense describes an action in progress, unlike the one-off actions before it. Jesus asks the question and then waits to hear the answer.

Mark 8:27 ἐπηρώτα He was questioning

Then Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say I am?”

Mark 8:29 ἐπηρώτα was questioning

“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

Here: The tense describes ongoing action in the past: "he went on asking" or "he was putting the question". Mark uses the same verb in 8:27, so this is the second step of one line of questioning, not a new topic.

Mark 9:11 ἐπηρώτων they were asking

And they asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

Here: The tense pictures an action in progress: 'they were questioning him' or 'they began to ask.' It suggests a puzzle the disciples kept pressing on the way down the mountain, not a single passing remark.

Mark 9:16 ἐπηρώτησεν He asked

“What are you disputing with them?” He asked.

Mark 9:21 ἐπηρώτησεν He asked

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?” “From childhood,” he said.

Mark 9:28 ἐπηρώτων were asking

After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

Mark 9:32 ἐπερωτῆσαι.¶ to ask.

But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

Here: To put a question to him, the normal way a disciple learned from a teacher. Earlier in this chapter they had asked him freely (9:11, 9:28). Now they stop asking. In the next verse Jesus turns and asks them (9:33).

Mark 9:33 ἐπηρώτα He was asking

Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

Here: 'He was asking' or 'he began to ask'. This is the same verb as v. 32, where the disciples were 'afraid to ask' him. They did not dare ask him about his coming death; now he asks them about their talk.

Mark 10:2 ἐπηρώτων were questioning

Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.

Here: The imperfect tense, which pictures an ongoing action: 'they were questioning him' or 'they began to press him'. It suggests persistent questioning, not a single passing inquiry.

Mark 10:10 ἐπηρώτων were questioning

When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter.

Mark 10:17 ἐπηρώτα he was asking

As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up and knelt before Him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Here: Imperfect tense: 'he was asking' or 'he began to ask.' It is vivid storytelling, setting up the conversation that follows.

Mark 11:29 ἐπερωτήσω I will ask

“I will ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Mark 12:18 ἐπηρώτων they were questioning

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him:

Mark 12:28 ἐπηρώτησεν he questioned

Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Here: "He asked." It is the ordinary verb for putting a question. Mark adds no note of "testing" here, unlike Matthew 22:35.

Mark 12:34 ἐπερωτῆσαι.¶ to question.

When Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question Him any further.

Mark 13:3 ἐπηρώτα he was asking

While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,

Mark 14:60 ἐπηρώτησεν he questioned

So the high priest stood up before them and questioned Jesus, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?”

Mark 14:61 ἐπηρώτα was questioning

But Jesus remained silent and made no reply. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

Here: The imperfect tense ("was questioning") pictures pressing, ongoing interrogation, not a single polite query.

Mark 15:2 ἐπηρώτησεν questioned

So Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

Here: To put a question to someone, here in a formal setting: a Roman governor questioning a prisoner. The tense presents it as a single event: Pilate opens the hearing with this question.

Mark 15:4 ἐπηρώτα was questioning

Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Have You no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against You!”

Here: In a courtroom this is the formal questioning of the accused. The imperfect tense shows an ongoing or repeated action (“was questioning”), so Pilate keeps pressing.

Mark 15:44 ἐπηρώτησεν he questioned

Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so.

Luke 2:46 ἐπερωτῶντα questioning

Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Luke 3:10 ἐπηρώτων were asking

The crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”

Luke 3:14 ἐπηρώτων Were asking

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”

Here: Imperfect tense: they were asking, or kept asking. It shows a scene still going on, with group after group coming to John with the same question.

Luke 6:9 ἐπερωτῶ I ask

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

Luke 8:9 Ἐπηρώτων Were asking

Then His disciples asked Him what this parable meant.

Luke 8:30 ἐπηρώτησεν Asked

“What is your name?” Jesus asked. “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.

Luke 9:18 ἐπηρώτησεν He questioned

One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

Luke 17:20 Ἐπερωτηθεὶς Having been asked

When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.

Here: "Having been asked." The verb often means putting a pointed or probing question to someone. The form is passive: Jesus is on the receiving end, and the Pharisees set the topic.

Luke 18:18 ἐπηρώτησέν asked

Then a certain ruler asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Here: 'Questioned, put a question to.' The verb is used both for honest enquiries and for testing questions; nothing in the word itself tells us his motive. The past tense presents the asking as one event.

Luke 18:40 ἐπηρώτησεν He asked

Jesus stopped and directed that the man be brought to Him. When he had come near, Jesus asked him,

Luke 20:21 ἐπηρώτησαν they questioned

“Teacher,” they inquired, “we know that You speak and teach correctly. You show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

Here: A formal 'putting a question to' someone, often used of testing or examining. It sets up a public question-and-answer contest, not a simple request for information.

Luke 20:27 ἐπηρώτησαν they questioned

Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

Luke 20:40 ἐπερωτᾶν to ask

And they did not dare to question Him any further.

Luke 21:7 Ἐπηρώτησαν They asked

“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

Luke 22:64 ἐπηρώτων they were questioning

They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?”

Luke 23:6 ἐπηρώτησεν asked

When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean.

Luke 23:9 ἐπηρώτα He was questioning

Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but He gave no answer.

John 9:23 ἐπερωτήσατε.¶ do question.

That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

Here: A command, plural, aimed at the questioning officials. The compound verb fits a formal inquiry: "put your questions to him."

John 18:7 ἐπηρώτησεν He questioned

So He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered.

Here: A plain verb for putting a question to someone. The subject is Jesus. The one being arrested is the one asking the questions, and so the one running the scene.

Acts 5:27 ἐπηρώτησεν asked

They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them.

Acts 23:34 ἐπερωτήσας having asked

The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

Romans 10:20 ἐπερωτῶσιν. inquiring after.

And Isaiah boldly says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”

Here: In the Greek Old Testament it often means "inquire of God": to consult him for guidance, often through a prophet or priest. These people never came to Israel's God with their questions, yet he became visible to them.

1 Corinthians 14:35 ἐπερωτάτωσαν· they should ask;

If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church.