Greek word · G1931

ἐπιδύω

epidyō

to set

To set or go down upon or over something. It is used of the sun setting. The word is rare and appears only here in the New Testament.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

ἐπι-δύω

to go down, set (of the sun): Ephesians 4:26.†

(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 set or go down upon or over something. It is used of the sun setting. The word is rare and appears only here in the New Testament.
Against the English: "Let not the sun go down upon" (KJV) and "set upon" (BSB) both keep the picture. Paraphrases like "don't go to bed angry" keep the idea but lose the echo of the Law.
Used elsewhere in the period: Deuteronomy 24:15 in the Greek Old Testament uses the same verb: a poor worker's wages must be paid the same day, "the sun shall not set upon it." Jeremiah 15:9 also uses it of the sun going down. A Jewish ear would hear it as a same-day deadline drawn from the Law.

Ephesians · 1

Ephesians 4:26 ἐπιδυέτω should set

“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

Here: A rare compound verb, "go down upon". It is a third-person command ("let it not set"). The Greek Old Testament uses the same verb in Deuteronomy 24:15, where a worker's wages must be paid before the sun sets, so it sounds like a firm deadline.

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