Greek word · G1983

ἐπισκοπέω

episkopeō

to oversee/care for

To look at closely, inspect, watch over, care for, take responsibility for. Related to episkopos ('overseer', later 'bishop') and episkopē ('visitation, oversight').

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

ἐπι-σκοπέω, -ῶ

[in LXX for פָּקַד ni., etc. ;]

1. to look upon, observe, examine: before μή, Hebrews 12:16.

2. As ἐπισκέπτομαι in LXX, NT, to visit, care for: 1 Peter 5:2 (R, txt.; WH cm.; Cremer, 527).†

(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 Hebrews 12:15

Range of meaning: To look at closely, inspect, watch over, care for, take responsibility for. Related to episkopos ('overseer', later 'bishop') and episkopē ('visitation, oversight').
Against the English: BSB, ESV and NIV have 'see to it'; KJV and YLT have 'looking diligently'. These are accurate, but in modern English 'see to it' is easily heard as a reminder to check yourself. The Greek is plural and aimed at 'anyone' among them. NLT's 'look after each other' brings out the shared responsibility best.
How it drifted: Later the word group came to belong to church office, the bishop's 'oversight'. Here it is still an ordinary verb for everyone: the whole community does the overseeing.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX) the verb and its noun often describe God 'visiting' or inspecting his people. In 1 Peter 5:2 (in many manuscripts) elders are to 'oversee' the flock. Greek writers outside the Bible use it for a careful watch kept over someone in your charge.

From the study of 1 Peter 5:2

Range of meaning: To look at closely, pay attention to, watch over, take care of, see to something; to inspect or supervise. It is related to episkeptomai, "to visit" (used for visiting the sick in Matthew 25:36 and for God "visiting" his people in Luke 1:68), and to episkopos, "overseer" or "guardian".
Against the English: "Taking the oversight" (KJV) and "exercising oversight" (ESV, WEB) are accurate but can sound like office management. "Watching over" (BSB, NIV) gets closer to the attentive, protective care that goes with the shepherd image.
How it drifted: Episkopos later became the title of the monarchical bishop: one leader over a city's churches and its elders, a pattern already visible in Ignatius of Antioch's letters around AD 110. Reading that later office back into the participle here is anachronistic.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Septuagint the related noun and verb are used for responsible supervision and for God's watchful "visitation". Hebrews 12:15 uses the verb for "see to it" that no one falls short of grace. In 1 Peter 2:25 Christ is "the Shepherd and Overseer (episkopos) of your souls". Acts 20:17, 28 calls the same men both "elders" and "overseers".

Similar words

Where it appears

Hebrews · 1

Hebrews 12:15 ἐπισκοποῦντες observing

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.

Here: A plural present participle that hangs on the command 'pursue' in v.14. It means 'all of you, keep on watching over each other'. The word is related to episkopos ('overseer'), but here the job belongs to the whole congregation, not only to its leaders.

1 Peter · 1

1 Peter 5:2 ἐπισκοποῦντες exercising oversight

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;

Here: "Watching over" or "looking after": the attentive care of someone responsible for others. It describes how the shepherding is done. It is related to episkopos, "overseer", the word later translated "bishop", but here it is something the elders do, not a title.

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