Greek word · G2144

εὐπρόσδεκτος

euprosdektos

acceptable

'Very acceptable, gladly received, welcome.' It is a strengthened form of dektos/prosdektos, 'acceptable'.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

εὐ-πρόσ-δεκτος, -ον

(εὖ, προσδέχομαι)

more usual than δέκτος, which see, acceptable: Romans 15:16, 31, 2 Corinthians 6:2 8:12, 1 Peter 2:5.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: 'Very acceptable, gladly received, welcome.' It is a strengthened form of dektos/prosdektos, 'acceptable'.
Against the English: 'Acceptable' in modern English can sound like 'adequate, passable'. The Greek is stronger: received with favour and pleasure.
How it drifted: English 'acceptable' has weakened toward 'good enough'.
Used elsewhere in the period: Leviticus repeatedly makes acceptance the aim of an offering ('that he may be accepted before the LORD', Leviticus 1:3–4; 22:19–21, where the Septuagint uses dektos). Isaiah 56:7 LXX promises that foreigners' sacrifices 'will be acceptable on my altar.' Paul uses euprosdektos for the Gentiles as an offering (Romans 15:16).

Range of meaning: Very acceptable, well-pleasing, most welcome (BDAG: 'pertaining to being very acceptable, acceptable, pleasant, welcome'). A strengthened compound of dektos.
Against the English: Nearly every English version translates it exactly like dektos ('time of favor… time of favor', 'accepted time… accepted time'), so readers cannot see that Paul changed the word. YLT ('acceptable… well-accepted') is a rare exception.
Used elsewhere in the period: Not in Paul's source text (LXX Isaiah 49:8 has dektos). Elsewhere in the NT it describes offerings God or people receive gladly: Romans 15:16 (the Gentiles as an offering 'acceptable' to God), Romans 15:31, 2 Corinthians 8:12, 1 Peter 2:5 ('spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God'). It also occurs in ordinary Greek prose, e.g. Plutarch.

Range of meaning: Very acceptable, well-received, welcome. It is a strengthened form of dektos/prosdektos, the standard LXX words for a sacrifice that God accepts (the opposite of one he rejects).
Against the English: All versions say 'acceptable'. That is accurate, though it misses the strengthening prefix ('well-' or 'gladly' accepted) and can sound like a weak 'good enough'.
Used elsewhere in the period: Leviticus repeatedly makes acceptance the point of a sacrifice: it must be offered 'for acceptance' (dektos, Lev 1:3–4; 22:19–21). NT: 1 Pet 2:5, 'spiritual sacrifices euprosdektous to God'; 2 Cor 6:2; 8:12; and Rom 15:31, where Paul uses the same word for his hope that the Jerusalem saints will accept his collection.

Romans · 2

Romans 15:16 εὐπρόσδεκτος acceptable

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Here: 'Gladly accepted.' This was a sacrificial idea: a priest's job was to bring an offering God would accept. Paul's aim is that God gladly accepts the nations.
Romans 15:31 εὐπρόσδεκτος acceptable

Pray that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

Here: Warmly welcomed, not merely tolerated. Paul used the same word in verse 16 for the Gentiles as an offering that is acceptable to God.

2 Corinthians · 2

2 Corinthians 6:2 εὐπρόσδεκτος, of favor,

For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!

Here: Paul swaps Isaiah's dektos for a stronger compound (eu- 'well' + pros- + dektos), roughly 'thoroughly welcome'. It is a quiet upgrade: the moment Isaiah promised is here, and it is better than promised.
2 Corinthians 8:12 εὐπρόσδεκτος, acceptable,

For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

Here: Not "barely adequate" but "gladly received, welcome." Elsewhere Paul uses the word for offerings that God or the recipients receive with favour. Grammatically it most naturally describes the eagerness as it shows itself in a gift.

1 Peter · 1

1 Peter 2:5 εὐπροσδέκτους acceptable

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Here: 'Gladly received.' In the sacrificial vocabulary of Leviticus, the main question about an offering was whether God accepted it. These offerings pass that test.

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