Greek word · G2172

εὔχομαι

euchomai

to pray/wish for

'To pray' (addressed to God or the gods), and also 'to wish' or 'desire'. The two senses often overlap.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

εὔχομαι

[in LXX chiefly for נָדַד, also for עָתַר hi., etc. ;]

to pray: with accusative of thing(s), 2 Corinthians 13:9; with dative of person(s), τ. θεῷ, Acts 26:29; before πρὸς τ. θεόν, 2 Corinthians 13:7; with accusative and inf., Acts 27:29, 3 John 2; before ὑπέρ, James 5:16; ηὐχόμην εἶναι (On imperfect here, see ICC, in l, Lft., Phm 13), Romans 9:3 (Cremer, 718).†

(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 3 John 1:2

Range of meaning

'To pray' (addressed to God or the gods), and also 'to wish' or 'desire'. The two senses often overlap.

Against the English

KJV says 'wish', YLT 'desire', and BSB, WEB, NASB 'pray'. 'Wish' loses the address to God. 'Pray' can make a polite greeting sound like a formal petition.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 26:29 ('I would pray to God'), Romans 9:3 ('I could wish'), 2 Corinthians 13:7, 9. In the papyri it is the standard verb of the letter health wish, sometimes with 'to the gods' or 'to the lord Sarapis' added.

From the study of 2 Corinthians 13:9

Range of meaning

To pray (to a god), to vow, or to wish or desire. Both senses are common in Greek of the period.

Against the English

KJV 'wish' reflects the wider sense. Modern versions have 'pray', which suits the context.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the papyri the verb often appears in letter-closings: 'I pray that you are well.' In the NT it is used for prayer to God (Acts 26:29; Jas 5:16) and for a strong wish (Rom 9:3).

From the study of Acts 26:29

Range of meaning

In Koine Greek, εὔχομαι covers both 'to pray' (addressing a deity) and 'to wish, desire'. The two often overlap, because a wish voiced before a god is a prayer. With the optative mood and ἄν (here εὐξαίμην ἄν) it is a 'potential' statement: 'I would pray / I could wish'. It is softened and courteous, and it is not the less definite for that.

Against the English

KJV 'I would to God' and BSB 'I wish to God' keep the address to God. In modern English, though, 'I wish to God' is mostly an emphatic idiom of frustration or longing. WEB 'I pray to God' and the NIV's 'I pray to God' bring out the prayer more clearly. YLT's 'I would have wished' over-translates the mood as a past wish that did not come true.

How it drifted

The English idiom 'I wish to God' has worn down into an intensifier with little thought of actually addressing God. Paul's Greek is a real prayer directed to God, framed in polite form.

Used elsewhere in the period

Classical and Hellenistic Greek use εὔχομαι for prayers and vows to the gods, and in letters for formulaic wishes (papyrus letters often begin with an εὔχομαι-wish for the recipient's health; compare 3 John 2). In the NT it means prayer in 2 Cor 13:7, 9 and Jas 5:16, and wish-like prayer in Rom 9:3 ('I could wish myself accursed'), a close parallel in tone. The potential optative with ἄν is rare in the NT and found almost only in Luke–Acts (e.g. Acts 8:31; 17:18). It marks educated, literary speech (BDF §385).

Where it appears

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 26:29 εὐξαίμην I would wish

    “Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”

    Here: 'I would pray / I could wish.' The verb is in the optative, a rare and refined Greek mood, and together with ἄν it makes a polite, carefully restrained statement. It is a real prayer addressed 'to God', as well as a wish.

  2. Acts 27:29 ηὔχοντο they were praying for

    Fearing that we would run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daybreak.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 9:3 ηὐχόμην was wishing

    For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

    Here: An imperfect-tense verb used for a wish the speaker knows cannot be granted: 'I could wish', 'I would pray, if it were possible'. It does not say Paul actually made this request. It says how far he would go.

2 Corinthians · 2

  1. 2 Corinthians 13:7 εὐχόμεθα We pray

    Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed.

    Here: A present-tense prayer: Paul (with his co-workers) keeps asking God for this. The verb can mean either "pray" or "wish", and with "to God" it is clearly prayer.

  2. 2 Corinthians 13:9 εὐχόμεθα, We pray for

    In fact, we rejoice when we are weak but you are strong, and our prayer is for your perfection.

    Here: Can mean 'wish' or 'pray'. Here it is prayer: in v. 7 Paul uses the same verb with 'to God'. Present tense, so an ongoing practice.

James · 1

  1. James 5:16 εὔχεσθε do pray

    Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.

    Here: Present command again: 'keep praying'. Picks up 'the prayer (euchē) of faith' in verse 15 and passes the elders' role on to every member.

3 John · 1

  1. 3 John 1:2 εὔχομαί I pray

    Beloved, I pray that in every way you may prosper and enjoy good health, as your soul also prospers.

    Here: In letters of the time this word introduced the conventional health wish. Writers often said they prayed to the gods for the reader. In a Christian elder's mouth it is a real prayer and a heartfelt wish together. 'Pray' and 'wish' each catch half of it.

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