Greek word · G3337

μεταλλάσσω

metallassō

to exchange

To exchange, barter, or swap one thing for another. In classical Greek it can also mean 'to alter', or 'to change' one's life, that is, to die. The prefix meta- underlines the giving up and taking in place.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μετ-αλλάσσω

[in LXX: Esther 2:7 (מוּת), Esther 2:20, 1Es.1:31 Esther 1:2 Mac.9 * ;]

1. to exchange: τ. ἀλήθειαν . . . ἐν τ. ψεύδει, the truth for a lie (see Bl., § 36, 8), Rom_1:25.

2. to change: with accusative before εἰς, Rom_1:26 (ἀλλάσσω).†

(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 Romans 1:25

Range of meaning

To exchange, barter, or swap one thing for another. In classical Greek it can also mean 'to alter', or 'to change' one's life, that is, to die. The prefix meta- underlines the giving up and taking in place. With the dative after en (or with a plain genitive or dative) it marks what is received in the swap.

Against the English

BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV and NASB say 'exchanged … for', which is right. KJV and YLT say 'changed … into', which in modern English sounds like turning God's truth into something else by twisting it. The Greek is about a trade, not a transformation.

How it drifted

The KJV's 'changed … into' reflected an older use of 'change' meaning 'exchange' (as in 'changing money') and took the en as 'into'. Today 'change X into Y' means altering X, so the picture of a trade is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its simple form allassō is used in Ps 105:20 LXX (Ps 106:20 in Hebrew numbering): 'they exchanged their glory for [en] the likeness of a calf eating grass', about the golden calf. Jer 2:11 LXX: 'my people exchanged their glory'. Paul's 'exchanged the glory … for [en] an image' in Rom 1:23 echoes these closely. Romans 1 has three exchanges: glory for images (1:23, ēllaxan), truth for the lie (1:25), and natural use for what is against nature (1:26, metēllaxan).

From the study of Romans 1:26

Range of meaning

To exchange one thing for another, to substitute.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'changed' loses the link with 1:25. BSB/ESV 'exchanged' keeps the echo.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it appears only in Romans 1:25 and 1:26. The simple form allassō appears in 1:23 ('exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images'), which echoes Psalm 106:20 (LXX 105:20) and Jeremiah 2:11. The Testament of Naphtali 3:4 (a Jewish text from about Paul's time) uses a related verb in this sense: 'do not become like Sodom, which exchanged the order of nature.'

Where it appears

Romans · 2

  1. Romans 1:25 μετήλλαξαν changed

    They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

    Here: Aorist (a completed act): they made a trade, giving one thing up and taking another in its place. It sharpens the 'exchanged' (ēllaxan) of verse 23 and is used again for the third exchange in verse 26.

  2. Romans 1:26 μετήλλαξαν changed

    For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

    Here: 'Exchanged', the same verb as in 1:25 ('exchanged the truth of God for a lie') and close kin to 'exchanged' in 1:23. The swap in their bodies mirrors the swap in their worship.

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