Greek word · G3843

πάντως

pantōs

surely

BDAG gives these senses: 'by all means, certainly, altogether'; 'doubtless, surely'; 'at least, in any case'; with a negative, 'not at all'. Paul also uses it in 1 Corinthians 5:10 ('not at all meaning…') and 9:10 ('does he not speak entirely for our sake?').

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

πάντως

adv. (πάς), [in LXX: 2 Kings 5:11 (see Thackeray, Gr., 47), Tobit 14:8, al. ;]

altogether, by all means;

(a) without neg. (from Hdt. on) : 1 Corinthians 16:12; esp. in strong affirmations, surely, at all events: Luke 4:23, Acts 21:22 28:4, 1 Corinthians 9:10;

(b) with neg. (so always in mom.), in a complete negation: Romans 3:9; in a partial negation (Bl., § 75, 7), 1 Corinthians 5:10.†

(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 1 Corinthians 9:22

Range of meaning: BDAG gives these senses: 'by all means, certainly, altogether'; 'doubtless, surely'; 'at least, in any case'; with a negative, 'not at all'. Paul also uses it in 1 Corinthians 5:10 ('not at all meaning…') and 9:10 ('does he not speak entirely for our sake?').
Against the English: Most English versions say 'by all means' (KJV, ESV, NASB) or 'by all possible means' (BSB, NIV). These steer readers toward 'any method'. 'At any rate' or 'at least' would put the weight on the outcome: that at least some will be saved.
How it drifted: The phrase 'by all means' easily becomes 'whatever it takes'. That pushes the stress onto method, which the Greek word does not require.
Used elsewhere in the period: Common in Greek of the period as an adverb of emphasis. Luke 4:23 and Acts 28:4 mean 'surely, doubtless'. Paul's own uses lean toward emphasis ('certainly, entirely') more than toward 'by every method'.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 5:10

Range of meaning: An adverb from πᾶς, 'all'. Its meanings run from 'altogether, entirely' to 'by all means, certainly, no doubt' (BDAG). With a negative it can mean 'not at all, by no means', or more mildly 'not entirely, not in every case'.
Against the English: KJV has 'Yet not altogether', which can sound as if Paul allows only limited contact with immoral outsiders. BSB ('I was not including'), WEB, NIV and ESV ('not at all meaning') take it as a complete exclusion of outsiders from the earlier ban.
How it drifted: KJV's 'not altogether' is a defensible literal rendering. The trouble is that modern readers easily take it as permission for partial contact, which shifts the sense.
Used elsewhere in the period: Classical and Koine Greek use πάντως for 'certainly' (e.g. Luke 4:23, Acts 28:4). Paul uses it elsewhere in 1 Corinthians (9:10, 9:22) for 'surely' or 'by all means'. The negated form is also found in Rom 3:9 (οὐ πάντως), where translators argue over 'not at all' versus 'not entirely'.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

Luke 4:23 πάντως Surely

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”

Acts · 2

Acts 21:22 πάντως Certainly

What then should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
Acts 28:4 πάντως By all means

When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

Here: "No doubt about it." The islanders are completely sure. Luke is showing how quickly and how wrongly they jump to a conclusion.

Romans · 1

Romans 3:9 πάντως· at all;

What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.

Here: With οὐ it most naturally means "not at all, in no way." Grammatically it could also mean "not entirely," but the next clause ("all under sin") supports the strong denial.

1 Corinthians · 4

1 Corinthians 5:10 πάντως at all

I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

Here: With the negative it means either 'not at all [did I mean]' or 'not in an absolute sense'. Most interpreters read Paul as saying his earlier ban never had outsiders in view.
1 Corinthians 9:10 πάντως entirely

Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.
1 Corinthians 9:22 πάντως by all means

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

Here: This can mean 'by every means' (one way or another) or 'in any case, at least'. Either way, its main job is to stress how determined Paul is that some will be saved. It is not a statement that any method is acceptable.
1 Corinthians 16:12 πάντως at all

Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was not at all inclined to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.

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