Greek word · G3868

παραιτέομαι

paraiteomai

to refuse/excuse

From para + aiteomai, 'to ask (to be let) off.' The range runs from (1) asking for something, to (2) asking to be excused or declining an invitation, to (3) refusing, rejecting, avoiding or having nothing to do with something. It can be polite or firm.

Appears 12 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

παρ-αιτέομαι, -οῦμαι

[in LXX for בָּקַשׁ pi., etc. ;]

1. to beg of or from another: Mark 15:6 (Rec. ὅνπερ ᾐτοῦντο, see Field, Notes, 43).

2. to deprecate;

(a) prop., with neg., to entreat that not (Thuc., al.): Hebrews 12:19;

(b) to refuse, decline, avoid: o. accusative, 1 Timothy 4:7 5:11, 2 Timothy 2:23, Titus 3:10, Hebrews 12:25 (EV; but see Field, Notes, 234).

3. to beg off, ask to be excused, excuse (Polyb., al.) : Luke 14:18-19 (Hebrews 12:25, Field, l.with).†

(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 2 Timothy 2:23

Range of meaning

From para + aiteomai, 'to ask (to be let) off.' The range runs from (1) asking for something, to (2) asking to be excused or declining an invitation, to (3) refusing, rejecting, avoiding or having nothing to do with something. It can be polite or firm.

Against the English

KJV 'avoid,' BSB/NASB2020 'reject,' WEB/NASB1995 'refuse,' ESV/NIV 'have nothing to do with,' NLT 'don't get involved in.' All of these are fair. 'Reject' can sound like 'refute,' but the verb is about stepping away from the contest, not winning it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 14:18–19: invited guests say 'please have me excused' (ἔχε με παρῃτημένον). 1 Tim 4:7: 'have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.' 1 Tim 5:11: 'refuse' to enrol younger widows. Titus 3:10: 'have nothing more to do with' a divisive person after two warnings. Heb 12:19, 25: Israel 'begged' that no further word be spoken, and 'do not refuse him who speaks.'

From the study of Hebrews 12:25

Range of meaning

Literally 'ask off': (1) ask for something, beg, intercede; (2) ask to be excused, beg off, decline (an invitation, a duty); (3) refuse, reject, avoid. BDAG lists all three.

Against the English

'Refuse' (BSB, KJV, ESV) is accurate for the result, but it loses the picture of a request. In 12:19 the same verb is usually translated 'begged' or 'entreated'. So English readers miss that 12:25 deliberately echoes it.

How it drifted

The drift is not over time. It comes from translating the same Greek verb with two different English words three verses apart.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Luke 14:18–19 the dinner guests 'ask to be excused' (παραιτοῦμαι) one by one, polite refusals that are still refusals. In Hebrews 12:19 the Sinai hearers 'begged that no further word be spoken to them'. This reflects Exodus 20:19 and Deuteronomy 5:25–27; 18:16 ('let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God').

From the study of Titus 3:10

Range of meaning

The word has several related senses: (1) to ask for something; (2) to beg off or ask to be excused, as in the parable of the banquet, 'please have me excused' (Luke 14:18-19); (3) to refuse or decline (Acts 25:11; Hebrews 12:19, 25); (4) to avoid or reject, have nothing to do with.

Against the English

KJV, BSB and NASB have 'reject'. WEB has 'avoid'. NIV, ESV and NLT have 'have nothing (more) to do with'. 'Reject' can suggest a formal ruling or a cold casting-off. 'Avoid' can sound like nothing more than personal distance. The Greek covers the ground between: decline further dealings, refuse to keep the argument going.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Pastoral Letters (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus) use it the same way: 'have nothing to do with profane myths' (1 Timothy 4:7), 'refuse [to enrol] younger widows' (1 Timothy 5:11), and 'avoid foolish and ignorant controversies' (2 Timothy 2:23). The last is almost the same advice as Titus 3:9.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 15:6 παρῃτοῦντο. they were requesting.

    Now it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people a prisoner of their choosing.

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 14:18 παραιτεῖσθαι.¶ παρῃτημένον. to excuse themselves., excused.

    But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’

    Here: To ask to be let off, or to decline politely. The verb is formally polite. The insult lies in when they decline and why.

  2. Luke 14:19 παρῃτημένον. excused.

    Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 25:11 παραιτοῦμαι I do refuse

    If, however, I am guilty of anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die. But if there is no truth to their accusations against me, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

    Here: "I am not trying to beg my way out of dying." The word is a formal plea for exemption. Paul says he is not using the appeal to dodge a sentence he deserves.

1 Timothy · 2

  1. 1 Timothy 4:7 παραιτοῦ· do refuse;

    But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.

    Here: A present-tense command: make a habit of turning these down. The word is about declining what is offered, not debating it point by point.

  2. 1 Timothy 5:11 παραιτοῦ· do refuse;

    But refuse to enroll younger widows. For when their passions draw them away from Christ, they will want to marry,

2 Timothy · 1

  1. 2 Timothy 2:23 παραιτοῦ do refuse

    But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.

    Here: A present-tense command, so it describes an ongoing habit: 'keep declining.' The verb is the polite 'please excuse me' of a guest turning down an invitation (Luke 14:18–19). Timothy is to turn down the invitation to the debate, not win it.

Titus · 1

  1. Titus 3:10 παραιτοῦ do reject

    Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition,

    Here: A present-tense command in the middle voice: 'keep declining', 'excuse yourself from him', 'have done with him'. Titus is to stop engaging with this person and stop arguing with him. Whether a formal expulsion is also meant is debated.

Hebrews · 3

  1. Hebrews 12:19 παρῃτήσαντο they excused themselves

    to a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken.

  2. Hebrews 12:25 παραιτήσησθε παραιτησάμενοι you may refuse, having refused

    See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?

    Here: 'Beg off from' or 'refuse' the speaker. It deliberately repeats the verb of 12:19, where Israel at Sinai 'begged' that no further word be spoken to them.

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