Greek word · G3987

πειράω

peiraō

to try

Try, attempt, make an effort. It is related to peirazō (test, tempt) but here means only 'attempt.'

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πειράω more commonly as depon., πειράομαι,

[in LXX for נָסָה ;]

to try, attempt: Acts 26:21.†

(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 Acts 26:21

Range of meaning

Try, attempt, make an effort. It is related to peirazō (test, tempt) but here means only 'attempt.'

Against the English

KJV 'went about to' is archaic for 'set about to, tried to.' YLT 'were endeavouring' keeps the ongoing sense of the tense. Most modern versions say 'tried.'

How it drifted

KJV 'went about to kill' can now sound like 'wandered around killing' or 'proceeded to kill.' In 1611 'go about to' meant 'attempt, endeavour.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in classical and Hellenistic Greek for 'attempt.' In the critical text of the New Testament it appears only here (some manuscripts also have it at Acts 9:26).

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 26:21 ἐπειρῶντο they were attempting

    For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.

    Here: The tense (imperfect) shows an action in progress that was not finished: 'they were trying' when Roman soldiers broke it up (Acts 21:31–32). This is a different word from the related verb that means 'test' or 'tempt'.

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