Greek word · G4531

σαλεύω

saleuō

to shake

Saleuō means to shake, rock, dislodge or unsettle (used of the sea, earthquakes, a reed in the wind, crowds stirred up). Throeō means to be alarmed or frightened, especially by reports or rumours.

Appears 15 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

σαλεύω

(σάλος), [in LXX for מוֹט, זוּעַ, etc. ;]

prop., of the action of wind, storm, etc., to agitate, shake: of a reed, Matthew 11:7, Luke 7:24; a house, Luke 6:48, Acts 4:31 16:26; the earth, Hebrews 12:26; the heavenly bodies, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:25, Luke 21:26; of a vessel shaken in filling, Luke 6:38. Metaphorical,

(a) to shake, i.e. to render insecure: τὰ σαλευόμενα, τὰ μὴ., Hebrews 12:27;

(b) with accusative of person(s), to cast down from a sense of security and happiness: Acts 2:25 (LXX);

(with) to unsettle or drive away: pass., before ἀπὸ τ. νοός, 2 Thessalonians 2:2;

(d) to stir up: τ. ὄχλους, Acts 17:13.†

(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 Thessalonians 2:2

Range of meaning: Saleuō means to shake, rock, dislodge or unsettle (used of the sea, earthquakes, a reed in the wind, crowds stirred up). Throeō means to be alarmed or frightened, especially by reports or rumours.
Against the English: BSB's 'disconcerted' is weaker than saleuō, which pictures a violent physical shaking. KJV 'shaken in mind' turns 'shaken from the mind' into 'in the mind'. The Greek pictures being knocked loose from one's senses, like a boat dragged off its moorings.
Used elsewhere in the period: Saleuō: Acts 4:31 (the place was shaken), Acts 17:13 (stirring up crowds, in Berea, right after Thessalonica), Hebrews 12:26–27, Luke 7:24. Throeō: only Mark 13:7, Matthew 24:6 and here in the New Testament. Both Gospel passages are Jesus' teaching on the end of the age, warning about deceivers who say 'the time is near' (Luke 21:8).

From the study of Matthew 24:29

Range of meaning: "To shake, toss, cause to totter"; used of waves, of a reed moved by the wind (Matt 11:7), of a building shaken (Acts 4:31; 16:26), and figuratively of people unsettled in mind (Acts 17:13; 2 Thess 2:2).
Against the English: "Shaken" is accurate. The Greek suggests losing a secure footing, being made to totter, more than a brief tremor.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the LXX σαλεύω often translates Hebrew mōṭ, "to totter, slip": "God is in her midst; she shall not be moved [οὐ σαλευθήσεται]" (Ps 46:5 [45:6 LXX]). Haggai 2:6, 21–22 promises that God will shake heaven and earth and "overthrow the thrones of kingdoms"; Hebrews 12:26–27 takes this up with σαλεύω for the removal of what can be shaken.

From the study of Acts 16:26

Range of meaning: To shake, toss, make to totter. Used literally of things swayed by wind or quake (Luke 7:24, a reed 'shaken by the wind'), and figuratively of being unsettled (Acts 17:13 'stirring up'; 2 Thess 2:2).
Against the English: 'Shaken' is accurate. The Greek suggests something being made to rock or move from its fixed place, which matters when the thing shaken is the foundations.
Used elsewhere in the period: Greek Ps 17:8 (Hebrew/English 18:7): 'the earth shook (esaleuthē) and trembled' when God came to rescue the psalmist from death's 'bonds'. Acts 2:25 (quoting Ps 16:8): 'that I may not be shaken'. Acts 4:31: after the believers prayed, 'the place where they were gathered was shaken'.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

Matthew 11:7 σαλευόμενον; shaken?

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

Here: A present passive participle: "being shaken," over and over. The same verb is used of earthquakes and of shaking people's convictions (Acts 17:13; 2 Thess 2:2). The picture is of someone who bends whichever way the pressure pushes, and John was not that.
Matthew 24:29 σαλευθήσονται. will be shaken.’

Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

Here: Future passive, "will be shaken" (by God). The word is used of things knocked off their footing, like a reed in the wind or a city that totters. What seemed most fixed and permanent is set rocking.

Mark · 1

Mark 13:25 σαλευθήσονται. will be shaken.’

the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

Luke · 4

Luke 6:38 σεσαλευμένον shaken together

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Here: Perfect passive participle: the vessel shaken so the grain settles and the air gaps close, making room for still more.
Luke 6:48 σαλεῦσαι to shake

He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

Here: The river could not even make the house sway, let alone knock it down. In the Greek Psalms this is the standard word for what cannot happen to the righteous ('he shall not be shaken').
Luke 7:24 σαλευόμενον; shaken?

After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?
Luke 21:26 σαλευθήσονται. will be shaken.

Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Acts · 4

Acts 2:25 σαλευθῶ· I may be shaken;

David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Here: Passive, 'be shaken, be toppled'. The picture is physical: footing that slips, a wall that gives way. In Peter's sermon the ultimate threat to the speaker's footing is death itself (v. 24), and he is not overthrown by it.
Acts 4:31 ἐσαλεύθη was shaken

After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Here: 'Was shaken.' The passive leaves God unnamed as the one doing the shaking. A shaking of the ground is a classic sign of God's arrival and of his answer (Exod 19:18; Isa 6:4; Ps 18:7).
Acts 16:26 σαλευθῆναι shaking

Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

Here: 'To be shaken' in the sense of being knocked loose or made to sway. Luke uses the same verb in Acts 4:31, where the meeting place 'was shaken' after the believers prayed.
Acts 17:13 σαλεύοντες stirring up

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds.

Here: Literally 'shaking', the word for earthquakes, waves and tottering buildings. Here it means unsettling the crowds. The present-tense form pictures them busily at it.

2 Thessalonians · 1

2 Thessalonians 2:2 σαλευθῆναι to be shaken

not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come.

Here: A word for physical shaking: waves, an earthquake, a reed in the wind. The aorist form (a single, completed action) pictures a sudden jolt that knocks them loose.

Hebrews · 3

Hebrews 12:26 ἐσάλευσεν shook

At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.”

Here: A past tense for a single event: the quake at Sinai. The verb pictures something rocked off its footing, which prepares for verse 27, where the things that can be "shaken" (the same verb) are removed.
Hebrews 12:27 σαλευομένων σαλευόμενα. being shaken, being shaken.

The words “Once more” signify the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that the unshakable may remain.

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