Greek word · G4570

σβέννυμι

sbennymi

to extinguish

To extinguish or put out a fire or lamp (Matt 25:8; Mark 9:48). Figuratively, to suppress or stifle (1 Thess 5:19).

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

σβέννυμι

[in LXX chiefly for כָּבָה ;]

of fire or things on fire, to quench: with accusative, Matthew 12:20, Ephesians 6:16, Hebrews 11:34; pass., Matthew 25:8, Mark 9:48, [44, 46]. Metaphorical (cf. Song of Songs 8:7, 4Ma.16:4): τὸ πνεῦμα, 1 Thessalonians 5:19.†

ζβέννυμι, for σβ-, 1 Thessalonians 5:19 T (see WH, Notes, 148).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: To extinguish or put out a fire or lamp (Matt 25:8; Mark 9:48). Figuratively, to suppress or stifle (1 Thess 5:19).
Against the English: KJV/WEB "quench" and BSB/NIV/ESV "extinguish" are accurate. NLT's "stop" loses the fire image: it is one thing to stop an arrow and another to put out its fire.
Used elsewhere in the period: The standard Greek verb for putting out fire, used in the Septuagint (e.g., Lev 6:12–13 [LXX 6:5–6] of the altar fire that must not go out) and in the New Testament.

Range of meaning: Literally, to put out a fire, flame or lamp, or (passive) to go out. Figuratively, to suppress or stifle something pictured as burning or alive: anger, desire, strength, hope, a family line (a 'lamp' that might go out).
Against the English: 'Extinguish' (BSB) and 'quench' (KJV, WEB, most modern versions) are both accurate. But in everyday modern English 'quench' is mostly heard with 'thirst', so the fire picture can be lost on today's readers. NLT's 'stifle' gives the sense of suppression but drops the fire.
How it drifted: 'Quench' originally and mainly meant to put out a fire (Old English cwencan). Its main everyday use has since moved to satisfying thirst, so 'quench the Spirit' can sound abstract or even confusing.
Used elsewhere in the period: Homer uses it for putting out fire and figuratively for 'quenching' anger: Achilles 'will not quench his wrath' (Iliad 9.678). In the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint): the altar fire 'shall not be quenched' (Lev 6:12–13); 'many waters cannot quench love' (Song 8:7); the servant 'will not quench a smoldering wick' (Isa 42:3, quoted Matt 12:20); David's men say 'you must not quench the lamp of Israel' (2 Sam 21:17). In the New Testament: lamps 'going out' (Matt 25:8), quenching 'flaming arrows' (Eph 6:16), unquenchable fire (Mark 9:48).

Range of meaning: To put out or quench a fire or light; in the passive or middle forms, to go out or die down. It is also used figuratively: to quench anger, desire or the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19).
Against the English: BSB, WEB, YLT, NIV, ESV, NASB and NLT all have 'are going out'. The KJV's 'are gone out' reads like a completed action, as though the lamps were already dark.
How it drifted: The KJV translators rendered the Greek present tense with an English form ('are gone') that in their English described a completed state. Readers who know the KJV often picture the foolish women standing in total darkness, or holding lamps that never had any oil.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) the verb is common in wisdom sayings about lamps. Proverbs 13:9 says the light of the ungodly 'is quenched' (σβέννυται), and Proverbs 24:20 that the lamp of the ungodly 'will be put out'. Proverbs 31:18 (LXX) says of the capable wife that 'her lamp does not go out (οὐκ ἀποσβέννυται) all night'. Matthew uses the verb again at 12:20, quoting Isaiah: 'a smoldering wick he will not quench.'

Matthew · 2

Matthew 12:20 σβέσει He will quench

A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.

Here: 'He will not put it out.' This is the ordinary word for a lamp or fire going out or being doused (compare Matt 25:8, 'our lamps are going out').
Matthew 25:8 σβέννυνται.¶ are going out.

The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

Here: A present-tense verb describing something in progress: 'are going out', guttering and dying now. The lamps were lit after the wake-up call, but they are burning through the last of their fuel. They are not already dark, as the KJV's 'are gone out' implies.

Mark · 1

Mark 9:48 σβέννυται. is quenched.’

where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’

Ephesians · 1

Ephesians 6:16 σβέσαι· to quench;

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Here: "To put out." The shield does more than stop the missiles. It puts out their fire, so the damage they were meant to spread never happens. The same verb appears in 1 Thess 5:19 ("do not quench the Spirit").

1 Thessalonians · 1

1 Thessalonians 5:19 σβέννυτε· do quench;

Do not extinguish the Spirit.

Here: A fire word: to douse a flame or let a lamp go out. Addressed to 'you' plural, the whole congregation, it pictures the Spirit's activity among them as a fire the community itself could smother.

Hebrews · 1

Hebrews 11:34 ἔσβεσαν quenched

quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

Here: "They put out." The verb is used for putting out a fire or a lamp. Its object is not the fire but the fire's *power*: what was put out was the fire's ability to hurt them. The aorist tense presents each event as a finished, one-time act.

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