Greek word · G4623

σιωπάω

siōpaō

be quiet

To be silent, keep quiet, stop speaking; of things, to become still or hushed. In the New Testament it is used mostly of people: those who will not answer (Mark 3:4; 14:61), who are embarrassed into silence (9:34), or who are told to be quiet (10:48).

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

σιωπάω, -ῶ

(σιωπή, silence) [in LXX for חָשָׁה, חָרַשׁ hi., etc. ;]

to be silent or still, keep silence: Matthew 20:31 26:63, Mark 3:4 9:34 10:48 14:61, Luke 19:4, Acts 18:9; of one dumb, Luke 1:20 (cf. 4Ma.10:18); addressed rhetorically to the sea, σιώπα, Mark 4:39.†

SYN.: ἡσυχάζω, σιγάω (which see) (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 Mark 4:39

Range of meaning: To be silent, keep quiet, stop speaking; of things, to become still or hushed. In the New Testament it is used mostly of people: those who will not answer (Mark 3:4; 14:61), who are embarrassed into silence (9:34), or who are told to be quiet (10:48).
Against the English: KJV, WEB and ESV: "Peace!" NIV: "Quiet!" NASB: "Hush". BSB and NLT: "Silence!" "Quiet", "hush" and "silence" are accurate. In 1611, "Peace!" used as a command meant "Be quiet!" Today it sounds like a blessing or a word about inner calm.
How it drifted: The KJV wording goes back to Tyndale ("peace and be still"). In Tudor and Jacobean English the interjection 'Peace!' was a normal way of telling someone to hush; Shakespeare's characters use it that way constantly. That use has died out. Modern readers now connect 'peace' with Greek eirēnē and Hebrew shalom, which are not in this verse.
Used elsewhere in the period: Common in Greek from Homer onward. LXX examples include Judg 3:19 ("Keep silence!" in some witnesses) and Eccl 3:7 ("a time to keep silent"). The Latin Vulgate translates it tace, "be silent".

From the study of Luke 19:40

Range of meaning: To be silent, keep quiet, stop speaking. It can mean voluntary silence, imposed silence (being hushed), or silence as a sign (Zechariah's muteness). Of the sea or wind it means to become calm.
Against the English: BSB “remain silent,” NIV “keep quiet,” ESV/WEB “were silent,” NASB “become silent,” KJV “hold their peace.” All are fair. The real difference is whether the silence sounds voluntary (“keep quiet”) or imposed (“be silenced”). The context is imposed silence: the Pharisees asked Jesus to “rebuke” (epitimaō) his disciples into silence.
How it drifted: The verb itself has not drifted. The KJV's “hold their peace” is an older English idiom for “be silent,” and modern readers can mistake it for “keep the peace.”
Used elsewhere in the period: Luke uses it of Zechariah struck silent (1:20) and of Jesus silent before the high priest (Matt 26:63; Mark 14:61). In Mark 10:48 the crowd tells the blind man to be silent (siōpēsē). Luke's version of that scene (18:39) has the crowd “rebuke” him to be quiet, and he “cried out” (ekrazen) all the more. That is the same rebuke, silence and crying-out pattern that appears in 19:39–40. It is common in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) for keeping silent.

From the study of Acts 18:9

Range of meaning: To be silent, keep quiet, say nothing; also to fall silent or stop speaking. It can mean being silenced by others (Luke 19:40; Mark 10:48) or choosing silence (Mark 14:61).
Against the English: KJV's "hold not thy peace" is a correct Early Modern English idiom for "don't keep silent." Modern readers can misread it as having something to do with peace. Most modern versions say "do not be silent."
How it drifted: "Hold one's peace" meant "remain silent" in 1611. Today the idiom is rare, and "peace" suggests calm or the absence of conflict.
Used elsewhere in the period: Common in the Gospels (Matt 20:31; 26:63; Mark 3:4; Luke 19:40). The Septuagint uses it for both God's silence and human silence, e.g. Isa 62:1 "for Zion's sake I will not keep silent." Whether Luke is echoing that passage is uncertain.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

Matthew 20:31 σιωπήσωσιν. they may be silent.

The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Here: The form (aorist subjunctive) points to a single act: "shut up", "stop shouting". The same verb is used of Jesus keeping silent at his trial (26:63).
Matthew 26:63 ἐσιώπα. was silent.

But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Here: The imperfect tense pictures an ongoing state: he kept on saying nothing, through all the testimony and the high priest's challenge. His silence is deliberate, not a man stuck for words.

Mark · 5

Mark 3:4 ἐσιώπων. they were silent.

And He asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” But they were silent.
Mark 4:39 σιώπα, Silence!

Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.

Here: "Be quiet!" "Hush!" It is a present-tense command, the kind used for an ongoing state. Elsewhere in Mark the verb is used of people who fall or are told to fall silent (3:4; 9:34; 10:48; 14:61). The roaring sea is treated like a noisy voice that has to stop.
Mark 9:34 ἐσιώπων· they were silent;

But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
Mark 10:48 σιωπήσῃ. he may be silent.

Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Mark 14:61 ἐσιώπα He was silent

But Jesus remained silent and made no reply. Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

Here: The imperfect tense pictures an ongoing state: he kept silent, and went on keeping silent while the accusations piled up. It is a deliberate refusal to speak, not being lost for words.

Luke · 2

Luke 1:20 σιωπῶν silent

And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

Here: Present participle, so 'you will be keeping silent', an ongoing state that lasts. The silence is the sign and the discipline in one.
Luke 19:40 σιωπήσουσιν, will be silent,

“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

Here: “Will be silent / fall silent.” This answers the Pharisees' “rebuke” directly: suppose the disciples are hushed, as the Pharisees demand.

Acts · 1

Acts 18:9 σιωπήσῃς, may be silent,

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.

Here: An aorist (simple-action) form used to forbid something. It usually means "don't fall silent" or "don't go quiet at any point." The danger in view is Paul deciding to go quiet, or to move on, under pressure.

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