Greek word · G4806

συζωοποιέω

syzōopoieō

to make alive with

"To make alive together with." It combines σύν ("with"), ζωή ("life") and ποιέω ("make"). The simple verb ζωοποιέω is used of God giving life to the dead and raising them (Rom 4:17; 8:11; 1 Cor 15:22; John 5:21).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

συν-ζωο-ποιέω (Rec. συζ-), ῶ-,

to make alive or quicken together with; metaphorically, of the spiritual life: τ. Χριστῷ, Ephesians 2:5; σὺν τ. Χ., Colossians 2:13.†

(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 Ephesians 2:5

Range of meaning: "To make alive together with." It combines σύν ("with"), ζωή ("life") and ποιέω ("make"). The simple verb ζωοποιέω is used of God giving life to the dead and raising them (Rom 4:17; 8:11; 1 Cor 15:22; John 5:21).
Against the English: KJV: "hath quickened us together with Christ". "Quick" here is old English for "alive", but modern readers hear "fast". Modern versions say "made us alive (together) with Christ". NLT turns it into "gave us life when he raised Christ", which brings out the link to Christ's resurrection but adds words.
How it drifted: "Quicken" (to make alive) has dropped out of ordinary English. "The quick and the dead" survives only as a fixed phrase.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the NT it appears only here and in Col 2:13. It belongs to a set of "with-Christ" verbs (suffer with, die with, be buried with, be raised with, be seated with: Rom 6:4–8; 8:17; Col 2:12; 3:1). The simple verb is used in Jewish prayer of God, "who makes the dead alive" (the second benediction of the Amidah, a central synagogue prayer). Joseph and Aseneth 8:9 uses the related ἀναζωοποιέω, "make alive again".

From the study of Colossians 2:13

Range of meaning: To make alive together with someone. It occurs only here and in Ephesians 2:5 in the New Testament, and is not known before Paul's letters, so it may be a Pauline coinage. It is built on zōopoieō, 'to make alive, give life'. In Jewish prayer that verb describes God raising the dead (e.g. the Eighteen Benedictions: 'who makes the dead alive').
Against the English: KJV: 'quickened together with him'. BSB and NIV: 'made you alive with Christ'. ESV, NASB, WEB and YLT: 'made alive together with him'.
How it drifted: In KJV English, 'quick' meant 'alive' (as in 'the quick and the dead'). 'Quickened' therefore means 'made alive', not sped up or stirred.
Used elsewhere in the period: zōopoieō: 2 Kgs 5:7 LXX ('Am I God, to kill and to make alive?'). Rom 4:17 ('God who makes the dead alive'). 1 Cor 15:22. John 5:21. Paul tends to build verbs with syn- ('with') to express sharing Christ's experience: synthaptō 'buried with' (v.12), synegeirō 'raised with' (v.12; 3:1), syzaō 'live with' (Rom 6:8).

Where it appears

Ephesians · 1

Ephesians 2:5 συνεζωοποίησεν made [us] alive with

made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

Here: The main verb of the whole long sentence begun in 2:1. Its subject is God (2:4). One decisive past act: God gave life to the dead along with Christ. The word appears only here and at Colossians 2:13.

Colossians · 1

Colossians 2:13 συνεζωοποίησεν He made alive together

When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,

Here: Three parts: 'with' + 'alive' + 'make'. The aorist tense (a completed past act) points to a decisive event. The subject is God, the last person named in v.12 ('God, who raised him'). They were brought to life in the same act and the same life by which Christ was raised.

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