Greek word · G4912

συνέχω

synechō

to hold/oppress

Literally 'to hold together.' From that come: to press in on or surround (crowds, besieging armies); to hold fast or confine (a prisoner); to grip or overpower (a fever, fear, grief); to occupy someone wholly or control them. In the passive: to be gripped, hard pressed, held in a vise.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

συν-έχω

[in LXX for עָצָר, חָבַר, etc. ;]

1. to hold together (τ. συνέχον τ. πάντα, Wisdom of Solomon 1:7): of closing the ears, Acts 7:57 (τ. στόμα, Isaiah 52:15); to hem in, press on every side: Luke 8:45 19:43.

2. to hold fast;

(a) of a prisoner, to hold in charge (Luc.; cf. exx. in Deiss., BS, 160; MM, xxiv): Luke 22:63;

(b) to constrain: 2 Corinthians 5:14; pass., Luke 12:50, Acts 18:5 (τ. λόγῳ; cf. Field, Notes, 128), Philippians 1:23; in pass., of ills, to be seized or afflicted by, suffering from: Matthew 4:24, Luke 4:38 8:37, Acts 28:8.†

(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 Philippians 1:23

Range of meaning: Literally 'to hold together.' From that come: to press in on or surround (crowds, besieging armies); to hold fast or confine (a prisoner); to grip or overpower (a fever, fear, grief); to occupy someone wholly or control them. In the passive: to be gripped, hard pressed, held in a vise.
Against the English: KJV 'I am in a strait betwixt two' means a tight, narrow place, which is accurate but archaic. Many modern readers think of a sea strait or nothing at all. WEB/ESV 'hard pressed' and YLT 'pressed by the two' keep the squeeze. BSB/NIV/NLT 'torn' changes the picture from compression to being pulled apart.
How it drifted: 'Torn between' is a common English idiom for indecision. Translators reach for it because it sounds natural, but it reverses the direction of the force.
Used elsewhere in the period: Luke 8:45 (crowds 'pressing in' on Jesus); Luke 19:43 (enemies will 'hem you in on every side'); Luke 4:38 (Peter's mother-in-law 'gripped' by a high fever); Luke 12:50 ('how I am constrained until it is accomplished'); Acts 18:5 (Paul 'wholly occupied' with the word); 2 Cor 5:14 ('the love of Christ constrains / controls us'). In ordinary Greek it is used for things held in, confined or besieged.

From the study of 2 Corinthians 5:14

Range of meaning: Literally "hold together" (syn "together" + echō "hold"). From that come several senses: (1) hold together, keep in one piece; (2) enclose, hem in, press on all sides, used of crowds and of armies besieging a city; (3) seize, grip, hold fast, used of a fever or of guards holding a prisoner; (4) be absorbed by, be hard pressed, be distressed; (5) hold in check, control, keep within bounds. BDAG groups the 2 Cor 5:14 use under the sense of a force that urges on, controls or leaves no choice.
Against the English: KJV "constraineth". In 1611 that meant "presses, urges, forces", but today "constrain" sounds like "restrict". NIV and BSB "compels" puts the stress on being driven forward to act. ESV and NASB "controls" keeps more of the sense of being held. None of them quite gives the physical picture of a grip that surrounds and holds.
How it drifted: Modern "compel" is mostly psychological: a strong inner motive ("I felt compelled to help"). In popular use the verse has become a slogan about motivation, often missionary motivation. Paul's word is spatial and physical. Something has hold of him and hems him in, so he cannot live "for himself" (v. 15). It is about who owns him at least as much as about what drives him.
Used elsewhere in the period: Elsewhere in the NT: a fever "gripped" Peter's mother-in-law (Luke 4:38) and Publius' father (Acts 28:8); crowds "press in" on Jesus (Luke 8:45); enemies will "hem you in" (Luke 19:43); the men "holding" Jesus (Luke 22:63); Jesus is "distressed / hard pressed" until his baptism of suffering is done (Luke 12:50); Paul is "hard pressed between the two" (Phil 1:23); Paul was "occupied with / held by" the word (Acts 18:5). In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), Wisdom 1:7 speaks of the Spirit as "that which holds all things together". Hellenistic philosophers and Philo use the word for the force that holds the cosmos together. In the papyri it is common for being "seized" by illness.

From the study of Acts 18:5

Range of meaning: Literally 'to hold together'. From that come: to press in on or hem in (crowds, Luke 8:45; enemies besieging a city, Luke 19:43); to hold someone in custody (Luke 22:63); to be gripped or seized by an illness or an emotion such as fever or fear (Matt 4:24; Luke 4:38; 8:37); to be hard pressed by a choice (Phil 1:23); to constrain or drive ('the love of Christ constrains us', 2 Cor 5:14). In the middle form, with a dative noun, it can mean to be absorbed in or wholly occupied with an activity. BDAG lists Acts 18:5 under this sense.
Against the English: BSB 'devoted himself fully', NASB 'began devoting himself completely' and NIV 'devoted himself exclusively' all read Paul as the one acting. ESV 'was occupied with' is more neutral. KJV/YLT 'was pressed' and WEB 'was compelled' keep the sense of pressure but attach it to 'the spirit/Spirit', because they follow the later manuscript reading.
Used elsewhere in the period: In Luke-Acts the word nearly always means being held, pressed or gripped (Luke 4:38; 8:37; 12:50, 'how I am constrained until it is accomplished'). In secular Greek, with a dative, it means being taken up with or absorbed in a pursuit. Paul uses it of compelling pressure in 2 Cor 5:14 and Phil 1:23.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 4:24 συνεχομένους, oppressing,

News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.

Here: 'Being gripped' or 'held fast'. The diseases and pains are pictured as seizing and holding on to the sufferer.

Luke · 6

Luke 4:38 συνεχομένη oppressed with

After Jesus had left the synagogue, He went to the home of Simon, whose mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. So they appealed to Jesus on her behalf,

Here: "Being held in the grip of." The form is passive, so the fever is the thing doing the holding and she is the one held. It paints her illness as something that has hold of her, more vividly than "was sick".
Luke 8:37 συνείχοντο.¶ they were seized.

Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started back.

Here: 'They were being held in its grip.' The picture is of something holding them fast, the way an illness holds a body. The imperfect tense shows a continuing condition, not a passing flinch.
Luke 8:45 συνέχουσίν surround

“Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. But they all denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the people are crowding and pressing against You.”
Luke 12:50 συνέχομαι I am distressed

But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

Here: Passive present: 'I am held fast, pressed in, gripped.' It can mean distress or anguish, but the picture behind it is being squeezed or enclosed. The coming ordeal presses on him and absorbs him until it is over.
Luke 19:43 συνέξουσίν they will hem in

For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.

Here: 'They will squeeze you'. Luke uses the same verb for a crowd pressing on Jesus (8:45) and for being gripped by distress (12:50). It pictures the city being crushed inward, the slow squeeze of a starvation siege.
Luke 22:63 συνέχοντες are holding

The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him.

Here: Present participle, so the holding is continuous: these are the men keeping Jesus confined and under guard, not just men who grabbed him once. The word suggests being hemmed in with no way out.

Acts · 3

Acts 7:57 συνέσχον they held

At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.

Here: Literally 'they held together / pressed shut' their ears: they clapped their hands over them or plugged them. It is a deliberate refusal to hear anything more.
Acts 18:5 συνείχετο was occupied

And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.

Here: An imperfect form, so it describes something that went on over time: Paul 'was being held fast' or 'was wholly taken up'. The form can be read as Paul giving himself to the work ('devoted himself') or as the word gripping him ('was gripped by'). Either way, preaching now took up all his time where before it had been limited to Sabbaths.
Acts 28:8 συνεχόμενον oppressed

The father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his hands on him, he healed the man.

Here: He was 'held in the grip of' the illnesses. The present tense describes a continuing condition. Luke uses the same verb for Peter's mother-in-law, who was 'gripped by a high fever' (Luke 4:38).

2 Corinthians · 1

2 Corinthians 5:14 συνέχει compels

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

Here: Present tense: it keeps holding us. The picture is of being gripped, hemmed in, held under control, so that no other course is left. It is less an inner urge pushing Paul forward and more a hold that confines him.

Philippians · 1

Philippians 1:23 συνέχομαι I am pressed

I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

Here: 'I am held fast / squeezed.' The verb is passive and present, so the pressure is happening to Paul right now. The picture is being hemmed in on two sides, not being ripped apart.

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