Greek word · G4937

συντρίβω

syntribō

to break

To break in pieces, shatter or crush. It is used of breaking jars, bones, reeds and chains. Figuratively it means to crush an enemy or someone's power, and in the passive it means to be crushed in spirit.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

συν-τρίβω

[in LXX chiefly for שָׁבַר ;]

to shatter, break in pieces: Matthew 12:20 (LXX), Mark 5:4 14:3, John 19:36" (LXX), Revelation 2:27; of persons and parts of the body, to break, crush, bruise: Luke 9:39; figuratively, Romans 16:20.†

(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 John 19:36

Range of meaning

To break in pieces, shatter or crush. It is used of breaking jars, bones, reeds and chains. Figuratively it means to crush an enemy or someone's power, and in the passive it means to be crushed in spirit.

Against the English

"Broken" is accurate. The Greek is a little stronger, closer to smashed or shattered than snapped. That fits the iron mallet blows of the Roman leg-breaking described in 19:31–33.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint: Exod 12:10 (Greek addition) and 12:46, Num 9:12, both "you shall not break" a bone of the Passover lamb, translating Hebrew שָׁבַר (shabar). Ps 33:21 LXX (= 34:20 English): "one of them will not be broken" (ἓν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ συντριβήσεται). The same psalm uses the verb two verses earlier for the "crushed in heart" (33:19 LXX). New Testament: Mark 14:3, the alabaster jar broken; Matt 12:20, the bruised reed; Rom 16:20, God crushing Satan.

From the study of Revelation 2:27

Range of meaning

To shatter, crush or break in pieces. Used of bones, vessels and reeds, of crushing enemies (Rom 16:20, 'God will crush Satan'), and in a figurative sense of a 'broken' heart or spirit (Ps 51:17 LXX).

Against the English

Several versions (BSB, NIV, NLT) make the ruler the subject: 'shatter/dash/smash them'. That follows Psalm 2:9, but Revelation recast the clause as a passive comparison: 'as clay vessels are shattered'. ESV and NASB keep the passive form.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 2:9 LXX (συντρίψεις αὐτούς, 'you will shatter them'); Psalms of Solomon 17:24 (συντρῖψαι); Mark 14:3 (the alabaster jar broken); Luke 9:39; Romans 16:20.

From the study of Romans 16:20

Range of meaning

To shatter, smash or break in pieces: jars (Mark 14:3), chains (Mark 5:4), bones (John 19:36), reeds (Matt 12:20). By extension it means to crush or wear someone down, and in military language to rout and destroy an enemy. BDAG gives 'shatter, smash, crush' and, used figuratively, 'annihilate, overcome'.

Against the English

Modern versions say 'crush', which is accurate. The KJV and YLT say 'bruise'. In 1611 'bruise' meant to crush, break or batter (compare the 'bruised reed' of Isa 42:3 KJV). Today it suggests a minor injury.

How it drifted

Over the centuries English 'bruise' shrank from 'crush, break' to 'make a discoloured mark on the skin'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (LXX), God is 'the Lord who shatters wars' (κύριος συντρίβων πολέμους, Exod 15:3; Judith 9:7; 16:2). It is regularly used for God breaking enemies (e.g. Ps 3:7 LXX 3:8, 'you shattered the teeth of sinners'). In Isa 42:3 LXX the Servant 'will not break (οὐ συντρίψει)' a bruised reed, the same future form as here.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 12:20 συντετριμμένον bruised

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

    Here: A perfect passive participle: a reed that has already been crushed and stays that way, cracked through and bent over. It is not a light knock. Any more pressure would finish it.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 5:4 συντετρῖφθαι, to have been shattered,

    Though he was often bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and shattered the shackles. Now there was no one with the strength to subdue him.

  2. Mark 14:3 συντρίψασα having broken

    While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.

    Here: She snapped or crushed the flask, most likely at its narrow neck, rather than unsealing it to pour a little. The flask could not be used again, and everything in it would be spent at once.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 9:39 συντρῖβον bruising

    A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.

John · 1

  1. John 19:36 συντριβήσεται will be broken

    Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.”

    Here: Future passive, "will be broken". This exact form is in the Greek of Psalm 34:20 (LXX 33:21), where the LORD guards the righteous person's bones. The Exodus/Numbers texts are commands ("you shall not break"). John's form is a promise.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 16:20 συντρίψει will crush

    The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

    Here: Future tense, so a promise and not a wish. It is a violent word, used for smashing pottery, breaking bones and routing enemy armies.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 2:27 συντρίβεται are broken in pieces

    He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father.

    Here: 'Are shattered.' The verb is present tense and passive. It states what always happens to clay pots, like a proverb. The verb is singular because Greek normally pairs a neuter plural subject with a singular verb. The prefix syn- strengthens the meaning: smashed completely.

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