Greek word · G5312

ὑψόω

hypsoō

to lift up

To raise something physically to a height. Figuratively, to exalt or raise someone in honour, status or power (the opposite of ταπεινόω, "to humble"). BDAG gives both a literal sense ("lift up") and a figurative one ("raise to a high position, exalt").

Appears 20 times in 16 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὑψόω, -ῶ

(ὕψος), [in LXX chiefly for רוּם, also for גָּבַהּ, נָשָׂא, etc. ;]

to lift or raise up: with accusative, John 3:14 8:28 12:32, 34; ἕως τ. οὐρανοῦ, figuratively, pass., Matthew 11:23, Luke 10:15. Metaphorical, to exalt, uplift: Acts 2:33 5:31, 2 Corinthians 11:7, James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6; opposite to ταπεινῶ, Luke 1:52; ἑαυτόν, Matthew 23:12, Luke 4:11 18:14 (cf. ὑπερ-υψόω).†

(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 12:32

Range of meaning

To raise something physically to a height. Figuratively, to exalt or raise someone in honour, status or power (the opposite of ταπεινόω, "to humble"). BDAG gives both a literal sense ("lift up") and a figurative one ("raise to a high position, exalt").

Against the English

"Lifted up" keeps both senses in English, which is good. Modern readers, though, usually hear only the second, "exalted", and even then they tend to hear exaltation by praise rather than by being physically raised on a cross.

How it drifted

In devotional language "lift up" means praise or prayer ("lift up His name"). Worship songs and sermons reuse this verse as a promise about what happens when believers praise or preach Jesus. John 12:33 closes off that reading for this verse.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 52:13 in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX), at the start of the Suffering Servant song: "my servant ... will be lifted up (ὑψωθήσεται) and glorified exceedingly". John pairs the same two verbs, "lifted up" and "glorified", around this hour (12:23, 28, 32). John uses the verb three other times for Jesus' death: 3:14 ("as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness", Numbers 21:8–9), 8:28 ("when you have lifted up the Son of Man") and 12:34. Some scholars note that the Aramaic verb zeqaf can mean both "raise up" and "hang/crucify", and Genesis 40:13, 19 plays on "lifting up the head" as either restoring someone or hanging them. These are suggestive parallels that may lie behind the pun, not proof.

From the study of John 12:34

Range of meaning

To lift up or raise high physically; to exalt, honour, raise in status. In the Greek Old Testament it is often used of God exalting someone.

Against the English

All the major literal versions keep 'lifted up', which preserves John's double meaning. As described above, NLT turns it into a plain statement about dying, which keeps only one of the two meanings.

How it drifted

In modern worship language, 'lift Him up' means praising Jesus. That makes the phrase sound like worship rather than execution-and-exaltation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 52:13 in the Greek: the Servant 'will be lifted up (hypsōthēsetai) and glorified exceedingly'. This is the opening of the suffering-servant song, and John combines the same two verbs (12:23, 32). In Genesis 40:13, 19 'lift up your head' means restoration for the cupbearer but hanging for the baker. Aramaic zeqaf means both 'to raise up' and 'to crucify, impale' (compare Ezra 6:11). In John: 3:14, 8:28, 12:32.

From the study of John 3:14

Range of meaning

Literally 'to raise high, lift up' (physically elevating something). Figuratively 'to exalt, raise in rank, honour, glorify' (e.g., Luke 1:52 'he has exalted the humble'; Acts 2:33 Jesus 'exalted to the right hand of God'). Per BDAG, John uses it with a deliberate double meaning: the physical raising on the cross and exaltation to glory.

Against the English

'Lifted up' (KJV, BSB, NIV, ESV, WEB) keeps both the physical and honorific sides, which is good. But modern ears tend to hear one side only: either a neutral 'raised up' or the worship sense 'lift Jesus up' (praise him). Neither alone gets John's point, which is that the shameful hoisting onto a cross is itself the exaltation.

How it drifted

In devotional English, 'lifting up Jesus' has come to mean praising or proclaiming him, largely from songs and sermons on John 12:32. John 12:33 explicitly glosses that saying: 'He said this to signify what kind of death he was going to die.'

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Isaiah 52:13, the opening of the Suffering Servant song: 'my servant… will be lifted up (hypsōthēsetai) and glorified (doxasthēsetai) exceedingly'. John pairs the same two verbs, 'lifted up' and 'glorified', for the cross (12:23, 32; 13:31). LXX Numbers 21 does not use hypsoō; it says Moses set the serpent 'upon a standard' (epi sēmeiou). So John chose this verb on purpose. In Greek and Aramaic usage, crucifixion was spoken of as raising someone up on a stake; Aramaic zqp ('raise up') is used for impaling in Ezra 6:11.

Where it appears

Matthew · 3

  1. Matthew 11:23 ὑψωθήσῃ; will be exalted?

    And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

    Here: Future passive, 'will you be raised high?' It is about status and honour, and it mocks the town's assumption that it stands high. The wording echoes the boast of the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14:13–14.

  2. Matthew 23:12 ὑψώσει ὑψωθήσεται.¶ will exalt, will be exalted.

    For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

    Here: Raising oneself to a high place: here, claiming the honoured seat, the respectful greeting, the title 'Rabbi' (verses 6–8). The future tense in a 'whoever' clause states what happens whenever someone does this.

Luke · 6

  1. Luke 1:52 ὕψωσεν exalted

    He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.

    Here: The spatial opposite of 'pull down'. It means raising someone to a high place, and so to honour and standing. In Luke it echoes the reversal sayings: 'whoever humbles himself will be exalted' (14:11; 18:14).

  2. Luke 10:15 ὑψωθήσῃ; will you be lifted up?

    And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades!

  3. Luke 14:11 ὑψῶν ὑψωθήσεται.¶ is exalting, will be exalted.

    For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

    Here: Present tense: 'the one who keeps raising himself up'. In this scene it means grabbing a higher seat (v. 8), claiming a rank for yourself that nobody gave you.

  4. Luke 18:14 ὑψῶν ὑψωθήσεται.¶ is exalting, will be exalted.

    I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

    Here: An ongoing action: someone who keeps raising himself to a higher place or rank. The Pharisee did this by comparing himself favourably to 'other people… or even this tax collector' (18:11).

John · 5

  1. John 3:14 ὕψωσεν ὑψωθῆναι lifted up, to be lifted up

    Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

    Here: A single past act: Moses hoisted the bronze serpent on a pole so that it could be seen from anywhere in the camp. The verb also commonly means 'exalt', which John will exploit in the second half.

  2. John 8:28 ὑψώσητε you may have lifted up

    So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.

    Here: 'You lift up'. It means both hoisting him onto a cross and, in God's view of the same event, raising him to glory. The subject is 'you': his opponents will be the ones who do it.

  3. John 12:32 ὑψωθῶ I shall be lifted up

    And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”

    Here: "I am lifted up". It is passive, so this is done to him. John's next verse says it points to the kind of death he would die: being raised on a cross. The verb also commonly means "exalt", so the cross is presented as his enthronement too.

  4. John 12:34 ὑψωθῆναι to be lifted up

    The crowd replied, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever. So how can You say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”

    Here: In John this has a double meaning: physically raised up on a cross, and exalted to glory. From 'lifted up from the earth' (12:32) the crowd understands at least that he is talking about being taken away by death.

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 2:33 ὑψωθεὶς having been exalted

    Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

    Here: "Having been lifted up." The verb is passive: God is the unnamed one doing the lifting. It describes a real rise in position, from the grave to the throne. It is not mainly about being praised.

  2. Acts 5:31 ὕψωσεν exalted

    God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

    Here: A single, completed act of God: he raised Jesus to the highest rank. It answers v. 30, where the council 'hung' him on a tree, the lowest shame.

  3. Acts 13:17 ὕψωσεν exalted

    The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.

    Here: God 'raised them high': he made a family of about seventy into a large and strong nation (Exod 1:7–12) and gave them standing. It is not praise or worship. The same verb is used elsewhere in Acts for God exalting Jesus (2:33; 5:31).

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:7 ὑψωθῆτε, may be exalted,

    Was it a sin for me to humble myself in order to exalt you, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

James · 1

  1. James 4:10 ὑψώσει He will exalt

    Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

    Here: 'He will lift high.' A future verb stated as a firm promise, and God is now the one acting. It pictures lifting someone who has bowed to the ground, and it also means raising someone in honour and standing. It is the reverse of 'brought low.'

1 Peter · 1

  1. 1 Peter 5:6 ὑψώσῃ He may exalt

    Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.

    Here: God is the subject. It means raising someone to a high and honoured position, the reverse of the lowering in the first word.

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