Greek word · G672

ἀποχωρέω

apochōreō

to leave

To go away, withdraw, depart, leave.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀπο-χωρέω, -ῶ

[in LXX: Jeremiah 46:5 (סוּג), 2Ma.4:33, 3Ma.2:33 * ;]

to go away, depart, withdraw: before ἀπό, Matthew 7:23, Luke 9:39, Acts 13:13 (absol., Luke 20:20, Tr., mg.).†

(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 Matthew 7:23

Range of meaning

To go away, withdraw, depart, leave.

Against the English

'Depart from me' (KJV, BSB, ESV) is accurate. NIV 'Away from me' and NLT 'Get away from me' are blunter and close to the force of the command.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare in the New Testament (also Luke 9:39; Acts 13:13). In the parallel saying Luke 13:27 keeps the Psalm's own verb apostēte ('stand off').

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 7:23 ἀποχωρεῖτε do depart

    Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

    Here: A command: 'Go away! Leave!' It dismisses them from the presence of the one whose name they used. Matthew uses this verb instead of the Greek Psalm's 'stand away' (apostēte), with the same meaning.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 9:39 ἀποχωρεῖ it departs

    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.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 13:13 ἀποχωρήσας having departed

    After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

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