Greek word · G971

βιάζω

biazō

to force

From bia, 'force, violence'. In the middle (doing something for oneself), biazomai means 'to use force, to press hard, to force one's way' (into a city, through a crowd, toward a goal). In the passive, the same form means 'to be forced, overpowered, treated with violence, oppressed'.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

βιάζω (βία), and depon. -ομαι,

[in LXX for פּרץ, פּצר, etc. ;]

to force, constrain, rare in active (poet, and late prose), but found in cl. in pass., and so perh. βιάζεται, suffereth violence, Matthew 11:12, EV (but see infr.), whether

(a) in good sense, of disciples (Thayer, al.), or

(b) in bad sense, of the enemies of the kingdom (Meyer, in l.; Dalman, Words, 139ff.; Cremer, 141ff.). Mid., advanceth violently, Mt, l.with (Deiss., BS., 258; Banks, see ref. in DCG, ii, 803f.); before εἰς, to press violently, or force one's way into, Luke 16:16 (see ICC, in l., and in Mt, l.with; cf. παραβιάζομαι and see MM, see word).

† (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 11:12

Range of meaning: From bia, 'force, violence'. In the middle (doing something for oneself), biazomai means 'to use force, to press hard, to force one's way' (into a city, through a crowd, toward a goal). It can also be weaker: 'to urge strongly' (compare the compound parabiazomai, 'to urge insistently', in Luke 24:29 and Acts 16:15). In the passive, the same form means 'to be forced, overpowered, treated with violence, oppressed'. In Greek of this period the middle sense is the more common one, but the passive is also attested.
Against the English: KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV and NASB take it as passive: 'suffereth / suffers violence'. NIV 1984 and NLT take it as middle: 'has been forcefully advancing'. NIV 2011 changed back to the passive ('subjected to violence') and moved the old wording to a footnote. BSB: 'has been subject to violence.'
How it drifted: The English is not so much drifted as forced to choose. Greek leaves both options open in one form, and English cannot. Any single translation therefore hides a real ambiguity.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX Exodus 19:24: the people must not 'force their way up' (biazesthōsan) to God on Sinai, a middle sense with the idea of illegitimate pushing. LXX Deuteronomy 22:25, 28 uses the verb of rape, a violent overpowering. LXX Genesis 33:11 has Jacob 'pressing' Esau to accept his gift. Josephus uses biazomai often for violent compulsion and forced entry. The closest parallel, Luke 16:16 ('everyone eis autēn biazetai', 'forces his way into it'), is most naturally middle, though some read even that as passive ('is urgently pressed to enter').

From the study of Luke 16:16

Range of meaning: The root idea is force (bia, 'force, violence'). In the middle voice it means using force: forcing one's way, pressing hard, or doing violence to someone. In the passive it means being forced or overpowered, or in a milder sense being pressed, urged or pressured to do something. The same Greek form can be middle or passive. Only context decides.
Against the English: KJV 'presseth into it' and YLT 'doth press into it' are fairly neutral. BSB, WEB and ESV ('forcing his way into it') are stronger and sound like pushing or barging. NLT ('eager to get in') softens it into enthusiasm. NET ('is urged to enter it') takes it as passive. So the English versions disagree on who exerts the force and what kind of force it is.
How it drifted: Partly a matter of English choices and partly of Matthew's parallel. Matthew 11:12 ('the kingdom suffers violence, and the violent take it by force') has shaped how readers hear Luke, though Luke's wording is different and has no 'violent men' and no 'seizing'.
Used elsewhere in the period: Violent sense: the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) uses it for rape in Deut 22:25, 28. Josephus uses it often for forcing and overpowering. 'Urge, press' sense: LXX Gen 33:11 (Jacob pressed Esau until he took the gift) and 2 Sam 13:25, 27 (Absalom pressed David). Luke himself uses the compound parabiazomai for warm, insistent urging: the Emmaus disciples 'urged him strongly' to stay (Luke 24:29), and Lydia 'prevailed on us' (Acts 16:15). Compare also Luke 14:23, 'compel them to come in', where the parable's servant presses outsiders to come to the banquet.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 11:12 βιάζεται, is taken by violence,

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it.

Here: The crux of the verse. The form can be passive ('is being violently treated / suffers violence') or middle ('forces its way, advances forcefully'). The supplied tag (present middle-or-passive) itself marks this ambiguity. Either way the verb belongs to the vocabulary of force (bia, 'violence').

Luke · 1

Luke 16:16 βιάζεται. forces his way.

The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

Here: The most debated word in the verse. As a middle form it means 'forces his way / presses hard into'. As a passive it means 'is urgently pressed / strongly urged to enter'. Both are grammatically possible, and the force involved can be eager or hostile.

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