βλασφημέω

Matthew 9:3 βλασφημεῖ. blasphemes!

On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”

Matthew 26:65 ἐβλασφήμησεν· He has blasphemed;

At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.

Here: "He blasphemed!" means he has just spoken words that insult God. In the aorist, the charge points to the words he spoke a moment ago. It is a legal charge, not just an exclamation, and in the Law it carries the death penalty (Leviticus 24:16).

Matthew 27:39 ἐβλασφήμουν were denigrating

And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads

Here: Imperfect tense: they kept on hurling insults, one after another, as they went past. The basic sense is abusive speech that attacks someone's name and standing. In Matthew it also carries irony: Jesus has just been condemned for "blasphemy" (26:65), and now the people are the ones "blaspheming" him.

Mark 2:7 βλασφημεῖ· He blasphemes!

“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Here: A one-word verdict: 'He blasphemes!' Here it means speech that injures God's honour by taking over what belongs to God alone. The scribes say it only in their hearts, but it is a charge that could carry the death penalty, and it returns at Jesus' trial (14:64).

Mark 3:28 βλασφημήσωσιν· they shall have blasphemed;

Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.

Here: The verb from the same root as the noun 'blasphemies', so the Greek literally says 'blasphemies, however many they blaspheme'. The repetition stresses how much is covered. The form looks at each act of slander as a single event.

Mark 3:29 βλασφημήσῃ may blaspheme

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.”

Here: 'Should slander' or 'should speak injuriously'. The tense presents the act as a whole event. By itself it says nothing about whether the act happens once or keeps happening. Verse 30 identifies the slander: saying that Jesus' power comes from an unclean spirit.

Mark 15:29 ἐβλασφήμουν were denigrating

And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

Here: They hurled insults at him and defamed him. The verb form shows repeated, ongoing action: it kept happening as people went by. It is the same verb used for the charge against Jesus at his trial (14:64), so the man condemned for 'blasphemy' is now on the receiving end of it.

Luke 12:10 βλασφημήσαντι having blasphemed

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Here: Aorist participle, "the one who has slandered/reviled". The act is viewed as a whole, as it will look at the judgment. It is a stronger verb than the neutral "say a word" of the first half.

Luke 22:65 βλασφημοῦντες blaspheming

And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.

Luke 23:39 ἐβλασφήμει he was denigrating

One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!”

Here: “Kept reviling” or “began to revile”: the imperfect tense shows a continuing or repeated action, not one remark. The word means abusive, damaging speech against someone's name. Luke uses the same verb for the guards who mocked Jesus (22:65), which hints that insulting this man is insulting God's Anointed.

John 10:36 βλασφημεῖς, You blaspheme,

then what about the One whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world? How then can you accuse Me of blasphemy for stating that I am the Son of God?

Here: Their direct accusation: 'You are blaspheming.' In this setting that means insulting God's honor by claiming what belongs to God alone, a charge punishable by stoning (10:31, 33).

Acts 13:45 βλασφημοῦντες. denigrating [him].

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.

Here: Speaking abusively or defamatorily, at the same time as the contradicting. No object is stated. Most likely they reviled Paul himself, though Luke may also mean the Jesus he preached. Either way it is insult and defamation, not just a theological disagreement.

Acts 18:6 βλασφημούντων, denigrating [him],

But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Here: Abusive, damaging speech. No object is stated: it covers insults aimed at Paul, and very likely at the Jesus he was proclaiming as Messiah. Present tense: they kept doing it.

Acts 19:37 βλασφημοῦντας blaspheming

For you have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed our temple nor blasphemed our goddess.

Here: A present participle: 'people who are reviling / insulting'. It describes abusive speech that damages the goddess's honour. This is a charge about insulting words, not about holding wrong beliefs.

Acts 26:11 βλασφημεῖν, to blaspheme,

I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

Here: To speak abusively. Here that means insulting or cursing Jesus, in effect renouncing him. Luke's Christian readers would see that as abuse of the Lord himself.

Romans 2:24 βλασφημεῖται is blasphemed

As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Here: Present tense, passive: God's reputation keeps being run down. Outsiders mock and defame him because of what they see his people do. The word is about damage to reputation, not about swearing.

Romans 3:8 βλασφημούμεθα we are denigrated

Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!

Romans 14:16 βλασφημείσθω should be denigrated

Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil.

1 Corinthians 10:30 βλασφημοῦμαι am I denigrated

If I partake in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

1 Timothy 1:20 βλασφημεῖν.¶ to blaspheme.

Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

Here: A present infinitive, which points to an ongoing practice: 'to stop reviling', 'no longer to blaspheme'. The word covers any abusive, damaging speech. Here it most likely means their false teaching and their attacks on the gospel and its messengers, which in effect slander God (see studies).

1 Timothy 6:1 βλασφημῆται. may be denigrated.

All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their masters as fully worthy of honor, so that God’s name and our teaching will not be discredited.

Here: "Be spoken ill of / slandered." Outsiders would sneer at the God and the teaching of slaves who were seen as defiant. The singular verb treats "name and teaching" as one reputation.

Titus 2:5 βλασφημῆται.¶ may be denigrated.

to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

Here: Present subjunctive passive: 'be spoken ill of, be bad-mouthed'. The picture is outsiders ridiculing the Christian message because of how its households behave.

Titus 3:2 βλασφημεῖν, to denigrate,

to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

Here: The present infinitive depends on 'Remind them' in v. 1 and means 'not to make a habit of' running people down. The target is other people, so 'blaspheme' in the modern religious sense does not fit. It means damaging someone's name with abusive or false talk.

James 2:7 βλασφημοῦσιν are denigrating

Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?

Here: Present tense: it is something they keep doing. The word means to damage someone's reputation by abusive or insulting speech. Because the object is the name of the Lord, the abuse amounts to irreverence toward God.

1 Peter 4:4 βλασφημοῦντες, denigrating [you],

Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.

Here: "Slandering, reviling." Greek gives no object, so translations supply "you". The present participle means continuing verbal abuse. Because the abuse falls on God's people, some hear an overtone of insult against God as well (see debates).

2 Peter 2:2 βλασφημηθήσεται· will be denigrated;

Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.

Here: 'Will be slandered.' This is a future passive: the way of truth will be spoken badly of. The speakers are left unnamed but are chiefly outsiders, who will see the excesses and treat the faith with contempt. The word is about damage to the faith's reputation, not only irreverent talk about God.

2 Peter 2:10 βλασφημοῦντες· blaspheming;

Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

Here: To speak insultingly or abusively of someone. Here the targets are the 'glorious ones', not God directly: they mock and insult angelic powers.

2 Peter 2:12 βλασφημοῦντες blaspheming

These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed.

Here: 'Slandering, speaking abusively'. The ongoing tense pictures a habit of contemptuous talk, here aimed at the angelic 'glories' (2:10–11) rather than directly at God.

Jude 1:8 βλασφημοῦσιν. they blaspheme.

Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings.

Here: To insult or verbally abuse someone's standing. Here the targets are angels, not God directly. Verse 9 sets this beside Michael, who would not use abusive words even against the devil.

Jude 1:10 βλασφημοῦσιν· they denigrate;

These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.

Here: "They revile". The present tense describes a habit. It picks up "they slander glorious ones" in verse 8 and "a judgment of slander" in verse 9: Michael held back from exactly what these people do freely.

Revelation 13:6 βλασφημῆσαι to blaspheme

And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven.

Here: The infinitive spells out what the 'blasphemies' are: defaming God's name and God's dwelling. Noun and verb come from the same root, so the Greek hammers the idea twice.

Revelation 16:9 ἐβλασφήμησαν they denigrated

And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues. Yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

Here: They spoke against God's name with abuse and contempt, attacking his reputation. This is exactly what the beast does in 13:6, so the people now talk the way the beast talks.

Revelation 16:11 ἐβλασφήμησαν they blasphemed

and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores. Yet they did not repent of their deeds.

Here: They spoke against God, attacking his name and character. The past tense sums up their response as one decisive act. They say what the beast says (13:6).

Revelation 16:21 ἐβλασφήμησαν blasphemed

And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.

Here: 'They reviled' or 'they spoke abusively against' God. It means attacking his name and character, not just swearing. The past tense states it as a settled fact, and it is the third time in the chapter (16:9, 11).