Definition
εἰ,
conjunctive particle, used in conditions and in indirect questions.
I. Conditional, if;
1. with indic, expressing a general assumption;
(a) pres.: before indic, pres., Matthew 11:14, Romans 8:25, al.; before imperat., Mark 4:23; 9:22, John 15:18, 1 Corinthians 7:9, al.; before fut. indic., Luke 16:31, Romans 8:11, al.; before pf. or aor., with negation in apodosis, Matthew 12:26, Romans 4:14, al.; similarly, before impf., Luke 17:6, John 8:39; before quæst., Matthew 6:23, John 5:47; 7:23; 8:46, 1 Peter 2:20;
(b) fut.: Matthew 26:33, 1 Peter 2:20;
(with) pf.: John 11:12, Romans 6:5, al.;
(d) aor.: Luke 16:11; 19:8, John 13:32; 18:23, Revelation 20:15, al.
2. Where the assumption is certain = ἐπεί: Matthew 12:28, John 7:4, Romans 5:17, al.
3. Of an unfulfilled condition, with indic, impf., aor. or plpf., before ἄν, with imp. or aor. (see: ἄν, I, i).
4. C. indic., after verbs denoting wonder, etc., sometimes, but not always, coupled with an element of doubt: Mark 15:44, 1 John 3:13, al.
5. C. indic., as in LXX (Numbers 14:3o, 1 Samuel 14:45, al. = Heb. אִם), in oaths, with the formula of imprecation understood in a suppressed apodosis (WM, 627; Burton, §272): Mark 8:12, Hebrews 3:11" (LXX) 4:3 (LXX).
6. Rarely (cl.) with optative, to express a merely possible condition: Acts 24:19; 27:39, 1 Corinthians 14:10; 15:37, I Pe3:14, 17.
II. Interrogative, if, whether.
1. As in cl., in indir. questions after verbs of seeing, asking, knowing, saying, etc.: with indic. pres., Matthew 26:63, Mark 15:36, Acts 19:2, 2 Corinthians 13:5, al.; fut., Mark 3:2, Acts 8:22, al.; aor., Mark 15:44, 1 Corinthians 1:16, al.; with subjc. aor. (M, Pr., 194), Philippians 3:12.
2. As in LXX (= Heb. אִם and interrog. הֲ, Genesis 17:17, al.; see WM, 639f.; Viteau, i, 22), in direct questions: Mark 8:23 (Tr., WH, txt.), Luke 13:23; 22:49, Acts 19:2, al.
III. With other particles.
1. εἰ ἄρα, εἴγε, εἰ δὲ μήγε, see: ἄρα, γε.
2. εἰ δὲ καί, but if also: Luke 11:18; but even if, 1 Corinthians 4:7, 2 Corinthians 4:3; 11:16.
3. εἰ δὲ μή, but if not, but if otherwise: Mark 2:21, 22, John 14:2, Revelation 2:5, al.
4. εἰ καί, if even, if also, although: Mark 14:29, Luke 11:8, 1 Corinthians 7:21, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 2:17, al.
5. καὶ εἰ, even if, see: καί
6. εἰ μή, if not, unless, except, but only: Matthew 24:22, Mark 2:26; 6:5, John 9:33, 1 Corinthians 7:17 (only), Galatians 1:19 (cf. ἐὰν μή, 2:16; see Hort., Ja., xvi); ἐκτὸς εἰ μή, pleonastic (Bl., §65, 6), 1 Corinthians 14:5; 15:2, 1 Timothy 5:19.
7. εἰ μήν = cl. ἦ μήν (M, Pr., 46), in oaths, surely (Ezekiel 33:27, al.): Hebrews 6:14.
8. εἴ πως, if haply: Acts 27:12, Romans 1:10.
9. εἴτε . . . εἴτε, whether . . . or; Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 3:22; 13:8, al.
Hebrew words it translates
Usage patterns
Occurrences
- Matthew 26:42εἰ · ifA second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
- Matthew 26:63εἰ · ifBut Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- Matthew 27:40εἰ · If…and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
- Matthew 27:43εἰ · ifHe trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
- Matthew 27:49εἰ · ifBut the others said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”
- Mark 2:7εἰ · but“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
- Mark 2:21εἰ · If he doesNo one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and a worse tear will result.
- Mark 2:22εἰ · If he doesAnd no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
- Mark 2:26εἰ · onlyDuring the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”
- Mark 3:2εἰ · {to see} ifIn order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
- Mark 3:26εἰ · ifAnd if Satan is divided and rises against himself, he cannot stand; his end has come.
- Mark 4:23Εἴ · IfIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Mark 5:37εἰ · exceptAnd He did not allow anyone to accompany Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.
- Mark 6:4εἰ · OnlyThen Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
- Mark 6:5εἰ · exceptSo He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them.
- Mark 6:8εἰ · butHe instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—
- Mark 8:12εἰ · noJesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
- Mark 8:14εἰ · except forNow the disciples had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
- So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.
- Mark 8:34Εἴ · IfThen Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- Mark 9:9εἰAs they were coming down the mountain, Jesus admonished them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
- Mark 9:22εἴ · if“It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
- Mark 9:23Εἰ · If“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!”
- Mark 9:29εἰ · exceptJesus answered, “This kind cannot come out, except by prayer.”
- Mark 9:35Εἴ · IfSitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.”
- Mark 9:42εἰ · to haveBut if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.
- Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.
- Mark 10:18εἰ · except“Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.
- Mark 11:13εἰ · if; εἰ · exceptSeeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if there was any fruit on it. But when He reached it, He found nothing on it except leaves, since it was not the season for figs.
- Mark 11:25εἴ · ifAnd when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
- Mark 13:20εἰ · IfIf the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short.
- Mark 13:22εἰ · if [that were]For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- Mark 13:32εἰ · but onlyNo one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
- Mark 14:21εἰ · ifThe Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
- Mark 14:29Εἰ · ifPeter declared, “Even if all fall away, I never will.”
- Mark 14:35εἰ · ifGoing a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour would pass from Him.
- Mark 15:36εἰ · ifAnd someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”
- Mark 15:44εἰ · that; εἰ · ifPilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so.
- Luke 4:3Εἰ · IfThe devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
- Luke 4:9Εἰ · IfThen the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here.
- Luke 4:26εἰ · butYet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.
- Luke 4:27εἰ · onlyAnd there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
- Luke 5:21εἰ · butBut the scribes and Pharisees began thinking to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
- Luke 5:36εἰ · If he doesHe also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will tear the new garment as well, and the patch from the new will not match the old.
- And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.
- Luke 6:4εἰ · only forHe entered the house of God, took the consecrated bread and gave it to his companions, and ate what is lawful only for the priests to eat.”
- Luke 6:7εἰ · [to see] ifLooking for a reason to accuse Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath.
- Luke 6:9εἰ · whichThen Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”