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
- John 6:46εἰ · except…not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
- John 7:4εἰ · SinceFor no one who wants to be known publicly acts in secret. Since You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.”
- John 7:23εἰ · IfIf a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, why are you angry with Me for making the whole man well on the Sabbath?
- John 8:19εἰ · If“Where is Your Father?” they asked Him. “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.”
- John 8:39Εἰ · If“Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.
- John 8:42Εἰ · IfJesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
- John 8:46εἰ · IfWhich of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?
- John 9:25Εἰ · WhetherHe answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”
- John 9:33εἰ · IfIf this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.”
- John 9:41Εἰ · If“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
- John 10:10εἰ · onlyThe thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
- John 10:24εἰ · IfSo the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
- John 10:35εἰ · IfIf he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—
- John 10:37Εἰ · IfIf I am not doing the works of My Father, then do not believe Me.
- John 10:38εἰ · ifBut if I am doing them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works themselves, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father.”
- John 11:12εἰ · ifHis disciples replied, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get better.”
- John 11:21εἰ · ifMartha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
- John 11:32εἰ · ifWhen Mary came to Jesus and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
- John 13:10εἰ · onlyJesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”
- John 13:14εἰ · ifSo if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
- John 13:17εἰ · IfIf you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
- John 13:32εἰ · IfIf God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify the Son in Himself—and will glorify Him at once.
- John 14:2εἰ · IfIn My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
- John 14:6εἰ · exceptJesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- John 14:7εἰ · IfIf you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
- Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.
- John 14:28εἰ · IfYou heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
- John 15:18Εἰ · IfIf the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
- John 15:19εἰ · IfIf you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.
- John 15:20εἰ · If; εἰ · ifRemember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.
- John 15:22εἰ · IfIf I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
- John 15:24εἰ · IfIf I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.
- John 17:12εἰ · exceptWhile I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
- John 18:8εἰ · if“I told you that I am He,” Jesus replied. “So if you are looking for Me, let these men go.”
- John 18:23Εἰ · If; εἰ · ifJesus replied, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”
- John 18:30Εἰ · If“If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”
- John 18:36εἰ · ifJesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”
- John 19:11εἰ · ifJesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”
- John 19:15εἰ · butAt this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
- John 20:15εἰ · if“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”
- Acts 1:6εἰSo when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
- Acts 4:9εἰ · IfIf we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed,
- Acts 4:19Εἰ · whetherBut Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.
- Acts 5:8εἰ · [is this]“Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?” “Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”
- Acts 5:39εἰ · ifBut if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
- Acts 7:1ΕἰThen the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
- Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.
- Acts 10:18εἰ · ifThey called out to ask if Simon called Peter was staying there.