Bible word study

Peitho (Strong’s G3982): Meaning in the Bible

Peitho (πείθω) is the Greek word numbered G3982 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as to convince (by argument, true or false); by analogy, to pacify or conciliate (by other fair means); reflexively or passively, to assent (to evidence or authority), to rely (by inward certainty). In the King James Bible it is translated agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) conflent.

• Original wordπείθω
• Transliterationpeíthō
• Pronunciationpi'-tho
• Strong’s numberG3982
• LanguageGreek

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. a primary verb;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Peitho appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Peitho (G3982) stands behind 63 English renderings in 55 verses across 14 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Acts (20), Philippians (8), Galatians (7).

How the King James Bible renders Peitho, by count

• persuaded13 of 63 (21 percent)
• confidence6 of 63 (10 percent)
• trust6 of 63 (10 percent)
• obey5 of 63 (8 percent)
• believed3 of 63 (5 percent)
• persuade3 of 63 (5 percent)

Three places to read Peitho

• Matthew 27:20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
• Acts 21:14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
• Galatians 5:7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Peitho in the original Greek lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

Related words