ἐπαύριον (epaurion)
epaurion
the next day
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 17 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The Greek adverb epaurion simply means "the next day" or "on the morrow." It is a straightforward temporal marker used to sequence events in narrative, appearing seventeen times in the New Testament. You will find it frequently in the Gospels and Acts, such as when Jesus identifies himself as the Lamb of God on the day following John’s baptism (John 1:29), or when the chief priests plan to arrest him after his arrival in Jerusalem (Mark 11:12).
Etymologically, the word combines a preposition meaning "upon" with a noun for "morrow," literally suggesting time resting upon the day that has passed. In the Septuagint, it translates the Hebrew words for tomorrow or the next day, maintaining this consistent sense of immediate succession. Translators typically render it as "the next day" to preserve this clarity, avoiding any ambiguity about when the action takes place relative to the previous scene.
While the word itself carries no theological weight, its placement often highlights the urgency or continuity of biblical narratives. By marking time precisely, it helps readers follow the rapid unfolding of events in Jesus’ final week and the early church’s growth. The term serves as a reliable anchor in the text, ensuring that the chronological flow of history remains clear to every reader.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word epaurion simply marks the passage of time, pointing to what comes immediately after today. In the Gospels and Acts, it often signals a shift in the narrative, moving us from one significant moment to the next without pause. This steady rhythm reminds us that God’s work unfolds in real time, step by step, rather than all at once.
When you read about Jesus or the early believers acting on epaurion, you see a pattern of readiness and obedience. They did not wait for perfect conditions or endless preparation; they responded to the call as soon as the new day began. This can be encouraging when your own life feels like a series of urgent tasks or unexpected changes.
Perhaps this word invites you to trust that the next day holds its own purpose, even if the full picture is not yet clear. Instead of worrying about how events will connect, you can focus on faithfulness in the present moment. The continuity of time itself becomes a space where grace meets us, one day at a time.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 17 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- next day17×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἐπαύριον17×
Key Verses
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John 1:29
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
This occurrence marks the pivotal moment John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, linking the passage of time directly to the revelation of Christ’s mission.
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Acts 10:9
Now on the next day as they were on their journey and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon.
Here the word highlights Peter’s quiet preparation for a major vision, showing how ordinary daily routines like prayer set the stage for divine intervention.
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Mark 11:12
The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry.
The term grounds the cursing of the fig tree in a specific morning after Jesus’ arrival, emphasizing the immediacy of his actions during his final week.
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Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day; and continued his speech until midnight.
This verse uses the word to frame the early church’s gathering for communion and teaching, illustrating how weekly rhythms sustained the believers.