λικμάω (likmaō)
likmaō
to crush
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The verb likmaō describes the agricultural process of winnowing, where threshed grain is tossed into the air so the wind can separate the edible kernels from the useless chaff. Derived from a word for a winnowing fan or basket, it literally means to clean away the husks. In classical usage and the Septuagint, this action is primarily about sorting and purification, ensuring that only the valuable grain remains.
In the New Testament, however, the word takes on a more severe tone of destruction. It appears in Matthew 21:44 and Luke 20:18 to describe what happens to those who reject God’s authority. Here, likmaō is translated as "crushed" or "scattered like dust." Rather than just separating grain, the image suggests total ruin and dispersion, conveying the finality of divine judgment against the stubborn.
This shift from agricultural sorting to catastrophic scattering highlights the word’s theological weight. While winnowing usually implies a careful distinction between good and bad, Jesus uses it to depict an inescapable outcome for the unrepentant. The imagery moves from the farmer’s basket to the dust of the earth, emphasizing that rejection of divine truth leads not to preservation, but to being scattered and destroyed.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word likmaō paints a vivid picture of agricultural separation, where wind blows away chaff to save the grain. In the New Testament, Jesus uses this image with striking intensity. He describes a stone that crushes those who oppose God’s authority into dust. This is not a gentle sorting but a final, irreversible scattering.
For believers, this passage serves as a sobering reminder of the seriousness of rejecting divine truth. It underscores the reality of judgment for the stubborn heart. Yet it also highlights the safety found in aligning ourselves with Christ, the cornerstone that sustains rather than destroys.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- it will grind to powder1×
- it will grind into powder1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- λικμήσει2×
Key Verses
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Matthew 21:44
He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it will fall, it will scatter him as dust.”
This verse uses likmaō to depict the total scattering of those who reject Jesus, emphasizing the finality of divine judgment against opposition.
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Luke 20:18
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust.”
Here the word conveys crushing into dust, reinforcing the severity of consequences for those who stand against God’s chosen authority.