πλουτίζω (ploutizō)
ploutizō
to enrich
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The verb ploutizō means to make someone rich or to enrich them. In the New Testament, it appears only three times, all within Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Unlike general terms for wealth, this word focuses on the act of bestowing abundance, often shifting from material to spiritual contexts.
Paul uses it to describe how God enriches believers with spiritual gifts and resources. In 1 Corinthians 1:5, he notes that the Corinthian church was enriched in speech and knowledge. Later, in 2 Corinthians 6:10, he paradoxically describes being "poor yet making many rich," highlighting a spiritual abundance that transcends material lack.
Its root is ploutos, meaning wealth. The sources note it is the active form of becoming rich, emphasizing God as the giver. Translators render it as "enrich" or "make rich," capturing the idea of being furnished with spiritual blessings rather than just money.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When Paul writes that believers are ploutizō, or enriched, he is pointing to a wealth that does not depend on bank accounts or property. In Corinth, where status and material success were highly valued, Paul offered a different kind of abundance. He describes how God fills the church with speech and knowledge through Christ. This enrichment is not about accumulating more for oneself but about being supplied with what is needed to live out the faith.
This divine richness serves a clear purpose: it flows outward toward others. The text in 2 Corinthians shows that being enriched leads directly to generosity. When God fills us, we are equipped to give, which in turn produces thanksgiving to Him. It is a cycle of grace where receiving becomes giving, and both bring glory to God.
You do not need to strive for this wealth because it is a gift given through union with Christ. Whether you feel spiritually full or currently empty, the promise remains that God enriches those who belong to His Son. This abundance allows you to share hope and support with others, creating a community marked by mutual care and gratitude.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- you have been enriched1×
- enriching,1×
- enriching you1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἐπλουτίσθητε1×
- πλουτίζοντες,1×
- πλουτιζόμενοι1×
Key Verses
-
I Corinthians 1:5
that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge—
This verse establishes the source of enrichment as being 'in him,' linking spiritual abundance directly to union with Christ rather than human effort.
-
II Corinthians 6:10
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
Here the word highlights a paradox where physical poverty coexists with the spiritual capacity to make others rich, showing that true wealth transcends material lack.
-
II Corinthians 9:11
you being enriched in everything for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.
This occurrence connects enrichment explicitly to generosity, demonstrating that God's provision is intended to overflow into acts of giving that produce thanksgiving.