στρεβλόω (strebloō)
strebloō
to distort
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The verb strebloō means to twist something out of its natural shape, often with violent force. Its root imagery comes from physical torture, specifically the use of a rack to stretch or distort a body. In Scripture, this harsh physical sense is applied metaphorically to words and ideas, describing the act of twisting language until it no longer reflects its original intent.
This word appears only once in the New Testament, in 2 Peter 3:16. Peter uses it to describe how certain unstable individuals handle Paul’s letters, twisting their meaning to their own destruction. The sources note that this usage aligns with the Septuagint, where similar terms describe perverting justice or truth. It captures a deliberate distortion, not merely a misunderstanding.
Translators typically render strebloō as "twist" or "pervert," emphasizing the active, damaging nature of the error. Unlike simple disagreement, this word implies a malicious reshaping of text to support a false conclusion. The image suggests that truth, like a body on a rack, suffers when forced into unnatural positions.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word strebloō carries a heavy image of physical torture, specifically the twisting of a body on a rack. In Scripture, it describes the deliberate act of distorting words until they no longer hold their true meaning. This is not a simple mistake or honest disagreement; it is an active reshaping of truth to support a false conclusion.
When we encounter difficult passages in the Bible, it is natural to feel confused. Peter warns that unstable people twist these hard texts to their own destruction. However, this warning invites us to approach Scripture with humility and care. We are called to seek understanding through prayer and community, rather than forcing texts into shapes that serve our own agendas.
Truth does not need to be twisted to be valuable. By letting the text speak for itself, we protect our faith from error and find peace in what God has truly revealed. May you approach your reading with a gentle heart, trusting that clarity comes as we seek to understand rather than control.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- distort1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- στρεβλοῦσιν1×
Key Verses
-
II Peter 3:16
as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Peter uses this term to warn against the destructive act of twisting Paul's letters and other Scriptures to support false conclusions.