συλλυπέω (sullupeō)
sullupeō
be grieved
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The verb sullupeō describes being grieved or sorrowful together with someone else. It combines the prefix syn-, meaning "with," and lypeō, meaning "to grieve." This creates a sense of shared suffering rather than isolated sadness. In the New Testament, it appears only once, in Mark 3:5.
Here, Jesus looks at the Pharisees with this deep, sympathetic sorrow before healing the man with the withered hand. The word captures a grief that arises from witnessing another’s hardness of heart. It is not merely personal distress but an empathetic pain felt in union with others’ condition.
Unlike general terms for sadness, sullupeō emphasizes connection. It reflects how Jesus responds to human brokenness—not with detachment, but with shared sorrow. This rare usage highlights the emotional depth of Christ’s ministry and His identification with those who suffer spiritually.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Greek word sullupeō carries a unique weight because it combines the idea of grief with togetherness. It is not just sadness felt in isolation, but sorrow shared with another person. This verb appears only once in the New Testament, in Mark 3:5, where Jesus looks at the Pharisees with anger and being grieved at the hardening of their hearts. This moment reveals that true compassion involves entering into the pain caused by spiritual blindness.
For your faith life, this offers a powerful model for how to respond to those who are distant from God or hardened in their ways. Instead of reacting with judgment or indifference, Jesus demonstrates that we can hold space for others' brokenness with empathetic sorrow. It invites us to care deeply about the spiritual state of those around us, recognizing that hardness of heart is a tragedy worth mourning together.
This shared grief does not leave us helpless; it often precedes restoration. In the same verse, Jesus heals the man with the withered hand after expressing this deep concern. Your empathy can be a bridge to healing, showing others that their struggle is seen and valued by God.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- being grieved1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- συλλυπούμενος1×
Key Verses
-
Mark 3:5
When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other.
This is the only New Testament occurrence of sullupeō, where Jesus expresses shared sorrow over the Pharisees' hardened hearts before performing a healing.