ἐνδυνᾰμ-όω G1743
Strengthen, empower (active); be strengthened, grow strong in power (passive/middle), especially by divine enablement.
Built from en ('in') and dynamoo ('make powerful'), the verb endunamoo belongs to the dynamis word-family and always carries a sense of power being infused or growing. Its two voices split the word into complementary perspectives. In the passive or middle, a person is strengthened or grows strong — Saul 'kept increasing in strength' after his conversion (Acts 9:22), Abraham 'grew strong in faith' (Rom 4:20), and Paul exhorts believers to 'be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of his power' (Eph 6:10). Spanish fortaleceos/fue fortalecido and French fortifier capture the idea of being made firm. In the active, Christ or God is the agent who strengthens: Paul thanks 'the one who strengthened me, Christ Jesus' (1 Tim 1:12), confesses 'I can do all things through the one who strengthens me' (Phil 4:13), and declares 'the Lord stood by me and strengthened me' (2 Tim 4:17). The consistent theological pattern is remarkable — divine power flowing into human weakness.
2. strengthen, empower (active/transitive) — To strengthen, empower — the active or transitive use with God or Christ as the agent who endows a person with power for ministry, endurance, or mission. Three occurrences are explicitly Christological: Paul's grateful testimony that Christ Jesus 'strengthened me' for apostolic service (1 Tim 1:12), the iconic 'I can do all things through the one who strengthens me' (Phil 4:13), and 'the Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished' (2 Tim 4:17). Spanish me fortalecio/que me fortalece and French fortifier render the active agency. The consistent subject — Christ empowering Paul — makes this sense a compact theology of grace: human capacity derives from a divine source. 3×
AR["الَّذي-قَوّاني","قَوّاني","يُقَوّيني"]·ben["শক্তি-দানকারীতে","শক্তিদানকারী","শক্তিশালী-করেছেন"]·DE["staerken"]·EN["having-strengthened","one-strengthening","strengthened"]·FR["fortifier"]·heb["הַ-מְחַזְּקֵנִי","חִזְּקָנִי","מְחַזְּקֵנִי"]·HI["जो-शक्ति-देत-है","शक्ति-दि","शक्ति-देने-वअले"]·ID["menguatkan","yang menguatkan","yang-menguatkan"]·IT["rafforzare"]·jav["nguataken","nguwatosakén"]·KO["강하게-하시는-분","강하게-한","강하게하셨다"]·PT["me-fortalece","que-me-fortaleceu"]·RU["укрепившему","укрепил","укрепляющем"]·ES["me-fortaleció","que-me-fortalece","que-me-fortaleció"]·SW["akanipatia-nguvu","aliyenitia-nguvu","anayenitia-nguvu"]·TR["guclendirende","güçlendirdi","güçlendirene"]·urd["طاقت-دینے-والے-میں","قوت-دینے-والے","مضبوط-کیا"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. be strengthened, grow strong (passive/intransitive) — To be strengthened, to grow strong — the passive or intransitive use describing the recipient who is being empowered or who increases in power. Four occurrences span Paul's narrative of Saul 'growing ever stronger' in his preaching after Damascus (Acts 9:22), Abraham who 'was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God' rather than wavering at the promise (Rom 4:20), and the imperatives urging believers to 'be strengthened in the Lord' (Eph 6:10; 2 Tim 2:1). Spanish fortaleceos/fue fortalecido and German staerken both render this with passive fortification language. The sense captures the human side of divine empowerment — the experience of receiving strength rather than generating it. 4×
AR["تَقَوَّ","تَقَوَّوا","تَقَوَّى"]·ben["তিনি-শক্তিশালী-হলেন","শক্তিশালী-হও","শক্তিশালী-হচ্ছিল"]·DE["staerken","ἐνεδυναμοῦτο"]·EN["be-strengthened","was-being-strengthened","was-strengthened"]·FR["fortifier"]·heb["הִתְחַזְּקוּ","הִתְחַזֵּק"]·HI["बलवअन-बनो","मज़बोओत-हो","शक्तिशाली-होता-जाता-था","सशक्त-हुआ"]·ID["bertambah-kuat","dikuatkan","dikuatkanlah","kuatkanlah-dirimu"]·IT["rafforzare","rendere-forte"]·jav["dipun-kuataken","dipun-kuwatosakén","dipunkiyataken","kiyat,"]·KO["강해져라","강해졌다","강해졌으니","강해지라"]·PT["foi-fortalecido","fortalece-te","fortalecei-vos","fortalecia-se"]·RU["укрепился","укрепляйся","укрепляйтесь","укреплялся"]·ES["fortaleceos","fortalécete","fue-fortalecido","se-fortalecía"]·SW["aliongezeka-nguvu","alitiwa-nguvu","jifanyeni-hodari","uwe-imara"]·TR["-de-","güçlen","güçlendirildi","güçleniyordu"]·urd["طاقتور-ہوتا-گیا","مضبوط-ہو","مضبوط-ہوا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐνδυνᾰμ-όω, strengthen, confirm, LXX+NT:—passive, ἐπὶ τῇ ματαιότητι LXX; τῇ πίστει NT __II endow with vitality, in passive, metaphorically of scientific theorems, Refs 3rd c.AD+