εὔχομαι G2172
To pray, petition God; to wish or desire earnestly, even hypothetically
The verb εὔχομαι carries an ancient Greek double life: it means both to pray — addressing God with petition or intercession — and to wish or desire. In classical usage these two senses were tightly braided, since praying and wishing both involve projecting desire outward. The New Testament preserves both. Paul prays for the Corinthians' restoration (2 Cor 13:9), the elders pray over the sick (Jas 5:16), and sailors pray for daylight in a storm (Acts 27:29). Yet in Romans 9:3, Paul uses the imperfect ηὐχόμην to express a startling hypothetical wish — that he himself might be accursed for Israel's sake — a desire so contrary to fact that it shifts the word from prayer into pure longing.
Senses
1. pray (petition God or express spiritual desire) — To pray, make a petition to God, or offer intercession on behalf of others. This is the dominant NT sense, covering six of seven occurrences. In Acts 26:29 Paul prays to God that his hearers would become as he is; in 2 Cor 13:7 and 13:9 he prays for the Corinthians' moral wholeness; in Jas 5:16 the prayer of a righteous person avails much. The multilingual glosses converge on prayer vocabulary — Spanish 'oraban,' German 'wuenschen' (in the sense of prayerful wishing), French 'souhaiter' — while the Ship scene at Acts 27:29 shows sailors praying for dawn, a petition born of desperation. 6×
AR["أَتَمَنَّى", "أَطلُبُ", "تَمَنَّوْا", "صَلّوا", "نَطْلُبُ"]·ben["আমি-প্রার্থনা-করি", "প্রার্থনা-করি", "প্রার্থনা-করিতেছিল", "প্রার্থনা-করিব", "প্রার্থনা-করো"]·DE["wuenschen", "wünscht"]·EN["I-pray", "I-would-pray", "pray", "they-were-praying", "we-pray", "we-pray-for"]·FR["souhaiter"]·heb["הִתְפַּלְּלוּ", "הִתְפַּלְלוּ", "הָיִיתִי־מִתְפַּלֵּל", "מִתְפַּלְּלִים", "מִתְפַּלֵּל"]·HI["प्रार्थना-करो", "प्रार्थनाकरतेथे", "प्रार्थनाकरूँगा", "मैं-प्रार्थना-करता-हूँ", "हम-प्रार्थना-करते-हैं"]·ID["Berdoa", "Kami-berdoa", "aku-berdoa", "berdoalah", "berharap", "kami-berdoa"]·IT["euchesthe", "euchomai", "pregare"]·jav["Kula-donga", "kawula-nyuwunaken", "kita-sedaya-ndonga", "ndedongaa", "ndonga"]·KO["기도하겠다", "기도하라", "기도하였다", "기도한다", "내-가-기도한다"]·PT["Oraría", "desejavam", "oramos", "oro"]·RU["Молил-бы", "молились", "молимся", "молитесь", "молюсь"]·ES["Oramos", "Oraría", "oraban", "orad", "oramos", "oro"]·SW["Ningependa", "ninaomba", "ombeeni", "tunaomba", "tunaomba,", "waliomba"]·TR["dua-ederdim", "dua-ederiz", "dua-edin", "dua-ediyorlardı", "dua-ediyorum"]·urd["دعا-کرتا-ہوں", "دعا-کرتے-تھے", "دعا-کرتے-ہیں", "دعا-کرو", "چاہتا-ہوں"]
2. wish (express a strong personal desire, even hypothetical) — To wish or desire intensely, expressing a strong personal longing that may be hypothetical or even contrary to fact. The sole clear NT instance is Romans 9:3, where Paul writes ηὐχόμην ἀνάθεμα εἶναι αὐτὸς ἐγώ — 'I was wishing that I myself were accursed.' The imperfect tense signals an unrealizable desire, a rhetorical device known from classical Greek (Demosthenes, Plato). Spanish 'deseaba' ('I was desiring') and English 'I was wishing' both capture the volitional rather than petitionary force, distinguishing this from prayer proper. 1×
AR["تَمَنَّيْتُ"]·ben["আমি-কামনা-করতাম"]·DE["wuenschen"]·EN["I-was-wishing"]·FR["souhaiter"]·heb["הִתְפַּלַּלְתִּי"]·HI["चाहता-था"]·ID["aku-menginginkan"]·IT["pregare"]·jav["kula-nyuwun"]·KO["원하였다"]·PT["desejava"]·RU["желал-бы"]·ES["deseaba"]·SW["ningetamani"]·TR["dilerdim"]·urd["چاہتا-تھا"]
Related Senses
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)G5330 1. Pharisee (99×)G4336 1. pray to God (86×)H6944 3. holy things, sacred offerings (plural) (86×)H3722a 1. make ritual atonement (Piel) (85×)H6912 1. bury (Qal active) (82×)H6419 1. pray (Hitpael) (80×)H6944 4. holiness (with possessive pronoun) (77×)H6942 1. sanctify, consecrate (Piel factitive) (76×)H2930a 1. Qal: be/become unclean (75×)H7819a 1. slaughter an animal (Qal active) (72×)H1486 1. lot (object cast for decisions) (71×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
εὔχομαι, imperfect εὐχόμην (Attic dialect ηὐ-) Refs 8th c.BC+: future εὔξομαι Refs 5th c.BC+aorist 1 εὐξάμην (Attic dialect ηὐ-) Refs 8th c.BC+: 2nd pers. singular subjunctive εὔξεαι Refs 8th c.BC+- only Attic dialectaccusative to Hdn.Refs 2nd c.AD+: —pray, θεοῖς Refs 8th c.BC+; εὐχὰς ὑπέρ τινος πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὔ. Refs 4th c.BC+; εὔ. ἔπος to utter it in prayer, Refs 5th c.BC+; μεγάλα, μέγα εὔ.,…