κατα-νύσσω G2660
pierce, prick, stab, wound deeply
This verb means to pierce or stab, used literally for physical wounding and metaphorically for emotional piercing. Acts 2:37 describes the Pentecost crowd being 'cut to the heart' (literally 'pierced') by Peter's sermon about crucifying the Messiah. The aorist passive indicates they received a sudden, painful blow to conscience. The Septuagint uses this word for being stunned or bewildered. Spanish 'fueron compungidos' (were moved to compunction) and German 'were pierced' capture the sharp, wounding impact. This cognitive and emotional piercing produces the urgent question: 'What shall we do?'
Senses
1. sense 1 — Peter's accusation that 'you crucified' the Lord pierced his hearers—they 'were stabbed in the heart,' experiencing sudden, painful conviction. The aorist passive suggests an involuntary response to truth, not gradual persuasion. This metaphorical wounding of conscience, achieved by the Spirit through the word, produces immediate repentance and the cry for remedy. 1×
AR["تَأَثَّرُوا"]·ben["বিদ্ধ-হইলেন"]·DE["κατενύγησαν"]·EN["they-were-pierced"]·FR["piquer"]·heb["נִדְקְרוּ"]·HI["-पुरोहितों-का"]·ID["mereka-terharu"]·IT["trafiggere"]·jav["kagugah-manahipun"]·KO["알라"]·PT["foram-compungidos"]·RU["они-были-поражены"]·ES["fueron-compungidos"]·SW["walichomwa"]·TR["dürtüldüler"]·urd["چبھے-گئے"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κατα-νύσσω, stab, gouge, Refs 2nd c.AD+:—elsewhere in passive, with future -νῠγήσομαι LXX: aorist -ενύγην [ῠ] (see. below); to be sorely pricked, metaphorically, LXX: hence, to be bewildered, stunned, LXX, +others; keep silence, LXX