μεριμν-άω G3309
To be anxious or worried; also to show genuine care or concern for someone or something.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeats this verb like a refrain—'do not be anxious about your life' (Matt 6:25, 27, 28, 31, 34)—exposing worry as a failure of trust. Yet Paul redeems the same word in 1 Corinthians 7:32-34 and 12:25, where caring for the things of the Lord or for fellow members of the body is commended. The difference hinges entirely on object and motive: anxious fretting over provisions versus attentive devotion to God and neighbor.
Senses
1. be anxious, worry — To be troubled with anxiety, to worry about earthly provisions, safety, or the future—carrying a distinctly negative connotation of distrust. Jesus' repeated prohibition in Matthew 6:25-34 makes this the paradigmatic NT warning against worry. Spanish 'estéis ansiosos' and German 'sich sorgen' capture the restless, self-consuming quality. The parallel in Luke 12:22-26 and Philippians 4:6 ('be anxious for nothing') reinforce that this anxiety is antithetical to faith. 13×
AR["بِالاِهْتِمَامِ", "تَهتَمّوا", "تَهتَمّونَ", "تَهْتَمُّوا", "تَهْتَمُّونَ", "تَهْتَمّوا", "تَهْتَمّينَ", "مُهتَمًّا", "يَهتَمُّ"]·ben["চিন্তা-কর", "চিন্তা-কর,", "চিন্তা-কর?", "চিন্তা-করবে", "চিন্তা-করে", "চিন্তা-করো", "চিন্তিত-হচ্ছ"]·DE["sich-sorgen", "sorgt-sich"]·EN["are-you-anxious", "be-anxious", "being-anxious", "will-be-anxious", "you-are-anxious"]·FR["s'inquiéter"]·heb["אַל־תִדְאֲגוּ,", "דּוֹאֲגִים", "דּוֹאֲגַת", "דּוֹאֵג", "יִדְאַג", "תִּדְאֲגוּ", "תִדְאֲגוּ"]·HI["चिन्त-करो,", "चिन्ता-करके", "चिन्ता-करते-हुए", "चिन्ता-करते-हो", "चिन्ता-करेगा", "चिन्ता-करो", "चिन्तित-है"]·ID["akan-kuatir", "dengan-kuatir", "engkau-kuatir", "kamu-kuatir", "khawatir", "kuatir"]·IT["merimnate", "preoccuparsi"]·jav["badhe-kuwatos", "kanthi-kuwatos", "kuwatos", "panjenengan-sedaya-kuwatos", "panjenengan-sumelang", "sami-kuatir", "sumelang"]·KO["걱정하지-마라,", "걱정하지-말라", "염려하고", "염려하느냐", "염려하느냐?", "염려하라", "염려하리라", "염려하여", "염려하지", "염려함으로"]·PT["andais-ansiosos", "andeis-ansiosos", "estejais-ansiosos", "se-preocupará", "sendo-ansioso", "vos-preocupeis"]·RU["заботитесь", "заботишься", "заботьтесь", "заботясь", "позаботится"]·ES["estéis-ansiosos", "os-preocupáis", "os-preocupéis", "preocupándose", "se-preocupará", "te-preocupas"]·SW["akihangaika", "itajijali", "jali", "kuhangaika", "kwa-kujali", "mnahangaika", "mnajali", "msumbukie", "unajishughulisha"]·TR["endişelenerek", "endişelenin", "endişeleniyorsunuz", "endişelenmeyin", "kaygilanmayin", "kaygılanacak", "kaygılanarak", "kaygılanın", "kaygılanıyorsun", "kaygılanıyorsunuz"]·urd["فکر-نہ-کرو", "فکر-کرتی-ہے", "فکر-کرتے-ہو", "فکر-کرتے-ہوئے", "فکر-کرنا", "فکر-کرو", "فکر-کرے-گا"]
Matt 6:25, Matt 6:27, Matt 6:28, Matt 6:31, Matt 6:34, Matt 6:34, Matt 10:19, Luke 10:41, Luke 12:11, Luke 12:22, Luke 12:25, Luke 12:26 (+1 more)
2. care for, be concerned about — To have genuine, positive concern for someone's welfare or for matters of spiritual significance. Paul employs it in 1 Corinthians 7:32-34, where the unmarried person 'cares about the things of the Lord,' and in 12:25, where members of the body 'have the same care for one another.' Spanish 'se preocupa' and French 's'inquiéter' cover both senses, but the context here shifts the valence from anxious fretting to devoted attentiveness—holy concern rather than faithless worry. 6×
AR["تَهتَمُّ", "تَهْتَمُّ", "يَهْتَمُّ"]·ben["চিন্তা-করবে", "চিন্তা-করে", "চিন্তা-করে,"]·DE["sich-sorgen"]·EN["cares-about", "may-care", "will-care"]·FR["s'inquiéter"]·heb["דּוֹאֵג", "דּוֹאֶגֶת", "יִדְאֲגוּ", "יִדְאַג."]·HI["चिन्त-करेग.", "चिन्ता-करता-है", "चिन्ता-करती-है", "चिन्ता-करें"]·ID["memikirkan", "mengkhawatirkan", "peduli"]·IT["merimnēsei", "preoccuparsi"]·jav["badhé-nggatosaken", "mikir", "sami-migatosaken,"]·KO["걱정할.", "돌보도록", "염려한다"]·PT["cuidará", "cuidem,", "preocupa-se-com"]·RU["заботились,", "заботится", "позаботится"]·ES["se-preocupa", "se-preocupará", "se-preocupen"]·SW["anajishughulisha-na", "atajali", "wajishughulishe,"]·TR["ilgilenecek", "kaygılansın", "kaygılanır", "şeylerini-"]·urd["فکر-کرتا-ہے", "فکر-کرتی-ہے", "فکر-کریں", "فکر-کرے-گا"]
Related Senses
G2309 1. want, desire (166×)G0025 1. to love actively (133×)H0157 1. love (verb, active Qal) (129×)H8055 1. Qal: rejoice, be glad (123×)H7453 1. neighbor, fellow man (120×)G0026 1. of love (115×)H1058 1. Qal: to weep, cry (112×)H0954 1. to be ashamed, feel shame (Qal) (95×)H8057 1. joy, gladness, delight (90×)H2781 1. disgrace, shame, dishonor (68×)G2307 1. will, desire, purpose (63×)G5463 1. rejoice, be glad (63×)G0027 1. beloved (61×)H8130 1. Qal: to hate, detest (60×)G5479 1. (59×)G1680 1. (53×)H8130 2. Qal ptcp: hater, enemy (53×)H0014 1. be willing, want (51×)H0157 2. lover, friend (Qal participle substantive) (51×)H1945 1. woe (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μεριμν-άω, care for, be anxious about, meditate upon, ἔργον μεριμνῶν ποῖον..; Refs 5th c.BC+; especially of philosophers, τὰ <μὲν ἀ>φανῆ μ. Refs 5th c.BC+; πολλὰ μ. to be cumbered with many cares, NT+5th c.BC+: c.infinitive, to be careful to do, ὁ μεριμνήσας τὰ δίκαια λέγειν NT+5th c.BC+:—passive, to be treated with anxious care, Refs 2nd c.AD+; ἔννοια, ἀμφισβήτησις μ., Refs 6th c.AD+