τᾰλαιπωρ-έω G5003
to endure hardship, suffer distress, live in misery; to experience wretchedness
This verb describes experiencing or enduring severe hardship and distress. In James 4:9, it appears in an urgent call to repentance: 'Be wretched, mourn, and weep.' The term carries both the objective reality of distress and the subjective experience of misery. Classical usage included hard labor and suffering through trials. Spanish 'afligíos' (afflict yourselves) and German 'sich elend fühlen' (feel miserable) both capture the intensity. James calls for recognition of one's spiritual wretchedness—genuine grief over sin.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Found in Jas 4:9 as an imperative calling sinners to recognize their miserable spiritual state: 'Be wretched, mourn, and weep.' The command demands honest acknowledgment of one's condition before God. The verb emphasizes the experiential dimension—not just that one is wretched, but that one must feel and acknowledge that wretchedness. Cross-linguistic evidence confirms the call to experience genuine distress over sin. 1×
AR["اشقَوا"]·ben["দুঃখ-করো"]·DE["sich-elend-fuehlen"]·EN["Be-wretched"]·FR["ταλαιπωρήσατε"]·heb["הִתְעַנּוּ"]·HI["दुःखी-हो"]·ID["Merataplah,"]·IT["talaipōrēsate"]·jav["prihatina,"]·KO["슬퍼하고,"]·PT["afligi-vos"]·RU["скорбите,"]·ES["afligíos"]·SW["ombolezeni"]·TR["sefil-olun"]·urd["دُکھ-اُٹھاؤ٬"]
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
τᾰλαιπωρ-έω, perfect τεταλαιπώρηκα Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, with future middle -ήσομαιRefs 1st c.AD+: aorist ἐταλαιπωρήθην Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect τεταλαιπώρημαι Refs 2nd c.AD+:—do hard work, endure hardship or distress, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἑωυτοῖσι for their own benefit, Refs 5th c.BC+: with dative, suffer by reason of, ἐλπίσι κεναῖς Polystr.p.31 W. __II rarely transitive, distress, trouble, ὁ…