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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1"/><title>Strong's Greek: 118. ἀθλέω (athleó) -- To contend, to strive, to compete</title></title><link rel="canonical" href="http://biblehub.com/greek/118.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/strongsnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/interlinear/vmenus/1_corinthians/15-53.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmstrongs/greek/118.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/strongs.htm">Strong's</a> > <a href="/englishmans_greek.htm">Greek</a> > 118</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../greek/117.htm" title="117">◄</a> 118. athleó <a href="../greek/119.htm" title="119">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Strong's Lexicon</div><div align="left"><span class="toptitle2">athleó: To contend, to strive, to compete</span></div><p><span class="tophdg">Original Word: </span><span class="greek">ἀθλέω</span><br><span class="tophdg">Part of Speech: </span>Verb<br><span class="tophdg">Transliteration: </span>athleó<br><span class="tophdg">Pronunciation: </span>ath-leh'-o<br><span class="tophdg">Phonetic Spelling: </span>(ath-leh'-o)<br><span class="tophdg">Definition: </span>To contend, to strive, to compete<br><span class="tophdg">Meaning: </span>I engage, compete, in an (athletic) contest.<p><span class="tophdg">Word Origin: </span>Derived from ἆθλον (athlon), meaning "a contest" or "prize."<p><span class="tophdg">Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: </span>While there is no direct Hebrew equivalent for ἀθλέω, the concept of striving or contending can be seen in Hebrew words like לָחַם (lacham, Strong's H3898), meaning "to fight" or "to battle," which conveys a similar sense of struggle and effort.<p><span class="tophdg">Usage: </span>The verb ἀθλέω is used in the New Testament to describe the act of competing or striving, particularly in the context of athletic contests. It conveys the idea of exerting oneself with discipline and effort to achieve a goal, often used metaphorically to describe the Christian life as a race or contest requiring perseverance and dedication.<p><span class="tophdg">Cultural and Historical Background: </span>In the Greco-Roman world, athletic contests were a significant part of cultural life, with events such as the Olympic Games being highly esteemed. Athletes trained rigorously to compete for a prize, often a wreath or crown, symbolizing victory and honor. This cultural backdrop provides a vivid metaphor for the Christian's spiritual journey, emphasizing the need for discipline, endurance, and focus on the ultimate prize of eternal life.<div class="vheading2">NAS Exhaustive Concordance</div><span class="hdg">Word Origin</span><br>from athlos (a contest, struggle)<br><span class="hdg">Definition</span><br>to contend, wrestle<br><span class="hdg">NASB Translation</span><br>competes (1), competes as an athlete (1).<p><div align="center"><span class="smalltext"><iframe width="100%" height="85" scrolling=no src="/nasec.htm" frameborder=0 cellpadding=0></iframe></span></div><div class="vheading2">Thayer's Greek Lexicon</div><span class="maintitle">STRONGS NT 118: ἀθλέω</span><br><br><span class="arttitle"><span class="grktitle">ἀθλέω</span></span>, <span class="greek2">(ῶ</span>; (1 aorist subjunctive 3 person singular <span class="greek2">ἀθλήσῃ</span>); (<span class="greek2">ἆθλος</span>, a contest); <span class="accented">to engage in a contest, contend in public games</span> (e. g. Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian), with the poniard(?), gauntlet, quoit, in wrestling, running, or any other way: <a href="/interlinear/2_timothy/2-5.htm">2 Timothy 2:5</a>; (often in classic authors who also use the form <span class="greek2">ἀθλεύω</span>). (Compare: <span class="greek2">συναθλέω</span>).<FOOTNOTE:1> <br><br><iframe width="100%" height="85" scrolling=no src="/bsoft.htm" frameborder=0 cellpadding=0></iframe><div class="vheading2">Strong's Exhaustive Concordance</div>strive. <p>From athlos (a contest in the public lists); to contend in the competitive games -- strive. <div class="vheading2">Forms and Transliterations</div>αθλη αθλή ἀθλῇ αθληση αθλήση ἀθλήσῃ athle athlē athlêi athlē̂i athlese athlēsē athlḗsei athlḗsēi<div class="vheading2">Links</div><a href="/interlinear/matthew/1-1.htm">Interlinear Greek</a> • <a href="/interlinear/genesis/1-1.htm">Interlinear Hebrew</a> • <a href="/strongs.htm">Strong's Numbers</a> • <a href="/englishmans_greek.htm">Englishman's Greek Concordance</a> • <a href="/englishmans_hebrew.htm">Englishman's Hebrew Concordance</a> • <a href="/texts/matthew/1-1.htm">Parallel Texts</a></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><div class="vheading">Englishman's Concordance</div><b><a href="/text/2_timothy/2-5.htm" title="Biblos Lexicon">2 Timothy 2:5</a> <a href="/abbrev.htm" title="Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular">V-PSA-3S</a></b><br><a href="/interlinear/2_timothy/2.htm" title="Greek">GRK:</a> <span class="greek3">δὲ καὶ <b>ἀθλῇ</b> τις οὐ</span><br><a href="http://biblehub.com/nas/2_timothy/2.htm" title="New American Standard Bible">NAS:</a> anyone <span class="itali">competes</span> as an athlete,<br><a href="/kjvs/2_timothy/2.htm" title="King James Bible with Strong's">KJV:</a> also <span class="itali">strive</span> for masteries, [yet] is he<br><a href="/interlinear/2_timothy/2-5.htm" title="Biblos Interlinear Bible">INT:</a> moreover also <span class="itali">content [in the games]</span> anyone not<p><b><a href="/text/2_timothy/2-5.htm" title="Biblos Lexicon">2 Timothy 2:5</a> <a href="/abbrev.htm" title="Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular">V-ASA-3S</a></b><br><a href="/interlinear/2_timothy/2.htm" title="Greek">GRK:</a> <span class="greek3">μὴ νομίμως <b>ἀθλήσῃ</b> </span><br><a href="http://biblehub.com/nas/2_timothy/2.htm" title="New American Standard Bible">NAS:</a> competes <span class="itali">as an athlete,</span> he does not win the prize<br><a href="/kjvs/2_timothy/2.htm" title="King James Bible with Strong's">KJV:</a> crowned, except <span class="itali">he strive</span> lawfully.<br><a href="/interlinear/2_timothy/2-5.htm" title="Biblos Interlinear Bible">INT:</a> not lawfully <span class="itali">he shall have contended</span><p><b><a href="/greek/118.htm">Strong's Greek 118</a><br><a href="/greek/strongs_118.htm">2 Occurrences</a></b><br><br><a href="/greek/athle__118.htm">ἀθλῇ — 1 Occ.</a><br><a href="/greek/athle_se__118.htm">ἀθλήσῃ — 1 Occ.</a><br><br></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><br /><br /> </div> <div id="left"><a href="/greek/117.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="117"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="117" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/greek/119.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="119"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="119" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchap.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>