G3784 — ὀφείλω (opheílō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3784
Original: ὀφείλω
Transliteration: opheílō
Pronunciation: of-i'-lo
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: From the base of ὄφελος (ophelos, "advantage") — through the idea of accruing
Occurrences: 35 unique verses (36 tokens) across 13 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 18:28 — "But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From the base of G3786 (through the idea of accruing); to owe (pecuniarily); figuratively, to be under obligation (ought, must, should); morally, to fail in duty.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

Domain 57.018: Owe, Debt, Cancel
Domain 71.004: Should, Ought
Domain 88.038: Sin, Wrongdoing, Guilt

Greek Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Count	Typical Usage
Present Active Indicative	23	Ongoing obligation: "we ought" (Rom 15:1), "he ought" (1Jo 2:6)
Imperfect Active Indicative	6	Past debt or unrealized obligation: "owed" (Mat 18:28), "was our duty" (Luk 17:10)
Present Passive Participle	2	What is owed/due: "that was due" (Mat 18:30, 34)
Present Active Participle	2	One who owes/is obligated: "that is indebted" (Luk 11:4), "ye ought to be" (Heb 5:12)
Present Active Imperative	1	Command regarding debt: "Owe no man" (Rom 13:8)

Notes: Overwhelmingly present tense (32/35), reflecting ongoing or timeless obligation. The imperfect appears in narrative (parables, past events) or counterfactual ("I ought to have been commended," 2Co 12:11). No aorist or perfect forms occur. Only one imperative in the entire NT (Rom 13:8).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
ought / he ought / we ought / ye ought	15	42.9%
owed / owest / owest thou / oweth / thou owest	6	17.1%
bound / we are bound	3	8.6%
debt / due / was due	3	8.6%
debtor / is a debtor	1	2.9%
guilty / is guilty	1	2.9%
need	1	2.9%
behoved	1	2.9%
should	1	2.9%
must ye needs	1	2.9%
indebted	1	2.9%
duty / was our duty / their duty is	2	5.7%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
3 John	1	7.1
2 Thessalonians	2	4.3
Philemon	1	4.0
1 John	3	2.9
1 Corinthians	6	1.4
Hebrews	3	1.0
2 Corinthians	2	0.8
Romans	3	0.7
Ephesians	1	0.6
Matthew	5	0.5
Luke	5	0.4
John	2	0.2
Acts	1	0.1

Notes: Pauline-dominant (18/35 verses, 51%). Absent from Mark, all Petrine epistles, Revelation, James, Jude, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, and the Pastoral Epistles. Highest density in the short epistles (3 John, 2 Thessalonians, Philemon). Gospel usage is exclusively in parables and confrontation dialogues.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Financial Debt — Literal Owing of Money¶

Mat 18:28 — "found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence"
Luk 7:41 — "a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence"
Luk 16:5 — "How much owest thou unto my lord?"
Luk 16:7 — "And how much owest thou?"

2. Moral Obligation — Interpersonal Duty¶

Rom 13:8 — "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another"
Eph 5:28 — "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies"
1Jo 3:16 — "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren"
1Jo 4:11 — "if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another"

3. Religious/Ritual Obligation — What Must Be Done Before God¶

1Co 11:7 — "a man indeed ought not to cover his head"
1Co 11:10 — "ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels"
Heb 5:3 — "he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins"
Jhn 19:7 — "by our law he ought to die"

4. Theological Necessity — Divine Obligations¶

Heb 2:17 — "in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren"
Act 17:29 — "we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold"
2Th 1:3 — "We are bound to thank God always for you"
2Th 2:13 — "we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you"

5. Christological Pattern — Obligation to Imitate¶

Jhn 13:14 — "ye also ought to wash one another's feet"
1Jo 2:6 — "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk"
3Jo 1:8 — "We therefore ought to receive such"

6. Debt as Guilt/Liability¶

Mat 18:30 — "cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt"
Mat 18:34 — "delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due"
Mat 23:16 — "Whosoever shall swear by the temple... he is guilty" (marginal: he is a debtor)
Phm 1:18 — "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	8x (23%)	Obligation toward God: "we ought to thank God"
λέγω (lego)	G3004	7x (20%)	Stating what one owes: "say, We are unprofitable"
οὕτω (houto)	G3779	6x (17%)	"So ought men to love" — comparative obligation
ἀγαπάω (agapao)	G25	4x (11%)	Love as the supreme debt: "we ought to love"
ἀδελφός (adelphos)	G80	4x (11%)	Fraternal obligation: "lay down lives for brethren"
ἀλλήλων (allelon)	G240	4x (11%)	Mutual obligation: "love one another"
ἀποδίδωμι (apodidomi)	G591	4x (11%)	Paying back what is owed: "pay the debt"
γυνή (gyne)	G1135	4x (11%)	Marital obligation: "due benevolence"
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	4x (11%)	Lord as creditor or authority for obligation
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	3x (9%)	Obligation to address sin: "offer for sins"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3782 ὀφειλή (opheilē) — debt, obligation (noun; 2v)
G3783 ὀφείλημα (opheilēma) — what is owed, debt (noun; 2v — Mat 6:12 "debts" in Lord's Prayer)
G3781 ὀφειλέτης (opheiletēs) — debtor, one under obligation (noun; 5v)
G4359 προσοφείλω (prosopheilō) — to owe besides/in addition (verb; 1v — Phm 1:19)
G3785 ὄφελον (ophelon) — would that! (particle from opheilo; 4v — expressing unfulfilled wish)
G5533 χρεοφειλέτης (chreopheiletēs) — debtor (compound noun; 2v — Luk 7:41, 16:5)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
δεῖ (dei)	G1163	"ought" (12v as "ought")	δεῖ = impersonal divine/logical necessity ("it is necessary"); ὀφείλω = personal moral debt owed to someone
τὶς (tis)	G5100	"ought" (7v)	τὶς as "ought" = indefinite "anything" (archaic English), not obligation at all

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 57.018 — Owe, Debt, Cancel)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Verses	Primary Translation
G863	ἀφίημι (aphiēmi)	36	left, forgive
G3781	ὀφειλέτης (opheiletēs)	5	debtors, a debtor
G3782	ὀφειλή (opheilē)	2	debt, their dues
G3783	ὀφείλημα (opheilēma)	2	debt, debts
G4359	προσοφείλω (prosopheilō)	2	besides, thou owest
G5483	χαρίζομαι (charizomai)	5	forgave, forgiving
G5533	χρεοφειλέτης (chreopheiletēs)	2	debtors

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI
אָמַר (ʼamar)	H559	4	0.82
לֹא (loʼ)	H3808	3	0.55
כֹּל (kol)	H3605	3	0.45

Notes: No dominant Hebrew source word. The LXX mappings are scattered function words (ʼamar "say," loʼ "not," kol "all"), indicating ὀφείλω is not a stable translation of any single Hebrew term. The obligation/debt concept in Hebrew distributes across different vocabulary (H5383 nashah "to lend/be a creditor," H2326 chowb "to be indebted," H3027 yad in debt idioms).