ἐπιμελῶς expresses the manner of an action done “carefully.” It appears in Jesus’ illustration of a woman searching her house for a lost coin (Luke 15:8).
Root and Related Words
ἐπιμελῶς is related to the verb epimeleomai (ἐπιμελέομαι), “to care” (Strong’s G1959). The relationship points to a shared idea of attentive concern shaping the way an action is carried out.
Occurrences
“Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it?” (Luke 15:8)
Here ἐπιμελῶς qualifies the woman’s searching. The scene is domestic and practical: she “wouldn’t light a lamp,” she would “sweep the house,” and she would “seek diligently until she found it.” The adverb belongs to this chain of concrete verbs, depicting the search as marked by close attention rather than casual looking. The narrative logic depends on that manner: the woman’s response to losing “one drachma coin” is not resignation but sustained, methodical action that continues “until she found it.” In this setting, “carefully” is not an abstract quality; it is embodied in specific steps—bringing light, clearing the floor, and persisting—so that the reader can picture what a careful search looks like inside a house.
The placement of the adverb alongside “until she found it” also presses the time element of her care. The carefulness is not momentary; it governs the whole course of seeking, holding steady until the desired outcome is reached. Within the single sentence, the word helps the illustration feel realistic: the lamp is lit because searching in dimness is inadequate, sweeping is done because small objects can be hidden, and the seeking is diligent because the lost item matters enough to warrant thoroughness.
Sense and Usage
With the sense “carefully,” ἐπιμελῶς marks an action as carried out with attentive thoroughness. In Luke 15:8 it does this by sharpening the contrast between merely noticing a loss and taking responsibility to recover what has been misplaced. The carefulness is expressed through ordered, purposeful activity rather than frantic motion: lighting a lamp improves visibility, sweeping changes the environment so that what is hidden may be exposed, and the continued seeking indicates focused resolve. The adverb therefore functions to describe not only intensity but also attentiveness—the kind of care that attends to details because the object sought could easily be overlooked.
Because ἐπιμελῶς is an adverb, it does not name the object of care; it shapes the way a person acts toward that object. In the parable’s imagery, the value of the coin is implied by the careful search it provokes. The woman’s conduct gives content to the word: careful seeking is active, practical, and persistent. The house is treated as a space that must be examined; the lamp and broom become instruments of carefulness; and the endpoint is clear—finding what was lost.
In this verse, “carefully” also works rhetorically. The question assumes the listener’s agreement (“wouldn’t”): given such a loss, this is what one naturally does. The adverb strengthens that assumption by making the woman’s response obviously appropriate. It portrays a search that is serious enough to be believable and complete enough to be effective.
Imagery
Luke’s picture ties ἐπιμελῶς to household light and movement: a lamp brightening the interior, a swept floor, and a search that continues until the missing coin is recovered. The carefulness carried by the word is thus visual and tactile—illumination, clearing, and close looking—showing care as something performed through concrete, deliberate steps.
Sources:
Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
