Understanding the Meaning of Dioko in Greek

διώκω expresses the act of pursuing, and in these passages it is repeatedly heard in contexts of hostility, pressure, and being chased from place to place. It appears in Jesus’ teaching, in predictions of what his followers will face, in narratives about opposition to Jesus, and in a speech recalling a pattern of violence against God’s messengers.

Occurrences

Matthew 5:10 — “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Here διώκω is set within a beatitude: the pursued are named “blessed,” and the pursuit is tied specifically to “righteousness’ sake.” The word frames righteousness as something that draws pressure and harassment, yet the saying turns the outcome toward divine belonging: “theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Matthew 5:11 — “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”

The pursuit is placed alongside verbal assaults (“reproach,” “say all kinds of evil … falsely”), so διώκω fits a cluster of coordinated actions. The target is personal (“you”), and the motive is clarified: “for my sake.” The word thus contributes the notion of being actively chased or pressed, not merely disliked, as part of a broader campaign of hostility.

Matthew 5:12 — “Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

διώκω is used to connect present experience to a remembered pattern: “that is how they persecuted the prophets.” The pursuit functions as a historical analogy, making the listeners’ hardship intelligible by linking it to earlier messengers. In this line, the word carries a social memory of sustained opposition, not a single incident.

Matthew 5:44 — “But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,”

In this command sequence, διώκω names one class of aggressor: those who “mistreat” and those who “persecute.” The verb sharpens the ethical demand by naming severe behavior without softening it; the instruction assumes that enemies may actively pursue harm, yet calls for prayer on their behalf.

Matthew 10:23 — “But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man has come.”

Here διώκω is embedded in tactical counsel: persecution is the trigger for flight—“flee into the next.” The pursuit is localized (“in this city”), implying a concrete situation where pressure in one place forces movement to another. The word’s contribution is practical and directional: pursuit creates urgency and relocation.

Matthew 23:34 — “Therefore behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city;”

διώκω is the culminating action in a list of escalating violence: “kill,” “crucify,” “scourge,” and then “persecute from city to city.” The phrase “from city to city” gives the pursuit a roaming, extended character—relentless pressure that follows its victims rather than remaining confined to one courtroom or one synagogue.

Luke 11:49 — “Therefore also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute,”

This line places διώκω in parallel with “kill,” presenting persecution as one of the expected receptions of sent messengers. The word contributes the idea of an ongoing pursuit that may precede death or accompany it, portraying opposition as an active response to the sending of “prophets and apostles.”

Luke 17:23 — “They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away or follow after them,”

In this warning, διώκω appears as “follow after,” directed not at enemies but at the hearer’s potential response to misleading reports. The word’s force is that of chasing after a claim or a crowd—an urged pursuit that Jesus forbids (“Don’t … follow after them”). The same verb that can describe hostile pursuit can also describe misguided pursuit.

Luke 21:12 — “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake.”

διώκω is surrounded by institutional actions: seizure (“lay their hands on you”), confinement (“synagogues and prisons”), and public exposure (“before kings and governors”). The pursuit here is not merely social pressure; it is organized and coercive, driving the pursued into official settings. The motive again is tied to allegiance: “for my name’s sake.”

John 5:16 — “For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.”

Here διώκω is narrated as a response to Jesus’ actions “on the Sabbath.” The pursuit is coupled with lethal intent (“sought to kill him”), showing persecution as sustained hostility that aims at removal. The verb marks opposition as a continuing reaction (“for this cause”), not a momentary dispute.

John 15:20 — “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”

διώκω functions in a conditional comparison: what happened to Jesus sets an expectation for his servants. The repetition (“persecuted me … persecute you”) makes persecution a patterned transfer from master to followers. Set beside the alternative (“kept my word”), the verb highlights a stark division in responses to Jesus and those who speak in his name.

Acts 7:52 — “Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.”

In Stephen’s accusation, διώκω is universalized as a sweeping charge: “Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute?” The pursuit is presented as a habitual posture toward prophets, and it is joined to killing as the ultimate outcome. The verb here helps frame persecution as a defining pattern of rejecting messengers, culminating in betrayal and murder.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, διώκω consistently conveys pursuit as an active movement toward a target. In many contexts the pursuit takes the form of hostile pressure—actions that range from public insult and false speech (Matthew 5:11) to physical coercion and legal confinement (Luke 21:12), and even to lethal intention (John 5:16). In such scenes, persecution is not treated as random misfortune; it is linked to identifiable causes: “for righteousness’ sake” (Matthew 5:10) and “for my sake” or “for my name’s sake” (Matthew 5:11; Luke 21:12). That linkage makes pursuit a kind of response to loyalty and public identification.

The word also carries an important spatial and social dimension. Matthew 10:23 and Matthew 23:34 frame persecution as something that drives movement: “flee into the next” and “persecute from city to city.” Pursuit is depicted as persistent enough to shape travel and ministry routes, turning cities into successive arenas where pressure can flare up. At the same time, Luke 21:12 shows that persecution can be channelled through institutions—synagogues, prisons, governors—so the pursuit can be both local and official, both mob-like and procedural.

Yet διώκω is not restricted to hostile chasing. In Luke 17:23 it describes “follow after” in the sense of running after a report—an eager pursuit that can be misdirected. This occurrence helps keep the verb’s core image in view: the act of chasing or pursuing can be directed toward people as opponents, or toward claims as seekers. The ethical and pastoral implications in these texts turn on the object and motive: disciples are warned against pursuing deceptive leads (Luke 17:23), while being told how to respond when others pursue them harmfully (Matthew 5:44).

Finally, several passages frame persecution as a pattern extending beyond one generation. Matthew 5:12 recalls how “they persecuted the prophets,” and Acts 7:52 presses the accusation to the extreme—persecution of prophets as a repeated, almost comprehensive practice. John 15:20 places the same pattern within the master-servant relationship: what the Lord endured, the servants should expect. In this way διώκω functions not only as a description of action but as a marker of continuity—how hostility repeats itself against the same kind of target: those aligned with God’s message and with Jesus.

Imagery in Context

The dominant imagery attached to διώκω here is that of being hunted or driven: movement under pressure (“flee into the next,” Matthew 10:23), pursuit that follows across borders (“from city to city,” Matthew 23:34), and hands laid on the pursued leading to prisons and hearings (Luke 21:12). Set within the beatitudes (Matthew 5:10–12), the same imagery is turned into a lens for hope: the pursued are named blessed, and their experience is placed alongside the prophets’ suffering, giving persecution the shape of a recognizable path rather than an inexplicable derailment.

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).