Lexical Summary
basanizó: To torment, to torture, to vex, to distress
Original Word: βασανίζω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: basanizó
Pronunciation: bah-sah-NEE-zo
Phonetic Spelling: (bas-an-id'-zo)
KJV: pain, toil, torment, toss, vex
NASB: torment, tormented, battered, felt tormented, pain, straining
Word Origin: [from G931 (βάσανος - torment)]
1. to torture
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
pain, toil, torment
From basanos; to torture -- pain, toil, torment, toss, vex.
see GREEK basanos
HELPS Word-studies
928 basanízō (from 931 /básanos, "a tormenting trial") – properly, to examine (literally by using torture).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
basanosDefinitionto torture
NASB Translationbattered (1), felt...tormented (1), pain (1), straining (1), torment (4), tormented (4).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 928: βασανίζωβασανίζω: (imperfect
ἐβασάνιζον); 1 aorist
ἐβασανισα; passive (present
βασανίζομαι); 1 aorist
ἐβασανίσθην; 1 future
βασανισθήσομαι; (
βάσανος);
1. properly, to test (metals) by the touchstone.
2. to question by applying torture.
3. to torture (2 Macc. 7:13); hence,
4. universally, to vex with grievous pains (of body or mind), to torment: τινα, Matthew 8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28; 2 Peter 2:8; Revelation 11:10; passively, Matthew 8:6; Revelation 9:5; Revelation 20:10; of the pains of childbirth, Revelation 12:2 (cf. Anthol. 2, p. 205, Jacobs edition); with ἐν and the dative of the material in which one is tormented, Revelation 14:10.
5. Passive to be harassed, distressed; of those who at sea are struggling with a head wind, Mark 6:48; of a ship tossed by the waves, Matthew 14:24. (In Greek writings from Herodotus down. Often in O. T. Apocrypha.)
Topical Lexicon
Overview of New Testament UsageStrong’s Greek 928 appears twelve times in the New Testament, spanning Gospel narratives, Petrine epistle, and the Apocalypse. Whether describing pounding waves, the inner anguish of the righteous, the dread of demons, or the everlasting agony of the impenitent, the verb consistently conveys severe distress that tests the object to the limit.
Occurrences Grouped by Setting
1. Physical affliction
• Matthew 8:6 – a centurion’s servant is “lying at home paralyzed and in terrible torment.”
• Revelation 12:2 – the heavenly woman “cried out in pain and in agony as she was about to give birth.”
2. Nautical peril
• Matthew 14:24; Mark 6:48 – the disciples’ boat is “buffeted by the waves,” illustrating hostile forces that batter but cannot sink those under Christ’s care.
3. Demonic fear under Christ’s authority
• Matthew 8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28 – Legion pleads, “Have You come here to torment us before the proper time?” The demons acknowledge a fixed day of judgment and that Jesus holds the prerogative to inflict that final torment.
4. Prophetic witness and human resistance
• Revelation 11:10 – “these two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth.” The torment is a pricking of conscience produced by uncompromising testimony.
5. Inner anguish of the righteous under societal evil
• 2 Peter 2:8 – Lot’s “righteous soul was tormented day after day by their lawless deeds.” Moral depravity becomes a grinding pressure upon the godly.
6. Eschatological judgment
• Revelation 9:5 – scorpion-like locusts “were permitted to torment them for five months.”
• Revelation 14:10 – the worshipers of the beast “will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”
• Revelation 20:10 – “The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
Historical Background
The classical root referred to a touchstone used for testing precious metals; by extension it came to denote the examination of a person under torture, then any form of severe distress. The New Testament writers draw on this semantic range to depict forces that probe authenticity (storms testing faith), expose evil (prophetic preaching), or execute righteous judgment (final punishment).
Roman law sanctioned torture for extracting truth from slaves, and the empire’s imagery of public execution by fire and sulfur (common in volcanic regions) supplied vivid pictures for John’s visions. Yet Scripture reorients the concept: ultimate torment is not the arbitrary cruelty of men but the measured, holy response of God toward unrepentant rebellion.
Theological Insights
Christ’s absolute authority.
The demons’ plea reveals that torment is not random but subject to the timetable and sovereignty of Christ (Matthew 8:29). Even fallen spirits acknowledge His right to inflict punitive distress.
Temporal versus eternal torment.
Some passages describe limited, remedial suffering (five months in Revelation 9:5) designed to summon repentance. Others depict irreversible, conscious punishment (Revelation 14:10; 20:10). The continuity affirms that temporal judgments foreshadow the eternal.
Torment as moral testing.
Lot’s daily anguish (2 Peter 2:8) and the hearers vexed by the two witnesses (Revelation 11:10) show that moral conviction can be experienced as torment. Truth presses upon the conscience, forcing a decision either toward repentance or hardened resistance.
Cosmic childbirth and redemptive hope.
Revelation 12:2 applies the verb to labor pains, framing torment within a salvation-historical panorama: the suffering of the people of God issues in the birth of the Messiah and, ultimately, the defeat of the dragon.
Pastoral and Ministry Significance
Spiritual warfare.
When confronting demonic oppression, ministers rely on Christ’s delegated authority, confident that evil powers dread His judgment far more than believers fear their threats.
Comfort amid suffering.
Believers battered by life’s “waves” (Matthew 14:24) can recall that the One who walks on the sea commands the storm. Physical or emotional torment is not evidence of divine abandonment but an arena for faith’s refinement.
Evangelistic urgency.
The certainty of eternal torment for the devil and unrepentant humanity (Revelation 20:10) compels proclamation of the gospel. The same Lamb who will preside over judgment now offers mercy.
Prophetic witness.
The example of the two witnesses encourages the church to speak truth despite hostility. Torment produced by conviction is a necessary precursor to repentance in those who will believe.
Ethical sensitivity.
Lot’s distressed soul warns against dulling the conscience through prolonged exposure to societal wickedness. Christians are to remain “salt and light,” refusing complicity while interceding for their cities.
Related Terms and Concepts
The verb often overlaps with imagery of “gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42) and “weeping,” forming a composite picture of ultimate misery. It stands in deliberate contrast to the “rest” promised to the saints (Hebrews 4:3) and the “eternal comfort” of God (2 Thessalonians 2:16).
Key Passages Quoted
Matthew 8:29 – “What do You want with us, Son of God? they shouted. Have You come here to torment us before the proper time?”
Revelation 14:10 – “He also will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”
Revelation 20:10 – “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
Summary
Every occurrence of Strong’s 928 portrays distress that tests, reveals, or punishes. It spans the physical and spiritual, the present and the eschatological. For the righteous, such torment is temporary and refining; for the impenitent and rebellious, it foretells—and ultimately becomes—eternal, conscious judgment administered by the Lamb who is both Savior and Judge.
Forms and Transliterations
βασανιζομενη βασανιζομένη βασανιζομενον βασανιζόμενον βασανιζομενος βασανιζόμενος βασανιζομενους βασανιζομένους βασανισαι βασανίσαι βασανισης βασανίσης βασανίσῃς βασανισθησεται βασανισθήσεται βασανισθησονται βασανισθήσονται βασανίσθωσι βασινιζομένη εβασανιζεν εβασάνιζεν ἐβασάνιζεν εβασάνισά εβασανισαν εβασάνισαν ἐβασάνισαν εβασάνισε basanisai basanísai basaníseis basanísēis basanises basanisēs basanisthesetai basanisthēsetai basanisthḗsetai basanisthesontai basanisthēsontai basanisthḗsontai basanizomene basanizomenē basanizoméne basanizoménē basanizomenon basanizómenon basanizomenos basanizómenos basanizomenous basanizoménous ebasanisan ebasánisan ebasanizen ebasánizen
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