Lexical Summary
balló: To throw, cast, put, place
Original Word: βάλλω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: balló
Pronunciation: BAL-lo
Phonetic Spelling: (bal'-lo)
KJV: arise, cast (out), X dung, lay, lie, pour, put (up), send, strike, throw (down), thrust
NASB: thrown, put, throw, cast, threw, poured, putting
Word Origin: [a primary verb]
1. to throw
{in various applications, more or less violent or intense}
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cast out, send, throw down, thrust
A primary verb; to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense) -- arise, cast (out), X dung, lay, lie, pour, put (up), send, strike, throw (down), thrust. Compare rhipto.
see GREEK rhipto
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. word
Definitionto throw, cast
NASB Translationbring (2), cast (15), casting (3), casts (3), contributors (1), laid (1), lying (3), lying sick (1), place (1), poured (4), put (22), puts (2), putting (4), rushed (1), swung (2), threw (12), throw (16), thrown (27), tossing (1).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 906: βάλλωβάλλω; future
βάλω; perfect
βέβληκα; 2 aorist
ἔβαλον (3 person plural
ἔβαλον in
Luke 23:34;
Acts 16:23,
ἔβαλαν, the
Alex. form, in
Acts 16:37 L T Tr WH; (
Revelation 18:19 Lachmann, see
WH's Appendix, p. 165 and) for references
ἀπέρχομαι at the beginning); passive (present
βάλλομαι); perfect
βέβλημαι; pluperfect
ἐβεβλημην; 1 aorist
ἐβλήθην; 1 future
βληθήσομαι;
to throw — either with force, or without force yet with a purpose, or even carelessly;
1. with force and effort: βάλλειν τινα ῥαπισμασι to smite one with slaps, to buffet, Mark 14:65 Rec. (an imitation of the phrases, τινα βάλλειν λίθοις, βελεσι, τόξοις, etc., κακοῖς, ψόγῳ, σκωμμασι, etc., in Greek writings; cf. Passow, i., p. 487; (Liddell and Scott, under the word I. 1 and 3); for the Rec. ἔβαλλον we must read with Fritzsche and Schott ἔβαλον, from which arose ἔλαβον, adopted by L T Tr WH; βαλεῖν and λαβεῖν are often confounded in manuscripts; cf. Grimm on 2 Macc. 5:6; (Scrivener, Introduction, p. 10)); βάλλειν λίθους ἐπί τίνι or τινα, John 8:(
2. without force and effort; to throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls: κλῆρον to cast a lot into the urn (B. D. under the word Lot), Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:24 from Psalm 21:19
3. to move, give motion to, not with force yet with attention and for a purpose; εἰς τί, to put into, insert: Mark 7:33 (τούς δακτύλους εἰς τά ὦτα); John 20:25, 27; John 18:11; χαλινούς εἰς τό στόμα James 3:3; to let down, cast down: John 5:7; Matthew 4:18 (cf. Mark 1:16 Rec.); Matthew 17:27. Metaphorically: εἰς τήν καρδίαν τίνος, to suggest, John 13:2 (τί ἐν θυμῷ τίνος, Homer, Odyssey 1, 201; 14, 269; εἰς νοῦν, schol. ad Pindar Pythagoras 4, 133; others; ἐμβάλλειν εἰς νοῦν τίνι, Plutarch, vit. Timol c. 3). (Compare: ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀναβάλλω, ἀντιβάλλω, ἀποβάλλω, διαβάλλω, ἐκβάλλω, ἐμβάλλω, παρεμβάλλω, ἐπιβάλλω, καταβάλλω, μεταβάλλω, παραβάλλω, περιβάλλω, προβάλλω, συμβάλλω, ὑπερβάλλω, ὑποβάλλω.)
Topical Lexicon
Scope of UsageStrong’s Greek 906 appears one hundred twenty-four times, stretching from the opening scenes of Gospel ministry (Mark 1:16) to the final vision of the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15). The verb describes an intentional motion—“to cast, hurl, place, pour, let fall”—and is employed for actions both mundane and momentous, literal and figurative. Because the word can denote either violent expulsion or deliberate placement, context determines whether the act is destructive, salvific, ritual, or ordinary.
Everyday Actions and Ministry Scenes
1. Fishing and Provision
• Mark 1:16; Matthew 4:18; John 21:6-8 portray fishermen “casting” (βάλλοντας / Βάλετε) their nets. The Lord’s command to “Cast the net on the right side of the boat” (John 21:6) turns a common task into a sign of His resurrected authority and care.
2. Hospitality and Service
• Martha “pours” water over the disciples’ feet through the action of the servant Jesus (John 13:5). The same term covers pouring wine into wineskins (Matthew 9:17) and coins into the treasury (Mark 12:41-44), highlighting that routine ministry tasks require thoughtful placement, not careless disposal.
Symbolism of Stumbling and Self-Denial
Jesus repeatedly uses the verb to demand radical amputation of sin: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29). The willful hurling of the offending member teaches that discipleship entails decisive, once-for-all action against personal wickedness. The alternative—being “thrown into hell”—sharpens the warning (Matthew 18:9; Mark 9:47).
Parabolic Teaching
1. Wine and Skins
New wine must not be “put into” old wineskins (Matthew 9:17). The incompatibility between the new covenant and old structures is dramatized by βάλλω.
2. Salt and Soil
Worthless salt is “thrown out” (Matthew 5:13; Luke 14:35), portraying loss of witness.
3. The Dragnet
In Matthew 13:47-48 a net is “thrown into the sea,” collecting every kind; the later sorting prefigures final judgment.
Miracles and Acts of Deliverance
1. Demonic Affliction
The boy whom a spirit often “throws into the fire or into the water” (Mark 9:22) illustrates Satanic cruelty; Christ’s rebuke restores order.
2. Healing Touch
Jesus “laid” (ἔβαλεν) His hands on the deaf-mute (Mark 7:33) and Peter’s mother-in-law lay “cast” by fever (Matthew 8:14). The term conveys both the burden of illness and the Lord’s sovereign relief.
Judgment Motif
1. Temporal Judgment
Trees without fruit are “thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:10; 7:19; Luke 3:9), previewing national and personal reckoning.
2. Final Judgment
• “They will throw them into the blazing furnace” (Matthew 13:42, 50) describes reprobation.
• Revelation widens the scope: stars, censers, hail, and ultimately Satan himself are “thrown” to earth or into the abyss (Revelation 8:7-8; 12:9-10; 20:3).
• The climactic casting of the beast, false prophet, death, Hades, and unrepentant humanity into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14-15) underscores irreversible divine verdict.
Spiritual Warfare and Cosmic Conflict
Revelation 12 uses βάλλω repeatedly to narrate the expulsion of the dragon and his angels: “The great dragon was hurled down” (Revelation 12:9). The verb’s violent force communicates the absolute defeat of evil powers and the security of the saints who “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11).
Sacrificial Imagery and Worship
In Revelation 4:10 the twenty-four elders “cast their crowns before the throne,” enacting total surrender. The same deliberate placing that once deposited coins in the treasury now returns every reward to God, making worship an act of voluntary relinquishment.
Faith and Prayer
Jesus employs βάλλω in the promise of mountain-moving faith: “Be taken up and thrown into the sea” (Matthew 21:21; Mark 11:23). Believing prayer can hurl obstacles aside, echoing divine capacity to reorder creation.
Prison and Persecution
Acts records apostles “thrown into prison” (Acts 16:23-24), paralleling the violent casting of Paul and Silas with the Gentile authorities’ intention to suppress the gospel. Yet the Lord frees His servants, showing that men may cast down, but God lifts up.
Pastoral Application
1. Decisive Repentance: The repeated call to “throw away” whatever causes sin requires shepherds to urge uncompromising holiness.
2. Evangelistic Enterprise: The fishermen-turned-apostles remind ministers to cast the gospel net wide, trusting Christ for the haul.
3. Worshipful Surrender: Believers, like the elders, cast crowns before the Lord, demonstrating that every gift is ultimately His.
Christological Center
Whether instructing disciples to cast nets, casting out demons, or being Himself “cast-off” at the cross, Jesus embodies both the Actor and the One acted upon. Through His resurrection authority, He will finally cast all evil into perdition, ensuring that every use of βάλλω converges on His sovereign mission.
Eschatological Assurance
The last occurrences seal the promise of consummate justice: “If anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). βάλλω thereby marks the terminus of evil, the vindication of righteousness, and the beginning of unbroken fellowship with God.
Forms and Transliterations
αμφιβαλλοντας ἀμφιβάλλοντας βαλε βάλε βαλει βαλεί βαλεῖ βάλει βαλειν βαλείν βαλεῖν βαλείτε Βαλετε Βάλετε βαλετω βαλέτω βαλη βάλη βάλῃ βαλητε βάλητε βαλλει βάλλει βαλλειν βαλλείν βάλλειν βαλλεται βάλλεται βαλλομεν βάλλομεν βαλλομενα βαλλόμενα βαλλομενον βαλλόμενον βαλλοντας βάλλοντας βαλλοντες βάλλοντες βάλλοντος βαλλοντων βαλλόντων βαλλουσαν βάλλουσαν βάλλουσι βαλλουσιν βάλλουσιν βαλλω βάλλω βάλλων βαλόντων βαλουσα βαλούσα βαλοῦσα βαλούσι βάλουσι βαλουσιν βαλούσιν βαλοῦσιν βαλω βαλώ βάλω βάλωμεν βαλών βαλωσιν βάλωσιν βάμματα βαμμάτων βέβληκε βεβληκοτος βεβληκότος βεβλημενην βεβλημένην βεβλημενον βεβλημένον βεβλημενος βεβλημένος βεβληται βέβληται βληθεις βληθεὶς βληθειση βληθείση βληθείσῃ βληθεν βληθὲν βληθη βληθή βληθῇ βληθηναι βληθήναι βληθῆναι βληθησεται βληθήσεται βληθηση βληθήση βληθήσῃ βληθητι βλήθητι εβαλαν ἔβαλαν έβαλε εβαλεν έβαλεν ἔβαλεν έβαλες έβαλλε εβαλλον έβαλλον ἔβαλλον εβάλομεν εβαλον έβαλον ἔβαλον εβεβλητο εβέβλητο ἐβέβλητο εβληθη εβλήθη ἐβλήθη εβληθησαν εβλήθησαν ἐβλήθησαν ἐπέβαλεν amphiballontas amphibállontas bale balē bále balei baleî bálei bálēi balein baleîn Balete balēte Bálete bálēte baleto baletō baléto balétō ballei bállei ballein bállein balletai bálletai ballo ballō bállo bállō ballomen bállomen ballomena ballómena ballomenon ballómenon ballontas bállontas ballontes bállontes ballonton ballontōn ballónton ballóntōn ballousan bállousan ballousin bállousin balo balō bálo bálō balosin balōsin bálosin bálōsin balousa baloûsa balousin baloûsin beblekotos beblekótos beblēkotos beblēkótos beblemenen bebleménen beblēmenēn beblēménēn beblemenon bebleménon beblēmenon beblēménon beblemenos bebleménos beblēmenos beblēménos bebletai beblētai bébletai béblētai blethe blēthē blethêi blēthē̂i bletheis bletheìs blētheis blētheìs bletheise blētheisē bletheísei blētheísēi blethen blethèn blēthen blēthèn blethenai blethênai blēthēnai blēthē̂nai blethese blēthēsē blethḗsei blēthḗsēi blethesetai blethḗsetai blēthēsetai blēthḗsetai bletheti blēthēti blḗtheti blḗthēti ebalan ébalan ebalen ébalen eballon éballon ebalon ébalon ebebleto ebeblēto ebébleto ebéblēto eblethe eblēthē eblḗthe eblḗthē eblethesan eblēthēsan eblḗthesan eblḗthēsan epebalen epébalen
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