The Greek word λύω, luo occurs 42 times in the New Testament. It is translated into many different English words including annul (Matt. 5:19), break (John 5:18), destroy but still there (John 2:19; 2 Pet. 3:12), loosen ( Matt. 16:19; 18:18; Mark 1:7; Luke 13:15, etc.), release (Luke 13:16; Acts 22:30; 1 Cor. 7:27; Rev. 1:5, etc.), remove (Mark 7:35; Acts 7:33; Eph. 2:14), torn apart (2 Pet. 3:10, 11), etc.  There are two references to Jesus.  The first is in John 2:19-21 where he speaks of the destruction (luo) of his physical body which he declared he would resurrect.  So, his body thus destroyed, still existed.  The second is Acts 2:24 which speaks of putting an end to the agony of Jesus’ death.  Neither of the verses can be used to support annihilationism.  If anything, they would speak against it regarding the concept of destruction meaning nonexistence.

• Greek word:  λύω, luo
• Meaning:  loose, loosen, destroy, end
• Strong’s #: G3089
• Frequency:  42 occurrences in 39 verses.

Summary of the meaning of the Greek word luo, loose, destroy, end, release, remove, etc., in all verses where it occurs in the New Testament.

1. Annul, 1 occurrence
   1. Matt. 5:19, annuls the least of the commandments
2. Break, 4 occurrences
   1. John 5:18, breaking the sabbath
   2. John 7:23, breaking the Law
   3. John 10:35, Scripture cannot be broken
   4. Rev. 5:2, breaking of a seal
3. Broken apart, 1 occurrence
   1. Acts 27:41, stern of the ship broken up
4. Destroyed but still there, 2 occurrences
   1. John 2:19, destroy Jesus’ body
   2. 2 Pet. 3:12, heavens will be destroyed
5. Ended, 1 occurrence
   1. Acts 13:43, The meeting broke up
6. Loosen, 15 occurrences
   1. Matt. 16:19, whatever’s loosed on earth shall have been loose in heaven
   2. Matt. 18:18, whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven
   3. Matt. 21:2, untie a colt
   4. Mark 1:7, untie the thong of his sandal
   5. Mark 11:2, 4, 5, untying the colt
   6. Luke 3:16, untie the thong of His sandals;
   7. Luke 13:15, untie an ox
   8. Luke 19:30-31, 33, untying the colt
   9. John 1:27, untie the thong of His sandals;
   10. John 11:44, loosen the wrappings
   11. Acts 13:25, untying the sandals of His feet
7. Put an end to, 1 occurrence
   1. Acts 2:24, putting an end to the agony of death
8. Release, 8 occurrences
   1. Luke 13:16, woman released from Satan’s bond
   2. Acts 22:30, Paul was released from chains
   3. 1 Cor. 7:27, don’t seek to be released from marriage
   4. Rev. 1:5, released from sins
   5. Rev. 9:14, 15, release the angels
   6. Rev. 20:3, 7, satan released after 1000 years is done
9. Remove, 3 occurrences
   1. Mark 7:35; impediment of his tongue was removed
   2. Acts 7:33, remove sandals
   3. Eph. 2:14, removed barriers
10. Stop and undo, 1 occurrence
    1. 1 John 3:8, Jesus appeared to destroy the works of the devil
11. Torn apart, 2 occurrences
    1. 2 Pet. 3:10, 11, elements will be destroyed with intense heat

 

 

TABLE OF ALL NEW TESTAMENT USEAGES OF LUO, λύω
Address	Verse	Meaning
Matt. 5:19	“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.	Annul
Matt. 16:19	“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”	Loosen
Matt. 18:18	“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.	Loosen
Matt.  21:2	saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.	Loosen
Mark 1:7	And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.	Loosen
Mark 7:35	And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.	Remove
Mark 11:2	and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.	Loosen
Mark 11:4	They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it.	Loosen
Mark  11:5	Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”	Loosen
Luke 3:16	John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.	Loosen
Luke 13:15	But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?	Loosen
Luke 13:16	“And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”	Release
Luke 19:30	saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.	Loosen
Luke 19:31	“If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”	Loosen
Luke  19:33	As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”	Loosen
John 1:27	“It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”	Loosen
John 2:19	Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”	Destroy
John 5:18	For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.	Break
John 7:23	“If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?	Break
John 10:35	“If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),	Break
John 11:44	The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”	Loosen
Acts 2:24	“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.	Put an end to
Acts 7:33	“But the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.	Remove
Acts 13:25	“And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’	Loosen
Acts 13:43	Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.	Ended
Acts 22:30	But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them.	Release
Acts 27:41	But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves.	Broken apart
1 Cor. 7:27	Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.	Release
Eph. 2:14	For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,	Remove
2 Pet. 3:10	But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.	Torn apart
2 Pet. 3:11	Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,	Torn apart
2 Pet. 3:12	looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!	Destroyed, but still there
1 John 3:8	the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.	Stop and undo
Rev. 1:5	and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.	Release
Rev. 5:2	And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”	Break
Rev. 9:14	one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”	Release
Rev. 9:15	And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind.	Release
Rev. 20:3	and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.	Release
Rev. 20:7	When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,	Release

 

Dictionaries and Lexicons consulted

• “λύω lúō; fut. lúsō. To loose, loosen what is fast, bound, meaning to unbind, untie. Trans. (I) Particularly of loosing something fastened (Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:27; Acts 7:33; 13:25; Sept.: Ex. 3:5); figuratively, the impediment of the tongue (Mark 7:35); the pains of death (Acts 2:24); “whatsoever you shall loose on earth,” (a.t.) or declare as not a part of the individual anymore such as his sins, having been forgiven, as the opposite of déō (1210), to bind (Matt. 16:19; 18:18); of animals tied, e.g., a colt (Matt. 21:2; Mark 11:2, 4; Luke 19:30, 31, 33). Followed by apó (575), from (Luke 13:15); of a person swathed in bandages or grave clothes (John 11:44).
  (II) Spoken of persons bound, to let go, loose, set free, e.g., prisoners (Acts 22:30; 24:26; Rev. 20:3, 7); figuratively (Luke 13:16; 1 Cor. 7:27, “Art thou free from a wife?” [a.t.] in antithesis with dédesai, bound, from déō [1210], to bind; Sept.: Ps. 105:20; 146:7).
  (III) To loosen, dissolve, i.e., to sever, break (Acts 27:41, “but the stern went to pieces from the violence of the waves” [a.t.]; Rev. 5:2, 5, the seals); figuratively of an assembly, to dissolve or break up (Acts 13:43).
  (IV) By implication, to destroy, e.g., buildings, to demolish (John 2:19; Eph. 2:14); figuratively (1 John 3:8); of the world to be destroyed by fire, to dissolve, melt (2 Pet. 3:10–12); figuratively of a law or institution, to loosen its obligation, i.e., either to make void, to do away (Matt. 5:19; John 10:35), or to break, to violate (John 7:23 [cf. Matt. 5:18]).
  • Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000.
• λύωc: to destroy or reduce something to ruin by tearing down or breaking to pieces—‘to destroy, to tear down, to break to pieces.’ ἡ δὲ πρύμνα ἐλύετο ὑπὸ τῆς βίας τῶν κυμάτων ‘the back part of the ship was being broken to pieces by the violence of the waves’ Ac 27:41; τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ λύσας, τὴν ἔχθραν, ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ ‘with his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies’ Eph 2:14.
  In some languages there may be an important distinction in terms meaning ‘to destroy,’ depending upon whether the destruction is purposeful or not. A still further distinction may arise on the basis of beneficial or non- beneficial results. In Eph 2:14 the destruction is regarded as beneficial, while in Ac 27:41 the opposite is the case.”
  • Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.
• “λύω [luo /loo·o/] v. A root word; TDNT 2:60; GK 3395; 43 occurrences; AV translates as “loose” 27 times, “break” five times, “unloose” three times, “destroy” twice, “dissolve” twice, “put off” once, “melt” once, “break up” once, and “break down” once. 1 to loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened. 1A bandages of the feet, the shoes,. 1B of a husband and wife joined together by the bond of matrimony. 1C of a single man, whether he has already had a wife or has not yet married. 2 to loose one bound, i.e. to unbind, release from bonds, set free. 2A of one bound up (swathed in bandages). 2B bound with chains (a prisoner), discharge from prison, let go. 3 to loosen, undo, dissolve, anything bound, tied, or compacted together. 3A an assembly, i.e. to dismiss, break up.”
  • Strong, James. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995.