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πρός

Meaning

To or towards
Pertaining to (genitive case)
Near to (dative case)
According to
About

Preposition. Occurs 703 times in the New Testament.

πρός is a common preposition in Koine Greek that carries different meanings. It most frequently takes the accusative case, but at times it takes the genitive or dative cases, giving it a different meaning again. At its core, it usually describes movement or relationship toward someone or something, whether physical, spatial, relational, or even theological.

Examples

Use	Meaning / Sense	Example	Reference
Spatial (Direction)	Toward, to, in the direction of	πορεύομαι πρός τὴν πόλιν — “I go” toward the city.“	Matthew 2:8plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigMatthew 2:8 Greek καὶ πέμψας αὐτοὺς εἰς Βηθλέεμ εἶπεν, πορευθέντες ἐξετάσατε ἀκριβῶς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου· ἐπὰν δὲ εὕρητε ἀπαγγείλατέ μοι, ὅπως κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν προσκυνήσω αὐτῷ. ESV And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” NIV He sent them to Bethlehem and said,…
Relational / Personal	With, in the presence of	καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρός τὸν θεόν — “and the Word was with God.”	John 1:1plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigJohn 1:1 Greek Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. ESV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. NIV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. NLT In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Purpose / Goal	For, for the purpose of	εἶπεν πρός αὐτούς — “he said to them” (direction of speech)	Mark 4:11plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigMark 4:11 Greek καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριον δέδοται τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐκείνοις δὲ τοῖς ἔξω ἐν παραβολαῖς πάντα γίνεται, ESV And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, NIV He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables…
Reference / Relation	Concerning, with regard to	κατὰ τὰ λεχθέντα πρός αὐτόν — “according to what was said concerning him”	Hebrews 2:17plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigHebrews 2:7 Greek ἠλάττωσας αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρ’ ἀγγέλους, δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφάνωσας αὐτόν, ESV You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, NIV You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor NLT Yet you made them only a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.