Original Word: συλλυπέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: sullupeó
Pronunciation: sool-loo-PEH-oh
Phonetic Spelling: (sool-loop-eh'-o)
KJV: be grieved
NASB: grieved
Word Origin: [from G4862 (σύν - along) and G3076 (λυπέω - grieved)]

1. to afflict jointly
2. (passive) sorrow at (on account of) someone

be grieved.

From sun and lupeo; to afflict jointly, i.e. (passive) sorrow at (on account of) someone -- be grieved.

see GREEK sun

see GREEK lupeo

Word Origin
from sun and lupeó
Definition
to be moved to grief with (pass.)
NASB Translation
grieved (1).

STRONGS NT 4818: συλλυπέω

συλλυπέω:

1. to affect with grief together: Aristotle, eth. Nic. 9, 11, 4, p. 1171b, 7.

2. Passive, present participle συλλυπούμενος (T WH συνλυπουμενος cf. σύν, II. at the end (Tdf. Proleg., p. 76)); to grieve with oneself(see σύν, II. 4 (so Fritzsche, DeWette, others; but others regard the Σιν as 'sympathetic'; cf. Meyer, Weiss, Morison, on Mark as below)), be inwardly grieved (Herodotus, Plato, Polybius, Diodorus): of the pain of indignation, ἐπί τίνι, Mark 3:5.

Setting in Mark’s Gospel

συλλυπούμενος appears in Mark 3:5 where Jesus, in the synagogue on a Sabbath, faces the silent hostility of the Pharisees as He prepares to heal a man with a withered hand. The Berean Standard Bible renders the verse: “And after looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ So he stretched it out, and it was restored.” The participle gathers up the emotional atmosphere of the scene—righteous indignation and deep, shared sorrow—before the miracle is performed.

Shared Grief and Divine Empathy

The compound verb underscores that the Lord’s sorrow is not detached pity but a grief He experiences “with” or “alongside” those He observes. Although the Pharisees are the immediate object of His sorrow, the man’s suffering, the congregation’s confusion, and Israel’s spiritual blindness all converge in Christ’s heart. This is consonant with the portrait of the Servant in Isaiah 53:3, “a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” who bears not only sin but also the emotional weight of His people.

The Dual Emotions of the Messiah

Mark intentionally pairs Jesus’ anger with His grief. Anger alone might suggest mere offense; grief alone might imply helplessness. Together they reveal a holy love that refuses to accept hardened hearts yet still longs for their restoration. Similar combinations are seen in John 11:33–35 where Jesus is “deeply moved” and also weeps at Lazarus’s tomb, showing that divine wrath against sin and divine compassion for sufferers are never at odds.

Hardness of Heart in Redemptive History

The “hardness” (πωρώσις) that provokes the Lord’s grief recalls Pharaoh’s obstinacy (Exodus 7–11) and Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness (Psalm 95:8). Each episode invites judgment but also offers mercy through a mediator. In Mark 3 the true Mediator stands present, grieving that the religious leaders repeat the very pattern Scripture warns against.

Theological Significance

1. Revelation of Divine Character: συλλυπέω shows that the incarnate Son experiences grief in concert with those He loves, reflecting the compassion of the Father (Psalm 103:13).
2. Validation of Emotional Life: The verse dignifies righteous emotions. Followers of Christ are neither stoics nor sentimentalists; they may feel holy anger and sympathetic sorrow simultaneously.
3. Prelude to the Cross: The synagogue controversy foreshadows Golgotha, where Jesus will fully enter human suffering (Hebrews 2:17) and bear griefs not His own (Isaiah 53:4).

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

• Shepherds are to resist hardness of heart by cultivating empathy (1 Peter 5:2–3), modeling the Lord who sorrows with sinners while calling them to repentance.
• Congregations should “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), a direct outworking of συλλυπέω. Shared grief knits the body of Christ together and opens doors for healing.
• Evangelism must mirror Christ’s posture—anger at sin’s destructiveness combined with shared grief for its victims—avoiding both indifference and harshness.

Historical Echoes in the Church

Early church fathers such as Chrysostom pointed to Mark 3:5 to urge bishops to mingle corrective discipline with genuine compassion. Reformers applied the text against mechanical religiosity, warning that Sabbath-keeping without mercy replicates the Pharisees’ hardness. Modern missions movements often cite the verse when entering cultures resistant to the gospel, encouraging workers to identify with people’s pain while confronting unbelief.

Conclusion

συλλυπέω, though occurring only once, gives a vivid glimpse into the heart of Jesus Christ—a heart that joins His creatures in their sorrows even as He confronts the sin that causes them. For believers today, the term calls to a ministry style that weds truth with tears, courage with compassion, and firm conviction with shared lament until every hardness melts before the healing word of the Lord.

συλλυπηθήσεται συλλυπούμενον συλλυπούμενος συνλυπουμενος συνλυπούμενος sullupoumenos syllypoumenos syllypoúmenosInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts