Original Word: ἐκπίπτω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: ekpipto
Pronunciation: ek-PIP-to
Phonetic Spelling: (ek-pip'-to)
KJV: be cast, fail, fall (away, off), take none effect
Word Origin: [from G1537 (ἐκ - among) and G4098 (πίπτω - fell)]

1. to drop away
2. (specially) be driven out of one's course
3. (figuratively) to lose, become inefficient

be cast, fail, fall away.

From ek and pipto; to drop away; specially, be driven out of one's course; figuratively, to lose, become inefficient -- be cast, fail, fall (away, off), take none effect.

see GREEK ek

see GREEK pipto

STRONGS NT 1601: ἐκπίπτω

ἐκπίπτω; perfect ἐκπέπτωκα; 2 aorist ἐξέπεσον; 1 aorist ἐξέπεσα (Acts 12:7 L T Tr WH; Galatians 5:4; on this aorist see (πίπτω and) ἀπέρχομαι); (from Homer down); to fall out of, to fall down from;

1. properly: αἱ ἁλύσεις ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν (see ἐκ, I. 3 (cf. Winer's Grammar, 427 (398) and De verb. comp. etc. Part ii., p. 11)), Acts 12:7 (ἐκ τῆς θήκης, Isaiah 6:13; ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, Isaiah 14:12); absolutely: Mark 13:25 R G; Acts 27:32; James 1:11; 1 Peter 1:24; of navigators, ἐκπίπτειν εἰς (i. e. from a straight course) to fall off, i. e. be driven into (cf. Stallbaum on Plato's Phileb., p. 106f; others supply 'from deep water,' and render ἐκπίπτειν, to be cast away), Acts 27:17, 26, 29, in this last verse L T Tr] WH have adopted ἐκπίπτειν κατά; (often in Greek writings, as εἰς γῆν, Euripides, Hel. 409; εἰς τόν λιμένα, Thucydides 2, 92).

2. metaphorically,

a. τίνος (Winers Grammar, 427 (398), and De verb. comp. etc. as above), to fall from a thing, to lose it: τῆς χάριτος, Galatians 5:4; τοῦ ἰδίου στηριγμοῦ, 2 Peter 3:17 (τῆς πρός τόν δῆμον εὐνοίας, Plutarch, Tib. Gracch. 21; βασιλείας, Josephus, Antiquities 7, 9, 2; also with prepositions, ἐκ τῶν ἐοντων, Herodotus 3, 14; ἀπό τῶν ἐλπίδων, Thucydides 8, 81); πόθεν, Revelation 2:5 Rec. (ἐκεῖθεν, Aelian v. h. 4, 7).

b. absolutely, to perish; to fail (properly, to fall from a place which one cannot keep, fall from its position): ἡ ἀγάπη, 1 Corinthians 13:8 R G; to fall powerless, fall to the ground, be without effect: of the divine promise of salvation by Christ, Romans 9:6.

Overview

Strong’s Greek 1601 portrays the idea of “falling away, slipping off, or being cast off.” The term moves easily between the concrete (anchors, chains, blossoms) and the abstract (grace, steadfastness, the trustworthiness of God’s word), giving the New Testament rich imagery for both physical danger and spiritual decline.

Literal and Historical Settings

1. Maritime peril – Luke, an eyewitness on Paul’s voyage, piles up five uses in Acts 27:17, 26, 29, 32. Ropes, anchors, and even the whole ship threaten to “run aground” or “drift away.” The repeated verb heightens the drama: salvation will come only by trusting the word of God delivered through Paul (Acts 27:21-26).
2. Chains in a prison – When the angel visits Peter, “the chains fell off his wrists” (Acts 12:7). The sudden release graphically pictures God’s power to free His servants.
3. Withering vegetation – James 1:11 and 1 Peter 1:24 use common Near-Eastern flora to describe fleeting earthly glory. As surely as a flower “falls,” wealth and human fame evaporate.

Figurative and Doctrinal Uses

1. The Word of God does not fail – “It is not as though God’s word has failed” (Romans 9:6). Despite Israel’s mixed response, divine promise remains intact; any apparent “falling” is on the human side.
2. Apostasy from grace – “You…have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4). To trade the sufficiency of Christ for law-righteousness is to drift from the only harbor of salvation.
3. Loss of steadfastness – Peter warns, “Be on your guard…so that you will not…fall from your secure position” (2 Peter 3:17). Truth known must be truth kept.

Theological Significance

• Permanence of Scripture. The gospel preacher can contrast the failing flower (1 Peter 1:24) with “the word of the Lord [that] stands forever” (verse 25). The verb thus magnifies the durability of revelation.
• Providence in crisis. Acts 27 links physical deliverance to obedient faith. Even when all human skill fails, God guides His people through every threatening “fall.”
• Warning against legalism and false teaching. Galatians 5:4 and 2 Peter 3:17 show that spiritual security is maintained by continual reliance on grace and truth, not by ancestry, ritual, or novel doctrines.

Pastoral and Ministry Application

• Guard the flock. Elders and teachers must keep believers from drifting into error, using Peter’s call to vigilance as a template for watchful shepherding.
• Encourage perseverance. When saints fear that God’s promises have “failed,” remind them of Romans 9:6 and the unfailing word that anchors hope.
• Proclaim liberation in Christ. Acts 12:7 turns every testimony of deliverance—addiction broken, sin’s grip released—into a modern echo of chains “falling off.”
• Model humility. James 1:11 and 1 Peter 1:24 ground stewardship of wealth and position in the certainty that earthly glory will “fall” like a desert blossom.

Intertextual Echoes

Peter’s citation of Isaiah 40 contrasts the transient with the eternal, a theme that reappears in James and implicitly undergirds Paul’s argument in Romans 9. Together these passages create a canonical chorus: human strength fails; God’s purpose does not.

Summary

Whether describing ships, shackles, petals, or souls, Strong’s 1601 confronts readers with the stark possibility of loss—yet simultaneously directs attention to the One whose word, grace, and power never “fall away.”

εκπέπτωκας εκπεπτωκεν εκπέπτωκεν ἐκπέπτωκεν εκπεπτωκότα εκπεσειν εκπεσείν ἐκπεσεῖν εκπέση εκπεσητε εκπέσητε ἐκπέσητε εκπέσοι εκπεσόν εκπεσωμεν εκπέσωμεν ἐκπέσωμεν εκπέσωσι εκπεσωσιν ἐκπέσωσιν εκπίπτει εκπίπτοντες εξεπεσαν ἐξέπεσαν εξεπεσατε εξεπέσατε ἐξεπέσατε εξέπεσε εξεπεσεν εξέπεσεν ἐξέπεσεν εξέπεσον ekpeptoken ekpeptōken ekpéptoken ekpéptōken ekpesein ekpeseîn ekpesete ekpesēte ekpésete ekpésēte ekpesomen ekpesōmen ekpésomen ekpésōmen ekpesosin ekpesōsin ekpésosin ekpésōsin exepesan exépesan exepesate exepésate exepesen exépesenInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts