λύω; imperfect 
ἐλυον; 1 aorist 
ἔλυσά; passive, present 
λύομαι; imperfect 
ἐλυομην; perfect 2 person singular 
λέλυσαι, participle 
λελυμενος; 1 aorist 
ἐλυθην; 1 future 
λυθήσομαι; from 
Homer down; the 
Sept. several times for 
פָּתַח, to open, 
הִתִּיר and Chaldean 
שְׁרֵא (
Daniel 3:25; 
Daniel 5:12); 
to loose; i. e.: 
1. to loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened: properly, the bandages of the feet, the shoes, 
Mark 1:7; 
Luke 3:16; 
John 1:27; Acts (
Acts 13:25); 
Acts 7:33 (so for 
נָשַׁל to take off, 
Exodus 3:5; 
Joshua 5:15); 
πῶλον (
δεδεμένον), 
Matthew 21:2; 
Mark 11:2,(
Mark 11:3 L marginal reading),
Mark 11:4f; 
Luke 19:30f, 
33; bad angels, 
Revelation 9:14f; 
τόν βοῦν ἀπό τῆς φάτνης, 
Luke 13:15; tropically: of husband and wife joined together by the bond of matrimony, 
λέλυσαι ἀπό γυναικός (opposed to 
δέδεσαι γυναικί), spoken of a single man, whether he has already had a wife or has not yet married, 
1 Corinthians 7:27. 
2. to loose one bound, i. e. to unbind, release from bonds, set free: one bound up (swathed in bandages), 
John 11:44; bound with chains (a prisoner), 
Acts 22:30 (where 
Rec. adds 
ἀπό τῶν δεσμῶν); hence, equivalent to 
to discharge from prison, let go, Acts 24:26 Rec. (so as far back as 
Homer); in Apocalyptic vision of the devil (
κεκλεισμένον), 
Revelation 20:3; 
ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς αὐτοῦ, 7; metaphorically, to free (
ἀπό δεσμοῦ) from the bondage of disease (one held by Satan) by restoration to health, 
Luke 13:16; to release one bound by the chains of sin, 
ἐκ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, 
Revelation 1:5 L T Tr WH (see 
λούω at the end (cf. 
Winer's Grammar, § 30, 6 a.)). 
3. to loosen, undo, dissolve, anything bound, tied, or compacted together: the seal of a book, 
Revelation 5:2 (5 
Rec.); tropically, 
τόν δεσμόν τῆς γλώσσης τίνος, to remove an impediment of speech, restore speech to a dumb man, 
Mark 7:35 (
Justin, hist. 13, 7, 1 cui nomen Battos propter linguae obligationem init; 6 linguae nodis solutis loqui primum coepit); an assembly, i. e. 
to dismiss, break up: 
τήν συναγωγήν, passive, 
Acts 13:43 (
ἀγορην, 
Homer, Iliad 1, 305; Odyssey 2, 257, etc.; 
Apoll. Rh. 1, 708; 
τήν στρατιάν, 
Xenophon, Cyril 6, 1, 2); of the bonds of death, 
λύειν τάς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θαντου, 
Acts 2:24 (see 
ὠδίν). Laws, as having binding force, are likened to bonds; hence, 
λύειν is equivalent to 
to annul, subvert; to do away with; to deprive of authority, whether by precept or by act: 
ἐντολήν, 
Matthew 5:19; 
τόν νόμον, 
John 7:23; 
τό σάββατον, the commandment concerning the sabbath, 
John 5:18; 
τήν γραφήν, 
John 10:35; cf. Kuinoel on 
Matthew 5:17; (on the singular reading 
λύει τόν Ἰησοῦ, 
1 John 4:3 WH marginal reading see Westcott's Commentary at the passage); by a Chaldean and Talmudic usage (equivalent to 
אַתֵּר, 
שְׁרֵא (cf. 
Winer's Grammar, 32)), opposed to 
δέω (which see 2 c.), 
to declare lawful: 
Matthew 16:19; 
Matthew 18:18 (but cf. Weiss in Meyer 7te Aufl. ad the passages cited). to loose what is compacted or built together, 
to break up, demolish, destroy: properly, in passive 
ἐλύετο ἡ πρύμνα, was breaking to pieces, 
Acts 27:41; 
τόν ναόν, 
John 2:19; 
τό μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ, 
Ephesians 2:14 (
τά τείχη, 1 Esdr. 1:52; 
γέφυραν, 
Xenophon, an. 2, 4, 17f); to dissolve something coherent into parts, 
to destroy: passive (
τούτων πάντων λυομένων, 
2 Peter 3:11); 
τά στοιχεῖα (
καυσούμενα), 
2 Peter 3:10; 
οὐρανοί (
πυρούμενοι), 
2 Peter 3:12; metaphorically, 
to overthrow, do away with: 
τά ἔργα τοῦ διαβόλου, 
1 John 3:8. (Compare: 
ἀναλύω, 
ἀπολύω, 
διαλύω, 
ἐκλύω, 
ἐπιλύω, 
καταλύω, 
πυραλύω.) 
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