πείθω [(from the root meaning 'to bind'; allied with πίστις, fides, foedus, etc.; Curtius, § 327; Vanicek, p. 592)]; imperfect ἔπειθον; future πείσω; 1 aorist ἐπεισα; 2 perfect πέποιθα; pluperfect ἐπεποίθειν (Luke 11:22); passive [or middle, present πείθομαι; imperfect ἐπειθομην); perfect πέπεισμαι; 1 aorist ἐπείσθην; 1 future πεισθήσομαι (Luke 16:31); from Homer down;
1. Active;
a. to persuade, i. e. to induce one by words to believe: absolutely πείσας μετέστησεν ἱκανόν ὄχλον, Acts 19:26; τί, to cause belief in a thing (which one sets forth), Acts 19:8 R G T [cf. Buttmann, 150 (131) n.] (Sophocles O. C. 1442); τερί with the genitive of the thing, ibid. L Tr WH; τινά, one, Acts 18:4; τινά τι, one of a thing, Acts 28:23 Rec. (Herodotus 1, 163; Plato, Apology, p. 37 a., and elsewhere; [cf. Buttmann, as above]); τινὰ περἰ τινος, concerning a thing, ibid. G L T Tr WH.
b. as in classical Greek from Homer down, with an accusative of a person, to make friends of, win one's favor, gain one's good-will, Acts 12:20; or to seek to win one, strive to please one, 2 Corinthians 5:11; Galatians 1:10; to conciliate by persuasion, Matthew 28:14 [here T WH omit; Tr brackets αὐτόν]; Acts 14:19; equivalent to to tranquillize [A. V. assure], τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν, 1 John 3:19.
c. to persuade unto i. e. move or induce one by persuasion to do something: τινά followed by an infinitive [B § 139, 46], Acts 13:43; Acts 26:28 (Xenophon, an. 1, 3, 19; Polybius 4, 64, 2; Diodorus 11, 15; 12, 39; Josephus, Antiquities 8, 10, 3); τινά followed by ἵνα [cf. Winers Grammar, 338 (317); Buttmann, § 139, 46], Matthew 27:20 [Plutarch, apoph. Alex. 21].
2. Passive and middle [cf. Winers Grammar, 253 (238)];
a. to be persuaded, to suffer oneself to be persuaded; to be induced to believe: absol, Luke 16:31; Acts 17:4; to have faith, Hebrews 11:13 Rec.; τινί, in a thing, Acts 28:24; to believe, namely, ὅτι, Hebrews 13:18 L T Tr WH. πέπεισμαί τι [on the neuter accusative cf. Buttmann, § 131, 10] περί τίνας (genitive of person), to be persuaded (of) a thing concerning a person, Hebrews 6:9 [A. V. we are persuaded better things of you, etc.); πεπεισμένος εἰμί, to have persuaded oneself, and πείθομαι, to believe [cf. English to be persuaded], followed by an accusative with an infinitive, Luke 20:6; Acts 26:26; πέπεισμαι ὅτι, Romans 8:38; 2 Timothy 1:5, 12; with ἐν κυρίῳ added (see ἐν, I. 6 b.), Romans 14:14; περί τινος ὅτι, Romans 15:14.
b. to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with: τινί, one, Acts 5:36f, 39 (40); Acts 23:21; Acts 27:11; Romans 2:8; Galatians 3:1 Rec.; Galatians 5:7; Hebrews 13:17; James 3:3.
3. 2 perfect πέποιθα (Septuagint mostly for בָּטַח, also for חָסָה, נִשְׁעַן Niphal of the unused שָׁעַן), intransitive, to trust, have confidence, be confident: followed by an accusative with an infinitive, Romans 2:19; by ὅτι, Hebrews 13:18 Rec.; by ὅτι with a preparatory αὐτὸ τοῦτο [Winer's Grammar, § 23, 5], Philippians 1:6; τοῦτο πεποιθώς οἶδα ὅτι, Philippians 1:25; πέποιθα with a dative of the person or the thing in which the confidence reposes (so in classical Greek [on its construction in the N. T. see Buttmann, § 133, 5; Winer's Grammar, 214 (201); § 33, d.]): Philippians 1:14; Philemon 1:21 (2 Kings 18:20; Proverbs 14:16; Proverbs 28:26; Isaiah 28:17; Sir. 35:24 (Sir. 32:24); Wis. 14:29); ἑαυτῷ followed by an infinitive 2 Corinthians 10:7; ἔν τινι, to trust in, put confidence in a person or thing [cf. Buttmann, as above], Philippians 3:3, 4; ἐν κυρίῳ followed by ὅτι, Philippians 2:24; ἐπί τινι, Matthew 27:43 L text WH marginal reading; Mark 10:24 [where T WH omit; Tr marginal reading brackets the clause]; Luke 11:22; Luke 18:9; 2 Corinthians 1:9; Hebrews 2:13 (and very often in the Septuagint, as Deuteronomy 28:52; 2 Chronicles 14:11; Psalm 2:13; Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 8:17; Isaiah 31:1); ἐπί τινα, Matthew 27:43 where L text WH marginal reading ἐπί with the dative (Isaiah 36:5; Habakkuk 2:18; 2 Chronicles 16:7f, etc.); ἐπί τινα followed by ὅτι, 2 Corinthians 2:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:4; εἴς τινα followed by ὅτι, Galatians 5:10.
[Compare: ἀναπείθω.]

Related entry:

Πειθώ, Πειθους, ἡ,
1. Peitho, proper name of a goddess, literally, Persuasion; LatinSuada orSuadela.
2. persuasive power, persuasion: 1 Corinthians 2:4 ἐν πειθοι — accusative to certain inferior authorities. (On the word, see Müller's note on Josephus, contra Apion 2, 21, 3. (Hesiod, Herodotus, others.))