"a bond, anything by which one is bound, a cord, chain, fetters, etc.; and by meton. imprisonment, Lk. 8:29; Acts 16:26; 20:23; a string or ligament, as of the tongue, Mk. 7:35; met. an impediment, infirmity, Lk. 13:16"
Definition and meaning
a bond, anything by which one is bound, a cord, chain, fetters, etc.; and by meton. imprisonment, Lk. 8:29; Acts 16:26; 20:23; a string or ligament, as of the tongue, Mk. 7:35; met. an impediment, infirmity, Lk. 13:16
In the original Greek the word is written: δεσμός
Historical context
The Gospel of Mark moves urgently — the word "immediately" appears over 40 times. It was written for a Roman audience familiar with power and action. Jesus is portrayed as a man who acts, heals, and commands authority that the Roman world had never seen from a Jewish teacher.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of desmos (G1199) across the King James Bible.
And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.
Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
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Common questions
Strong's G1199 (desmos) is a Greek word that means: a bond, anything by which one is bound, a cord, chain, fetters, etc.; and by meton. imprisonment, Lk. 8:29; Acts 16:26; 20:23; a string or ligament, as of the tongue, Mk. 7:35; met. an impediment, inf... It appears 20 times in the King James Bible.
The word desmos (G1199) appears 20 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G1199 is desmos, a Greek word defined as: a bond, anything by which one is bound, a cord, chain, fetters, etc.; and by meton. imprisonment, Lk. 8:29; Acts 16:26; 20:23; a string or ligament, a. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
desmos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.