1710. emporeuomai
Lexical Summary
emporeuomai: To trade, to engage in business, to travel for trade

Original Word: ἐμπορεύομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: emporeuomai
Pronunciation: em-por-YOO-om-ahee
Phonetic Spelling: (em-por-yoo'-om-ahee)
KJV: buy and sell, make merchandise
NASB: engage in business, exploit
Word Origin: [from G1722 (ἔν - among) and G4198 (πορεύομαι - go)]

1. to travel in (a country as a pedlar)
2. (by implication) to trade

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
buy and sell, trade, make merchandise.

From en and poreuomai; to travel in (a country as a pedlar), i.e. (by implication) to trade -- buy and sell, make merchandise.

see GREEK en

see GREEK poreuomai

HELPS Word-studies

1710 emporeúomai (the root of the English term, emporium, "a place for trading") – properly, "to engage in trade" (Souter); doing business by trading; to make a gain by exchanging (bartering, investing) (A-S).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from en and poreuomai
Definition
to travel in, to traffic, by impl. to trade
NASB Translation
engage in business (1), exploit (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1710: ἐμπορεύομαι

ἐμπορεύομαι (see ἐν, III. 3): deponent passive with future middle ἐμπορεύσομαι; (from ἔμπορος, which see); to go a trading, to travel for business, to traffic, trade (Thucydides and following; the Sept.): James 4:13 (Rst G here give the 1 aorist subjunctive ἐμπορευσώμεθα); with the accusative of a thing, to import for sale (as ἔλαιον εἰς Αἴγυπτον, the Sept. Hosea 12:1; πορφύραν ἀπό Φοινίκης, (Diogenes Laërtius 7, 2; γλαυκας, Lucian, Nigrin. at the beginning); to deal in; to use a thing or a person for gain (A. V. make merchandise of) (ὥραν τοῦ σώματος, Josephus, Antiquities 4, 6, 8; Ἀσπασια ἐνεπορεύετο πλήθη γυναικῶν, Athen. 13, p. 569 f.): 2 Peter 2:3; cf. Winers Grammar, 223 (209); (Buttmann, 147 (129)).

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope

The verb denotes engaging in commerce—traveling, negotiating, entering markets, and seeking profit. Although a normal element of ancient economic life, Scripture employs the term to expose the heart motives that so often accompany buying and selling.

Biblical Occurrences

James 4:13 – “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.’”
2 Peter 2:3 – “In their greed these teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.”

Usage in Scripture

James addresses self-confident merchants who plan extended ventures with no reference to the Lord’s will. Their language of projected itineraries, time frames, and profits illustrates the presumption of setting human plans above divine sovereignty.

Peter applies the commercial metaphor to false teachers. Just as traders viewed goods only in terms of gain, these leaders view believers as commodities to be exploited. Deceptive speech becomes their marketing strategy, and greed their motive.

Historical Background

First-century commerce thrived along Roman roads and maritime routes. Traveling merchants (emporoi) carried textiles, spices, metals, and luxury items across the Mediterranean. Their success depended on accurate forecasts of weather, political stability, and market demand—factors ultimately outside human control. Both James and Peter draw on this everyday scene. Listeners knew the risks of shipping ventures and the aggressive tactics of some traders, making the apostolic warnings vivid and practical.

Theological Themes

• Human Limitation versus Divine Providence

James contrasts detailed commercial schedules with the fragility of life: “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Planning is not condemned, but planning without humble submission to God’s sovereignty is.

• Greed and Spiritual Exploitation

Peter unmasks covetousness as the driving force behind doctrinal error. The same appetite that inflates prices in the marketplace can corrupt ministry, turning shepherds into profiteers.

• Accountability and Judgment

Both passages affirm that temporal success does not cancel eternal reckoning. James reminds readers that the future belongs to God; Peter assures the church that judgment “does not sleep.”

Connections to the Wider Canon

• Proverbs warns against boasting about tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1) and against dishonest scales (Proverbs 11:1).
• Jesus’ parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21) parallels James by depicting a businessman whose plans ignored God.
• The cleansing of the temple (Matthew 21:12-13) demonstrates the Lord’s zeal against turning worship into merchandising.
Revelation 18 portrays Babylon’s merchants weeping over lost profits, echoing Peter’s linkage of commerce, deception, and judgment.

Ministry Applications

• Planning with Dependence

Church leaders and believers rightly strategize for missions, budgets, and careers, yet every agenda should remain flexible before the Lord: “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15).

• Guarding the Flock

Pastors must ensure that teaching and counseling are motivated by love, not gain. Financial transparency and doctrinal fidelity safeguard congregations from being “exploited with deceptive words.”

• Discerning Teachers

Believers test ministries by their fruit: Do they exalt Christ or merchandise His people? Do they present the gospel freely or attach manipulative strings?

• Stewardship Over Greed

Commerce can serve kingdom purposes—funding missions, aiding the poor, sustaining families—when practiced ethically and submitted to God. The biblical critique targets greed, not legitimate enterprise.

Warnings for the Church

1. Presumptive ambition can masquerade as faith.
2. Gifted communicators may hide mercenary motives.
3. Prosperity, when idolized, blinds hearts to eternal realities.

Encouragement for Believers

• God oversees every venture; trusting Him frees the soul from anxiety about markets and calendars.
• The Judge of all the earth will vindicate truth and punish exploitation.
• Honest work, pursued with humility, becomes worship and witness.

Summary

Appearing only twice, this commercial verb powerfully illustrates two perennial dangers: boasting independence from God and commercializing the faith. The antidote is humble reliance on the Lord’s will, ethical stewardship of resources, and unwavering commitment to truth.

Forms and Transliterations
εμπορεύεσθε εμπορευέσθωσαν εμπορευομένη εμπορευομένων εμπορεύονταί εμπορευσομεθα εμπορευσόμεθα ἐμπορευσόμεθα εμπορευσονται ἐμπορεύσονται εμπορευσώμεθα ενεπορεύετο ενεπορεύοντό emporeusometha emporeusómetha emporeusontai emporeúsontai
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Englishman's Concordance
James 4:13 V-FIM-1P
GRK: ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ ἐμπορευσόμεθα καὶ κερδήσομεν
NAS: there and engage in business and make
KJV: year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
INT: a year and may trade and may make gain

2 Peter 2:3 V-FIM-3P
GRK: λόγοις ὑμᾶς ἐμπορεύσονται οἷς τὸ
NAS: and in [their] greed they will exploit you with false
KJV: words make merchandise of you:
INT: words you they will exploit for whom the

Strong's Greek 1710
2 Occurrences


ἐμπορευσόμεθα — 1 Occ.
ἐμπορεύσονται — 1 Occ.

1709
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