From teros (a watch; perhaps akin to theoreo); to guard (from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing from phulasso, which is properly to prevent escaping; and from koustodia, which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), i.e. To note (a prophecy; figuratively, to fulfil a command); by implication, to detain (in custody; figuratively, to maintain); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep unmarried); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep unmarried) -- hold fast, keep(- er), (pre-, re-)serve, watch.

see GREEK theoreo

see GREEK phulasso

see GREEK koustodia

a. properly, to guard: τινα, a prisoner, Matthew 27:36, 54; Acts 16:23; passive, Acts 12:5; (); (b); τί, ; οἱ τηροῦντες ((R. V.) the watchers) the guards, Matthew 28:4 (Song of Solomon 3:3).

b. metaphorically, to keep: τινα, one in that state in which he is, τήν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον, his own virgin daughter, namely, as a virgin i. e. unmarried, 1 Corinthians 7:37; ἑαυτόν, himself such as he is, i. e. begotten of God, 1 John 5:18 (but here T Tr WH αὐτόν); with a predicate accusative added: ἁγνόν, 1 Timothy 5:22; ἄσπιλον ἀπό τοῦ κόσμου, James 1:27; ἀβαρῆ τίνι, 2 Corinthians 11:9 (ἁπλουν, Antoninus 6, 30; τινα ἄμεμπτον τῷ Θεῷ, Wis. 10:5); τί with a predicate accusative 1 Timothy 6:14 (but see in c. below); passive, τηροῦμαι, with an adverb, ἀμέμπτως, 1 Thessalonians 5:23; with a dative of the person, Χριστῷ, devoted to Christ (Winer's Grammar, 421 (392)), Jude 1:1; τηρεῖν τινα ἐν τίνι: to keep in i. e. cause one to persevere or stand firm in a thing: ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Θεοῦ (see p. 447b bottom), John 17:11f; ἐν ἀγάπη Θεοῦ, Jude 1:21; τινα ἐκ τίνος, by guarding to cause one to escape in safety out of etc.: ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ, out of the power and assaults of Satan, John 17:15 (cf. Buttmann, 327 (281); Winer's Grammar, 410 (383)); ἐκ τῆς ὥρας τοῦ πειρασμοῦ, Revelation 3:10. to keep: i. e. not to leave, τήν ἀρχήν, Jude 1:6; not to throw away, τά ἱμάτια, Revelation 16:15. to hold firmly: τήν ἑνότητα τοῦ πνεύματος, Ephesians 4:3; anything as a mental deposit, τήν πίστιν, 2 Timothy 4:7; Revelation 14:12 (cf. Winers Grammar, 536 (499); Buttmann, 78 (68)). to show oneself to be actually holding a thing fast, i. e.

c. to observe: namely, πῶς κτλ., Revelation 3:3; τί Matthew 23:3; Acts 21:25 (Rec.); τήν παράδοσιν, Mark 7:9 (WH (rejected) marginal reading στήσητε) (τά ἐκ παραδοσεως τῶν πατέρων, Josephus, Antiquities 13, 10, 6); τόν νόμον, Acts 15:5 and Rec. in Acts 15:24; James 2:10; τό σάββατον, the command respecting sabbath-keeping, John 9:16; τάς ἐντολάς (of either God or Christ), Matthew 19:17; John 14:15, 21; John 15:10; 1 John 2:3; 1 John 3:22, 24; 1 John 5:2 (where L T Tr WH ποιῶμεν); ; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12 (see above,

b. at the end); τήν ἐντολήν, 1 Timothy 6:14 (see in b. above; πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην, Matthew 28:20); τόν λόγον, either of Christ or of God, John 8:51f, 55; John 14:23; John 15:20; John 17:6; 1 John 2:5; Revelation 3:8; τούς λόγους, of Christ, John 14:24; τόν λόγον τῆς ὑπομονῆς μου (i. e. Ἰησοῦ), Revelation 3:10; τά ἔργα μου, the works that I command, Revelation 2:26; τούς λόγους τῆς προφητείας, Revelation 22:7; τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου, Revelation 22:9; τά ἐν τῇ προφητεία γεγραμμένα, Revelation 1:3; cf. Lipsius, Paulin. Rechtfertigungsl., p. 194f,

d. to reserve: τινα εἰς τί, to undergo something, 2 Peter 2:4 (cf. Winer's Grammar, 342 (321); εἰς τήν τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ διάγνωσιν, Acts 25:21a); Jude 1:6; τινα εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως, 2 Peter 2:9; τούς οὐρανούς πυρί; (to be burned with fire) εἰς ἡμέραν κρίσεως, 2 Peter 3:7; τί εἰς τινα, a thing for one's advantage, 1 Peter 1:4; τί εἰς ἡμέραν τινα, to be used some day for some purpose, John 12:7; τί ἕως ἄρτι, John 2:10; τί with the dative of the person, for rewarding or punishing one, passive, 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 1:13. (Compare: διατηρέω, παρατηρέω, συντηρέω.) [SYNONYMS: τηρέω, φυλάσσω: τηρέω to watch or keep, φυλάσσω to guard; τηρέω expresses watchful care and is suggestive of present possession, φυλάσσω indicates safe custody and often implies assault from without; τηρέω may mark the result of which φυλάσσω is the means (e. g. John 17:12 where the words occur together, cf. Wisd. 10:5). See Westcott on John 8:51; Schmidt, chapter 208, especially § 4.]