From apo and hiemi (to send; an intensive form of eimi, to go); to send forth, in various applications (as follow) -- cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up.

see GREEK apo

1. to send away;

a. to bid go away or depart: τούς ὄχλους, Matthew 13:36 (others refer this to 3 below); τήν γυναῖκα, of a husband putting away his wife, 1 Corinthians 7:11-13 (Herodotus 5, 39; and a substantive, ἄφεσις, Plutarch, Pomp c. 42, 6).

b. to send forth, yield up, emit: τό πνεῦμα, to expire, Matthew 27:50 (τήν ψυχήν, Genesis 35:18; Herodotus 4, 190 and often in other Greek writings (see πνεῦμα, 2)), φωνήν to utter a cry (emitterevocem, Livy 1, 58), Mark 15:37 (Genesis 45:2 and often in Greek writings; (cf. Heinichen on Eusebius, h. e. 8, 14, 17)).

c. to let go, let alone, let be; α. to disregard: Matthew 15:14. β. to leave, not to discuss now, a topic, used of tethers, writers, speakers, etc.: Hebrews 6:1 (Euripides, Andr. 392; Theophrastus, char. praef. § 3; for other examples from Greek writings see Bleek on Heb. vol. 2:2, p. 144f) (others take the word in Hebrews, the passage cited as expressive of the duty of the readers, rather than the purpose of the writer; and consequently refer the passage to 3 below). γ. to omit, neglect: Matthew 23:23 (Luke 11:42 R G); Mark 7:8; Romans 1:27. δ. to let go, give up, a debt, by not demanding it (opposed to κρατεῖν, John 20:23), i. e. to remit, forgive: τό δάνειον, Matthew 18:27; τήν ὀφειλήν, Matthew 18:32; τά ὀφειλήματα, Matthew 6:12; τά παραπτώματα, Matthew 6:14; Mark 11:25f. (T Tr WH omit Mark 11:26); τάς ἁμαρτίας, τά ἁμαρτήματα, τάς ἀνομίας, Matthew 9:2, 5; Matthew 12:31; Mark 2:5, 7; Mark 3:28; Luke 5:20f, 23; Romans 4:7 (from Psalm 31:1 ()); 1 John 1:9; James 5:15 (Isaiah 22:14; Isaiah 33:24, etc.); ἡ ἐπίνοια τῆς καρδίας, Acts 8:22, (τήν αἰτίαν, Herodotus 6, 30; τά χρέα, Aelian v. h. 14, 24); absolutely, ἀφιέναι τίνι to forgive one: Matthew 12:32; Matthew 18:21, 35; Mark 4:12; Luke 11:4; Luke 12:10; Luke 17:3; Luke 23:34 (L brackets WH reject the passage).

e. to give up, keep no longer: τήν πρώτην ἀγάπην, Revelation 2:4.

2. to permit, allow, not to hinder;

a. followed by a present infinitive (Buttmann, 258 (222)): Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16 ἄφετε ἔρχεσθαι καί μή κωλύετε αὐτά, Matthew 13:30; Mark 1:34; John 11:44; John 18:8. by the aorist infinitive: Matthew 8:22; Matthew 23:13 (14); Mark 5:37; Mark 7:12, 27; Luke 8:51; Luke 9:60; Luke 12:39; Revelation 11:9.

b. without an infinitive: Matthew 3:15 (ἄφες ἄρτι permit it just now). with an accusative of the person or thing permitted: Matthew 3:15 τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτόν, Mark 5:19; Mark 11:6; Mark 14:6; Luke 13:8; John 12:7 R G; ; Acts 5:38 (L T Tr WH; R G ἐάσατε); Revelation 2:20 (Rec. ἐᾷς).

c. ἀφίημι τίνι τί, to give up a thing to one: Matthew 5:40 (ἄφες αὐτῷ καί τό ἱμάτιον).

d. followed by ἵνα: Mark 11:16; John 12:7 L T Tr WH, a later construction, cf. Winers Grammar, § 44, 8; Buttmann, 238 (205).

e. followed by the simple hortative subjunctive: Matthew 7:4; Luke 6:42 (ἄφες ἐκβάλω); Matthew 27:49; Mark 15:36 (ἄφετε ἴδωμεν); Epictetus diss. 1, 9, 15 ἄφες δειξωμεν, 3, 12, 15 ἄφες ἴδω. Cf. Buttmann, 209f (181f); Winer's Grammar, 285 (268).

3. to leave, go away from one; to depart from anyone,

a. in order to go to another place: Matthew 22:22; Matthew 26:44; Mark 8:13 (Matthew 16:4 καταλιπών); ; John 4:3; John 16:28.

b. to depart from one whom one wishes to quit: Matthew 4:11; so of diseases departing, ἀφῆκεν τινα ὁ πυρετός, Matthew 8:15; Mark 1:31; Luke 4:39; John 4:52.

c. to depart from one and leave him to himself, so that all mutual claims are abandoned: τόν πατέρα, Matthew 4:22; Mark 1:20; Matthew 18:12 (Luke 15:4 καταλείπει). Thus also ἀφιέναι τά ἑαυτοῦ to leave possessions, home, etc.: Matthew 4:20; Matthew 19:27, 29; Mark 1:18; Mark 10:28; Luke 5:11; Luke 18:28f.

d. to desert one (wrongfully): Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50; John 10:12.

e. to go away leaving something behind: Matthew 5:24; John 4:28.

f. to leave one by not taking him as a companion: opposed to παραλαμβάνειν, Matthew 24:40f: Luke 17:34f.

g. to leave on dying, leave behind one: τέκνα, γυναῖκα, Matthew 22:25; Mark 12:20, 22 (Luke 20:31 καταλείπω). h. to leave so that what is left may remain, leave remaining: οὐ μή ἀφεθῇ ὧδε λίθος ἐπί λίθον (or λίθῳ), Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6. 1:ἀφιέναι followed by the accusative of a noun or pronoun with an accusative of the predicate (Buttmann, § 144, 18): Luke 10:30 (ἡμιθανῆ); John 14:18 (τινα ὀρθανον); Matthew 23:38; Luke 13:35 (but Lachmann omits ἔρημος in both passages, WH text omits in Matthew, G T Tr WH omit in Luke; that being omitted, ἀφιέναι means to abandon, to leave destitute of God's help); Acts 14:17 (ἀμάρτυρον ἑαυτόν (L T Tr αὐτόν (WH αὑτόν which see))).