Must
Must
an impersonal verb, signifying “it is necessary” or “one must,” “one ought,” is found most frequently in the Gospels, Acts and the Apocalypse, and is used (a) of a necessity lying in the nature of the case e.g., Joh 3:30; 2Ti 2:6; (b) of necessity brought about by circumstances, e.g., Mat 26:35, RV, “must,” AV, “should;” Joh 4:4; Act 27:21, “should;” 2Co 11:30; in the case of Christ, by reason of the Father’s will, e.g., Luk 2:49; Luk 19:5; (c) of necessity as to what is required that something may be brought about, e.g., Luk 12:12, “ought;” Joh 3:7; Act 9:6; 1Co 11:19; Heb 9:26; (d) of a necessity of law, duty, equity, e.g., Mat 18:33, “shouldest;” Mat 23:23, “ought;” Luk 15:32, “it was meet;” Act 15:5, “it is needful” (RV); Rom 1:27, RV, “was due,” AV, “was meet” (of a recompense due by the law of God); frequently requiring the rendering “ought,” e.g., Rom 8:26; Rom 12:3; 1Co 8:2; (e) of necessity arising from the determinate will and counsel of God, e.g., Mat 17:10; Mat 24:6; Mat 26:54; 1Co 15:53, especially regarding the salvation of men through the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, e.g., Joh 3:14; Act 3:21; Act 4:12. See BEHOVE, No. 2 (where see the differences in the meanings of synonymous words), MEET, NEED, NEEDFUL, OUGHT, SHOULD.
“to owe,” is rendered “must … needs” in 1Co 5:10. See BEHOVE, No. 1.
Notes: (1) In Mar 14:49, AV, the conjunction hina with the subjunctive mood, “in order that,” is represented by “must” (RV, “that … might”). (2) In Heb 13:17, AV, the future participle of apodidomi, “to give,” is translated “they that must give” (RV, “they that shall give”). (3) In 2Pe 1:14, AV, the verb “to be,” with apothesis, “a putting off,” is translated “I must put off,” RV, “(the) putting off … cometh,” lit., “is (swift).” (4) Sometimes the infinitive mood of a verb, with or without the article, is necessarily rendered by a phrase involving the word “must,” e.g., 1Pe 4:17, AV, “must (begin);” or “should,” Heb 4:6, RV, “should” (AV “must”). (5) Sometimes the subjunctive mood of a verb, used as a deliberative, is rendered “must,” etc., Joh 6:28, “(what) must (we do),” RV (AV, “shall”).