to struggle
Agonizomai describes sustained, strenuous effort toward a goal, including striving in prayer, entry, and a good fight.
The attested use chiefly describes sustained striving directed toward a stated aim: self-control for a crown, entry through the narrow door, labor empowered for ministry, prayer for others, and holding fast to eternal life. In two conflict-shaped clauses, it is set in terms of servants fighting to prevent Jesus' handover and a completed “good fight.”
Senses in use
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Strenuous effort toward a stated goal · dominant
In 1 Corinthians 9:25, the present participle occurs with self-control and the aim of receiving a crown; in Colossians 1:29 it accompanies labor according to active energy. In Colossians 4:12 it is linked with prayers for believers to stand mature and assured, while Luke 13:24 and 1 Timothy 6:12 direct such effort toward entering and taking hold of eternal life; the APB renders these clauses with “struggles,” “striving,” and “Struggle.”
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Fighting in a conflict setting · occasional
In John 18:36, the imperfect third-person plural form stands in the conditional statement that Jesus' servants would have fought to prevent his handover. In 2 Timothy 4:7, the perfect first-person form appears in the speaker's statement that the good fight has been fought and the race finished; the APB renders the clauses with “fought.”
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB presents the clauses with “struggles,” “Struggle,” “striving,” and “fought.” These are whole-verse renderings of the term.