to loose
luo denotes unfastening what is tied and, in other settings, release from restraint or the breaking apart of what stands firm.
The occurrences most often show the unfastening of a tangible object that is tied or bound, especially sandals and animals. They also describe release from bonds or confinement, the breaking apart or setting aside of structures and constraints, and, in two sayings, loosing on earth in relation to what is loosed in heaven.
Senses in use
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Unfastening tied objects · dominant
The active forms concern removing or undoing tangible restraints: John says he is unworthy to untie a sandal strap in John 1:27, and the disciples untie a colt in Mark 11:2 and Luke 19:30. In John 11:44, the plural command addresses the graveclothes binding the man who came out.
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Release from a binding or confinement · common
This use concerns persons or conditions held under restraint: in Luke 13:16 the APB renders the clause as being released from a bond, while Acts 22:30 describes a man being loosed before the council. Revelation 9:14 and Revelation 9:15 concern angels who were bound and then loosed; Revelation 1:5 speaks of being loosed from sins.
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Breaking apart or setting aside · common
The term is used where something is broken, dismantled, or no longer held intact. In 2 Peter 3:10 and 2 Peter 3:12, the APB renders the future passive clauses with the heavens being “dissolved”; John 2:19 addresses the temple's destruction, and Matthew 5:19 concerns breaking a commandment.
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Loosing on earth and in heaven · rare
In Matthew 16:19, the second-person aorist subjunctive is paired with a perfect passive form in the statement that what is loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 repeats the same earth-and-heaven relation in the plural.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses the APB uses wording such as “untie,” “loose,” “released,” “dissolved,” “break,” and “destroy.” These renderings reflect differing clauses and contexts.