mepote marks a negative contingency or outcome that the surrounding statement seeks to prevent or consider.

As a function word, mēpote is used in clauses that present a negative contingency: the surrounding statement warns against, guards against, or considers an outcome such as drifting away, falling short, imprisonment, or a harmful response.

1. Negative-contingency connective · dominant

   The supplied morphology identifies the form chiefly as a Conjunction, with some occurrences tagged Particle or Adverb. In Hebrews 2:1, the form occurs in the statement calling for closer attention and warning of drifting away; in Hebrews 3:12, it occurs in the warning about an evil heart and departing from the living God. In Matthew 5:25 and Luke 12:58, it appears in the sequence involving an opponent, a judge, and imprisonment; the APB presents these verses with a negative caution.

   Hebrews 2:1Hebrews 3:12Matthew 5:25Luke 12:58Matthew 7:6Matthew 15:32

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the relevant clauses with “lest,” as in Hebrews 3:12, Matthew 5:25, and Matthew 7:6, while other verses express the negative outcome differently. Its English phrasing does not isolate the contribution of the function word in every occurrence.