vessel
skeuos denotes a physical container or implement, and can picture a person in terms of such an object.
The term most often names tangible containers or objects used, carried, filled, broken, or made from materials. In person-centered clauses it can portray people as objects marked by honor, mercy, weakness, usefulness, or a task, and it also occurs for household goods liable to be taken or plundered.
Senses in use
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Tangible containers and implements · dominant
The term identifies physical objects in concrete settings: in Acts 10:11 the APB renders a descending object like a sheet as a “vessel,” while in John 19:29 it renders one full of vinegar as a “vessel.” Hebrews 9:21 places plural objects with the tent and ministry, and Revelation 2:27 compares clay objects being broken.
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Persons portrayed as vessels · common
In clauses concerning people, the term frames a person by an assigned condition or purpose. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 the APB renders people who have a treasure as “clay vessels”; in 2 Timothy 2:21 it describes someone cleansed as a “vessel for honor,” useful and prepared for good work. Romans 9:21 contrasts one object made for honorable use with another for dishonorable use, and Acts 9:15 calls a man a chosen “instrument” for carrying the name before specified hearers.
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Household goods liable to be taken · occasional
The plural form occurs for items associated with a house and its contents. In Luke 17:31 the APB speaks of belongings in the house that must not be retrieved, while Mark 3:27 and Matthew 12:29 describe goods carried off when a strong man's house is plundered.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly uses “vessel” in concrete and person-focused clauses, but also has “instrument” in Acts 9:15 and “possessions” in Matthew 12:29. Because it is a whole-verse translation, these renderings show the verse contexts rather than fixed English equivalents.