Sphragizo is used of marking people, closing off a tomb, abyss, or words, and confirming matters in stated clauses.

The dominant usage concerns people who are marked: believers are described as having been acted on by God or the Holy Spirit, and slaves of God are to be marked on their foreheads. Other clauses use the verb for closing or withholding access to a stone, an abyss, or spoken words, and for actions connected with testimony, the Son of Man, and fruit delivered to others.

1. Marking persons · dominant

   Passive forms describe persons as having received the action: in Ephesians 1:13 the APB renders that the hearers, after trusting, “were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,” and Ephesians 4:30 similarly says they “were sealed for the day of redemption.” In Revelation 7:3 the first-person plural subjunctive concerns marking God's slaves on their foreheads; the perfect passive participles in Revelation 7:4, Revelation 7:5, and Revelation 7:8 identify those already marked.

   Ephesians 1:13Ephesians 4:30Revelation 7:3Revelation 7:4Revelation 7:5Revelation 7:8
2. Closing or withholding access · common

   In Matthew 27:66, an aorist active participle occurs as the tomb is made secure by acting on its stone with a guard. Revelation 20:3 places the same action over the abyss after it is shut, while Revelation 10:4 commands that the seven thunders' words be kept from writing; Revelation 22:10 gives the contrasting instruction not to do this to the prophecy's words.

   Matthew 27:66Revelation 10:4Revelation 20:3Revelation 22:10
3. Confirming a stated matter · occasional

   John 3:33 places the aorist active form with accepting testimony; the APB renders the resulting clause, “has affirmed that God is true.” John 6:27 applies the action to the Son of Man in the Father's statement, and Romans 15:28 uses an aorist middle participle as the speaker completes and delivers “this fruit” to others.

   John 3:33John 6:27Romans 15:28

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly uses “sealed” or “seal,” including people in Ephesians 1:13 and Revelation 7:3 and physical or verbal closure in Matthew 27:66 and Revelation 10:4. In John 3:33 it instead renders the clause with “affirmed,” so the translation’s wording should not be treated as a word-for-word mapping.