Eph. 3:13, “13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart…”
Lose heart (1573) (ekkakeo [equivalent to egkakeo, enkakeo] from ek = out of or intensifies meaning + kakós = bad) means to strictly speaking means to act or behave badly in some circumstance. It can mean to give in to evil. It can convey the idea of to be weary in or become tired of doing something.
It can mean to be a coward or to lose one’s courage.
It was used of husbandmen who are tempted to slacken their exertions by reason of the weariness caused by prolonged effort.
Ekkakeo means to lose one’s motivation in continuing a desirable pattern of conduct or activity.
Ekkakeo means to be fainthearted or to faint or despond in view of trial or difficulty and it is always used with the negative particle.
It means to lose one’s motivation to accomplish some valid goal and so to become discouraged and give up. It can mean to lose one’s motivation in continuing a desirable pattern of conduct or activity.
The present tense in this verse speaks of a continuing action (“don’t let this be your continual response to my tribulations” is the idea).
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