The Greek verb odunao means to cause pain, to be in anguish, or to experience intense grief and distress. It describes deep emotional or physical suffering. The word appears in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, where the rich man in Hades is in agony (odunomai), and in Luke 2:48 when Mary rebukes the young Jesus for causing his parents anguish.
The two New Testament uses of odunao reveal its range. In Luke 2:48, it describes the parent's anguish of the soul when a beloved child is lost — a very human, legitimate distress. In Luke 16:24-25, it describes the torment of the condemned in Hades — a reminder that the choices of this life have eternal consequences. The word thus captures both the ordinary anguish of loss and the ultimate anguish of separation from God. Paul uses the related noun odune in Romans 9:2 for his 'great sorrow and unceasing anguish of heart' over Israel's unbelief — showing that deep spiritual anguish over the lost is a mark of a truly apostolic heart.