# 于是 Opens 667 Clauses in the Bible

> 于是 stands at the head of 667 clauses of the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), joining what follows as the consequence of what came before.

**Pattern:** 于是 + clause
**HSK level:** 4 — the highest HSK level of the point's own function words, as data/dict.json grades them; a word the HSK lists do not grade sends the point to 'beyond'
**Rule used to find it:** 于是 as the first word of its clause.
**Confidence:** counted — 30 of 667 matches checked, 100% correct, by Claude Opus 5, reading each sampled clause in context; not a native speaker

于是 is the hinge of biblical narrative: so, thereupon, and then. 于是大卫向扫罗起誓, so David swore to Saul. Unlike 就 and 便, it stands at the very front of the clause, which makes it one of the easiest signposts to spot when reading at speed.

The Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified) uses 于是 667 times. 0 of those occurrences are the same words doing something else.

Its distribution is a fact about genre rather than grammar. It belongs to narrative, so the historical books carry nearly all of it and the poetry almost none.

It is commonest in Genesis, with 58 of them, and 81% of all of them fall in the Old Testament — which is mostly a statement about length, since the Old Testament is the longer part of the book.

## Examples

- **Acts 27:36** — 于是他们都放下心，也就吃了。
  - yú shì tā men dōu fàng xià xīn ， yě jiù chī le 。
  - Then they all cheered up, and they also took food.
  - construction: 于是
- **John 1:22** — 于是他们说：「你到底是谁，叫我们好回复差我们来的人。你自己说，你是谁？」
  - yú shì tā men shuō ：「 nǐ dào dǐ shì shuí ， jiào wǒ men hǎo huí fù chāi wǒ men lái de rén 。 nǐ zì jǐ shuō ， nǐ shì shuí ？」
  - They said therefore to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
  - construction: 于是
- **Mark 6:51** — 于是到他们那里，上了船，风就住了；他们心里十分惊奇。
  - yú shì dào tā men nà li ， shàng le chuán ， fēng jiù zhù le ； tā men xīn li shí fēn jīng qí 。
  - He got into the boat with them; and the wind ceased, and they were very amazed among themselves, and marveled;
  - construction: 于是
- **Luke 20:7** — 于是回答说：「不知道是从哪里来的。」
  - yú shì huí dá shuō ：「 bù zhī dào shì cóng nǎ lǐ lái de 。」
  - They answered that they didn’t know where it was from.
  - construction: 于是
- **Genesis 11:8** — 于是耶和华使他们从那里分散在全地上；他们就停工，不造那城了。
  - yú shì yē hé huá shǐ tā men cóng nà li fēn sàn zài quán dì shang ； tā men jiù tíng gōng ， bú zào nà chéng le 。
  - So the LORD scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.
  - construction: 于是
- **Deuteronomy 1:46** — 于是你们在加低斯住了许多日子。」
  - yú shì nǐ men zài jiā dī sī zhù le xǔ duō rì zi 。」
  - So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained.
  - construction: 于是

## The words this point is built on

| Word | Reading | HSK | Occurrences |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 于是 | yú shì | 4 | 667 |

The HSK column is the level data/dict.json gives the word, and it is what puts this point at level 4.

## What those occurrences are doing

|  | Occurrences | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the construction | 667 | 100% |
| the same words doing something else | 0 | 0% |

## Where it occurs most

| Book | Clauses |
| --- | --- |
| Genesis | 58 |
| Acts | 52 |
| 2 Kings | 50 |
| Judges | 46 |
| 1 Samuel | 39 |

Counted from what the rule matched, before the audit — a ranking, not a published total.

## Questions

**What is the difference between 于是 and 所以?**

于是 is sequence — this happened, then that. 所以 is inference — this is so, therefore that. Narrative wants the first; the letters want the second.

**How often does it occur in the Chinese Bible?**

667 clauses in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), out of 667 occurrences of the words that mark it.

**Which book of the Bible uses it most?**

Genesis, with 58 — followed by Acts (52), 2 Kings (50), Judges (46).

**How do you know the count is right?**

The rule is: 于是 as the first word of its clause. 30 of its 667 matches were drawn at random and checked one by one; 100% were right. Recall is not measured, so the figure is what this rule finds, not everything the translation contains.

Page: https://chinese-bible.com/en/grammar/yushi-sequence

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