ἔδει [28 verses](verb 3rd sg imperf ind act) "Must" is dei, which means "it needs," and "there is need." The object it takes is an infinitive. It is the past tense. -- (CW)  The Greek verb translated as "must" is a special verb that means "it/he/she needed," and "there was a need." It is not a helping verb like we have in English but an active verb. It is always singular, 3rd person, past tense. Its form is fixed and, when it refers to a verb, that verb's form is an infinitive like we say "he needed to go," but the subject is not separate from the verb.  CW --Confusing Word -- The "must" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.-- (WF) This word is an infinitive required by the "needs" above, not an active verb. WF -- Wrong Form -  The "left" is not an active verb but an infinitive, "to ---."