Greek · G2556 · unreviewed

κακός

Evil/harm: evil

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κακός G2556

Pronunciation kakós

What does κακός (kakós) mean in the Bible?

κακός (kakós) is a Greek word meaning "evil/harm: evil". κακός, -ή, -όν [in LXX chiefly for רַע ;] __1.

Full entry for κακός (G2556) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

evil/harm: evil

Extended definition

Moral badness or harmfulness; encompasses both wickedness in persons and destructive consequences of actions.

1in general, opposite to ἀγαθός, καλός, in various senses, bad, mean, base, worthless (cl.).

2In ethical sense, base, evil, wicked: of persons, Mat.21:41 24:48, Php.3:2, Rev.2:2; διαλογισμοί, Mrk.7:21; ὁμιλίαι, 1Co.15:33; ἐπιθυμία (Pro.12:12), Col.3:5; ἔργον, Rom.13:3; neut., κακόν, τὸ κ., evil: Jhn.18:23, Act.23:9, Rom.7:21 14:20 16:19, 1Co.13:5, Heb.5:14, 1Pe.3:10-11, 3Jn.11; pl., Rom.1:30, 1Co.10:6, 1Ti.6:10, Jas.1:13; κ. (τὸ, τὰ κ.) ποιεῖν (πράσσειν), Mat.27:23, Mrk.15:14, Luk.23:22, Jhn.18:30, Rom.3:8 7:19 13:4, 2Co.13:7, 1Pe.3:12; κατεργάζεσθαι, Rom.2:9; of wrongs inflicted, Act.9:13, Rom.12:17, 21 13:10, 1Th.5:15, 2Ti.4:14, 1Pe.3:9.

3pernicious, harmful, evil: Luk.16:25, Act.16:28 28:5, Tit.1:12, Jas.3:8, Rev.16:2 (Cremer, 325, 741).

Synonymssee: (ἄθεσμος)

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith

Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Neuter Rom 7:21 · Jas 3:8 · Rev 16:2 3×

Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 24:48 1×

Nominative · Plural · Masculine Mark 7:21 1×

Nominative · Plural · Feminine 1 Cor 15:33 1×

Nominative · Plural · Neuter Titus 1:12 1×

Genitive · Singular · Neuter John 18:23 · Rom 12:17 · Rom 12:21 · 1 Thess 5:15 · Heb 5:14 · 1 Pet 3:9 · 1 Pet 3:10 · 1 Pet 3:11 8×

Genitive · Plural · Neuter Rom 1:30 · 1 Cor 10:6 · 1 Tim 6:10 · Jas 1:13 4×

Dative · Singular · Neuter Rom 13:3 1×

Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 27:23 · Mark 15:14 · Luke 23:22 · John 18:30 · Acts 16:28 · Acts 23:9 · Acts 28:5 · Rom 2:9 · Rom 7:19 · Rom 12:17 · Rom 12:21 · Rom 13:4 · Rom 13:10 · Rom 14:20 · Rom 16:19 · 1 Cor 13:5 21×

Accusative · Plural · Neuter Luke 16:25 · Acts 9:13 · Rom 3:8 · 2 Tim 4:14 · 1 Pet 3:12 5×

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

Biblical Witnesses

Philippians 3:1–3 evil kakós

Ethical sense: evil workers or wicked persons opposed to the good

Luke 16:19-31 evil kakós Accusative · Plural · Neuter

Pernicious, harmful: describing suffering and distress in earthly life

3 John 1:11 evil kakós

Ethical sense: doing evil or performing wicked deeds opposed to doing good

Proverbs 14:22 evil kakós

Moral wrongdoing: those who plot evil in contrast to mercy and truth

Proverbs 11:27 evil kakós

General sense: evil or harm as opposite to what is good and favorable

Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 28 — Paul in Rome: The Kingdom Proclaimed Without Hindrance Colossians 3 — Raised with Christ: Putting Off the Old Life and Putting On the New John 18 — The Arrested King: Betrayal, Sovereign Surrender, Denial, Trial, and the Kingdom Not of This World Mark 7 — True Defilement and Boundary-Crossing Mercy Matthew 21 — The King Enters Jerusalem, Judges Fruitless Religion, and Exposes Rejected-Son Leadership Matthew 24 — The Olivet Discourse: Temple Desolation, Coming Judgment, the Son of Man, and Watchful Readiness Philippians 3 — Counting All Things Loss and Pressing On Toward Christ Romans 13 — Submission to Governing Authorities, Love as the Fulfillment of the Law, and Life in the Light of the Coming Day Romans 16 — Gospel Partnership, Holy Greeting, False-Teacher Warning, and Doxology to the God Who Establishes

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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