What does ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō) mean in the Bible?
G264 is the common New Testament verb for sinning. In its New Testament settings, the word is used with the range and pressure described by its local passages rather than by a bare gloss alone.
Greek · G264
ἁμαρτάνω
To sin
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ἁμαρτάνω G264
Pronunciation hamartánō
What does ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō) mean in the Bible?
G264 is the common New Testament verb for sinning. In its New Testament settings, the word is used with the range and pressure described by its local passages rather than by a bare gloss alone.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἁμαρτάνω (G264) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G264?
The BSB source-word alignment has 43 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include sin (5), sinned (4), I have sinned (3), sins (3), go on sinning (2).
Where does ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 18:15. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 John (10), 1 Corinthians (7), Romans (7), John (4).
What This Word Actually Means
G264 is the common New Testament verb for sinning. In its New Testament settings, the word is used with the range and pressure described by its local passages rather than by a bare gloss alone. It names action that falls short of God\'s glory, violates His will, and reveals the need for forgiveness and transformation. The word is more than mistake, weakness, or social harm.
This companion therefore treats the word as a Scripture-governed guide, not as a shortcut around exegesis. It helps teachers name guilt truthfully while keeping Christ\'s advocacy and cleansing near. It should help readers ask better questions of the passage: who is speaking or acting, what covenant or gospel reality is in view, and how the surrounding context limits or strengthens the claim.
It should not be used to deny remaining struggle or to soften the call to repentance.
How the Bible Uses It
G264 names the act of sinning before God and appears in texts about universal guilt, grace, temptation, and Christ\'s advocacy.
- Rom.3.23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, setting the stage for justification by grace.
- Rom.5.12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
Sin enters through one man and death through sin, placing the word in the Adam-Christ framework.
- Rom.6.15
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!
Grace does not make sin acceptable; Paul rejects sin as a permitted response to grace.
- 1John.2.1
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
John writes so believers will not sin and points to Jesus Christ the righteous as Advocate if anyone does.
- 1John.3.6
No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.
John warns against continuing in sin as a settled practice, not against honest struggle brought into the light.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It sin 5× John 8:11, Romans 2:12, Romans 5:16, Ephesians 4:26
sinned 4× John 9:2, John 9:3, Romans 5:12, Hebrews 3:17
I have sinned 3× Matthew 27:4, Luke 15:18, Luke 15:21
sins 3× Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3, 1 Corinthians 6:18
go on sinning 2× Hebrews 10:26, 1 John 3:9
By sinning 1× 1 Corinthians 8:12
commit [this kind of] sin 1× 1 John 5:16
committing 1× 1 John 5:16
continues to sin 1× 1 John 3:6
did not sin 1× Romans 5:14
does not keep on sinning 1× 1 John 5:18
does sin 1× 1 John 2:1
for doing wrong 1× 1 Peter 2:20
has been sinning 1× 1 John 3:8
have sinned 1× Romans 3:23
he is not sinning 1× 1 Corinthians 7:36
he sins 1× Luke 17:4
I have committed no offense 1× Acts 25:8
keeps on sinning 1× 1 John 3:6
persist in sin 1× 1 Timothy 5:20
Shall we sin 1× Romans 6:15
she has not sinned 1× 1 Corinthians 7:28
sinful 1× Titus 3:11
sinning 1× John 5:14
stop sinning 1× 1 Corinthians 15:34
we have not sinned 1× 1 John 1:10
when they sinned 1× 2 Peter 2:4
who sins 1× Matthew 18:21
you have not sinned 1× 1 Corinthians 7:28
you sin 1× 1 Corinthians 8:12
you will not sin 1× 1 John 2:1
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 18:15 ἁμαρτήσῃ to sins Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 18:21 ἁμαρτήσει to who sins Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 27:4 Ἥμαρτον to I have sinned Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Luke 15:18 ἥμαρτον to I have sinned Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Luke 15:21 ἥμαρτον to I have sinned Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Luke 17:3 ἁμάρτῃ to sins Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 17:4 ἁμαρτήσῃ to he sins Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular John 5:14 ἁμάρτανε to sinning Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular John 8:11 ἁμάρτανε to sin Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular John 9:2 ἥμαρτεν to sinned Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 18:15
Aligned rows 43
Books represented 13
Matthew 3 Luke 4 John 4 Acts 1 Romans 7 1 Corinthians 7 Ephesians 1 1 Timothy 1 Titus 1 Hebrews 2 1 Peter 1 2 Peter 1 1 John 10
Source forms
ἥμαρτον 7x hēmarton Luke 15:18, Luke 15:21, Acts 25:8, Romans 2:12
ἁμαρτάνει 6x hamartanei 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 7:36, Titus 3:11, 1 John 3:6
ἁμαρτάνετε 3x hamartanete 1 Corinthians 8:12, 1 Corinthians 15:34, Ephesians 4:26
ἥμαρτεν 3x hēmarten John 9:2, John 9:3, 1 Corinthians 7:28
ἁμάρτανε 2x hamartane John 5:14, John 8:11
ἁμαρτάνοντες 2x hamartanontes 1 Corinthians 8:12, 1 Peter 2:20
ἁμάρτῃ 2x hamartē Luke 17:3, 1 John 2:1
ἁμαρτήσῃ 2x hamartēsē Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:4
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 6x 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 7:36, Titus 3:11, 1 John 3:6
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 4x Matthew 27:4, Luke 15:18, Luke 15:21, Acts 25:8
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 4x Romans 2:12, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular 4x Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3, Luke 17:4, 1 John 2:1
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 3x John 9:2, John 9:3, 1 Corinthians 7:28
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x 1 Corinthians 15:34, Ephesians 4:26
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular 2x John 5:14, John 8:11
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 2x 1 Corinthians 8:12, 1 Peter 2:20
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Name sin truthfully while keeping Christ\'s advocacy and cleansing near to the warning.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every use carries the full Adam-Christ argument.
- Do not claim that a believer\'s remaining struggle proves he or she does not know Christ.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Violating God's law; missing the mark of divine standard through wrong action or omission
Strong's G264
Lexical occurrences 42 verses Greek text appearances 43 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 42 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 15:11–32 Source Gloss
to sin
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 43 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 18:15 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἁμαρτήσῃ amarthsh
I sin
Read verse Matthew 18:21 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἁμαρτήσει amarthsei
I sin
Read verse Matthew 27:4 Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
Ἥμαρτον hmarton
I sin
Read verse Luke 15:18 Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτον hmarton
I sin
Read verse Luke 15:21 Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτον hmarton
I sin
Read verse Luke 17:3 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἁμάρτῃ amarth
I sin
Read verse Luke 17:4 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἁμάρτῃ amarth
I sin
Read verse John 5:14 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Imperative
ἁμάρτανε, amartane
I sin
Read verse John 8:11 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Imperative
ἁμάρτανε. amartane
I sin
Read verse John 9:2 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτεν, hmarten
I sin
Read verse John 9:3 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτεν hmarten
I sin
Read verse Acts 25:8 Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτον. hmarton
I sin
Read verse Romans 2:12 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτον, hmarton
I sin
Read verse Romans 2:12 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτον, hmarton
I sin
Read verse Romans 3:23 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτον hmarton
I sin
Read verse Romans 5:12 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἥμαρτον·- hmarton
I sin
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 5 Aligned forms 42 Tenses Present, Aorist, Future, Perfect Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 21×
Aorist Active Matt 27:4 · Luke 15:18 · Luke 15:21 · Acts 25:8 · Rom 2:12 · Rom 3:23 · Rom 5:12 · John 9:2 · John 9:3 · 1 Cor 7:28 12×
Present Active 1 Cor 6:18 · 1 Cor 7:36 · Titus 3:11 · 1 John 3:6 · 1 John 3:8 · 1 John 5:18 · 1 Cor 8:12 7×
Future Active Matt 18:21 1×
Perfect Active 1 John 1:10 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 6×
Aorist Active Matt 18:15 · Luke 17:3 · Luke 17:4 · 1 John 2:1 · Rom 6:15 6×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 11×
Present Active 1 Cor 8:12 · 1 Pet 2:20 · 1 Tim 5:20 · Heb 10:26 · 1 John 3:6 · 1 John 5:16 7×
Aorist Active Rom 5:14 · Rom 5:16 · Heb 3:17 · 2 Pet 2:4 4×
Imperative command or strong request 3×
Present Active 1 Cor 15:34 · Eph 4:26 · John 5:14 3×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Active 1 John 3:9 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 41 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 22 present 17 perfect 1 future 1
Voice
active 41
Mood
indicative 20 participle 10 subjunctive 6 imperative 4 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 18:15 ἁμαρτήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 18:21 ἁμαρτήσει future active indicative prospective Matthew 27:4 Ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Luke 15:18 ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Luke 15:21 ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Luke 17:3 ἁμάρτῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 17:4 ἁμαρτήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 5:14 ἁμάρτανε present active imperative imperative John 8:11 ἁμάρτανε present active imperative imperative John 9:2 ἥμαρτεν aorist active indicative completed John 9:3 ἥμαρτεν aorist active indicative completed Acts 25:8 ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Romans 2:12 ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Romans 2:12 ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Romans 3:23 ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Romans 5:12 ἥμαρτον aorist active indicative completed Romans 5:14 ἁμαρτήσαντας aorist active participle participle Romans 5:16 ἁμαρτήσαντος aorist active participle participle Romans 6:15 ἁμαρτήσωμεν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 1 Corinthians 6:18 ἁμαρτάνει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 7:28 ἥμαρτες aorist active indicative completed 1 Corinthians 7:28 ἥμαρτεν aorist active indicative completed 1 Corinthians 7:36 ἁμαρτάνει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 8:12 ἁμαρτάνοντες present active participle participle 1 Corinthians 8:12 ἁμαρτάνετε present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 15:34 ἁμαρτάνετε present active imperative imperative Ephesians 4:26 ἁμαρτάνετε present active imperative imperative 1 Timothy 5:20 ἁμαρτάνοντας present active participle participle Hebrews 3:17 ἁμαρτήσασιν aorist active participle participle Hebrews 10:26 ἁμαρτανόντων present active participle participle 2 Peter 2:4 ἁμαρτησάντων aorist active participle participle 1 John 1:10 ἡμαρτήκαμεν perfect active indicative resultant 1 John 2:1 ἁμάρτητε aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 1 John 2:1 ἁμάρτῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 1 John 3:6 ἁμαρτάνει present active indicative ongoing 1 John 3:6 ἁμαρτάνων present active participle participle 1 John 3:8 ἁμαρτάνει present active indicative ongoing 1 John 3:9 ἁμαρτάνειν present active infinitive infinitive 1 John 5:16 ἁμαρτάνοντα present active participle participle 1 John 5:16 ἁμαρτάνουσιν present active participle participle
+1 more occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
I have sinned
Showing 1 selected witness from 42 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἁμαρτάνω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Expresses genuine confession marking true repentance. Luke 15:11–32
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Teach G264 with moral clarity and gospel hope. A faithful teacher should begin with the nearest passage, observe who acts, what is being named, what problem or promise is in view, and what response the text calls for, then move carefully to related passages. The word gives language for guilt before God without vague euphemism and points toward grace that forgives and transforms.
The entry should help readers read Scripture more carefully, not replace the work of tracing the sentence, paragraph, book, and covenant setting. This keeps the word useful for shepherds, teachers, leaders, groups, families, and disciples without letting the word carry claims that belong to the whole passage or canon.
Anchor passage
Rom.3.23
Doctrinal connections
- Human sinfulness
- Adam and Christ
- Advocacy of Christ
The verb names the act of sinning. Related nouns and adjectives should be distinguished.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament categories of transgression, iniquity, guilt, and uncleanness provide the wider background.
Canonical parallel
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain