What does κρίμα (kríma) mean in the Bible?
κρίμα (kríma) is a noun used for a judgment, verdict, sentence, or resulting liability. Its 27 governed forms do not all describe the same actor or moment.
Greek · G2917
κρίμα
κρίμα (kríma) is a noun used for a judgment, verdict, sentence, or resulting liability. Its 27 governed forms do not all describe the same actor or moment.
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
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Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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κρίμαG2917
Pronunciationkríma
What does κρίμα (kríma) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for κρίμα (G2917) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2917?
The BSB source-word alignment has 27 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include judgment (14), condemnation (4), [ the same ] condemnation (1), [His] judgment (1), [the] sentence (1).
Where does κρίμα (kríma) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 7:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (6), 1 Corinthians (3), Luke (3), Revelation (3).
Are there verse guides for κρίμα (kríma)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
G2917 is a noun used for a judgment, verdict, sentence, or resulting liability. Its 27 governed forms do not all describe the same actor or moment. Romans 5:16 contrasts the judgment following one sin with the gift following many trespasses. First Corinthians 6:7 uses the plural for lawsuits among believers. First Corinthians 11:29 and 11:34 use the noun within Paul's correction of the church's meal.
Romans 11:33 praises God's unsearchable judgments, while Revelation 20:4 speaks of judgment being given to those seated on thrones. The related nouns and verb overlap in English translation, so G2917 should not be defined by a rigid claim that it always names a result while G2920 always names a process. Each grammatical construction and passage must establish whether the emphasis is a verdict, judicial consequence, legal dispute, divine decision, or authority to judge.
Lexical sourcePassage contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
The governed witness contains 27 G2917 forms across legal, congregational, ethical, doxological, and final-judgment settings. Romans supplies six forms; 1 Corinthians, Luke, and Revelation supply three each; eleven other books supply the remaining occurrences.
- Rom.5.16
Again, the gift is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment that followed one sin brought condemnation, but the gift that followed many trespasses brought justification.
The noun belongs to Paul's contrast between the consequence of one sin and the gift associated with justification.
- Rom.2.2
And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
Paul names God's truthful judgment while confronting people who condemn in others what they themselves practice.
- 1Cor.11.29
For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
The warning is governed by Paul's full correction of the meal and by his explanation of discipline in the following verses.
- Rom.11.33
O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
The plural appears in doxology and concerns God's judgments within the argument Paul has just completed.
- Rev.20.4
Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge.
The noun occurs in an apocalyptic scene where authority to judge is granted. Interpretation must follow the scene rather than a bare gloss.
Passage contextBook context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itjudgment14×Matthew 7:2, Luke 23:40, John 9:39, Acts 24:25
condemnation4×Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47, Romans 3:8, Jude 1:4
[ the same ] condemnation1×1 Timothy 3:6
[His] judgment1×Revelation 18:20
[the] sentence1×Luke 24:20
authority to judge1×Revelation 20:4
judged1×James 3:1
judgments1×Romans 11:33
lawsuits1×1 Corinthians 6:7
punishment1×Revelation 17:1
verdict1×2 Peter 2:3
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 7:2κρίματιtojudgmentNoun - Dative Neuter SingularMark 12:40κρίμαtocondemnationNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularLuke 20:47κρίμαtocondemnationNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularLuke 23:40κρίματιtojudgmentNoun - Dative Neuter SingularLuke 24:20κρίμαto[the] sentenceNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularJohn 9:39κρίμαtojudgmentNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularActs 24:25κρίματοςtojudgmentNoun - Genitive Neuter SingularRomans 2:2κρίμαtojudgmentNoun - Nominative Neuter SingularRomans 2:3κρίμαtojudgmentNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularRomans 3:8κρίμαtocondemnationNoun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 7:2
Aligned rows27
Books represented15
Matthew1Mark1Luke3John1Acts1Romans61 Corinthians3Galatians11 Timothy2Hebrews1James11 Peter12 Peter1Jude1Revelation3
Source forms
κρίμα21xkrimaMark 12:40, Luke 20:47, Luke 24:20, John 9:39
κρίματα2xkrimataRomans 11:33, 1 Corinthians 6:7
κρίματι2xkrimatiMatthew 7:2, Luke 23:40
κρίματος2xkrimatosActs 24:25, Hebrews 6:2
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular16xMark 12:40, Luke 20:47, Luke 24:20, John 9:39
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular5xRomans 2:2, Romans 3:8, Romans 5:16, 2 Peter 2:3
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular2xMatthew 7:2, Luke 23:40
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular2xActs 24:25, Hebrews 6:2
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural1x1 Corinthians 6:7
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural1xRomans 11:33
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Identify who judges, what is judged, and what kind of decision the passage describes before applying G2917.
- Keep present discipline, legal disputes, divine verdicts, and final judgment from being treated as interchangeable.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every occurrence of G2917 means final condemnation.
- Do not claim that G2917 always means a result while G2920 always means a process; related terms can overlap and context controls.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. God's judicial verdict or sentence, especially divine judgment against sin and wrongdoing.
Source Gloss
a decision (the function or the effect, for or against ("crime"))
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 28 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 7:2Noun Dative Singular Neuter
κρίματιkrimati
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseMatthew 23:14Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμα.krima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseMark 12:40Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμα.krima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseLuke 20:47Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμα.krima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseLuke 23:40Noun Dative Singular Neuter
κρίματιkrimati
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseLuke 24:20Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμαkrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseJohn 9:39Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμαkrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseActs 24:25Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
κρίματοςkrimatov
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseRomans 2:2Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
κρίμαkrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseRomans 2:3Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμαkrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read versekrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseRomans 5:16Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
κρίμαkrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseRomans 11:33Noun Nominative Plural Neuter
κρίματαkrimata
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verseRomans 13:2Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμαkrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verse1 Corinthians 6:7Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
κρίματαkrimata
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
Read verse1 Corinthians 11:29Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
κρίμαkrima
a judgment, verdict, lawsuit
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns6Aligned forms27Case patternAccusative (17)Number patternSingular (25)
Nominative · Plural · NeuterRom 11:331×
Genitive · Singular · NeuterActs 24:25 · Heb 6:22×
Dative · Singular · NeuterMatt 7:2 · Luke 23:402×
Accusative · Singular · NeuterMark 12:40 · Luke 20:47 · Luke 24:20 · John 9:39 · Rom 2:3 · Rom 13:2 · 1 Cor 11:29 · 1 Cor 11:34 · Gal 5:10 · 1 Tim 3:6 · 1 Tim 5:12 · Jas 3:1 · 1 Pet 4:17 · Jude 1:4 · Rev 17:1 · Rev 18:2016×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter1 Cor 6:71×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Divine evaluation and verdict.
judgment
judgment
Judgment, decision.
Additional Occurrences
judgment, verdict
John 9:35-41κίμαkríma
judgment
Luke 20:45–47κατάκριμαkríma
Judgment, condemnation
Mark 12:38–40κρίμαkríma
judgment, condemnation
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 27 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κρίμα is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Affirms that God’s judicial decisions are beyond full human scrutiny.Acts 24:22-27
Affirms divine accountability.Luke 20:45–47
Indicates heightened condemnation for religious pretense.Mark 12:38–40
Reveals moral and spiritual evaluation through Christ's presence.Romans 11:33-36
Grounds the urgency of repentance.James 3:1–6
Canonical Themes
Messiah
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
G2917 asks a teacher to name the judgment in view instead of relying on the emotional weight of the English word. Romans 5:16 uses it inside Paul's contrast between the judgment following one sin and the gift associated with justification. First Corinthians 6:7 uses the plural for lawsuits, proving that the noun is not confined to final judgment. The same letter uses it in the Lord's Supper correction, where the following verses explain discipline and the world's condemnation.
Romans 11:33 turns the plural into praise of God's unsearchable judgments, and Revelation 20:4 places it within a vision of thrones and granted authority. These passages can inform one another only after their actors, objects, and arguments are clear. The noun supports a theology of accountable judgment, but it cannot substitute for passage-level exegesis or decide every relationship among judgment, discipline, condemnation, and vindication.
Anchor passage
Rom.5.16
Doctrinal connections
- Rom.2.2-3 - God's judgment is described as based on truth while the self-excusing judge is confronted.
- Rom.5.16 - Judgment after one sin is contrasted with the gift after many trespasses.
- 1Cor.6.7 - The plural identifies lawsuits within a congregational dispute.
- 1Cor.11.29-32 - Judgment at the meal is interpreted through self-examination and the Lord's discipline.
- Rom.11.33 - God's judgments appear within doxology after the argument about Israel and the nations.
- Rev.20.4 - Judgment is granted within an apocalyptic throne scene.
The witness uses G2917 as a neuter noun in singular and plural forms. Its distribution is weighted toward the accusative singular with sixteen rows, followed by five nominative singular rows; the genitive and dative singular each supply two, and the two plural cases supply one apiece. Its four surface forms are κρίμα, κρίματα, κρίματος, and κρίματι. Related G2919 and G2920 vocabulary overlaps in translation; morphology and context, not an absolute process-result rule, establish the local emphasis.
From Old to New Testament
Old Testament teaching about truthful judgment, justice, discipline, and vindication forms a theological background for these passages. Any specific lexical or quotation relationship should be established passage by passage rather than assumed from the English gloss judgment.