What does μάταιος (mátaios) mean in the Bible?
μάταιος (mátaios): Empty of real effect or substance; futile efforts that produce nothing of lasting value.
Greek · G3152
μάταιος
Futile
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μάταιοςG3152
Pronunciationmátaios
What does μάταιος (mátaios) mean in the Bible?
μάταιος (mátaios): Empty of real effect or substance; futile efforts that produce nothing of lasting value.
Full entry for μάταιος (G3152) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3152?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include futile (2), [is] worthless (1), empty (1), worthless (1), worthless things (1).
Where does μάταιος (mátaios) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 14:15. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (2), 1 Peter (1), Acts (1), James (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itfutile2×1 Corinthians 3:20, 1 Corinthians 15:17
[is] worthless1×James 1:26
empty1×1 Peter 1:18
worthless1×Titus 3:9
worthless things1×Acts 14:15
Show sample aligned rows
Acts 14:15ματαίωνtoworthless thingsAdjective - Genitive Neuter Plural1 Corinthians 3:20μάταιοιtofutileAdjective - Nominative Masculine Plural1 Corinthians 15:17ματαίαtofutileAdjective - Nominative Feminine SingularTitus 3:9μάταιοιtoworthlessAdjective - Nominative Feminine PluralJames 1:26μάταιοςto[is] worthlessAdjective - Nominative Feminine Singular1 Peter 1:18ματαίαςtoemptyAdjective - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowActs 14:15
Aligned rows6
Books represented5
Acts11 Corinthians2Titus1James11 Peter1
Source forms
μάταιοι2xmataioi1 Corinthians 3:20, Titus 3:9
ματαία1xmataia1 Corinthians 15:17
ματαίας1xmataias1 Peter 1:18
μάταιος1xmataiosJames 1:26
ματαίων1xmataiōnActs 14:15
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular2x1 Corinthians 15:17, James 1:26
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Singular1x1 Peter 1:18
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Plural1xActs 14:15
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Plural1xTitus 3:9
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural1x1 Corinthians 3:20
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Empty of real effect or substance; futile efforts that produce nothing of lasting value.
Strong'sG3152
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms5 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkActs 14:8-20Source Gloss
futile
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 14:15Adjective Genitive Plural Neuter
ματαίωνmataiwn
vain, unproductive, godless
Read verse1 Corinthians 3:20Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
μάταιοι.mataioi
vain, unproductive, godless
Read verse1 Corinthians 15:17Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine
ματαίαmataia
vain, unproductive, godless
Read verseTitus 3:9Adjective Nominative Plural Feminine
μάταιοι.mataioi
vain, unproductive, godless
Read verseJames 1:26Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine
μάταιοςmataiov
vain, unproductive, godless
Read verse1 Peter 1:18Adjective Genitive Singular Feminine
ματαίαςmataiav
vain, unproductive, godless
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 5 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 patterns5Aligned forms6Case patternNominative (4)Number patternPlural (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine1 Cor 15:17 · Jas 1:262×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine1 Cor 3:201×
Nominative · Plural · FeminineTitus 3:91×
Genitive · Plural · NeuterActs 14:151×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine1 Pet 1:181×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Worthless or empty things.
Additional Occurrences
worthless, futile
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
μάταιος is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Describes idols as empty and incapable of saving.Acts 14:8-20
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.