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Greek · G4190, G18 · unreviewed

πονηρούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς

Evil/bad · "good" (in any sense, often as noun)

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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant

πονηρός G4190 evil/bad
Pronunciation ponērós
Moral or physical badness; notably used for Satan as "the evil one" in spiritual warfare contexts.
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ἀγαθός G18 "good" (in any sense, often as noun)
Pronunciation agathós
Good as inner moral excellence and actual benefit to others, contrasting with merely outward appearance.
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What does πονηρούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς (ponērous te kai agathous) mean in the Bible?

πονηρός · ἀγαθός is a Greek word meaning "bad and good".

Full entry for πονηρούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς (G4190, G18) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

bad and good
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 6:23 · Matt 12:35 · Matt 13:19 · Matt 20:15 · Mark 7:22 · Luke 6:45 · Luke 11:34 · 1 John 5:18 8×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Matt 7:11 · Matt 12:34 · Matt 15:19 · Luke 11:13 · 2 Tim 3:13 5×
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 12:39 · Matt 16:4 · Luke 11:29 · Heb 3:12 · Jas 4:16 5×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter Mark 7:23 · John 3:19 · John 7:7 · 1 John 3:12 4×
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Acts 18:14 · Acts 19:15 · Acts 19:16 · Rev 16:2 4×
Nominative · Plural · Feminine Eph 5:16 · 1 Tim 6:4 2×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine Matt 5:37 · Matt 12:35 · Matt 13:38 · Luke 6:45 · John 17:15 · Gal 1:4 · Eph 6:16 · 2 Thess 3:3 · 1 John 3:12 9×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Luke 3:19 · Luke 7:21 · Luke 8:2 · Acts 25:18 4×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Matt 6:13 · 1 Thess 5:22 · 2 Tim 4:18 3×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine 2 Thess 3:2 · Jas 2:4 2×
78 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
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 19 — The Word of the Lord Grows Mightily in Ephesus Acts 9 — The Risen Christ Converts His Fiercest Persecutor Galatians 6 — Boasting Only in the Cross: Spirit-Shaped Community and New Creation John 17 — The Son’s High Priestly Prayer: Glory, Preservation, Sanctification, Unity, Mission, and Love Luke 10 — The Kingdom Mission Expanded, Mercy Defined, and the Better Portion Chosen Luke 11 — Prayer, Kingdom Conflict, True Hearing, and the Exposure of Hypocrisy Luke 23 — The Innocent King Condemned, Crucified with Transgressors, and Buried in Hope Luke 8 — The Word Heard, the Kingdom Revealed, and the Lord’s Authority Displayed Mark 10 — The Way of the Servant King: Marriage, Children, Wealth, Cross, Ransom, and Sight Mark 7 — True Defilement and Boundary-Crossing Mercy Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief Matthew 13 — The Kingdom in Parables: Hearing, Hiddenness, Growth, Worth, and Judgment Matthew 15 — Tradition, the Heart, Gentile Faith, and the Compassionate Bread of the Messiah Matthew 16 — The Confession of the Christ, the Church Christ Builds, and the Cross-Shaped Way of Discipleship Matthew 18 — Kingdom Humility, Care for the Little Ones, Discipline, and Forgiveness in Christ’s Community Matthew 19 — Marriage from Creation, Children Received, Riches Renounced, and the Reward of Following Christ Matthew 20 — The First-Last Kingdom, the Ransom-Giving Son of Man, and Mercy for the Blind Matthew 22 — The Wedding Banquet, the King’s Invitation, and the Messiah Who Is David’s Lord Matthew 25 — Readiness, Stewardship, and the Final Judgment of the Son of Man Matthew 5 — Kingdom Blessedness, Fulfilled Law, and Heart-Level Righteousness Matthew 6 — Hidden Righteousness, the Father’s Reward, and Seeking First the Kingdom Matthew 7 — Kingdom Discernment, the Narrow Way, and the Wise Builder Matthew 9 — Authority to Forgive, Mercy for Sinners, and Compassion for the Harvest Romans 12 — Living Sacrifices, Renewed Minds, Humble Service, and Love Without Hypocrisy Romans 13 — Submission to Governing Authorities, Love as the Fulfillment of the Law, and Life in the Light of the Coming Day Romans 14 — Receiving One Another, Honoring the Lord, and Pursuing Peace in Matters of Conscience Romans 15 — Bearing with the Weak, Welcoming One Another, and Paul’s Priestly Mission to the Gentiles Romans 16 — Gospel Partnership, Holy Greeting, False-Teacher Warning, and Doxology to the God Who Establishes Romans 7 — Released from the Law, Exposed by the Law, and Crying Out for Deliverance

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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