OliveGrove
Pressing the Word of God for Deeper Understanding.
Greek · G692 · unreviewed

ἀργός

Idle

These lexicon entries are being actively developed. If you notice missing content, incorrect definitions, or have suggestions, we'd love to hear from you. Share a note on our Connect page and include a screenshot if helpful.

ἀργός G692
Pronunciation argós

What does ἀργός (argós) mean in the Bible?

ἀργός (argós) is a Greek word meaning "idle". ἀργός, -όν (in late Gk.

Full entry for ἀργός (G692) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

idle
Extended definition

Inactive or unproductive; applied to persons, things, or even faith when lacking corresponding action or effect.

(in late Gk., incl. NT, -ή, -όν; ἀ- neg., ἔργον) [in LXX: 3Ki.6:7 (מַסָּע), Wis.14:5 15:15, Sir.37:11 38:28 * ;] inactive, idle: Mat.20:3, 6, 1Ti.5:13, Tit.1:12, 2Pe.1:8. Metaphorical, of things, inactive, ineffective, worthless: ῥῆμα, Mat.12:36; πίστις, Jas.2:20 (see Cremer, 259 f.).

Synonymsβραδύς, slow; νωθρός, sluggish (Tr., Syn., § civ)
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Plural · Feminine 1 Tim 5:13 · Titus 1:12 3×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Matt 20:6 1×
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Jas 2:20 1×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 20:3 · 2 Pet 1:8 2×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 12:36 1×
8 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
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
Matthew 20:3 idle argós Accusative · Plural · Masculine
Workers standing unemployed in the marketplace without work
Matthew 12:36 idle argós Accusative · Singular · Neuter
Careless or ineffective words that lack purpose or value
James 2:20 dead argós Nominative · Singular · Feminine
Faith without works is ineffective and cannot produce spiritual results
2 Peter 1:8 ineffective argós Accusative · Plural · Masculine
Christian virtues that are unproductive or fail to bear fruit
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.

ἵστημι · ἀργός G2476, G692
standing idle, unemployed
ῥῆμα · ἀργός G4487, G692
careless, empty, idle word
ἀργός · ῥῆμα G692, G4487
every careless, idle, useless word
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.

Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief Matthew 20 — The First-Last Kingdom, the Ransom-Giving Son of Man, and Mercy for the Blind

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

Full license details