Vilification (especially against God)
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.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Blasphēmia means abusive speech, slander, defamation, or blasphemy, with its gravest use directed against God and His work. Jesus says every sin and blasphemy may be forgiven, yet warns about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in the context of leaders attributing His Spirit-empowered work to Satan.
Reader summary
Full entry for βλασφημία (G988) · Open the biblical lexicon
Blasphēmia means abusive speech, slander, defamation, or blasphemy, with its gravest use directed against God and His work. Jesus says every sin and blasphemy may be forgiven, yet warns about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in the context of leaders attributing His Spirit-empowered work to Satan.
The BSB source-word alignment has 18 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include blasphemy (6), slander (4), blasphemies (2), blasphemous (2), [and] slander (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 12:31. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (5), Matthew (4), Mark (3), 1 Timothy (1).
Blasphēmia means abusive speech, slander, defamation, or blasphemy, with its gravest use directed against God and His work. Jesus says every sin and blasphemy may be forgiven, yet warns about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in the context of leaders attributing His Spirit-empowered work to Satan. Scribes accuse Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving sins, and opponents later claim His divine self-identification is blasphemous.
Ephesians includes blasphemous or slanderous speech among the bitterness and malice believers must put away. The noun is broader than irreverent profanity and cannot be reduced to one forbidden phrase. It concerns speech that reviles, falsely assigns evil, or attacks holy truth and neighbor.
Blasphēmia covers reviling or defamatory speech, especially against God. Gospel disputes center on Jesus' authority and the Spirit's work, while Ephesians brings slander into ordinary Christian ethics. The context identifies whether the target is divine or human.
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Matthew 12:31 warns that blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. The context is settled attribution of Jesus' liberating work by the Spirit to demonic power, not an intrusive thought feared by a repentant believer.
Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.
Mark 3:28 first emphasizes the wide reach of forgiveness for human sins and blasphemies before giving the solemn Spirit warning. Grace and warning must remain together.
But the scribes and Pharisees began thinking to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Luke 5:21 records scribes asking who can forgive sins but God alone and accusing Jesus of blasphemy. Their premise about divine authority intensifies the narrative question of Jesus' identity.
“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
John 10:33 has opponents accuse Jesus of blasphemy because, being a man, He makes Himself God. The dispute must be read through Jesus' works, Scripture, and unique relation to the Father.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
Ephesians 4:31 commands believers to remove bitterness, rage, anger, shouting, blasphemous slander, and malice. The next verse replaces these with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. vilification (especially against God)
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 19 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
abusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
Read verseabusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 18 lexical occurrence verses.
βλασφημία is built from this root:
False accusations distort Stephen’s Christ-centered proclamation.Acts 6:8-15
Blasphēmia is speech that attacks what should be honored, but the passages demand careful distinctions. Religious leaders call Jesus' authority blasphemous even as His works reveal the Father's mission. Worse, they attribute Spirit-given deliverance to Satan, resisting light so persistently that Jesus warns of unforgiven blasphemy against the Spirit. This is not a trap sprung by an anxious believer's intrusive thought.
Mark surrounds the warning with the breadth of possible forgiveness, while the context portrays hardened opposition to known divine work. Ephesians brings the word home to church life: slander belongs with bitterness and malice and must be replaced by compassionate, forgiving speech. Christians should take words seriously without terrorizing tender consciences, honoring God's work, confessing sin, and refusing defamatory language against neighbors.
Matt.12.31
Blasphēmia can denote slander, abusive speech, defamation, or blasphemy. The target determines whether English typically uses "slander" toward people or "blasphemy" toward God, though the Greek noun spans both.
The Law forbids reviling God and false witness against neighbors, while prophets condemn calling evil good and good evil. The Gospel warnings concentrate that rebellion around response to God's Spirit at work in Christ.