akathartos · unclean, impure

What it means

akathartos (ἀκάθαρτος) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “unclean, impure”.

Unclean: what, under the Law, keeps a person away from God. An "unclean spirit" is a demon.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. Something the law bars from worship.
2. An evil spirit, a demon.
3. A life made filthy by sin.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• unclean ×30
• impure ×1
• impurities ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Matthew×2
• Mark×11
• Luke×6
• Acts×5
• 1 Corinthians×1
• 2 Corinthians×1
• Ephesians×1
• Revelation×5

• Matthew 10:1

  And calling to himself his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, so as to drive them out and to heal every disease and every sickness.

• Matthew 12:43

  When the unclean spirit goes out of the man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

• Mark 1:23

  And at once there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out,

• Mark 1:26

  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

• Mark 1:27

  And they were all amazed, so that they questioned one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

• Mark 3:11

  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and cry out, saying, “You are the Son of God!”

• Mark 3:30

  For they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

• Mark 5:2

  And when he had come out of the boat, at once a man with an unclean spirit met him from the tombs.

• Mark 5:8

  For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”

• Mark 5:13

  And he gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered into the pigs, and the herd, about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowning in the sea.

• Mark 6:7

  And he summons the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, and he was giving them authority over the unclean spirits.

• Mark 7:25

  But at once a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard about him, came and fell at his feet.

• Mark 9:25

  And when Jesus saw that a crowd was running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never again enter into him!”

• Luke 4:33

  And in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

• Luke 4:36

  And amazement came upon all, and they were talking with one another, saying, “What is this word, that with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out?”

• Luke 6:18

  who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being healed.

• Luke 8:29

  For he was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had seized him, and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and breaking the bonds he was driven by the demon into the deserted places.

• Luke 9:42

  And while he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

• Luke 11:24

  When the unclean spirit goes out of the person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest; and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’

• Acts 5:16

  And the multitude from the cities around Jerusalem also were coming together, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, who all were being healed.

• Acts 8:7

  For from many of those who had unclean spirits, the spirits were coming out, crying with a loud voice; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

• Acts 10:14

  But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.”

• Acts 10:28

  And he said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner; but to me God showed that I should call no person profane or unclean.

• Acts 11:8

  But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for never has anything profane or unclean entered into my mouth.’

• 1 Corinthians 7:14

  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the brother; otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.

• 2 Corinthians 6:17

  Therefore, “Come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you,

• Ephesians 5:5

  For this you know, recognizing that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God.

• Revelation 16:13

  And I saw out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits like frogs;

• Revelation 17:4

  And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stone and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality,

• Revelation 18:2

  And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a haunt of every unclean spirit, and a haunt of every unclean bird, and a haunt of every unclean and hated beast,

And 2 more times.