kakos · bad, evil

What it means

kakos (κακός) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “bad, evil”.

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. What goes against God's will and harms others.
2. Harm that someone suffers.

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

Word study

Bad: what is not as it should be, what is harmful. In the neuter, ‘evil’, what is done to another or moral evil. Of the same family are κακία, ‘wickedness’, and κακῶς, ‘badly’.

• Not repaying evil for evil Romans 12:171 Peter 3:91 Thessalonians 5:15
• “Conquer evil with good” Romans 12:21Romans 7:19
• Evil thoughts, bad company Mark 7:211 Corinthians 15:33
• Doing harm: “suffered no harm” Acts 28:5
• Bad persons Matthew 24:48Matthew 21:41

How we translate it

“Evil” 37 times, above all in “evil for evil” and “what is evil”; “evils” in 1 Timothy 6:10 (“a root of all evils”). According to the context it is rendered “harm” (Acts 28:5), “bad” (“Bad company corrupts good morals”, 1 Corinthians 15:33), “wrong”, “wicked” (Matthew 24:48), “wretches” (Matthew 21:41) or “harmful” (Revelation 16:2).

How it is translated

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

• evil ×37
• Bad ×3
• harm ×3
• wrong ×3
• evils ×1
• harmful ×1
• wicked ×1
• wretches ×1

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Matthew×3
• Mark×2
• Luke×2
• John×2
• Acts×4
• Romans×15
• 1 Corinthians×3
• 2 Corinthians×1
• Philippians×1
• Colossians×1
• 1 Thessalonians×2
• 1 Timothy×1
• 2 Timothy×1
• Titus×1
• Hebrews×1
• James×2
• 1 Peter×5
• 3 John×1
• Revelation×2

• Matthew 21:41

  They say to him, “He will destroy those wretches wretchedly, and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

• Matthew 24:48

  But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’

• Matthew 27:23

  And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Let him be crucified!”

• Mark 7:21

  For from within, out of the heart of people, come the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders,

• Mark 15:14

  But Pilate was saying to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out all the more, “Crucify him!”

• Luke 16:25

  But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you received your good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.

• Luke 23:22

  And he said to them a third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found no guilt deserving death in him; so after punishing him I will release him.”

• John 18:23

  Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify about the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike me?”

• John 18:30

  They answered and said to him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have handed him over to you.”

• Acts 9:13

  But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;

• Acts 16:28

  But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here!”

• Acts 23:9

  And there arose a great outcry, and some of the scribes of the party of the Pharisees stood up and argued fiercely, saying, “We find nothing wrong in this man; and what if a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?”

• Acts 28:5

  However, he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

• Romans 1:30

  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

• Romans 2:9

  There will be affliction and distress upon every soul of a human being who does evil, of both the Jew first and the Greek;

• Romans 3:8

  And why not say, as we are slandered and as some claim that we say, Let us do evil so that good may come? Their condemnation is just.

• Romans 7:19

  For I do not do the good that I want, but the evil that I do not want, this I practice.

• Romans 7:21

  So I find this law: that, when I want to do the good, evil is present with me.

• Romans 12:17

  Repay no one evil for evil; take thought for what is good before all people.

• Romans 12:21

  Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

• Romans 13:3

  For rulers are not a cause of fear to good work, but to bad. Do you want, then, not to fear the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from it;

• Romans 13:4

  for it is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain; for it is God’s servant, an avenger for wrath on the one who practices evil.

• Romans 13:10

  Love works no evil to the neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

• Romans 14:20

  Do not, for the sake of food, tear down the work of God. All things are indeed clean, but it is evil for the person who eats with stumbling.

• Romans 16:19

  For your obedience has reached all; so I rejoice over you; but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

• 1 Corinthians 10:6

  Now these things became examples for us, so that we would not be people who desire evil things, just as they also desired.

• 1 Corinthians 13:5

  it does not behave improperly, does not seek its own interests, is not provoked, does not keep a record of evil;

• 1 Corinthians 15:33

  Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.

• 2 Corinthians 13:7

  Now we pray to God that you may do nothing wrong, not so that we may appear approved, but so that you may do what is good, and we may be as if disqualified.

• Philippians 3:2

  Watch out for the dogs, watch out for the evil workers, watch out for the mutilation.

• Colossians 3:5

  So put to death the members that are on the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry;

• 1 Thessalonians 5:15

  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

• 1 Timothy 6:10

  For the love of money is a root of all evils, and some, reaching out for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

• 2 Timothy 4:14

  Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

• Titus 1:12

  One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

• Hebrews 5:14

  But solid food is for the mature, those who because of practice have their faculties trained for distinguishing good and evil.

• James 1:13

  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.

• James 3:8

  But no human being can tame the tongue: it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

• 1 Peter 3:9

  not repaying evil for evil or insult for insult, but on the contrary blessing, because to this you were called, so that you may inherit a blessing.

• 1 Peter 3:10

  For Whoever wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

And 10 more times.