Greek word · G113

ἄθεσμος

athesmos

lawless

'Without thesmos', where thesmos is established ordinance, sacred custom or foundational law. Hence lawless, unprincipled, outrageous: acting against the moral and divine order everyone recognised.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἄθεσμος, -ον

(θεσμός, law, custom), [in LXX: 3Ma.5:12 6:26 * ;]

lawless, esp. of those who violate the law of nature and conscience (cf. MM, VGT, see word): 2 Peter 2:7 3:17.†

SYN.: ἀθέμιτος, ἄνομος, κακός, πονηρός, φαῦλος (see Tr., Syn., §lxxiv; DCG, ii, 821b). (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Peter 3:17

Range of meaning

'Without thesmos', where thesmos is established ordinance, sacred custom or foundational law. Hence lawless, unprincipled, outrageous: acting against the moral and divine order everyone recognised.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'wicked' is broadly correct but generic. BSB/NIV/ESV 'lawless' is more exact. NASB 'unprincipled' captures the casting off of norms. YLT 'impious' leans toward irreverence.

How it drifted

'Wicked' loses the specific point. These people are not just bad; they reject the moral framework itself, in keeping with their promise of 'freedom' (2:19).

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it occurs only in 2 Peter: 2:7, of the Sodomites whose 'lawless' conduct distressed Lot, and here. It appears in Hellenistic Jewish Greek, such as 3 Maccabees and Philo, for outrageous, norm-violating acts (per BDAG).

From the study of 2 Peter 2:7

Range of meaning

"Lawless" in the sense of having no thesmos, no settled ordinance, sacred custom or law of god or nature. Hence unprincipled, nefarious, contrary to all decency. It can be used of the people or of their deeds.

Against the English

BSB/NIV "the lawless" stays close to the word. NASB "unprincipled men" catches the idea of having no norms at all. KJV/WEB/ESV "the wicked" is accurate in general but loses the specific idea of trampling settled law and custom.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in 3 Maccabees (e.g. 5:12; 6:26) of godless, outrageous acts, and in Hellenistic writers and Philo for deeds that break divine or natural order. In the New Testament it appears only in 2 Peter (here and 3:17).

Where it appears

2 Peter · 2

  1. 2 Peter 2:7 ἀθέσμων lawless

    and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless

    Here: Literally "without thesmos", without any settled law or sacred custom. They ignored the basic order every society treated as holy, including the protection owed to guests. The same phrase, "of the lawless", comes back in 3:17 for the false teachers, which ties them to Sodom.

  2. 2 Peter 3:17 ἀθέσμων lawless

    Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.

    Here: People who cast off established moral and divine order. The word was used earlier of the men of Sodom (2:7). It describes the libertine teachers who promise 'freedom' (2:19) while living without restraint.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.