Greek word · G1703
ἐμπαίκτης
empaiktēs
a mocker
From ἐμπαίζω, 'to play with, make sport of, mock, deceive.' An ἐμπαίκτης is a mocker, someone who makes fun of things. ἐμπαιγμονή is the act or habit of mocking. The word family carries contempt, not honest doubt: it is ridicule meant to shame.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἐμ-παίκτης, -ου, ὁ
(ἐμπαίζω, which see), [in LXX: Isaiah 3:4 (תַּעֲלוּל) * ;]
a mocker: 2 Peter 3:3, Jude 1:18.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
From ἐμπαίζω, 'to play with, make sport of, mock, deceive.' An ἐμπαίκτης is a mocker, someone who makes fun of things. ἐμπαιγμονή is the act or habit of mocking. The word family carries contempt, not honest doubt: it is ridicule meant to shame.
- Against the English
'Scoffers' (KJV, BSB, ESV) and 'mockers' (WEB, NASB) both fit. The KJV leaves out 'with scoffing' because of its underlying Greek text, which loses the deliberate doubling. Translations that say 'scoffing' or 'with their mocking' keep it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
ἐμπαίκτης appears in the New Testament only here and in Jude 18. In the Greek Old Testament it appears at Isa 3:4, where 'mockers' or 'capricious ones' will rule over a Judah under judgment. ἐμπαίζω is the verb for the mocking of Jesus at his trial and crucifixion (Matt 27:29, 31, 41; Mark 15:20, 31). The related noun ἐμπαιγμός appears in Heb 11:36, Sir 27:28 and Wis 12:25. ἐμπαιγμονή is very rare and occurs nowhere else in the Bible.
- Range of meaning
A mocker or scoffer: someone who makes fun of a person or thing, or treats it as a game. The noun comes from the verb ἐμπαίζω, "to play with, make sport of, ridicule." That verb comes from παίζω, "to play" (as a child, παῖς, plays). The word carries contempt, not just humour: it is refusing to take seriously what deserves to be taken seriously.
- Against the English
"Scoffers" (BSB, ESV, NIV) and "mockers" (KJV, WEB, NASB) are both accurate. What gets lost is the sense of "making a game of" something. Modern readers also tend to picture skeptics outside the church, while Jude's mockers are inside it.
- How it drifted
The English words are not wrong. The drift is in who readers picture: modern culture associates "scoffers" with secular critics of faith.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The noun is rare. In the New Testament it occurs only here and in 2 Peter 3:3. In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) it appears at Isaiah 3:4, "mockers shall rule over them," for a Hebrew word meaning wanton, capricious ones. The verb is common: God "made sport of" Egypt (Exod 10:2), the Philistines "made sport of" Samson (Judg 16:25), and the soldiers mocked Jesus (Mark 15:20). Behind the idea stands the "scoffer" (Hebrew lēts) of Proverbs, who will not take correction or wisdom seriously (Prov 1:22; 9:7–8).
Where it appears
2 Peter · 1
-
2 Peter 3:3 ἐμπαῖκται scoffers
Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
Here: People who ridicule. It comes from a verb meaning 'to make sport of, play games with someone.' The verb family is the one used for the soldiers mocking Jesus. Here these people treat the promise of Christ's coming as a joke.
Jude · 1
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Jude 1:18 ἐμπαῖκται scoffers
when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”
Here: People who treat serious things as a joke, from a root meaning "to play." Here they make sport of God's commands and coming judgment. They are not outside skeptics; they sit at the community's own meals (v. 12).
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.