εὐσεβής

From the study of 2 Peter 2:9

Range of meaning

Pious, devout, reverent. In Greek culture eusebeia was the proper respect and duty owed to the gods, to parents and to the established order. Hellenistic Jews used it for faithful devotion to the God of Israel shown in a law-keeping life.

Against the English

'Godly' (KJV, BSB, ESV, NIV) is a fair rendering. YLT's 'pious ones' is closer to the word but in modern English can sound like a put-down. Neither word should be read as mere inner religious feeling: it is reverence that is lived out.

Used elsewhere in the period

It was a standard virtue word in Greek moral writing and inscriptions. It is common in 4 Maccabees ('pious reason') and in Philo and Josephus. In the New Testament the eusebeia word group is concentrated in the Pastoral Letters and 2 Peter (1:3, 6–7; 3:11), and is used of Cornelius in Acts 10:2, 7.

From the study of Acts 10:2

Range of meaning

From eu- ('well') + sebomai ('revere'). Reverent, dutiful toward what deserves reverence: the gods first, but also parents, the dead, oaths, one's city. It is the Greek counterpart of the Roman virtue pietas: proper conduct toward the divine and toward one's obligations.

Against the English

KJV/ESV/BSB 'devout', YLT 'pious'. Both are fair. Modern 'devout' can suggest private, intense spirituality; the Greek word is more about rightly carrying out one's duty of reverence, outwardly and in practice.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in Greek moral writing and in honorific inscriptions. In the Greek Old Testament (LXX) it is rare in the translated books (e.g. Isaiah 24:16; 26:7) but frequent in Sirach and especially 4 Maccabees, where eusebeia ('piety') means loyalty to God's law even unto death. In the NT the adjective occurs only here, in Acts 10:7 (a 'devout soldier' under Cornelius) and 2 Peter 2:9.

From the study of Sirach 12:2

Range of meaning

In ordinary Greek, eusebēs describes someone who shows the proper respect owed to the gods, to parents, to the dead and to sacred obligations: dutiful, reverent, observant. Greek-speaking Jews took it over for a person who honours Israel's God and keeps his law. It covers how a person lives as well as how they worship.

Against the English

'Godly' (KJV, Brenton, WEB) and 'devout' (NRSV) are fair renderings, but they can sound like inner spirituality or religious feeling. The word is more public and practical than that: it names a recognisable kind of person in the community, the law-keeper as opposed to 'the sinner'. The Hebrew behind it, tsaddiq ('righteous'), makes this even clearer. NABRE, which translates from the Hebrew where it survives, uses 'the just'.

How it drifted

In modern English 'godly' and 'devout' lean toward personal piety and a devotional life. Ben Sira's contrast is between two moral types in Jewish society: those who live by Torah and those who flout it.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint sometimes uses eusebēs for Hebrew tsaddiq (e.g., Isa 24:16; 26:7). Greek Sirach uses it often, regularly set against hamartōlos ('sinner'): the very next lines read 'Give to the godly, and do not help the sinner' (12:4) and 'Do good to the humble, and do not give to the ungodly' (12:5). 4 Maccabees makes eusebeia (piety) its central virtue. In the New Testament the word appears in Acts 10:2, 7 and 2 Pet 2:9.