Greek word · G2209

ζημία

zēmia

damage/loss

Zēmia: loss, damage, and in legal and commercial use a penalty or fine. Zēmioō: to cause loss to, to penalize; in the passive, to suffer loss, be fined, forfeit.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ζημία, -ας, ἡ

[in LXX for עָנַשׁ; עֹנֶשׁ ni. and cognate forms ;]

damage, loss: Acts 27:10, 21 Philippians 3:8; opposite to κέρδος, Philippians 3:7.†

(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 Philippians 3:8

Range of meaning

Zēmia: loss, damage, and in legal and commercial use a penalty or fine. Zēmioō: to cause loss to, to penalize; in the passive, to suffer loss, be fined, forfeit.

Against the English

'Loss' is accurate. BSB's 'I have lost' loses the passive voice; KJV/WEB 'I suffered the loss' keeps it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 27:10, 21 uses zēmia for the loss of a ship's cargo. In Matthew 16:26 Jesus uses zēmioō: 'gain (kerdēsē) the whole world and forfeit (zēmiōthē) his soul.' That is the same pair of gain and loss that Paul uses here. Papyri use the words for fines and business losses.

From the study of Philippians 3:7

Range of meaning

Loss, damage, harm. In legal and administrative Greek it also means a penalty or fine. In the New Testament it appears only in Acts 27:10, 21 (cargo and ship lost in a storm) and Phil 3:7–8.

Against the English

'Loss' is right, but in English it can sound passive, like something misplaced. ζημία is an active debit: a cost or damage that counts against you. NLT's 'worthless' changes the sense, because 'worthless' means zero value, while ζημία is a minus on the balance sheet.

Used elsewhere in the period

The papyri use it often for fines and penalties, and for financial loss in contracts. Acts 27 uses it for the losses of a shipwreck. In Greek ethics it is the standard opposite of κέρδος.

Where it appears

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 27:10 ζημίας loss

    “Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.”

  2. Acts 27:21 ζημίαν. loss.

    After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss.

Philippians · 2

  1. Philippians 3:7 ζημίαν· loss;

    But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

    Here: Singular, 'loss': one debit entry. All the separate gains are lumped together into a single loss. It also comes last in the clause, so the sentence ends on it.

  2. Philippians 3:8 ζημίαν loss

    More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

    Here: 'Loss,' the debit side of a ledger. It is set against κέρδη ('gains') in verse 7. Paul moves these things from the profit column to the loss column.

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