Greek word · G2560

κακῶς

kakōs

badly

Badly, wrongly; of being sick ("those who were badly off", Matt 4:24), of speaking evil (John 18:23, Acts 23:5), and of doing something in a morally wrong way.

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κακῶς

(κακός),

adv., [in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 18:19, 4Ma.6:17.al.; κ. εἰπεῖν, ἐρεῖν (אָרַר, קָלַל pi.), Exodus 22:28 (27), Leviticus 19:14, Isaiah 8:21; κ. ἔχειν (חָלָה, Ezekiel 34:4, al. ;]

badly, ill;

(a) in physical sense: κ. ἔχειν, to be ill, Matthew 4:24 8:16 9:12 14:35 17:15, Mark 1:32, 34 2:17 6:55 5:31 7:2; πάσχειν, Matthew 17:15 (WH, mg.); δαιμονίζεσθαι, Matthew 15:22; κακοὺς κ. ἀπολέσει (as frequently in cl., see LS, see word; MM, Exp., xv), evil that they are, he will evilly, etc., Matthew 21:41;

(b) in moral sense, wrongly (1Ma.7:42, 4Mac, l.with, al.): κ. λαλεῖν, John 18:23; είπεῖν, with accusative of person(s), Acts 23:5; αἰτεῖσθαι, James 4:8,†

(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 James 4:3

Range of meaning

Badly, wrongly; of being sick ("those who were badly off", Matt 4:24), of speaking evil (John 18:23, Acts 23:5), and of doing something in a morally wrong way.

Against the English

KJV "amiss" (off target) and ESV "wrongly" stay close to the Greek. BSB, WEB, NIV, NASB "with wrong motives" and NLT's "your motives are all wrong" interpret it: the Greek has no word for "motives", but the following purpose clause does make the problem the aim of the request, so the interpretation is fair. YLT's "evilly" shows the moral edge.

Used elsewhere in the period

Classical and Koine Greek use it for both "poorly" and "wickedly". In John 18:23 Jesus says, "if I have spoken wrongly (kakōs)". BDAG lists James 4:3 under the sense "wrongly, wickedly".

From the study of Luke 5:31

Range of meaning

Literally "having it badly", the standard Greek idiom for being ill or in poor condition. Kakōs by itself means "badly" and can describe wrongdoing ("to speak badly of", John 18:23), but in this phrase it is medical.

Against the English

Every major version says "sick" or "ill", and that is correct. Nothing is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the Gospels for the physically ill: Matthew 4:24; 8:16; Mark 1:32, 34; Luke 7:2 (the centurion's servant "was sick"). It is ordinary Hellenistic Greek usage, found in papyri and in literature alike.

From the study of Matthew 9:12

Range of meaning

Literally 'having it badly' or 'being in a bad way'. It is the ordinary Greek idiom for being ill, as in English 'he's doing badly'. κακῶς alone can mean wrongly or wickedly, but in this fixed phrase it is about health.

Against the English

Every major English version says 'sick' or 'ill', which is right. What English loses is the link Matthew builds: he uses this exact phrase for the sick people Jesus heals (4:24; 8:16; 14:35). The 'sick' in the saying are the same kind of people Jesus has been healing in chapters 8–9.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in papyri and in Greek generally for illness. In Ezekiel 34:4 the Septuagint uses the same phrase in God's charge against Israel's shepherds: they did not tend 'the sick' (τὸ κακῶς ἔχον) or bind up the injured. Matthew 9:36 soon describes the crowds as 'sheep without a shepherd'.

Where it appears

Matthew · 7

  1. Matthew 4:24 κακῶς sick

    News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.

    Here: With 'having' it forms a common Greek idiom: 'to be badly off', 'to be in a bad way'. This is the umbrella term for the whole list.

  2. Matthew 8:16 κακῶς sick

    When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.

    Here: 'Badly.' Together with the next word it forms the everyday Greek idiom 'to have it badly', meaning to be ill. It is a broad term covering any kind of sickness.

  3. Matthew 9:12 κακῶς sick

    On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

    Here: 'Badly'. Paired with ἔχω it forms a fixed phrase for being ill. The phrase carries no moral sense of 'evil' by itself.

  4. Matthew 14:35 κακῶς sick

    And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding region. People brought all the sick to Him

  5. Matthew 15:22 κακῶς badly

    And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

    Here: "Badly" or "terribly". The word also appears in Matthew's phrase for the sick, "those who have it badly" (4:24; 8:16). It stresses how severe the condition is.

  6. Matthew 17:15 κακῶς miserably

    “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

    Here: “Badly”. Combined with the verb it means he suffers terribly.

  7. Matthew 21:41 κακῶς grievously

    “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

    Here: The adverb from the same root, set right beside it: "bad men, badly." A stock Greek idiom saying the punishment will fit the people: a terrible end for terrible men.

Mark · 4

  1. Mark 1:32 κακῶς sick

    That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed,

    Here: 'Badly.' With 'having' it forms a stock idiom for being ill. It carries no moral sense here.

  2. Mark 1:34 κακῶς sick

    And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

    Here: An adverb, "badly." Together with the next word it makes the stock Greek phrase for being sick.

  3. Mark 2:17 κακῶς sick

    On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

    Here: “Badly.” Together with the next word it forms an everyday Greek idiom for being ill.

  4. Mark 6:55 κακῶς sick

    and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 5:31 κακῶς sick

    Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

    Here: "Badly." Together with the next word it is the everyday Greek way of saying "to be ill".

  2. Luke 7:2 κακῶς sick

    There a highly valued servant of a centurion was sick and about to die.

John · 1

  1. John 18:23 κακῶς evil

    Jesus replied, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”

    Here: 'Wrongly' or 'improperly.' It can cover false content and also insolent manner. The officer's complaint was about manner: disrespect to the high priest. The phrase recalls the Greek of Exodus 22:28, 'you shall not speak badly (kakōs) of a ruler of your people.'

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 23:5 κακῶς.¶ evil [of].’

    “Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

    Here: With 'speak' it means to speak ill of, abuse or revile someone. It stands for the Hebrew 'curse' in Exodus 22:28.

James · 1

  1. James 4:3 κακῶς wrongly

    And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

    Here: "Badly": the asking itself is wrong, not just clumsy. Its position before the verb makes it stressed: "it is *badly* that you ask." The next clause spells out what makes it bad.

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