κενός

Mark 12:3 κενόν. empty-handed.

But they seized the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

Here: Comes last for emphasis: the slave was sent to bring back fruit, and he returns with nothing in his hands. In Israel's scriptures, 'sending someone away empty' was a known phrase for cheating a person of what they were owed.

Luke 1:53 κενούς· empty;

He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.

Here: "Empty": it describes the rich as they leave, with nothing in their hands. It ends the verse as the opposite of 'good things' at the end of the first line.

Luke 20:10 κενόν. empty-handed.

At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

Here: 'Empty.' He goes back with nothing in his hands, and so the owner gets nothing. Luke used the same pairing, 'sent away empty', in Mary's song (1:53) for the rich whom God sends away.

Luke 20:11 κενόν. empty-handed.

So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

Acts 4:25 κενά; vain things?

You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David: ‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

Here: 'Empty things': plans with nothing inside them that will come to nothing. The word is the object of 'plotted' (or works as an adverb, 'in vain'). Either way the scheming is doomed from the start.

1 Corinthians 15:10 κενὴ void

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Here: 'Empty-handed' or 'fruitless'. This is the word Paul repeats through the chapter, in v. 14 (preaching and faith 'empty' if Christ is not raised) and v. 58 (your labor is 'not empty').

1 Corinthians 15:14 κενὸν κενὴ [is] void, void

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.

Here: Placed first for emphasis: 'Empty, then, is our proclamation.' It means hollow, with nothing inside, an announcement with no reality behind it. So it also gets nothing done.

1 Corinthians 15:58 κενὸς in vain

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Here: Empty of content and so empty of result. It answers 15:14: if Christ was not raised, our preaching and your faith are kenos. Since he was raised, their toil is not.

2 Corinthians 6:1 κενὸν vain

As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

Here: 'In vain, to no effect'. It describes a reception of God's gift that bears no fruit, the way a farmer's labour can come to nothing. It is the same phrase found in Isaiah 49:4, the chapter Paul quotes in the next verse.

Galatians 2:2 κενὸν vain

I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.

Here: 'Into emptiness': work that produces nothing. This is a phrase from Isaiah's language about labouring 'in vain' (LXX Isa 65:23).

Ephesians 5:6 κενοῖς with empty

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

Here: The words sound fine but have nothing true or solid inside them. They make promises that reality and God will not keep.

Philippians 2:16 κενὸν κενὸν vain

as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

Here: 'For nothing, with nothing to show.' It means effort that yields no result, not conceit.

Colossians 2:8 κενῆς empty

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

Here: "Empty-handed, with nothing inside." The teaching promises fullness but has nothing in it. This sets up the contrast in the next verse, where all the "fullness" (πλήρωμα) of God lives in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:1 κενὴ in vain

You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.

Here: 'Empty.' The word can mean empty of results (fruitless, futile) or empty of substance (hollow, a show, without real power or truth). The contrast in v.2 and the self-description in vv.3–12 suggest Paul means at least partly 'not hollow.' The lasting result in the Thessalonians themselves (1:6–10) shows it was not fruitless either.

1 Thessalonians 3:5 κενὸν vain

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.

Here: 'Emptiness', meaning nothing to show for it. Paul uses this phrase about his own work in Galatians 2:2 and Philippians 2:16.

James 2:20 κενέ, foolish,

O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?

Here: 'Empty one'. The person is hollow, with nothing inside to back up the claim, just as his faith is empty of deeds. It is an insult to his thinking and his substance, not a charge of conceit.