Greek word · G299

ἄμωμος

amōmos

blameless

'Without blemish (mōmos)'. Used of sacrificial animals with no physical defect, and in a moral sense of people who are blameless.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

ἄ-μωμος, -ον

(μῶμος, which see), [in LXX chiefly for תָּמִים ];

of sacrificial victims, without blemish: of Christ, Hebrews 9:14, 1 Peter 1:19; etbically, unblemished, faultless: Ephesians 1:4 5:27, Philippians 2:15, Colossians 1:22, Jude 1:24, Revelation 14:5 (Cremer, 425, 788; MM, VGT, see word).†

SYN.: ἀμίαντος, ἄσπιλος (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: 'Without blemish (mōmos)'. Used of sacrificial animals with no physical defect, and in a moral sense of people who are blameless.
Against the English: BSB and YLT: 'unblemished'. KJV: 'without spot'. WEB: 'without defect'. NLT folds it into 'a perfect sacrifice'. All are accurate. 'Blameless' (the dictionary gloss) loses the sacrificial picture.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament it translates Hebrew tamim, 'whole, without defect', throughout the sacrificial laws (Lev 1:3, 10; 22:19–21). The red heifer of Numbers 19:2 has to be amōmos ('without blemish, in which there is no defect'). It is used morally in Psalm 15(14):2 and 18(17):23. In the New Testament, 1 Peter 1:19 calls Christ 'a lamb unblemished and spotless'.

Range of meaning: Without μῶμος. The noun μῶμος means 'blame, reproach' in classical Greek and 'bodily blemish, defect' in the Greek Old Testament (Lev 21:17–23; 22:20–25). So the adjective means (1) physically unblemished, especially of a sacrificial animal fit for the altar, and (2) morally whole, without fault, of a person whose life has integrity.
Against the English: 'Blameless' (ESV, NIV, BSB) is defensible, but modern readers tend to hear 'not guilty', a legal acquittal, or 'never did anything wrong', moral perfectionism. 'Without blemish' / 'unblemished' (YLT), 'without defect' (WEB) and the Vulgate's 'immaculati' keep the altar picture. KJV 'without blame' leans toward the legal sense.
How it drifted: English 'blameless' comes from law and morality (not deserving blame). It cannot carry the Septuagint's main sense of an offering 'without blemish', which is how a Greek-speaking Jew would first hear the word.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX: Exod 29:1; Lev 1:3, 10; 3:1; 4:3; Num 6:14 (unblemished animals for sacrifice, translating Hebrew tāmîm). Ethical use: Ps 14:2 LXX (15:2) 'who walks ἄμωμος'; Ps 17:24 LXX (18:23). NT: Heb 9:14 (Christ offered himself ἄμωμον); 1 Pet 1:19 (a lamb ἀμώμου καὶ ἀσπίλου, 'without blemish or spot', foreknown 'before the foundation of the world', 1:20); Eph 5:27 (the church presented ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος); Col 1:22; Jude 24.

Range of meaning: Without mōmos. In classical Greek mōmos means blame or reproach (Momus was the god of fault-finding). In the Greek Old Testament it translates the Hebrew mum, a physical defect. So amōmos means "without defect, unblemished" and from there "blameless, faultless."
Against the English: The KJV and ESV say "without blemish" and YLT "unblemished"; the BSB and NASB say "blameless," the NLT "without fault," the WEB "without defect." "Blameless" is not wrong, but in English it sounds legal (not guilty, nothing to accuse). Spot and wrinkle in the same sentence call for the physical and ritual sense of "flawless".
How it drifted: The Bible's main use of the word is "unblemished" (of sacrifices and of beauty). English "blameless" moves it toward a courtroom picture.
Used elsewhere in the period: Greek Old Testament: used of sacrificial animals "without blemish" (Exod 29:1; Lev 1:3, 10; Num 6:14), and Song of Songs 4:7 says of the bride, "you are all beautiful, my love, and there is no mōmos in you." New Testament: Heb 9:14 (Christ offered himself "without blemish"), 1 Pet 1:19, Eph 1:4, Col 1:22, Jude 24.

Ephesians · 2

Ephesians 1:4 ἀμώμους blameless

For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love

Here: 'Without blemish (mōmos).' In the Greek Old Testament this is the standard word for a sacrificial animal fit to be offered. It was also used for a person of whole, upright life. Both senses are in play here.
Ephesians 5:27 ἄμωμος. blameless.

and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.

Here: Literally "without a mōmos (defect)." The Greek Old Testament uses it for flawless sacrificial animals, and the Song of Songs praises the bride as having no flaw. Here it sums up spot, wrinkle and "anything such".

Philippians · 1

Philippians 2:15 ἄμωμα blameless

so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

Here: The Greek Old Testament's word for sacrificial animals without physical defect. It directly reverses the 'blemished' (mōmēta) children of Deuteronomy 32:5 and anticipates the sacrifice language of 2:17.

Colossians · 1

Colossians 1:22 ἀμώμους unblemished

But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—

Here: This is the Greek Old Testament's word for a sacrificial animal with no defect. It pictures the believers as an offering fit for the altar.

Hebrews · 1

Hebrews 9:14 ἄμωμον unblemished

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

Here: The word used for sacrificial animals with no physical defect, including the red heifer of Numbers 19:2. Applied to Christ, it means moral sinlessness (4:15; 7:26).

1 Peter · 1

1 Peter 1:19 ἀμώμου without blemish

but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.

Here: The technical word in the Greek Old Testament for an animal fit for sacrifice, with no defect (Leviticus 22:19–21). Applied to Christ, it also carries its moral sense, 'blameless'. Here the image of a perfect animal and the reality of a sinless person overlap.

Jude · 1

Jude 1:24 ἀμώμους blameless

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

Here: The standard Greek Old Testament word for a sacrificial animal with no defect (Hebrew tamim). The believers are pictured as an offering fit to be brought before God. That contrasts with the false teachers, who are 'blemishes/hidden reefs' (v.12), and with the 'stained' garment (v.23).

Revelation · 1

Revelation 14:5 ἄμωμοί blameless

And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Here: Literally 'without blemish'. This is the standard Greek Old Testament word for a sacrificial animal fit to be offered. Coming right after 'firstfruits to God and to the Lamb' (v. 4), it presents them as a flawless offering, like the Lamb himself.

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