Greek word · G4163

ποιητής

poiētēs

doer

From ποιέω 'make, do.' The word means (1) a maker or producer, and in classical Greek above all a 'poet' (a maker of verses); (2) one who carries out or performs something, such as a law, a command or a task.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

ποιητής, -οῦ ὁ

(ποιέω), [in LXX: 1Ma.2:67 * ;]

in cl.,

1. a maker, author.

2. Esp., a poet: Acts 17:28. Later,

3. a doer: τ. νόμου, Romans 2:13, James 4:11 (1Mac, l.with); ἔργου, James 1:25; λόγου, ib. James 1:22-23.†

(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 1:22

Range of meaning: From ποιέω 'make, do.' The word means (1) a maker or producer, and in classical Greek above all a 'poet' (a maker of verses); (2) one who carries out or performs something, such as a law, a command or a task.
Against the English: 'Doer' is accurate but sounds flat in English. In the Greek it is an identity word: what kind of person you are. NIV and NLT turn it into verbs ('do what it says'), which keeps the action but loses the label.
Used elsewhere in the period: 1 Maccabees 2:67 speaks of 'all the doers of the law' (τοὺς ποιητὰς τοῦ νόμου). Sirach 19:20 says 'in all wisdom there is the doing (poiēsis) of law.' Paul, Romans 2:13: 'not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.' James uses it again in 1:23, 1:25 ('a doer of work') and 4:11 ('a doer of the law').

From the study of James 1:23

Range of meaning: Maker, producer; in classical Greek also 'poet' (a 'maker' of verses); in Jewish Greek 'doer', one who carries out a command.
Against the English: 'Doer' is right. The KJV-era 'doer' can sound slightly quaint, while BSB's 'does not carry it out' turns the noun into a verb and loses the label. James is naming a kind of person, not just one action.
Used elsewhere in the period: 1 Maccabees 2:67: 'gather all the doers of the law' (poiētas tou nomou). Romans 2:13: 'the doers of the law will be justified'. James 4:11: 'not a doer of the law but a judge'. In Acts 17:28 the same word means 'poets'.

From the study of James 1:25

Range of meaning: From poieō, "to make, do": a maker or producer, in classical Greek especially a poet (a "maker" of verse). In Jewish Greek, a "doer" of the law: someone who performs what it commands.
Against the English: "Doer" (KJV, WEB) keeps the word's root. BSB "effective doer" and NASB "effectual doer" turn the genitive "of work" into an adjective. That reads smoothly, but it loses the three-fold repetition of the "do" root that James builds into the verse (doer … work … doing).
Used elsewhere in the period: 1 Maccabees 2:67: "gather around you all the doers of the law (ποιητὰς τοῦ νόμου)." Romans 2:13: "not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law." James 1:22–23 and 4:11 ("not a doer of the law but a judge"). Jesus' parable of the two builders turns on "whoever hears these words of mine and does them" (Matt 7:24–27; Luke 6:47–49).

Where it appears

Acts · 1

Acts 17:28 ποιητῶν poets

‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’

Here: 'Poets'. The Greek word literally means 'makers' and comes from the same root as 'made' (ἐποίησεν) in vv.24 and 26. This was the normal word for a poet.

Romans · 1

Romans 2:13 ποιηταὶ doers

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous.

Here: Those who actually carry out what the law says. "Doer of the law" was an established Jewish-Greek phrase for a faithful, Torah-keeping person (1 Maccabees 2:67).

James · 4

James 1:22 ποιηταὶ doers

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

Here: People who carry something out. The noun names who you are ('doers'), not just one thing you do. It echoes the Jewish phrase 'doers of the law.'
James 1:23 ποιητής, a doer,

For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,

Here: One who carries something out. In Jewish usage a 'doer of the law' is someone who actually keeps what is commanded. The rhyme of akroatēs and poiētēs makes the contrast stick in the ear.
James 1:25 ποιητὴς a doer

But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.

Here: "Doer." It picks up v. 22, "be doers of the word." In Jewish usage a "doer of the law" is someone who actually carries out what the law says.
James 4:11 ποιητὴς a doer

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

Here: One who carries out, puts into practice. A deliberate echo of 1:22–25: 'be doers of the word, not hearers only.' A law is given to be done, not assessed.

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