Greek word · G678

ἀπροσωπολήπτως

aprosōpolēptōs

impartially

'Without receiving the face', meaning impartially or without favoritism. It comes from the Hebrew idiom nasa panim, 'to lift the face' of someone. The picture is a ruler raising up a petitioner who is bowing before him, that is, favoring him.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

ἀπροσωπολήμπτως (Rec. -λήπτως, cl.), adv.

(α- neg., προσωπολήμπτης),

without respect of persons, impartially: 1 Peter 1:17.†

(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 1 Peter 1:17

Range of meaning: 'Without receiving the face', meaning impartially or without favoritism. It comes from the Hebrew idiom nasa panim, 'to lift the face' of someone. The picture is a ruler raising up a petitioner who is bowing before him, that is, favoring him. Over time the idiom came to mean showing partiality in judgment because of rank, wealth, kinship or bribes.
Against the English: KJV/WEB 'without respect of persons' was clear in 1611, when 'respect' meant 'regard for' or 'partiality toward'. Today 'respect' sounds like a virtue, so the phrase can seem to say God does not respect people. BSB 'impartially' and other modern renderings like 'without favoritism' are accurate. They lose the vivid 'face' picture: God does not judge by the face you show, meaning your outward standing.
How it drifted: The English word 'respect' shifted from 'partial regard' to 'esteem'. The idiom 'respect of persons' became opaque.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Greek Old Testament (LXX) translates the Hebrew idiom literally as prosōpon lambanein, 'to receive a face'. Judges are forbidden to do it (Lev 19:15; Deut 1:17; 16:19), and God himself 'does not receive a face' (Deut 10:17; Sir 35:12–13). Compound nouns and adjectives built from this phrase appear first in Christian writing: prosōpolēmpsia (Rom 2:11; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; Jas 2:1), prosōpolēmptēs (Acts 10:34, Peter's words at Cornelius's house), and this adverb, which reappears in 1 Clement 1:3 and Barnabas 4:12 ('the Lord will judge the world impartially').

Where it appears

1 Peter · 1

1 Peter 1:17 ἀπροσωπολήμπτως impartially

Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.

Here: Literally 'without receiving the face', from a Hebrew idiom for favoritism. God will not tilt his verdict for anyone because of status, connections, or even being one of his own children. This is the only use in the New Testament.

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