Greek word · G813
ἄτακτος
ataktos
disorderly
The basic sense is "not in order / not in rank". In military Greek it described soldiers who broke formation or would not keep their post. More broadly it meant disorderly, undisciplined, or failing to do what one's place requires.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament.
What it means
ἀ-τακτος, -ον
(τάσσω), [in LXX: 3Ma.1:19 * ;]
out of order, out of place (Lat. inordinatus), frequently of soldiers not keeping the ranks, or an army in disarray (cf. 3Ma.1:19); hence, metaphorically, irregular, disorderly (see previous word): 1 Thessalonians 5:14.†
(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 Thessalonians 5:14
- Range of meaning
The basic sense is "not in order / not in rank". In military Greek it described soldiers who broke formation or would not keep their post. More broadly it meant disorderly, undisciplined, or failing to do what one's place requires. In ordinary documents of the period it was used for people who neglected an obligation, especially work.
- Against the English
KJV and BSB "unruly" and WEB/YLT "disorderly" keep the broad sense of being out of line. ESV "idle", NIV "idle and disruptive" and NLT "lazy" narrow it to not working. "Unruly" can make a modern reader think of rowdiness or rebellion against leaders. "Lazy" can suggest only a personality flaw. The Greek is about refusing one's ordered place and duty, which in this church showed up as not working.
- How it drifted
Two older pressures shaped the English. The Latin Vulgate's inquietos ("restless, unquiet") fed the general "disorderly" line. Later scholarship drew on the work-contract papyri and on 2 Thessalonians 3, which moved some modern versions toward "idle". Each English option catches part of the word.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Classical and Hellenistic authors use it of troops out of formation. Egyptian papyri use the related verb and adverb of apprentices or workers who skip days or fail to fulfil a contract (an example often cited is an apprenticeship contract from Oxyrhynchus, P.Oxy. 275). In the NT the word family occurs only in the Thessalonian letters: here, and in 2 Thess 3:6–11, where living ataktōs means refusing to work, eating others' bread, and being "busybodies" (literally "busy doing nothing useful").
Similar words
Where it appears
1 Thessalonians · 1
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1 Thessalonians 5:14 ἀτάκτους, unruly,
And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.
Here: Literally "not in rank", like a soldier who has broken formation. In everyday Greek it was used of people who skipped work or neglected duty. Here it points back to 4:11–12 ("work with your hands … depend on no one"), so it covers people who had stopped working and were becoming disruptive and dependent on others.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.