Greek word · G862

ἄφθαρτος

aphthartos

incorruptible

Not subject to decay, corruption or destruction. Imperishable, immortal.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

ἄ-φθαρτος, -ον

(φθείρω), [in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 12:1 18:4 * ;]

imperishable, immortal;

(b) of persons: of men, 1 Corinthians 15:52; of God, Romans 1:23, 1 Timothy 1:17 (MM, see word).†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: Not subject to decay, corruption or destruction. Imperishable, immortal.
Against the English: KJV 'incorruptible' is accurate in older English. Today 'corrupt' mostly means bribery or moral rot, so readers may hear 'can't be bribed' or 'morally pure'. The Greek is about physical decay and perishing.
How it drifted: 'Corruption' in English shifted from physical decay (as in 'this corruptible must put on incorruption', KJV 1 Cor 15:53) to mainly moral or political dishonesty.
Used elsewhere in the period: Used of God (Rom 1:23; 1 Tim 1:17), of the resurrection body (1 Cor 15:52), and of the victor's crown that does not perish (1 Cor 9:25). Wisdom 12:1 speaks of God's 'imperishable spirit', and Wisdom 18:4 of the 'imperishable light of the law'. Philo uses it often for God as opposed to the perishable created world. In 1 Peter it is a recurring theme: perishable silver and gold (1:18), the imperishable seed of God's word (1:23), the imperishable adornment of a gentle spirit (3:4).

Range of meaning: Imperishable, incorruptible, not subject to decay or death. Used of God (Romans 1:23; 1 Timothy 1:17), the resurrection body (1 Corinthians 15:52), and the believer's inheritance and new birth.
Against the English: KJV 'not corruptible', WEB 'incorruptible' and NASB 'imperishable' keep the word. BSB and NIV 'unfading beauty' turn it into the language of beauty and cosmetics (looks that do not fade). That is a fair image, but it hides Peter's theological vocabulary.
Used elsewhere in the period: Peter uses the word family deliberately: an inheritance 'imperishable (ἄφθαρτον), undefiled, unfading' (1:4); redeemed 'not with perishable things (φθαρτοῖς), silver or gold' (1:18); born again 'not of perishable seed but of imperishable (ἀφθάρτου)' (1:23). In Wisdom of Solomon 2:23 humans were made 'for incorruption'.

Range of meaning: Literally "not perishable": incorruptible, imperishable, not subject to decay, decomposition or deterioration. Used of God and divine things, of the resurrection body (1 Cor 15:52), of an unfading prize (1 Cor 9:25), and of an inheritance that cannot spoil (1 Pet 1:4).
Against the English: Most English versions have "immortal" (KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB, BSB, WEB). YLT has "incorruptible." "Immortal" narrows the idea to not dying. The Greek denies any decay or wearing down at all. Paul has a separate word for deathlessness, athanasia, which he uses in 6:16 ("who alone has immortality").
How it drifted: Latin tradition (Vulgate "immortali") and the KJV fixed "immortal" in English. The idea is related but not the same.
Used elsewhere in the period: Common in Greek philosophy as an attribute of the divine. Epicurus called God "a living being incorruptible and blessed" (Letter to Menoeceus, in Diogenes Laertius 10.123). Hellenistic Jewish writing uses it of God's "incorruptible spirit" (Wisdom 12:1) and the "incorruptible light of the law" (Wisdom 18:4). Romans 1:23 contrasts "the glory of the incorruptible God" with images of "corruptible" humans and animals.

Romans · 1

Romans 1:23 ἀφθάρτου immortal

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Here: 'Not subject to decay or perishing.' It sets up a direct contrast with 'decaying' (phthartou) a few words later: the God who cannot rot is swapped for the likeness of a human who will.

1 Corinthians · 2

1 Corinthians 9:25 ἄφθαρτον. an imperishable.

Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.

Here: "An imperishable [one]." Paul leaves the word "wreath" unsaid, so the sentence stops sharply on this word. It is the same word Paul uses for the resurrection body in 15:52 ("the dead will be raised imperishable").
1 Corinthians 15:52 ἄφθαρτοι, imperishable,

in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Here: Describes the state they are raised in: no longer subject to rot and decay. They are not brought back to the same mortal life; they come back into a condition decay cannot touch.

1 Timothy · 1

1 Timothy 1:17 ἀφθάρτῳ [the] immortal

Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Here: "Not subject to decay or perishing." It means more than "cannot die": nothing about God wears out, rots or decays. In this the true King is unlike mortal rulers and perishable idols (compare Rom 1:23).

1 Peter · 3

1 Peter 1:4 ἄφθαρτον imperishable

and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,

Here: The first of three 'un-' words. Nothing can rot it, wear it out or destroy it, unlike every earthly estate. The word belongs to God's own nature and to the resurrection body.
1 Peter 1:23 ἀφθάρτου of imperishable

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Here: The "seed" is understood from the previous phrase: imperishable seed. Peter used the same adjective for the inheritance "that can never perish" in 1:4. The new birth has the same lasting quality as what it leads to.
1 Peter 3:4 ἀφθάρτῳ imperishable

but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

Here: What does not decay or perish. Gold and fabric wear out and this does not. It is one of Peter's key words (1:4, 1:23), and it places the wife's character among the things that last into the age to come.

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