Greek word · G87

ἀδιάκριτος

adiakritos

impartial

Built from 'not' + diakrinō ('distinguish, separate; dispute; waver'). Possible senses: (a) not making distinctions, impartial; (b) undivided, unwavering, single-minded; (c) not contentious or disputatious. Appears only here in the New Testament.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀ-διά-κριτος, -ον

(διακρίνω), [in LXX: Proverbs 25:1 * ;]

1. not to be parted, mixed, undistinguishable (cf. Pr, l.with, and see Lft., Ignat. Eph., §3).

2. without uncertainty (Hort, in l., but see MM, VGT, see word): James 3:17.

† (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 James 3:17

Range of meaning

Built from 'not' + diakrinō ('distinguish, separate; dispute; waver'). Possible senses: (a) not making distinctions, impartial; (b) undivided, unwavering, single-minded; (c) not contentious or disputatious. Appears only here in the New Testament.

Against the English

KJV 'without partiality'; BSB, ESV, NIV 'impartial'; NLT 'shows no favoritism'; NASB 'unwavering'; YLT 'uncontentious'. Each version picks one strand of a word that probably carries more than one.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ignatius of Antioch (early 2nd century) uses it for an 'undivided' or 'unwavering' mind and for unwavering faith (e.g., Ephesians 3.2; Trallians 1.1). In LXX Prov 25:1 it appears in a different sense. James uses the verb diakrinomai for the 'doubter' who wavers like a wave (1:6), and diakrinō for 'making distinctions' between rich and poor in the assembly (2:4).

Where it appears

James · 1

  1. James 3:17 ἀδιάκριτος, impartial,

    But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

    Here: 'Not divided' or 'not making distinctions'. It probably echoes both the favoritism of 2:4 ('have you not made distinctions among yourselves?') and the doubter of 1:6. This wisdom neither plays favorites nor wavers.

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