adjective
akathartos
Strong’sG169
unclean, impure
stem akathart-32 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 books8 of 26 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
Unclean or impure, in a physical sense of something dirty or unwashed 134.
The word is also used for ceremonial impurity — something reckoned unfit or forbidden under religious law, including foods that are not to be eaten 123.
It further describes moral impurity or corruption, used of a person's conduct or character rather than physical dirt 123. In the Gospels and elsewhere it regularly appears together with the word for "spirit," describing an unclean spirit, i.e. a demonic being 12.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἀκάθαρτος, -ον
(< ἀ- neg., καθαίρω), [in LXX chiefly for טָמֵא;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G169 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidak-ath'-ar-tos
impure (ceremonially, morally (lewd) or specially, (demonic))
Fromfrom G1 (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of G2508 (meaning cleansed);
King Jamesfoul, unclean.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
(καθαίρω) uncleansed, foul, ἀήρRefs 5th c.BC+ of the body, Refs 5th c.BC+; of a woman, quae menstrua non habet, Refs 4th c.BC+; of ceremonial impurity, LXX
b unpurified, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 morally unclean, impure, Refs 5th c.BC+thou beast! Refs 3rd c.BC+; ={μανιώδης}, NT+5th c.BC+. adverb ἀκαθάρτως, ἔχεινRefs 5th c.BC+
3 ofthings, notpurgedaway, unpurged, Refs 5th c.BC+
3.b unpruned, Refs 4th c.BC+
3.c ceremonially unclean, of food, LXX+NT
3.d not sifted, containing impurities, Refs 3rd c.BC+
II active, not fit for cleansing, [φάρμακα] ἑλκέων ἀκαθαρτότεραRefs 2nd c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | masculine singular | feminine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | akathartos1×ἀκάθαρτος | akathartas | akathartem8×ἀκάθαρτον | akathartois | akathartais | akatharteim6×ἀκάθαρτα |
| object accusative | akatharton1×ἀκάθαρτον | akathartan | akathartoin | akathartain | ||
| direct address vocative | akathartor | akathartar | akathartoir | akathartair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | akathartou | akathartau | akatharteu5×ἀκαθάρτου | akathartoiu | akathartaiu | akatharteiu4×ἀκαθάρτων |
| to, for dative | akatharto | akatharta | akatharte5×ἀκαθάρτῳ | akathartoi | akathartai | akathartei2×ἀκαθάρτοις |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
akathart is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
32 occurrences, every one of them listed
akathartos“impure”subjectnominative singular1×
Ephesians 5:5… oidavēr gnōskarōntois hoti pantos pornos ē akathartos ē pleonektos, hem atō eidōlolatros, ouk …… you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an …
akatharton“unclean”objectaccusative singular1×
Acts 10:28… tos theos deikata mēdenon koinon ē akatharton legarō anthrōpon;… not call any man impure or unclean.
akathartem“unclean”subject or objectdirect singular8×
Matthew 12:43Hotan de tem akathartem pneumem exerchateia apo tou anthrōpou, dierchotō …When an unclean spirit comes out of a man …
Mark 1:26kai sparassarantem auton tem pneumem tem akathartem kai fōnarantem fōna mega exerchata ek …At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions …
Luke 11:24Hotan tem akathartem pneumem exerchateia apo tou anthrōpou, dierchotō …When an unclean spirit comes out of a man …
Acts 11:8… de; Mēdamōs, kurior, hoti koinem ē akathartem oudepote eiserchata eis tem stomem mu.… I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
Mark 3:30hoti legale; Pneumem akathartem echatō.… they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Mark 7:25… hau echate tem thugatriem autau pneumem akathartem, ercharantas prospiptata pros toin podoin autou;… woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and …
Acts 10:14… hoti oudepote esthiama pantem koinem kai akathartem.… have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
Mark 5:8… gar aute; Exerchasar tem pneumem tem akathartem ek tou anthrōpou.… Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!”
akatharteu“unclean”of, belonging togenitive singular5×
Luke 4:33… sunagōga ate anthrōpos echarōntos pneumem daimoneu akatharteu, kai anakrazata fōna mega;… possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a …
2 Corinthians 6:17… autoiu, kai aforizivar, legatō kurios, kai akatharteu mē haptovōr; kamis eisdechemi vin;… separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
Revelation 18:2… katoikētēriem daimoneiu kai fulakas panteu pneumeu akatharteu kai fulakas panteu ornitheu akatharteu kai …… demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every …
Revelation 18:2… pneumeu akatharteu kai fulakas panteu ornitheu akatharteu kai fulakas panteu thēreu akatharteu kai …… haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
Revelation 18:2“unclean”… ornitheu akatharteu kai fulakas panteu thēreu akatharteu kai misorēnteu,… spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
akatharte“unclean”to, fordative singular5×
Mark 1:23… ta sunagōga autoiu anthrōpos en pneume akatharte kai anakrazataSuddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:
Mark 5:2… ek teiu mnēmeieiu anthrōpos en pneume akatharte,… met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the …
Mark 9:25… episuntrechatō ochlos epitimata te pneume te akatharte legarōntos aute; Tem alalem kai kōfem …… had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit …
Luke 8:29parangelate gar te pneume te akatharte exerchara apo tou anthrōpou. polloi gar …For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the …
Luke 9:42… de tos Iēsus te pneume te akatharte, kai ieta ton paidon kai apodōata …… a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave …
akatharteim“unclean”subject or objectdirect plural6×
Mark 3:11kai teim pneumeim teim akatharteim, hotan auton theōrale, prospiptale auto kai …And when the unclean spirits saw Him, they fell down …
Mark 5:13… autei. kai exercharanteim teim pneumeim teim akatharteim eiserchala eis toin choiroin, kai hormata …He gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and went into …
1 Corinthians 7:14… adelfo; epei ara teim tekneim vu akatharteim atō, nun de hagieim atō.… husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
Acts 8:7pollois gar toiu echarōntoiu pneumeim akatharteim boarōnteim fōna mega exerchole, pollois de …With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who …
Revelation 16:13… teu stomeu tou pseudoprofētou pneumeim treis akatharteim hōs batrachois;And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming …
Revelation 17:4… cheira autau gemarōntem bdelugmeiu kai teim akatharteim tau porneiau autau,… cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.
akatharteiu“unclean”of, belonging togenitive plural4×
Matthew 10:1… mathētoin autou dōata autoi exousian pneumeiu akatharteiu hōste ekbalarō auteim kai therapeuarō pantan …… Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive …
Mark 6:7… dōate autoi exousian teiu pneumeiu teiu akatharteiu,… by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.
Luke 6:18… autoiu; kai tois enochlorōntois apo pneumeiu akatharteiu therapeuole;… their diseases, and those troubled by unclean spirits were healed.
Acts 5:16… ferarōntois asthenoin kai ochlorōntoin hupo pneumeiu akatharteiu, hotinois therapeuole hapantois.… the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were …
akathartei“unclean”to, fordative plural2×
Mark 1:27… kata exousian kai tei pneumei tei akathartei epitassatō, kai hupakoualō auto.… with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”
Luke 4:36… en exousia kai dunamia epitassatō tei akathartei pneumei, kai exercholō?… authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”