noun · feminine
blasfēmias
Strong’sG988
abusive or scurrilous language, blasphemy
stem blasfēmi-18 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books5 of 10 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
βλασφημία means abusive, slanderous speech directed at another person - railing accusation, defamation, or vilification 1234. This everyday sense of insulting or slandering someone is found alongside other terms for vice, and covers general abusive or scurrilous language 134.
The word also carries the specific sense of impious speech against God, that is, blasphemy proper 123. In this use it names irreverent or contemptuous speech directed at God rather than at a human target 13, and Strong's notes that this is the sense most often intended when the vilification is especially aimed at God 2.
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
βλασφημία, -ας, ἡ
(< βλάσφημος), [in LXX: Ez 35:12 (נֶאָצָה), Da TH 3:29 (96) (שׁלה), To 1:18, I Mac 2:6, II Mac 8:4 10:35 15:24 *;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G988 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidblas-fay-me'-ah
vilification (especially against God)
Fromfrom G989;
King Jamesblasphemy, evil speaking, railing.
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
word of evil omen, profane speech, Refs 4th c.BC+; βλασφημίαν ἐφθέγξατο, at a sacrifice, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 defamation, slander, NT+4th c.BC+; ὅλας ἁμάξας βλασφημιῶν whole cart-loads of abuse, Refs 2nd c.AD+
3 irreverent speech against God, blasphemy, ἡ εἰς τὸ θεῖον β. LXX+4th c.BC+against.., NT
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 | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | blasfēmias4×βλασφημία | blasfēmiais3×βλασφημίαι |
| object accusative | blasfēmian3×βλασφημίαν | blasfēmiain3×βλασφημίας |
| direct address vocative | blasfēmiar | blasfēmiair |
| of, belonging to genitive | blasfēmiau5×βλασφημίας | blasfēmiaiu |
| to, for dative | blasfēmia | blasfēmiai |
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
blasfēmia 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.
18 occurrences, every one of them listed
blasfēmias“slander”subjectnominative singular4×
Matthew 12:31… houtem legamō vi, pantas hamartas kai blasfēmias afiēkiti toi anthrōpoi, tas de teu …… I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the …
Matthew 12:31… toi anthrōpoi, tas de teu pneumeu blasfēmias ouk afiēkiti.… will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be …
Mark 7:22… pleonexiais, ponēriais, dolos, aselgeias, ofthalmos ponēros, blasfēmias, huperēfanias, afrosunas;greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.
Ephesians 4:31… thumos kai orgas kai kraugas kai blasfēmias airitar apo vu sun panta kakia.… bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
blasfēmian“slander”objectaccusative singular3×
Matthew 26:65… echanō marturoiu? ide nun akouava tan blasfēmian;… Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
Colossians 3:8… vis teim panteim, organ, thumon, kakian, blasfēmian, aischrologian ek teu stomeu vu;… things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Revelation 2:9… ptōcheian, alla plousios asō, kai tan blasfēmian ek toiu legarōntoiu Ioudaioin arō heautoin, …… And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to …
blasfēmiau“blasphemy”of, belonging togenitive singular5×
Mark 14:64akouava tau blasfēmiau; tinem vi fanotō? tois de pantois …You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” And they …
John 10:33… ergeu ouk lithazanō sin alla peri blasfēmiau, kai hoti sis anthrōpos arōntos poiasō …… work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man …
Jude 1:9… Mōusou sōmeu, ouk tolmata krisian epiferara blasfēmiau, alla legata; Epitimatoia si kurios.… did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The …
Revelation 13:1… kai epi tain kefalain auteu onomeim blasfēmiau.… royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Revelation 17:3… kathorōntan epi thērem kokkinem, gemarōnteim onomeim blasfēmiau, echarōntos kefalain hepta kai kerateim deka.… scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and …
blasfēmiais“slander”subjectnominative plural3×
Matthew 15:19… ponērois, fonois, moicheiais, porneiais, klopais, pseudomarturiais, blasfēmiais.… sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
Mark 3:28… toiu anthrōpoiu, teim hamartēmeim kai tais blasfēmiais hoseim ean blasfēmaleia;… will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.
1 Timothy 6:4“slander”… logomachiain, ek haiu genotō fthonos, eridas, blasfēmiais, huponoiais ponērais,… controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,
blasfēmiain“blasphemies”objectaccusative plural3×
Luke 5:21“blasphemies”… legarōntois; Tinos atō houtos hos lalatō blasfēmiain? tinos dunotō hamartain afiēkara ei mē …… to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God …
Revelation 13:5“blasphemies”… dōita aute stomem lalarōntem megeim kai blasfēmiain, kai dōita aute exousias poiara mēnoin …… beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
Revelation 13:6kai anoigata tem stomem auteu eis blasfēmiain pros ton theon, blasfēmara tem onomem …… beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His …