adjective
diabolos
Strong’sG1228
slanderous, the Slanderer, the Devil
stem diabol-35 times in the New Testamentin 14 of 27 books6 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
Slanderous, or a slanderer/false accuser — someone who spreads false accusations against others 123. This sense appears as a description of ordinary people's untrustworthy speech, such as being called "slanderers" or "false accusers" in lists of vices 1.
Used as a title, "the Devil" — the Accuser, Satan 1234. In this use the word functions as a proper name for the chief supernatural enemy, the tempter and adversary 124, and it can also describe someone acting as an agent of that adversary, as when the term is applied to a human individual in a metaphorical way 1.
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
διάβολος, -ον
(< διαβάλλω, q.v.) [in LXX for שָׂטָן (as Jb 1:6), exc. Es 7:4 8:1 (צַר, צָרַר);]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G1228 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saiddee-ab'-ol-os
a traducer; specially, Satan (compare )
Fromfrom G1225;
King Jamesfalse accuser, devil, slanderer.
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
slanderous, backbiting, γραῦς Refs 4th c.BC+: superlative -ώτατοςRefs 5th c.BC+; διάβολόν τι, aliquid invidiae, Refs 5th c.BC+
II substantive, slanderer, Refs 5th c.BC+; enemy, LXX: hence, = Sâtân,Refs; the Devil, NT
III adverb -λως injuriously, invidiously, Refs 5th c.BC+
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 | diabolos14×διάβολος | diabolas | diabolem | diabolois1×διάβολοι | diabolais | diaboleim |
| object accusative | diabolon1×διάβολον | diabolan | diaboloin | diabolain2×διαβόλους | ||
| direct address vocative | diabolor | diabolar | diaboloir | diabolair | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | diabolou13×διαβόλου | diabolau | diaboleu | diaboloiu | diabolaiu | diaboleiu |
| to, for dative | diabolo4×διαβόλῳ | diabola | diabole | diaboloi | diabolai | diabolei |
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
diabol 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
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
35 occurrences, every one of them listed
diabolos“devil”subjectnominative singular14×
Matthew 4:5Tote paralabatō auton tos diabolos eis tan hagian polan, kai stēata …Then the devil took Him to the holy city …
Matthew 4:8Palin paralabatō auton tos diabolos eis orem hupsēlem liōs, kai deikatō …Again, the devil took Him to a very high …
Matthew 4:11tote afiēkatō auton tos diabolos, kai idou angelois proserchala kai diakonale …Then the devil left Him, and angels came and …
Matthew 13:39… echthros tos sperarantos auteim atō tos diabolos; tos de therismos sunteleias aiōnou atō, …… enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of …
Luke 4:3legata de auto tos diabolos; Ei huios asō tou theou, legasar …The devil said to Him, “If You are …
Luke 4:6“devil”kai legata auto tos diabolos; Si dōami tan exousian houtan hapantan …“I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it …
Luke 4:13kai suntelarantos panton peirasmon tos diabolos apostēata apo autou achri kairou.When the devil had finished every temptation, he left …
Luke 8:12… alō tois akouarantois, eita erchotō tos diabolos kai airatō ton logon apo tau …… are those who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the word …
John 6:70… dōdeka eklegema? kai ek vu henos diabolos atō.… Yet one of you is a devil!”
1 Peter 5:8nēfavar, grēgoravar. tos antidikos vu diabolos hōs leontos ōruorōntos peripatatō zētarōntos tinon …… sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion …
1 John 3:8… diabolou atō, hoti apo archau tos diabolos hamartatō. eis houtem fanerita tos huios …… is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very …
Revelation 2:10… mellasō pascharō. idou mellatō balarō tos diabolos ek vu eis fulakan hina peiraziveia, …… are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of …
Revelation 12:12… kai tan thalassan, hoti katabainata tos diabolos pros vin, echarōntos thumon megon, horarēntos …… the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing …
Revelation 20:10kai tos diabolos tos planarōntos autoin balita eis tan …And the devil who had deceived them was thrown …
diabolon“devil”objectaccusative singular1×
Hebrews 2:14… echarōnton tou thanatou, houtem atō ton diabolon,… power of death, that is, the devil,
diabolou“devil”of, belonging togenitive singular13×
Matthew 4:1… hupo teu pneumeu, peirazira hupo tou diabolou.… wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Luke 4:2hēmerain tesserakonta peirazorōntos hupo tou diabolou. kai ouk esthiata oudenem en tai …… days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days …
John 8:44vis ek tou patrou tou diabolou avō kai tain epithumiain tou patrou …You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out …
John 13:2kai deipneu genorōnteu, tou diabolou ēdē balarēntou eis tan kardian hina …… evening meal was underway, and the devil had already put into the heart …
Acts 10:38… iorōntos pantoin toin katadunasteuorōntoin hupo tou diabolou, hoti tos theos ate meta autou;… all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
Acts 13:10… pantou dolou kai pantau radiourgiau, huior diabolou, echthror pantau dikaiosunau, ouk pauesi diastrefarōntos …and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you …
Ephesians 6:11“devil”… vin stēara pros tain methodeiain tou diabolou;… so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.
1 Timothy 3:6… mē tufirantos eis krimem empiptateia tou diabolou.… under the same condemnation as the devil.
1 Timothy 3:7… eis oneidismon empiptateia kai pagidan tou diabolou.… and into the snare of the devil.
2 Timothy 2:26kai ananēfaleia ek tau tou diabolou pagidau, zōgrorēntois hupo autou eis tem …… and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to …
1 John 3:8tos poiarōntos tan hamartan ek tou diabolou atō, hoti apo archau tos diabolos …… who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning …
1 John 3:8… theou hina luateia teim ergeim tou diabolou.… to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:10… tou theou kai teim tekneim tou diabolou; pantos tos mē poiarōntos dikaiosunan ouk …… distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness …
diabolo“devil”to, fordative singular4×
Matthew 25:41… purem tem aiōniem tem hetoimazorēntem to diabolo kai toi angeloi autou.… the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Ephesians 4:27mēde dōavōr topon to diabolo.and do not give the devil a foothold.
James 4:7… oun to theo; antistēavar de to diabolo, kai fugeti apo vu;… yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jude 1:9… de Michaēl tos archangelos, hote to diabolo diakrinorōntos dialegote peri teu Mōusou sōmeu, …… Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did …
diabolois“slanderers”subjectnominative plural1×
2 Timothy 3:3“slanderers”astorgois, aspondois, diabolois, akratois, anēmerois, afilagathois,unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love …
diabolain“slanderers”objectaccusative plural2×
1 Timothy 3:11gunaikain hōsautōs semnain, mē diabolain, nēfaliain, pistain en pantei.… the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all …
Titus 2:3Presbutiain hōsautōs en katastēme hieroprepain, mē diabolain mēde oino pollo doulorēntain, kalodidaskalain,… be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but …