adverb
kalōs
Strong’sG2573
well, nobly, rightly
stem kalō-36 times in the New Testamentin 15 of 27 booksnever changes form
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
καλῶς is an adverb meaning well, rightly, finely, nobly — describing an action, statement, or state of affairs as done correctly, suitably, or excellently 1234. It regularly qualifies verbs of speaking or acting ("to speak well," "to do well"), and can take a person or thing as its object, or accompany a participle 1. It is also used with verbs meaning to lead, serve, or be brought up, in the sense of doing so rightly or honorably 12.
The word is also used on its own as an exclamation of approval, meaning "well said!" or "well done!" 13.
It further occurs in the fixed phrase to be well, referring to being in good health or a good condition 132.
At times it is used ironically, so that "well!" actually conveys the opposite — mock praise or sarcasm 13.
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
καλῶς,
adv.(< καλός), [in LXX for parts and derivatives of יטב;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2573 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidkal-oce'
well (usually morally)
Fromadverb from G2570;
King James(in a) good (place), honestly, + recover, (full) well.
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
Aeolic dialect κάλος (see. below), α, ον, Boeotian dialect καλϝός Refs 6th c.BC+:—
A beautiful, of outward form, frequently of persons, κάλλιστος ἀνὴρ ὑπὸ Ἴλιον ἦλθεν Refs 8th c.BC+ usually in the phrase κ. τε μέγας τε Refs 8th c.BC+; μέγας καὶ κ. Refs 8th c.BC+; καλὸς δέμας beautiful of form,Refs 5th c.BC+; Χορῷ καλή beauteous in the dance, Refs 8th c.BC+: with infinitive, καλλίονες καὶ μείζονες εἰσοράασθαι Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐσορᾶν κ. Refs 5th c.BC+: frequently of parts of the body, fair, shapely, κ. πρόσωπα, ὅμματα, παρήϊα, σφυρά, Refs 8th c.BC+; of clothes, εἵματα, φάρεα, Χιτών, Χλαῖνα, πέδιλα, Refs 8th c.BC+; of arms and armour, κνημῖδες, ἀσπίς, σάκος, κόρυς, φάσγανα, ἔντεα, Refs 8th c.BC+; of buildings, manufactured articles, etc., αὐλὴ κ. τε μεγάλη τε Refs; κ. δώματα, τεῖχος, πόλιες,Refs 8th c.BC+; also τέμενος, ἀγρός, Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐέρσα κ. ead.Refs
A.2 in Attic dialect added to a name in token of love or admiration, as Ἀρίσημος κ. Refs; ἐν τοῖσι τοίχοις ἔγραφ᾽ Ἀθηναῖοι καλοί” Refs 5th c.BC+; Ἀλκιβιάδης ὁ καλός, Σαπφὼ ἡ καλή, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.2.b ἡ Καλή or Καλλίστη, as epithet, Refs 4th c.BC+
A.2.c Καλοί, οἱ, divinities worshipped in childbirth, Refs 2nd c.BC+
A.3 τὸ καλόν beauty, Refs 7th c.BC+, etc.; τὰ καλά the proprieties or elegancies of life, Refs 5th c.BC+
A.II with reference to use, good, of fine quality, κ. λιμήν Refs 8th c.BC+; Βορέῃ ἀνέμῳ.. καλῷ fair, Refs; κ. ἀργύριον, opposed to κίβδηλον, genuine silver, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to ἀποτετριμμένον, good silver currency, Refs 3rd c.BC+; ἐλαῖαι Refs 3rd c.BC+; γῆ NT+4th c.AD+; στρατόπεδον κάλλιστον LXX+5th c.BC+: with infinitive, λόφος κάλλιστος τρέχειν Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν καλῷ [τόπῳ] in a good place, καθίζεσθαι, ὁρμεῖν, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν καλῷ under favourable circumstances, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν κ. (i.e. Χρόνῳ) in good time, in season, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐν οὐ κ. Refs; ἐν καλῷ [ἐστι] with infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+ with infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+; τί γὰρ ἐμοὶ ζῆν καλό; what is the good of life to me? Refs 1st c.AD+; καλῇ πίστει, = Latin bona fide, Refs 3rd c.AD+
A.II.2 of sacrifices, auspicious, σφάγια Refs 5th c.BC+: with infinitive, ἰέναι.. κ. ἡμῖν τὰ ἱερὰ ἦν Refs 5th c.BC+
A.III in a moral sense, beautiful, noble, honourable, in Refs 8th c.BC+ only in neuter, οὐ καλὸν ἔειπες Refs 8th c.BC+; frequently καλόν [ἐστι] with infinitive, κ. τοι σὺν ἐμοὶ τὸν κήδειν ὅς κ᾽ ἐμὲ κήδῃ Refs 8th c.BC+; οὐ γὰρ ἔμοιγε κ. (i.e. ἄρχειν)Refs 8th c.BC+; so in Trag., καλόν μοι τοῦτο ποιούσῃ θανεῖν LXX+5th c.BC+: comparative, οὐ μέν τοι τόδε κάλλιον οὐδὲ ἔοικε Refs 8th c.BC+; κ. ἔργματα noble deeds, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀναστροφὴ κ. NT: in plural, excellences, πλῆθος καλῶν Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ τοῦ παιδὸς κ. Refs 5th c.BC+
A.III.2 τὸ κ. moral beauty, virtue, honour, opposed to τὸ αἰσχρόν, Refs 6th c.BC+; τοὐμὸν κ. Refs 5th c.BC+
A.III.3 of persons, in early writers coupled with ἀγαθός, see at {καλοκἀγαθός}; later κ. ποιμήν NT; κ. στρατιώτης NT
A.IV in Attic dialect and Trag. frequently ironically, fine, specious, γέρας κ. Refs 5th c.BC+
B Degrees of comparative: comparative καλλίων, ον, Refs 8th c.BC+: superlative κάλλιστος, η, ον, Refs 8th c.BC+; late καλλιώτερος or -ότερος, Refs 5th c.BC+
C adverb:—Poets frequently use neuter καλόν as adverb, κ. ἀείδειν Refs 8th c.BC+; later τὸ κ. Refs 3rd c.BC+
C.II regular adverb καλῶς (Doric dialect καλώς Refs 5th c.BC+, well, rightly, οὐδ᾽ ἔτι κ. οἶκος ἐμὸς διόλωλε Refs 8th c.BC+; κ. ζῆν, τεθνηκέναι, etc., Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. φρονεῖν to be in one's right mind, Refs; κ. ἀγωνιεῖσθαι fairly, on the merits of the case, Refs 5th c.BC+; Χρήματα δατῆθθαι κ. Refs 5th c.BC+
C.II.2 of good fortune, well, happily, κ. πράσσειν, ={εὖ π}., Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. ἔχειν to be well, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. ἔχει with infinitive, 'tis well to.., Refs 5th c.BC+ to be well off in respect to a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+
C.II.3 καλῶς, ={πάνυ}, thoroughly, altogether, τὸν κ. εὐδαίμονα Refs 5th c.BC+: comparative, κάλλιον εἰδέναι Refs 5th c.BC+; κάλλιον ἐοικέναι to be just like, Refs 5th c.BC+
C.II.4 κ. ἀκούειν to be well spoken of, Refs 4th c.BC+
C.II.5 κ. ποιῶν rightly, deservedly, κ. ποιῶν ἀπόλλυται Refs 5th c.BC+; in requests, κ. ποιήσεις πριάμενος, etc., Refs 3rd c.BC+, etc.; also with infinitive, κ. π. γράψαι Refs 1st c.BC+
C.II.6 in answers, to approve the words of the former speaker, well said! Refs 5th c.BC+; also, to decline an offer courteously, no, thank you! Refs 5th c.BC+; πάνυ κ. Refs 5th c.BC+
C.II.7 ironically, finely, καλῶς ἐρήμης γ᾽ ἂν σὺ γῆς ἄρχοις μόνος Refs 5th c.BC+
C.II.8 κ. ὁ ἱερεύς hurrah for the priest! Refs 2nd c.AD+
C.II.9 repeated with the adjective, καλὴ καλῶς Refs 5th c.BC+
C.II.10 comparative καλλιόνως Refs 5th c.BC+: superlative καλλίστως Refs 5th c.BC+
D for compounds, see at {καλλι-, καλο-}.
E Quantity: ᾱ in Epic dialect and early Refs 8th c.BC+: ᾰ in Lyric poetry (except κᾱλῶς Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ μὴ κᾰλὰ κᾱλὰ πέφανται Refs 3rd c.BC+.--In comparative, ῐ in Refs 8th 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.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
36 occurrences, every one of them listed
kalōs30×
Matthew 12:12… anthrōpos probateu. hōste exestinatō tei sabbatei kalōs poiarō.… Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Matthew 15:7hupokritoir, kalōs profēteuata peri vu Ēsaios legarōntos;You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
Mark 12:28… grammatevoiu akouarantos autoiu suzētarōntoiu, horarantos hoti kalōs apokrinita autoi, eperōtata auton; Poias atō …… and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked …
Mark 16:18… blaptateia, epi arrōstoin cheirain epitithali kai kalōs echali.… sick, and they will be made well.”
Luke 6:26Ouai hotan kalōs vin legaleia pantois tois anthrōpois, kata …… to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated …
Luke 6:27… toi akouarōntoi, agapavōr toin echthroin vu, kalōs poiavōr toi misarōntoi vin,… I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luke 6:48… ouk ischuata saleuara autan dia tem kalōs oikodomorē autan.… not shake it, because it was well built.
Luke 20:39… de tinois toiu grammatevoiu legala; Didaskalor, kalōs legasa;… scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”
John 8:48… tois Ioudaiois kai legala auto; Ouk kalōs leganō nis hoti Samaritos asō sis …… Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a …
John 13:13… Tos didaskalos kai Tos kurios, kai kalōs legavō, amō gar.… call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
John 18:23“rightly”… marturasar peri teu kakoseu; ei de kalōs, tinem min derasō?… something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”
Acts 10:33“good”… oun pempama pros sin, sis tē kalōs poiasa paragenerantos. nun oun pantois nis …So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in …
Romans 11:20“that is true”kalōs; ta apistia ekklila, sis de ta …… They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by …
1 Corinthians 7:37… idia kardia, tērarō tan heautou parthenan, kalōs poiati;… marry the virgin, he will do well.
1 Corinthians 7:38… kai tos gamizarōntos tan parthenan heautou kalōs poiatō, kai tos mē gamizarōntos kreittonem …… he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry …
1 Corinthians 14:17sis men gar kalōs eucharistasō, alla tos heteros ouk oikodomotō.You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other one is not …
2 Corinthians 11:4“well”… ē euangeliem heterem hem ouk decheva, kalōs anechovō.… you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it very …
Galatians 4:17zēlalō vin ouk kalōs, alla ekkleiara vin thelalō, hina autoin …… for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate …
Galatians 5:7Trechave kalōs; tinos vin enkoptata ta alētheia mē …You were running so well. Who has obstructed you from obeying …
Philippians 4:14plēn kalōs poiava sunkoinōnarantois mu ta thlipsia.Nevertheless, you have done well to share in my affliction.
1 Timothy 3:4tou idiou oikou kalōs prostēorōnton, tekneim echarōnton en hupotaga meta …… overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control …
1 Timothy 3:12“well”diakonois alōr henau gunaikau androis, tekneiu kalōs prostēorōntois kai toiu idioiu oikoiu;… deacon must be the husband of but one wife, a good manager of his children and of his …
1 Timothy 3:13tois gar kalōs diakonarantois bathmon heautoi kalon peripoiolō kai …For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a …
1 Timothy 5:17“well”Tois kalōs prostēarēntois presbuterois diplouau timau axiolōr, malista …Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who …
Hebrews 13:18… hoti kalan suneidēsian echanō, en pantei kalōs thelarōntois anastreforō.… clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
James 2:3“in a good place”… lampran kai legaveia; Sis kathosōr hōde kalōs, kai to ptōcho legaveia; Sis stēasar …If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit …
James 2:8… Agapasi ton plēsion su hōs siauton, kalōs poiavō;… neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
James 2:19“well”… pisteuasō hoti henos atō tos theos? kalōs poiasō; kai teim daimoneim pisteualō kai …You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.
2 Peter 1:19… echanō bebaioteron ton profētikon logon, ho kalōs poiavō prosecharōntois hōs luchno fanarōnto en …… beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as …
3 John 1:6… su ta agapa enōpion ekklēsau, hoin kalōs poiasi propemparantos axiōs tou theou;… about your love. You will do well to send them on their way …
Kalōs6×
Mark 7:6tos de legata autoi; Kalōs profēteuata Ēsaios peri vu toiu hupokritoiu, …Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is …
Mark 7:9“fine”Kai legate autoi; Kalōs athetavō tan entolan tou theou, hina …… set aside the command of God to maintain …
Mark 7:37kai huperperissōs ekplēssole legarōntois; Kalōs panteim poiatē, kai toin kōfoin poiatō …… said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear …
Mark 12:32kai legata auto tos grammatevos; Kalōs, didaskalor, epi alētheiau legasa hoti henos …“Right, Teacher,” the scribe replied. “You have …
John 4:17“right”… echamō andron. legatō auta tos Iēsus; Kalōs legasa hoti Andron ouk echamō;“I have no husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said to her, “You are correct to say that you have no husband.
Acts 28:25… legarantou tou Paulou rēmem henem hoti Kalōs tem pneumem tem hagiem lalata dia …… final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers …