noun · neuter
skandalem
Strong’sG4625
a snare, stumbling-block
stem skandal-15 times in the New Testamentin 8 of 27 books3 of 6 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
σκάνδαλον refers literally to the triggering mechanism of a trap - the bait-stick that springs a snare - and so, more broadly, to a snare or trap set to catch an enemy or an animal 123. This literal sense appears in the Greek Old Testament 13.
From this the word develops a figurative sense, a stumbling-block or cause of offence - something or someone that trips a person up into error or sin 1234. In this figurative use it can describe a person who causes others to sin or fall away, a saying or teaching that gives offence, or a thing (such as the message of the cross) that provokes rejection or scandal 1. Strong's notes that this figurative sense can also carry the nuance of displeasure or scandal caused to someone 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
† σκάνδαλον, -ου, τό
(late form of the rare word σκανδάληθρον, v. LS, s.v.) [in LXX chiefly for מוֹקֵשׁ, מִכְשׁוֹל;]
SYN.: πρόσκομμα
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4625 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidskan'-dal-on
a trap-stick (bent sapling), i.e. snare (figuratively, cause of displeasure or sin)
From("scandal"); probably from a derivative of G2578;
King Jamesoccasion to fall (of stumbling), offence, thing that offends, stumblingblock.
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
probably acrobat who performed on a trapeze (σκάνδαλον), Refs 2nd c.AD+, trap or snare laid for an enemy, LXX+NT; probably laid for animals, Refs 3rd c.BC+: metaphorically, stumbling-block, offence, scandal, NT+6th c.AD+
II see at {σκανδαλιστής}.
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 or object direct | skandalem4×σκάνδαλον | skandaleim |
| of, belonging to genitive | skandaleu2×σκανδάλου | skandaleiu1×σκανδάλων |
| to, for dative | skandale | skandalei |
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
skandale 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.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
skandalem“offense”subject or objectdirect singular4×
Matthew 16:23… to Petro; Hupagasōr opisō mu, Satanor; skandalem asō mu, hoti ouk fronasō teim …… behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not …
Matthew 18:7“offense”… ouai to anthrōpo dia hou tem skandalem erchotō.… come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
Galatians 5:11… tinem ēti diōkomō? ara katargotē tem skandalem tou staurou.… being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
1 John 2:10“cause for stumbling”… autou en te fōte menatō, kai skandalem en auto ouk atō;Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.
skandaleu“offense”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
Romans 9:33… en Siōn lithon proskommeu kai petran skandaleu, kai tos pisteuarōntos epi auto ouk …… of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in …
1 Peter 2:8kai lithos proskommeu kai petras skandaleu; hois proskoptalō to logo apeitharōntois; eis …… of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the …
skandaleiu“offenses”of, belonging togenitive plural1×
Matthew 18:7“offenses”ouai to kosmo apo teiu skandaleiu; anankas gar erchara teim skandaleim, plēn …Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to …
skandaleim4×
Matthew 13:41“causes of sin”… ek tau basileiau autou panteim teim skandaleim kai toin poiarōntoin tan anomian,… will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.
Matthew 18:7“offenses”… teiu skandaleiu; anankas gar erchara teim skandaleim, plēn ouai to anthrōpo dia hou …… the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
Luke 17:1“offenses”… mathētoin autou; Anendektem atō teu teim skandaleim mē erchara, plēn ouai dia hou …… said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
Romans 16:17… skoparō toin tain dichostasiain kai teim skandaleim para tan didachan han vis mathava …… for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching …
skandalem4×
Romans 11:9… pagidan kai eis thēran kai eis skandalem kai eis antapodomem autoi,… a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them.
Romans 14:13… mē titharō proskommem to adelfo ē skandalem.… to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
1 Corinthians 1:23… de kērussanō Christon staurorēnton, Ioudaioi men skandalem ethnei de mōrian,but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
Revelation 2:14… Balaam, hos didaskate to Balak balara skandalem enōpion toiu huioiu Israēl, esthiara eidōlothuteim …… who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would …