Rotten
σαπρόςStrong’s G4550sapros
Appears in 6 verses of the New Testament
In short
Sapros is the Greek word usually translated “bad” and “unwholesome”. It appears in 6 verses of the New Testament.
“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
Meaning
Usually translated “bad” and “unwholesome”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- bad 6
- the bad 1
- unwholesome 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Matthew 4
- Luke 1
- Ephesians 1
3 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Matthew 7:18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
- Matthew 12:33Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
- Matthew 13:48Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
- Luke 6:43For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
- Ephesians 4:29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Greek dictionary
σαπρός sapros · rotten
σαπρός, -ά -όν [in Sm.: Lev.27:14, 33 * ;] rotten, corrupt, bad, worthless: of trees and fruit (opposite to ἀγαθός, καλός), Mat.7:17-18 12:33 Luk.6:43; of fish, Mat.13:48. Metaphorical, in moral sense: λόγος σ., Eph.4:29. "In Hellenistic . . . it became a synonym for αἰσχρός or κακός," MM, xxii.† (AS)
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “rotten” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
ROTTEN, adjective
rot'n.
- Putrid; carious; decomposed by the natural process of decay; as a rotten plank.
- Not firm or trusty; unsound; defective in principle; treacherous; deceitful.
- Defective in substance; not sound or hard.
- Fetid; ill smelling.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.