Exploring the Meaning of Anomia in Greek

ἀνομία means “lawlessness” and appears in a range of New Testament settings, from Jesus’ warnings about deceptive religiosity to apostolic contrasts between righteousness and its opposite, and promises of forgiveness. In these passages, the word marks a posture and practice that stands against what is right, and it also names what can be forgiven, resisted, and finally removed from God’s people.

Occurrences

Matthew 7:23 — “Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’”

Here ἀνομία characterizes the people being dismissed: they are defined not by their claims but by what they “work.” The term functions as the decisive label for their activity, and it is the reason given for the command, “Depart from me.” In this scene, lawlessness is not a marginal flaw; it is the core description of their life’s output.

Matthew 13:41 — “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,”

In the picture of the Son of Man sending angels, ἀνομία identifies a class of persons singled out for removal: “those who do iniquity.” It stands alongside “all things that cause stumbling,” placing lawlessness among what does not properly belong within the Kingdom. The word contributes a practical emphasis: it is something people “do,” an enacted opposition to the Kingdom’s order.

Matthew 23:28 — “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Here ἀνομία is located “inwardly,” paired with hypocrisy and contrasted with an “outward” appearance of righteousness. The term serves to expose a split between public impression and internal reality. Lawlessness is presented as something that can fill a person, describing an inner moral condition rather than merely isolated external acts.

Matthew 24:12 — “Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.”

In this statement about a deteriorating climate, ἀνομία is portrayed as increasing—“multiplied”—with social consequences. The word functions almost like a spreading condition that affects others: as lawlessness grows, “the love of many will grow cold.” The verse ties lawlessness to a cooling of love, describing a relational impact rather than keeping the focus only on rule-breaking.

Romans 4:7 — ““Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”

Here ἀνομία appears in the plural (“iniquities”), placed in parallel with “sins.” The term contributes to the vocabulary of forgiveness: the blessed ones are those whose lawless deeds have been addressed, not ignored. The emphasis falls on what happens to ἀνομίαι: they are “forgiven,” indicating a reversal of their guilt and consequences within the stated blessing.

Romans 6:19 — “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.”

In this exhortation about what one offers one’s “members” to, the language frames moral life in terms of service and direction. ἀνομία appears in the phrase “wickedness upon wickedness,” describing a compounding trajectory: one kind of wrongdoing layered upon more. The term strengthens the sense of momentum—service to what is unclean and lawless tends to escalate—before the verse pivots to “servants to righteousness for sanctification.”

2 Corinthians 6:14 — “Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?”

In a warning about binding partnerships (“unequally yoked”), ἀνομία is set as the opposite of righteousness, just as darkness is paired against light. The term helps form a sharp incompatibility: “what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have?” Lawlessness here is not treated as a minor difference but as a principle that cannot share common ground with righteousness in the relationship being considered.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 — “Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,”

Though ἀνομία is not explicitly visible in the English wording here, the verse contributes the setting in which the word later operates: deception, a coming rebellion, and the revealing of a figure described as “the man of sin.” In that context, lawlessness belongs to an eschatological frame where wrongdoing is not only personal but can be embodied and unveiled in public events that mislead many.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 — “For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way.”

Here ἀνομία is named directly and given an active, hidden character: it is a “mystery” that “already works.” The verb “works” connects back to earlier usage where people “work iniquity,” but now the emphasis is on a present operation that is partially concealed. The statement also introduces restraint: lawlessness is active, yet checked by “one who restrains” for a time.

Titus 2:14 — “who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.”

In this purpose statement about Christ’s self-giving, ἀνομία is the domain from which redemption occurs: “redeem us from all iniquity.” The word is treated as comprehensive (“all”), and the rescue from it is joined to purification and the formation of a people “zealous for good works.” Lawlessness here is what redemption frees from, in order to produce a contrasting pattern of life.

Hebrews 1:9 — “You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”

In this quotation, ἀνομία is the object of hatred, placed opposite righteousness as the object of love. The word functions evaluatively: it is not merely avoided but hated, and this moral stance is linked to the anointing “with the oil of gladness.” Lawlessness thus serves as a foil that highlights the positive affection for righteousness described in the verse.

Hebrews 8:12 — “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”

Here ἀνομία appears in the plural (“lawless deeds”) within a promise about divine mercy and memory. The term is coordinated with “sins,” and the key contribution is the pledge of non-remembrance: “lawless deeds no more.” Lawlessness is therefore included among the acts that are not merely regretted but decisively dealt with through mercy and a new standing before God.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, ἀνομία consistently names lawlessness as something active and identifiable in conduct (“you who work iniquity,” “those who do iniquity”), something that can also be inwardly present (“inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity”), and something that can spread and intensify (“iniquity will be multiplied,” “wickedness upon wickedness”). The word therefore carries both a personal dimension (what individuals do and harbor) and a broader, multiplying dimension (a condition that grows and chills love).

The term regularly appears in deliberate contrasts. In 2 Corinthians 6:14 and Hebrews 1:9, lawlessness is set directly against righteousness, not as a nearby neighbor but as an incompatible opposite. That opposition shows up in practical counsel (avoid binding partnership where the fellowship would require blending what cannot blend) and in moral orientation (loving righteousness entails hating lawlessness). In Matthew 23:28 the contrast is internal-external rather than law-righteousness, yet the same dividing line is enforced: a display of righteousness can coexist with inward lawlessness, exposing the danger of judging by appearances.

Several occurrences also position ἀνομία within divine action—both judgment and mercy. In Matthew 13:41, lawlessness marks those gathered out of the Kingdom by angelic agency, placing the word within a scene of separation. In Matthew 7:23 it is the stated ground for exclusion from Jesus: the doers of lawlessness are told, “Depart from me.” In Romans 4:7 and Hebrews 8:12, however, lawlessness is not only condemned; it is forgivable and erasable from the record: “iniquities are forgiven” and “lawless deeds” are “remember[ed]… no more.” Titus 2:14 tightens that connection by presenting redemption as liberation “from all iniquity,” paired with purification and a new zeal for good works, showing lawlessness not just as something to be pardoned but as something from which a people can be freed for a new pattern of life.

Finally, 2 Thessalonians 2 places ἀνομία in a frame of hidden present activity and impending revelation. “The mystery of lawlessness already works” portrays lawlessness not merely as obvious misconduct but as an operating force that is at work even before its full unveiling, yet not without restraint. Read alongside the warning against deception and the mention of “the rebellion” and “the man of sin,” ἀνομία gains an apocalyptic edge: it can be both present and partially concealed, and it belongs to a larger conflict where discernment is needed.

Imagery in Context

The passages attach vivid motion and temperature to ἀνομία. It can be “multiplied,” suggesting rapid increase, and it can chill: as it rises, “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). It can also “work” quietly as a “mystery” under restraint (2 Thessalonians 2:7), and it can be treated decisively—gathered out of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:41), hated in contrast to righteousness (Hebrews 1:9), forgiven and covered (Romans 4:7), and remembered no more (Hebrews 8:12). Together these scenes portray lawlessness as both a present, active threat and a category of deeds that God can remove through mercy and redemption.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).