Exploring the Meaning of Hekon in Greek

ἑκών expresses the idea of acting voluntarily. It appears in two New Testament contexts: one describing creation’s subjection, and one describing an apostolic ministry carried out either willingly or under obligation.

Occurrences

“For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” (Romans 8:20)

Here the word marks the contrast between what is voluntary and what is imposed. The line sets “not of its own will” against “because of him who subjected it,” locating the decisive agency outside “the creation.” The force of ἑκών in this sentence is to deny voluntariness to the creation’s condition: its being “subjected to vanity” is not presented as a self-chosen state but as the outcome of another’s action (“him who subjected it”). This denial is not an incidental detail; it shapes the logic of the whole statement. By excluding voluntariness, the verse frames creation as acted upon rather than acting, and the added phrase “in hope” keeps the subjection from being read as purposeless: the one who subjected it did so with a horizon beyond the present condition. Within the sentence, ἑκών therefore functions as the key qualifier of how the subjection relates to the will of the one experiencing it: it is explicitly not voluntary.

“For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.” (1 Corinthians 9:17)

In this verse, ἑκών appears twice in a tightly balanced conditional contrast, and its placement shows how voluntariness is being weighed as a moral and vocational factor. The first clause, “if I do this of my own will,” links voluntariness to the prospect of “a reward.” The second clause, “if not of my own will,” does not negate the action itself (“I do this”) but re-describes its character: it would be done without voluntariness, and that non-voluntary performance is paired with “a stewardship entrusted to me.” The word thus helps articulate two different ways the same work can be carried out—either willingly or under the pressure of an entrusted charge. The verse does not reduce the work to mere impulse or preference; instead, it treats voluntariness as the axis that distinguishes “reward” from “stewardship.” In this setting, ἑκών clarifies the speaker’s sense of responsibility: the labor can be performed willingly, but it can also be performed as something laid upon him, as a trust assigned.

Sense and Usage

Across these two passages, ἑκών consistently points to the presence or absence of voluntariness, but it does so in two different kinds of situations. In Romans 8:20 the emphasis falls on a condition endured: “the creation was subjected,” and the word denies that this was a voluntary condition on the part of the one subjected. The contrast is between being subjected “of its own will” and being subjected “because of him who subjected it.” Voluntariness is used as a way of assigning—or withholding—agency and responsibility within the sentence: creation does not stand as the initiator of its predicament.

In 1 Corinthians 9:17 the emphasis falls not on a condition suffered but on an action performed: “if I do this….” Here ἑκών helps separate two motives or modes of performing the same task. The speaker imagines the deed in two forms: done voluntarily, where “reward” is in view; or done without voluntariness, where the work is framed as “a stewardship entrusted to me.” In this contrast, voluntariness is not merely psychological; it functions as a moral descriptor that affects how the action is categorized. The work can be viewed as a freely embraced undertaking or as the discharge of an entrusted commission. The word therefore operates as a hinge between inner willingness and the external shape of obligation implied by “stewardship.”

Taken together, the two uses show that ἑκών can qualify both states and actions. When applied to creation’s subjection, it clarifies that the subjected party did not choose the state; when applied to apostolic labor, it clarifies whether the agent’s doing is willing or not. In both, voluntariness is treated as a meaningful category for interpreting what is happening: it signals either the lack of self-determination in undergoing a situation (Romans) or the difference between freely chosen service and service carried under an entrusted charge (1 Corinthians). The contexts make clear that voluntariness is not an abstract trait but a concrete qualifier that affects how the subject’s role is understood—whether as initiator, as one acted upon, or as one carrying out a trust.

Imagery

Though ἑκών is an adjective concerned with voluntariness rather than a physical object, both passages attach it to vivid scenarios. Romans 8:20 evokes a world placed under a burden (“subjected to vanity”) with its will explicitly ruled out as the cause; the imagery is of a created order bearing a condition imposed from outside, yet set “in hope.” 1 Corinthians 9:17 evokes the inner deliberation of a worker who can either embrace the task willingly and speak of “reward,” or recognize the task as an entrusted “stewardship” even when it is not carried out voluntarily. In these scenes, ἑκών sharpens the reader’s sense of what is chosen and what is assigned, tracing the line between willing participation and imposed responsibility.

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).