διάβολος
diabolos
devilish/the Devil
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word διάβολος (diabolos) is a term with a specific definition and usage in the New Testament. It is primarily translated as "devilish" or "the Devil," indicating a connection to malicious or evil intentions. The word appears 38 times in the Bible, suggesting its importance in the narrative. The range of usage for διάβολος is primarily negative, often associated with opposition to God or divine plans. In many instances, it is used to describe the actions of a specific individual, Satan, who is portrayed as a formidable adversary. However, the word can also be used more broadly to describe human beings who engage in evil or deceitful behavior. The significance of διάβολος lies in its representation of opposition to God's will and the forces of evil that seek to undermine human well-being. Its frequent appearance in the New Testament highlights the importance of this concept in the Christian narrative, serving as a reminder of the ongoing struggle between good and evil.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
38 total occurrences across the text
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:5Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,
Matthew 4:8Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
Matthew 4:11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
Matthew 13:39The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Matthew 25:41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
Luke 4:2for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.
Luke 4:3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
Luke 4:5The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luke 4:6The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.
Luke 4:13When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.
Luke 8:12Those along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.
John 6:70Jesus answered them, “Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”
John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
John 13:2During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,
Acts 10:38even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Acts 13:10and said, “You son of the devil, full of all deceit and all cunning, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Ephesians 4:27and don’t give place to the devil.
Ephesians 6:11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
1 Timothy 3:6not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
1 Timothy 3:7Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil.
1 Timothy 3:11Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, and faithful in all things.
2 Timothy 2:26and they may recover themselves out of the devil’s snare, having been taken captive by him to his will.
2 Timothy 3:3without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good,
Hebrews 2:14Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Titus 2:3and that older women likewise be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good,
James 4:7Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 Peter 5:8Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 John 3:8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:10In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.
Jude 1:9But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”
Revelation 2:10Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Revelation 12:9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Revelation 12:12Therefore rejoice, heavens, and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil has gone down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time.”
Revelation 20:2He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years,
Revelation 20:10The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.