κενός
empty
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Adjective
- A word that describes or qualifies a noun.
Case
- Accusative
- The case of the direct object and of extent.
- Nominative
- The case of the subject (and the predicate nominative).
- Dative
- The case of the indirect object, means, or location — “to / for / with / in.”
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
- Vocative
- The case of direct address (“O Lord”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Neuter
- Grammatically neuter.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one.
Every verse where G2756 appears in the Book of James — 1 distinct verse. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Greek form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Greek New Testament; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences of this word are not indexed here.
James
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
At its core, κενος (kenós) means “empty.” Scripture first uses it in Mark 12:3. With 16 verses in 11 books, it is an uncommon word in the Greek New Testament. Sharing its root, it stands alongside κενοδοξος, κενοφωνια and κενοω. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G2756 catalogs a Greek word from the Greek New Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Greek New Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 16
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 16 distinct verses.
- 11 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 11 of 27 New Testament books.
- #664
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Greek words (rank 664 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 16 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Luke 3 verses 19%
- 1 Corinthians 3 verses 19%
- 1 Thessalonians 2 verses 13%
By section of the New Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Some books belong to more than one corpus (Luke is in both the Gospels and the Lukan corpus, and so on), so these shares overlap and need not total 100%. Each figure is a share of the word’s 16 distinct verses.
- Pauline corpus 10 verses · 63%
- Gospels 4 verses · 25%
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 4 verses · 25%
- General (Catholic) Epistles 1 verse · 6%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Vain 13×, Empty 4×
- American Standard Version: Vain 9×, Empty 5×
- Berean Standard Bible: Vain 8×, Empty 3×, Empty-handed 3×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Vain 8×, Empty 6×, Is in vain 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G2756 across 18 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G2756 across 18 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders G2756 across 16 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G2756 across 18 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in Thayer's
The 1 sense Thayer's distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency or importance). The full entry — with sub-senses — is in the Lexicon Entry tab.
- empty, vain, devoid of truth
Word origin
Origin: apparently a primary word
Apparently a primary word; empty (literally or figuratively): - empty (in) vain.
— Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (1890), public domain.
Forms in the corpus
The 9 distinct written forms G2756 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that case’s occurrences in the concordance.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| κενὸν kenòn | Adjective, Accusative, Singular, Neuter | 2 Corinthians 6:1 | 6 |
| κενόν kenón | Adjective, Accusative, Singular, Masculine | Mark 12:3 | 3 |
| κενὴ kenḕ | Adjective, Nominative, Singular, Feminine | 1 Corinthians 15:10 | 3 |
| κενά kená | Adjective, Accusative, Plural, Neuter | Acts 4:25 | 1 |
| κενέ kené | Adjective, Vocative, Singular, Masculine | James 2:20 | 1 |
| κενούς kenoús | Adjective, Accusative, Plural, Masculine | Luke 1:53 | 1 |
| κενοῖς kenoîs | Adjective, Dative, Plural, Masculine | Ephesians 5:6 | 1 |
| κενὸς kenòs | Adjective, Nominative, Singular, Masculine | 1 Corinthians 15:58 | 1 |
| κενῆς kenē̂s | Adjective, Genitive, Singular, Feminine | Colossians 2:8 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G2756, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
- κενοδοξος kenódoxos G2755 vain glorious
- κενοφωνια kenophōnía G2757 empty talk
- κενοω kenóō G2758 to empty
- κενως kenōs G2761 in vain
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word κενος appears 62 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 60 verses in 18 books.
- 62
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 60
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 18 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 18 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Genesis 31:42 κενός
- Exodus 3:21 κενός
- Leviticus 26:16 κενός
- Deuteronomy 15:13 κενός
- Judges 7:16 κενός
- Ruth 1:21 κενός
- 1 Samuel 6:3 κενός
- 2 Samuel 1:22 κενός
- 2 Kings 4:3 κενός
- Ezra 15:13 κενός
- Job 2:3 κενός
- Psalms 2:1 κενός
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G2756) appears in the Greek Septuagint — showing the first 50 of 60. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Genesis 31:42 κενός Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night."
- Genesis 37:24 κενός and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
- Exodus 3:21 κενός I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and it will happen that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
- Exodus 5:9 κενός Let heavier work be laid on the men, that they may labor therein; and don't let them pay any attention to lying words."
- Exodus 23:15 κενός You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out from Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty.
- Exodus 34:20 κενός The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb: and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty.
- Leviticus 26:16 κενός I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and you will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will eat it.
- Leviticus 26:20 κενός and your strength will be spent in vain; for your land won't yield its increase, neither will the trees of the land yield their fruit.
- Deuteronomy 15:13 κενός When you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty:
- Deuteronomy 16:16 κενός Three times in a year shall all your males appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tents; and they shall not appear before Yahweh empty:
- Deuteronomy 32:47 κενός For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it.
- Judges 7:16 κενός He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.
- Judges 9:4 κενός They gave him seventy [pieces] of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light fellows, who followed him.
- Judges 11:3 κενός Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and lived in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
- Ruth 1:21 κενός I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty; why do you call me Naomi, seeing Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?"
- Ruth 3:17 κενός She said, These six [measures] of barley gave he me; for he said, "Don't go empty to your mother-in-law."
- 1 Samuel 6:3 κενός They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, don't send it empty; but by all means return him a trespass-offering: then you shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you."
- 2 Samuel 1:22 κενός From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan didn't turn back, The sword of Saul didn't return empty.
- 2 Kings 4:3 κενός Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
- Ezra 15:13 κενός
- Job 2:3 κενός Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. He still maintains his integrity, although you incited me against him, to ruin him without cause."
- Job 2:9 κενός Then his wife said to him, "Do you still maintain your integrity? Renounce God, and die."
- Job 6:5 κενός Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder?
- Job 6:6 κενός Can that which has no flavor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
- Job 7:3 κενός So am I made to possess months of misery, Wearisome nights are appointed to me.
- Job 7:6 κενός My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, And are spent without hope.
- Job 7:16 κενός I loathe my life. I don't want to live forever. Leave me alone; for my days are but a breath.
- Job 9:17 κενός For he breaks me with a tempest, Multiplies my wounds without cause.
- Job 15:31 κενός Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness shall be his reward.
- Job 15:35 κενός They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit."
- Job 20:18 κενός That for which he labored he shall restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he has gotten, he shall not rejoice.
- Job 21:34 κενός So how can you comfort me with nonsense, Seeing that in your answers there remains only falsehood?"
- Job 22:6 κενός For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, And stripped the naked of their clothing.
- Job 22:9 κενός You have sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- Job 27:12 κενός Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves; Why then have you become altogether vain?
- Job 31:34 κενός Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and didn't go out of the door--
- Job 33:21 κενός His flesh is so consumed away, that it can't be seen; His bones that were not seen stick out.
- Job 34:20 κενός In a moment they die, even at midnight; The people are shaken and pass away, The mighty are taken away without hand.
- Job 39:16 κενός She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
- Psalms 2:1 κενός Why do the nations rage, And the peoples plot a vain thing?
- Psalms 7:5 κενός Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; Yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, And lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
- Psalms 24:3 κενός Who may ascend to Yahweh's hill? Who may stand in his holy place?
- Psalms 30:7 κενός You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain to stand strong. But when you hid your face, I was troubled.
- Psalms 106:9 κενός He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; So he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
- Proverbs 23:29 κενός Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
- Isaiah 29:8 κενός It shall be as when a hungry man dreams, and, behold, he eats; but he awakes, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreams, and, behold, he drinks; but he awakes, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul has appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 30:7 κενός For Egypt helps in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I called her Rahab who sits still.
- Isaiah 32:6 κενός For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice profanity, and to utter error against Yahweh, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
- Isaiah 45:18 κενός For thus says Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn't create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited: I am Yahweh; and there is no one else.
- Isaiah 59:4 κενός None sues in righteousness, and none pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G2756) in the Septuagint — not a translation of any one Hebrew word. The store carries no word-level Hebrew↔Greek alignment, so no Hebrew original is asserted here. Counts come from the recovered LXX Strong's tagging — high-frequency vocabulary is well covered, while rare or late forms may be untagged — so they reflect tagged occurrences and may slightly undercount.
