κόσμος
world
‘world’ is one of 8 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
From Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Where this word appears
See every Genitive-case word in the Greek New Testament →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Case
- Genitive
- The case of source, possession, or “of” — answers “whose / from what.”
- Accusative
- The case of the direct object and of extent.
- Dative
- The case of the indirect object, means, or location — “to / for / with / in.”
- Nominative
- The case of the subject (and the predicate nominative).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
60 distinct verses where G2889 appears in the Genitive case, across 15 books. Filtered view — show all forms. 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.
Matthew 4 verses
- Matthew 4:8 κόσμου n gen sg masc Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
- Matthew 5:14 κόσμου n gen sg masc You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden.
- Matthew 24:21 κόσμου n gen sg masc for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.
- Matthew 25:34 κόσμου n gen sg masc Then the King will tell those on his right hand, 'Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
Luke 2 verses
John 19 verses
- John 1:29 κόσμου n gen sg masc The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- John 4:42 κόσμου n gen sg masc They said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of your speaking; for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
- John 6:51 κόσμου n gen sg masc I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
- John 8:12 κόσμου n gen sg masc Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."
- John 8:23 κόσμου κόσμου n gen sg masc n gen sg masc He said to them, "You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.
- John 9:5 κόσμῳ κόσμου n dat sg masc n gen sg masc While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
- John 11:9 κόσμου n gen sg masc Jesus answered, "Aren't there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
- John 12:31 κόσμου κόσμου n gen sg masc n gen sg masc Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
- John 13:1 κόσμου κόσμῳ n gen sg masc n dat sg masc Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that his time had come that he would depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
- John 14:30 κόσμου n gen sg masc I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.
- John 15:19 κόσμου κόσμος κόσμου κόσμου κόσμος n gen sg masc n nom sg masc n gen sg masc n gen sg masc n nom sg masc If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
- John 16:11 κόσμου n gen sg masc about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged.
- John 17:6 κόσμου n gen sg masc I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word.
- John 17:9 κόσμου n gen sg masc I pray for them. I don't pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
- John 17:14 κόσμος κόσμου κόσμου n nom sg masc n gen sg masc n gen sg masc I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
- John 17:15 κόσμου n gen sg masc I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.
- John 17:16 κόσμου κόσμου n gen sg masc n gen sg masc They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.
- John 17:24 κόσμου n gen sg masc Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am, that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.
- John 18:36 κόσμου κόσμου n gen sg masc n gen sg masc Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn't be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here."
Romans 4 verses
- Romans 1:20 κόσμου n gen sg masc For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
- Romans 4:13 κόσμου n gen sg masc For the promise to Abraham and to his seed that he should be heir of the world wasn't through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
- Romans 11:12 κόσμου n gen sg masc Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?
- Romans 11:15 κόσμου n gen sg masc For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead?
1 Corinthians 10 verses
- 1 Corinthians 1:20 κόσμου n gen sg masc Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn't God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
- 1 Corinthians 1:27 κόσμου κόσμου n gen sg masc n gen sg masc but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
- 1 Corinthians 1:28 κόσμου n gen sg masc and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:
- 1 Corinthians 2:12 κόσμου n gen sg masc But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.
- 1 Corinthians 3:19 κόσμου n gen sg masc For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He has taken the wise in their craftiness."
- 1 Corinthians 4:13 κόσμου n gen sg masc Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the dirt wiped off by all, even until now.
- 1 Corinthians 5:10 κόσμου κόσμου n gen sg masc n gen sg masc yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you would have to leave the world.
- 1 Corinthians 7:31 κόσμον κόσμου n acc sg masc n gen sg masc and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away.
- 1 Corinthians 7:33 κόσμου n gen sg masc but he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.
- 1 Corinthians 7:34 κόσμου n gen sg masc There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world--how she may please her husband.
2 Corinthians 1 verse
Galatians 1 verse
Ephesians 2 verses
- Ephesians 1:4 κόσμου n gen sg masc even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;
- Ephesians 2:2 κόσμου n gen sg masc in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;
Colossians 2 verses
- Colossians 2:8 κόσμου n gen sg masc Be careful that you don't let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ.
- Colossians 2:20 κόσμου κόσμῳ n gen sg masc n dat sg masc If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances,
Hebrews 2 verses
- Hebrews 4:3 κόσμου n gen sg masc For we who have believed do enter into that rest, even as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest;" although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
- Hebrews 9:26 κόσμου n gen sg masc or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
James 2 verses
- James 1:27 κόσμου n gen sg masc Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
- James 4:4 κόσμου κόσμου n gen sg masc n gen sg masc You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 Peter 1 verse
2 Peter 2 verses
- 2 Peter 2:5 κόσμου κόσμῳ n gen sg masc n dat sg masc and didn't spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly;
- 2 Peter 2:20 κόσμου n gen sg masc For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state has become worse with them than the first.
1 John 5 verses
- 1 John 2:2 κόσμου n gen sg masc And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
- 1 John 2:16 κόσμῳ κόσμου n dat sg masc n gen sg masc For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn't the Father's, but is the world's.
- 1 John 3:17 κόσμου n gen sg masc But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him?
- 1 John 4:5 κόσμου κόσμου κόσμος n gen sg masc n gen sg masc n nom sg masc They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.
- 1 John 4:14 κόσμου n gen sg masc We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
Revelation 3 verses
- Revelation 11:15 κόσμου n gen sg masc The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!"
- Revelation 13:8 κόσμου n gen sg masc All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed.
- Revelation 17:8 κόσμου n gen sg masc The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
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.
“world” is the headline sense of the Greek noun κοσμος (kósmos). Catalogued under 8 senses, its meaning is not single-sense. It appears 149 verses across 20 books of the Greek New Testament, among its common vocabulary. More than a third of its appearances fall in John. Scripture first uses it in Matthew 4:8. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's G2889 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 →
- 149
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 149 distinct verses.
- 20 / 27
- NT books
- The word appears in 20 of 27 New Testament books.
- #86
- by frequency
- Top 100 most frequent Greek words (rank 86 of 5,347 Greek words by occurrence).
View all 149 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- John 56 verses 38%
- 1 Corinthians 17 verses 11%
- 1 John 17 verses 11%
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 149 distinct verses.
- Johannine 77 verses · 52%
- Gospels 70 verses · 47%
- Pauline corpus 41 verses · 28%
- General (Catholic) Epistles 29 verses · 19%
- Hebrews 5 verses · 3%
- Lukan (Luke–Acts) 4 verses · 3%
- Revelation 3 verses · 2%
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: World 185×
- American Standard Version: World 179×, The 5×, Of 3×
- Berean Standard Bible: World 176×, Whole world 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: World 185×, Of 9×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders G2889 across 187 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.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders G2889 across 191 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 G2889 across 183 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 5 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 3 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders G2889 across 198 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.
8 senses in Thayer's, in lexicon order
The 8 senses 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.
- an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government
- ornament…
- the world, the universe
- the circle of the earth, the earth
- the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family
- the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ
- world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly
- any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort
Word origin
Derived from κομιζω (komízō) (G2865) — to care for.
Probably from the base of G2865 ; orderly arrangement that is decoration ; by implication the world (in a wide or narrow sense including its inhabitants literally or figuratively [morally]): - adorning world.
— Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (1890), public domain.
Forms in the corpus
The 4 distinct written forms G2889 takes in the Greek New Testament, most frequent first — each parse links to that case’s occurrences in the concordance.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| κόσμου kósmou | Noun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 4:8 | 71 |
| κόσμον kósmon | Noun, Accusative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 16:26 | 45 |
| κόσμῳ kósmō | Noun, Dative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 18:7 | 36 |
| κόσμος kósmos | Noun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine | Matthew 13:38 | 32 |
Same root — word family
Other Thayer's entries built from the same root as G2889, 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.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Derived from this word
- κοσμεω kosméō G2885 to arrange
- κοσμικος kosmikós G2886 worldly
- κοσμιος kósmios G2887 well-arranged
- κοσμοκρατωρ kosmokrátōr G2888 worldly ruler
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 8 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint usage
The same Greek word κοσμος appears 28 times in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), across 26 verses in 9 books.
- 28
- LXX occurrences
- Tagged occurrences of this Greek word in the Septuagint.
- 26
- verses
- Distinct Septuagint verses containing this word.
- 9 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 9 of the 39 Old Testament books.
Sample Septuagint occurrences
- Genesis 2:1 κόσμος
- Exodus 33:5 κόσμος
- Deuteronomy 4:19 κόσμος
- 2 Samuel 1:24 κόσμος
- Proverbs 17:6 κόσμος
- Isaiah 3:18 κόσμος
- Jeremiah 2:32 κόσμος
- Ezekiel 7:20 κόσμος
- Nahum 2:10 κόσμος
Septuagint occurrences (same lexeme)
Every verse where the same Strong’s number (G2889) appears in the Greek Septuagint. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context; the Greek form is the matched word — the English is not keyword-highlighted.
- Genesis 2:1 κόσμος The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
- Exodus 33:5 κόσμος Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell the children of Israel, 'You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up into your midst for one moment, I would consume you. Therefore now take off your jewelry from you, that I may know what to do to you."
- Exodus 33:6 κόσμος The children of Israel stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.
- Deuteronomy 4:19 κόσμος and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
- Deuteronomy 17:3 κόσμος and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of the sky, which I have not commanded;
- 2 Samuel 1:24 κόσμος You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet delicately, Who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.
- Proverbs 17:6 κόσμος Children's children are the crown of old men; The glory of children are their parents.
- Proverbs 20:20 κόσμος Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
- Proverbs 28:17 κόσμος A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; No one will support him.
- Proverbs 29:17 κόσμος Correct your son, and he will give you peace; Yes, he will bring delight to your soul.
- Isaiah 3:18 κόσμος In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces,
- Isaiah 3:19 κόσμος the earrings, the bracelets, the veils,
- Isaiah 3:20 κόσμος the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume bottles, the charms,
- Isaiah 3:24 κόσμος It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be rottenness; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well set hair, baldness; Instead of a robe, a girding of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty.
- Isaiah 3:26 κόσμος Her gates shall lament and mourn; And she shall be desolate and sit on the ground.
- Isaiah 13:10 κόσμος For the stars of the sky and the constellations of it shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine.
- Isaiah 24:21 κόσμος It shall happen in that day, that Yahweh will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth.
- Isaiah 40:26 κόσμος Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
- Isaiah 49:18 κόσμος Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all these gather themselves together, and come to you. As I live, says Yahweh, you shall surely clothe you with them all as with an ornament, and gird yourself with them, like a bride.
- Isaiah 61:10 κόσμος I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- Jeremiah 2:32 κόσμος Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
- Jeremiah 4:30 κόσμος You, when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you deck you with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain do you make yourself beautiful; [your] lovers despise you, they seek your life.
- Ezekiel 7:20 κόσμος As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations [and] their detestable things therein: therefore have I made it to them as an unclean thing.
- Ezekiel 16:11 κόσμος I decked you with ornaments, and I put bracelets on your hands, and a chain on your neck.
- Ezekiel 23:40 κόσμος Furthermore you have sent for men who come from far, to whom a messenger was sent, and, behold, they came; for whom you did wash yourself, paint your eyes, and deck yourself with ornaments,
- Nahum 2:10 κόσμος She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale.
These are occurrences of the same Greek lexeme (G2889) 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.
