ἁμαρτάνω G0264
To sin, miss the mark, commit transgression against God; as participle, one who sins, a sinner.
The New Testament's primary verb for sin, rooted in the classical Greek image of missing a target — a spear thrown wide, a goal unreached. By the Septuagint era the metaphor had been thoroughly moralized: to 'miss the mark' is to fall short of God's standard. It appears in deeply charged moments — the prodigal rehearsing 'Father, I have sinned' (Luke 15:18), Judas confessing 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood' (Matt 27:4), and Paul's declaration that 'all have sinned' (Rom 3:23). Spanish 'pecar' and French 'pécher' derive from Latin peccāre, but the Greek carries a faint echo of an arrow gone astray.
3. to sin (infinitive purpose) — To sin as abstract possibility or purpose — the infinitive expressing the concept of sinning rather than a specific sinful act. John writes that the one born of God 'cannot sin' (1 John 3:9), using the infinitive to name the very capacity or orientation toward sin. Spanish 'pecar' and French 'pécher' translate identically to the finite forms, but the Greek infinitive here carries theological weight: it speaks not of a single transgression but of the ongoing possibility of sin as a way of life, which new birth is said to exclude. 1×
AR["أَن-يُخطِئَ"]·ben["পাপ-করতে"]·DE["suendigen"]·EN["to-sin"]·FR["pécher"]·heb["לַחֲטֹא"]·HI["पाप-करना"]·ID["berdosa,"]·IT["peccare"]·jav["dosa"]·KO["죄를-지을"]·PT["pecar,"]·RU["грешить,"]·ES["pecar"]·SW["kutenda-dhambi"]·TR["günah-işlemek"]·urd["گناہ-کرنا،"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. to sin, commit sin — To sin or commit transgression — the finite verb in all its active forms (indicative, subjunctive, imperative), covering the general act of sinning against God, against another person, or against one's own conscience. Jesus teaches how to confront a brother 'if he sins against you' (Matt 18:15, 21), the prodigal rehearses his confession (Luke 15:18, 21), and Paul declares universally that 'all have sinned' (Rom 3:23; 5:12). German 'sündigen' and Spanish 'pecar' render the action consistently. The word encompasses deliberate rebellion, moral failure, and covenant violation alike. 32×
AR["أخطَأَ","أَخطَأوا","أَخطَأَ","أَخْطَأَ","أَخْطَأْتُ","مُخطِئٍ","يُخطِئُ","يُخْطِئُ"]·ben["পাপ-করছে","পাপ-করবে","পাপ-করিয়াছি","পাপ-করে","পাপ-করেছি","পাপ-করেছে","পাপ-করেছে,","যে-পাপ-করে"]·DE["suendigen","sündigt"]·EN["I-sinned","have-I-sinned","he-sins","sinned","sinning","sins","will-sin"]·FR["pécher"]·heb["חָטְאוּ","חָטָא","חָטָאתִי","חוֹטֵא","יֶחֱטָא"]·HI["पअप-करत,","पअप-करे","पअप-करेग","पाप-करता","पाप-करता-है","पाप-करने-वाला","पाप-करे","पाप-किया","पाप-किया-मैंने","मैंनेपापकिया।"]·ID["Aku-berdosa","aku-berdosa","berdosa","berdosa,","berdosa-","berdosa.","berdosa;","ia-berdosa","telah-berdosa"]·IT["peccare"]·jav["Kula-sampun-dosa,","dosa","dosa,","kula-dosa.","kula-sampun-dosa","nggadhahi-dosa","nggadhahi-dosa,","nggadhahi-dosa-","nglampahi-dosa"]·KO["범죄하였는지","범죄하였으니","범하였다","죄-지었다","죄-짓는다","죄를-범함","죄를-지었습니까","죄를-지었습니다","죄를-지으면","죄를-지은-것도","죄를-짓거든","죄를-짓는-자","죄를-짓는다","죄를-짓지"]·PT["Pequei","peca,","peca.","peca;","pecar","pecar,","pecaram","pecou","pequei","pequei.","que-peca,"]·RU["Я-согрешил","грешащий,","грешит","грешит,","грешит.","согрешил","согрешил,","согрешил-я","согрешили","согрешит","согрешит,"]·ES["Pequé","peca","pecare","pecaron","pecará","pecó","pequé"]·SW["Nimetenda-dhambi","akikosa","akikukosea","alitenda-dhambi","anatenda-dhambi","anayetenda-dhambi","atanikosea","atende-dhambi","nimekosa","nimetenda-dhambi","tendi-dhambi","walikosa","waliotenda-dhambi","wametenda-dhambi"]·TR["Günah-işledim","guenah-isledi,","günah-işledi","günah-işledim","günah-işler","günah-işlerse","günah-işleyen","günah-işliyor","günah-işliyor,"]·urd["میں-نے-گناہ-کیا","نے-گناہ-کیا","گناہ-کرتا-ہے","گناہ-کرتا-ہے۔","گناہ-کرتا،","گناہ-کرتا؛","گناہ-کرنے-والا،","گناہ-کرے","گناہ-کرے،","گناہ-کیا","گناہ-کیا-ہے","گناہ-کیے","گُناہ-کِیا"]
Matt 18:15, Matt 18:21, Matt 27:4, Luke 15:18, Luke 15:21, Luke 17:3, Luke 17:4, John 5:14, John 8:11, John 9:2, John 9:3, Acts 25:8 (+20 more)
2. one who sins, sinning — One who sins, a sinner — the participial form functioning substantivally or adjectivally to characterize a person or group by their sinning. Paul argues that death reigned even over those who had not 'sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression' (Rom 5:14), that through one man's sin judgment came (Rom 5:16), and that elders who sin should be rebuked publicly (1 Tim 5:20). In Hebrews 3:17, it describes the wilderness generation whose bodies fell 'in the desert.' The participle shifts focus from the act to the agent, identifying someone as a sinner by pattern or character. 10×
AR["أخطَأوا","أَخطَأَ","المُخطِئينَ","المُخْطِئينَ","الَّذينَ-أَخْطَأوا","تُخْطِئونَ","خَاطِئِينَ","مُخطِئينَ","يُخطِئُ"]·ben["পাপ-করা","পাপ-করার","পাপ-করে","পাপ-করেছে","পাপকারীদের","যারা-পাপ-করে","যারা-পাপ-করেছিল","যে-পাপ-করছে"]·DE["suendigen"]·EN["having-sinned","sinning"]·FR["pécher"]·heb["הַחוֹטְאִים","חוֹטְאִים","חוֹטֵא","שֶׁחָטְאוּ"]·HI["पअप-करने-वअलोन","पाप-करते-हुए","पाप-करने-वाले","पाप-करने-वालों","पाप-करनेवाले","पाप-करनेवालों","पाप-किया"]·ID["berdosa","berdosa,","terus-berdosa","yang-berdosa","yang-berdosa,"]·IT["peccare"]·jav["dosa","dosa,","ingkang-nggadhahi-dosa,","ingkang-sampun-dosa","kang-dosa","nggadhahi-dosa","nindakaken-dosa","tumindak-dosa"]·KO["범죄한,","죄-지은-자","죄-지은-자들","죄-지은-자들에게","죄-짃는","죄-짓고","죄를-범하며","죄를-짓는-것을","죄를-짓는-자들-에게","죄짓는-자들을"]·PT["pecam","pecando","que-pecam","que-pecaram","que-pecou"]·RU["-подобии","грешащего","грешащие","грешащим","грешащих","согрешающих","согрешая","согрешившего","согрешивших"]·ES["habiendo-pecado","pecan","pecando","que-pecan","que-pecaron","que-pecó"]·SW["akitenda-dhambi","aliyekosa","mkitenda-dhambi","mkiwatendea-dhambi","tukiendelea-kutenda-dhambi","waliotenda-dhambi","wanaotenda-dhambi","wasiokosa"]·TR["günah işleyerek","günah-işlerken","günah-işlersek","günah-işleyen","günah-işleyenin","günah-işleyenler","günah-işleyenlere","günah-işleyenleri"]·urd["گناہ-کرتے","گناہ-کرتے-ہوئے","گناہ-کرنے-والوں","گناہ-کرنے-والوں،","گناہ-کرنے-والے","گناہ-کیا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἁμαρτάνω [ᾰμ.. ᾰν]: future ἁμαρτήσομαιRefs 8th c.BC+ later -ήσω NT+2nd c.AD+, (δι-) Refs 5th c.BC+, (ἐξ-) RefsAcut. (Sp.)Refsaorist 2 ἥμαρτονRefs 6th c.BC+, Attic dialect; Epic dialect ἤμβροτον, but only indicative; Aeolic dialect 3rd.pers.singular ἄμβροτεRefs 7th c.BC+, infinitive ἀμβρότηνRefs; optative ἁμάρτοιν (for ἁμάρτοιμι) Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἡμάρτησαRefs 5th c.BC+: perfect…