ἄνομος G0459
Lawless, wicked; outside the Mosaic Law — describing moral transgression or relational standing apart from Torah
In the New Testament, anomos carries two distinct flavors depending on context. When applied to evildoers or the eschatological 'Lawless One' (2 Thess 2:8), it denotes moral depravity and willful transgression of divine law — as when Jesus was 'counted among the lawless' at his crucifixion (Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37). But Paul repurposes the word in 1 Corinthians 9:21 to describe Gentiles who simply do not possess the Torah, using it four times without pejorative force. Spanish mirrors this split neatly: 'inicuo' (wicked) for sense 1, 'sin ley' (without law) for sense 2.
2. without the Law (Torah-less) — Without the Mosaic Law, Torah-less — a relational rather than moral descriptor for those outside the covenant framework. Paul's fourfold use in 1 Corinthians 9:21 is strategic: he becomes 'as one without law' to win those 'without law,' carefully adding 'not being without God's law but under Christ's law.' Spanish 'sin ley' and French 'sans loi' preserve the neutral, descriptive tone that distinguishes this sense from the pejorative first meaning. 4×
AR["بِلا-ناموسٍ"]·ben["বিধানহীন","বিধানহীন,","বিধানহীনদের-কাছে,","বিধানহীনদের।"]·DE["ἀνόμοις","ἀνόμους","ἄνομος"]·EN["without-law"]·FR["sans-loi"]·heb["חֲסְרֵי-הַתּוֹרָה","חֲסְרֵי-תּוֹרָה","חֲסַר-תּוֹרָה"]·HI["व्यवस्था-हीन","व्यवस्था-हीनों"]·ID["tanpa-hukum","tanpa-hukum-Taurat"]·IT["senza-legge"]·jav["tanpa-angger-angger","tanpa-angger-angger,","tanpa-angger-angger."]·KO["율법-없는-자","율법-없는-자들-에게","율법-없는-자들을","율법-없이"]·PT["sem-lei","sem-lei,","sem-lei."]·RU["беззаконный,","беззаконным","беззаконным,","беззаконных."]·ES["sin-ley"]·SW["bila-sheria-ya-Mungu","mtu-asiye-na-sheria,","wasio-na-sheria,","wasio-na-sheria."]·TR["o-","yasasız"]·urd["بے-شریعت"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. lawless / wicked — Morally lawless, wicked, or impious — describing persons who transgress divine or moral law. Used substantively for criminals and evildoers: Jesus is 'numbered with the lawless' (Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37), and Paul names the eschatological adversary 'the Lawless One' (2 Thess 2:8). The Spanish 'inicuo' and English 'lawless' both capture this active moral defiance, while German retains the Greek forms directly. 6×
AR["أَثَمَةٍ","الأثيمُ","بِأعمالِهِمِ-الأثيمَةِ","لِلأَثَمَةِ"]·ben["অধর্মীদের","অধার্মিক","অধার্মিকদের","অধার্মিকদের-জন্য","অপরাধীদের"]·DE["ἀνόμοις","ἀνόμων","ἄνομος"]·EN["by-lawless","for-lawless-ones","lawless-one","lawless-ones","of-lawless-ones"]·FR["sans-loi"]·heb["בְּמַעֲשֵׂי-עַוְלָה","לְ-חוֹטְאֵי-תּוֹרָה","עַוָּל","פֹּשְׁעִים","פּוֹשְׁעִים"]·HI["अधरमेए","अधर्मियों","अधर्मी","अपराधियों"]·ID["bagi-orang-durhaka","orang-durhaka,","orang-orang-berdosa","orang-orang-jahat","si-jahat,","tidak-bermoral"]·IT["anomois","anomon","anomos","senza-legge"]·jav["dhateng-tiyang-duraka","duraka","duraka,","tiyang-duraka,","tiyang-durjana"]·KO["범법-없는-자들과","범법자들과","불법한","불법한-자가","불법한-자들에게","에서"]·PT["criminosos","de-iníquos","iníquo","para-iníquos","pelas-ilegais"]·RU["беззаконник","беззаконниками","беззаконным","беззаконными","беззаконных,"]·ES["de-sin-ley","inicuo","inicuos","para-sin-ley","por-inicuas","sin-ley"]·SW["kwa-matendo-maovu","kwa-wasio-na-sheria","muasi","waasi","wahalifu","wakosaji"]·TR["suçluların","yasadışılar","yasasız","yasasızlara","yasasızların"]·urd["بدکاروں","بدکاروں-کے","بے-دینی","بے-شرعوں-کے","بے-قانون","بے-قانونوں-کے-لیے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄνομος, ον, lawless, impious, τράπεζαRefs 5th c.BC+; of persons, Refs 5th c.BC+; of things, θυσίαRefs 4th c.BC+; πάθη E Refs 5th c.BC+lawless acts, Refs 5th c.BC+: comparative -ώτεροςRefs 5th c.BC+. adverb -μωςRefs 5th c.BC+ __2 with genitive, ἀ. θεοῦ, i.e. without (the Mosaic) Law and therefore without God, NTadverb ἀνόμως, ={χωρὶς νόμου}, NT __3 illegal, κατοχήRefs 2nd c.AD+ __II (νόμοςRefs unmusical, νόμος ἄ.Refs 4th c.BC+