2. careless, useless, worthless — Describing things (words, deeds, faith) that are empty, ineffective, or without profitable result, an extended metaphorical application from personal idleness to functional worthlessness. In Matt 12:36, Jesus warns that people will give account for every 'careless' (ἀργόν) word they speak — not a 'lazy' word but an empty, worthless, thoughtless one. In Jas 2:20, faith without works is 'useless' (ἀργή) — barren, producing nothing. The multilingual evidence distinguishes this from the personal sense: Arb 'batilah' (vain/void) vs. 'battalin' (idle persons), Heb 'betelah' (empty/vain) vs. 'batelim' (idle persons), Hin 'vyarth/nishphal' (futile/fruitless) vs. 'bekar/aalsi' (unemployed/lazy), Kor 'heotdoen/sseulmoeopseum' (vain/uselessness) vs. 'ge'eureun' (lazy), Spa 'ociosa/inutil' (idle/useless). The shift from person to thing and from laziness to worthlessness constitutes genuine polysemy. 2×
AR["بَاطِلَةٍ","عقيمٌ"]·ben["অকার্যকর","নিষ্ফল"]·DE["ἀργή","ἀργὸν"]·EN["careless","useless"]·FR["paresseux"]·heb["בְּטֵלָה"]·HI["निष्फल","व्यरथ"]·ID["sia-sia","tidak-berguna"]·IT["argon","pigro"]·jav["tanpa-guna"]·KO["쓸모없음을","헛된"]·PT["inútil"]·RU["бесплодна","праздное"]·ES["inútil","ociosa"]·SW["bure","haina-kazi"]·TR["boş","işe-yaramaz"]·urd["بیکار","بے-کار"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. idle, lazy — Describing persons who are not working, unemployed, or habitually lazy. Used for laborers standing idle in the marketplace whom the vineyard owner hires (Matt 20:3,6), young widows who become idle going from house to house (1 Tim 5:13), Cretans proverbially called 'lazy bellies' (Titus 1:12), and believers who should not be idle but fruitful in the knowledge of Christ (2 Pet 1:8). Cross-linguistically consistent for the personal/lazy sense: Spa 'ociosos/ociosas,' Arb 'battalin/kasulah' (idle/lazy), Heb 'batelim/atselot/atslaniyot' (idle/lazy), Fra 'paresseux' (lazy), Kor 'ge'eureun' (lazy), Hin 'bekar/aalsi/nishkriya' (unemployed/lazy/inactive). The two Hebrew roots used — b-t-l (cease, idle) and '-ts-l (be sluggish) — both denote personal inactivity. 6×
AR["بَطَّالينَ","بَطّالاتٍ","كَسالى","كَسولَةٌ"]·ben["অলস","অলস,","বেকার"]·DE["ἀργαί","ἀργαὶ","ἀργοί","ἀργούς","ἀργοὺς"]·EN["idle","lazy"]·FR["paresseux"]·heb["בַּטֵלִים","עֲצֵלִים","עַצְלָנִיוֹת","עַצֵלוֹת"]·HI["अअलसि.","अअलसेए","निष्क्रिय","बेकर"]·ID["malas","malas.","menganggur"]·IT["argoi","argous","pigro"]·jav["kesed","kesed.","nganggur","nganggur,"]·KO["게으른","게으른-자들","게으른-자들,","게으른-자들로","놓고-있는"]·PT["ociosas","ociosos","ociosos;","ociosos?","preguiçosos."]·RU["бездельные?","бездельных;","ленивые","праздные","праздными"]·ES["ociosas","ociosos"]·SW["Wanasema","na","wavivu"]·TR["boş","tembel","tembel."]·urd["بیکار","بے-کار","سست"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀργός, όν, __Blater ή, όν Refs 4th c.BC+:—properly not working the ground, Refs 5th c.BC+; idle, lazy, opposed to ἐργάτις, Refs 6th c.BC+; ἀ. τὴν διάνοιανRefs 5th c.BC+; ἂν ἀ. ᾖ if he have no trade, Refs 4th c.BC+: with genitive of things, idle at a thing, free from it, τῶν οἴκοθεν from domestic toils, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. αἰσχρῶν slow to evil, Refs 5th c.BC+ __B.2 of things, δόρυRefs 5th c.BC+; of…