μάτην G3155
in vain, to no purpose, futilely; without reason or uselessly
Pointlessly, futilely, to no effect. Jesus quotes Isaiah: people honor God with lips, but their worship is 'in vain' (Matthew 15:9, Mark 7:7) because they teach human traditions as doctrine. The word can mean 'without cause,' 'randomly,' 'idly,' or 'falsely.' Classical usage ranged from doing something to no effect, to speaking falsely, to being mad 'without reason.' The emphasis is on futility—effort or speech that accomplishes nothing, worship that doesn't reach God.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Jesus' identical quotation in Matthew and Mark (from Isaiah 29:13) pronounces religious activity empty when divorced from heart obedience. The lexicon shows classical uses for fruitless burden, baseless madness, false speech, and empty dreams. All translations converge on 'in vain' or equivalent: Spanish en vano, French en vain, German vergeblich. The charge is devastating: meticulous religious observance that God rejects as pointless. 2×
AR["بَاطِلًا"]·ben["বৃথা", "বৃথাই"]·DE["vergeblich", "μάτην"]·EN["in-vain"]·FR["en-vain"]·heb["לַ-שָּׁוְא", "לַשָּׁוְא"]·HI["व्यरथ", "व्यर्थ-में-तो"]·ID["sia-sia"]·IT["invano"]·jav["Tanpa-gina", "tanpa-guna"]·KO["헛되이"]·PT["em-vão"]·RU["Тщетно", "тщетно"]·ES["En-vano", "en-vano"]·SW["Bure", "bure"]·TR["boş-yere"]·urd["بیکار", "بےکار"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μάτην, Doric dialect μάτᾱν [μᾰ], adverb in vain, Refs 5th c.BC+; with a Noun, τὸ μ. ἄχθος the fruitless burden, Refs; Διὸς μ. ἄκοιτις his bedfellow to no good end, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 at random, without reason, οὔ σε μ. τιμῶσι Refs 6th c.BC+; ὁ νοσῶν μ., i.e. he that is mad, Refs 5th c.BC+ __3 idly, falsely, λέγοντες εἴτ᾽ ἀληθές, εἴτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ οὖν μ. Refs 5th c.BC+; μ. βέβακεν, of a dream, Refs 4th c.BC+