Strong's Lexicon
dikaioó: To justify, to declare righteous, to acquit
Original Word:δικαιόω
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:dikaioó
Pronunciation:dik-ah-yo'-o
Phonetic Spelling:(dik-ah-yo'-o)
Definition:To justify, to declare righteous, to acquit
Meaning:I make righteous, defend the cause of, plead for the righteousness (innocence) of, acquit, justify; hence: I regard as righteous.
Word Origin:From the Greek adjective δίκαιος (dikaios), meaning "righteous" or "just."
Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - H6663 (צָדַק, tsadaq): To be just or righteous, to justify or declare righteous.
Usage:The verb δικαιόω primarily means to declare or pronounce someone as righteous. In a legal sense, it refers to the act of acquitting or vindicating someone, declaring them free from guilt or blame. In the New Testament, it is often used in the context of God's act of declaring a sinner righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. This justification is not based on the individual's own merit but on the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.
Cultural and Historical Background:In the Greco-Roman world, δικαιόω was a legal term used in the context of courtrooms and judicial proceedings. It involved the act of a judge declaring a defendant to be in the right, thus acquitting them of charges. In Jewish thought, righteousness was closely tied to adherence to the Law. However, the New Testament writers, particularly Paul, redefined justification in light of the gospel, emphasizing faith in Christ as the means of being declared righteous before God.
HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 1344dikaióō (fromdikē, "right, judicial-approval") – properly,approved, especially in a legal, authoritative sense; to show what is right, i.e. conformed to a proper standard (i.e. "upright").
The believer is "maderighteous/justified" (1344/dikaióō) by the Lord, cleared of all charges (punishment) related to their sins. Moreover, they arejustified (1344/dikaióō, "made right, righteous") by God's grace each time they receive (obey) faith (4102/pístis), i.e. "God's inwroughtpersuasion" (cf. the-oō ending which conveys "to bring to/out").See 1343 (dikaiosynē).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
dikaiosDefinitionto show to be righteous, declare righteous
NASB Translationacknowledged...justice (1), acquitted (1), freed (3), justified (24), justifier (1), justifies (2), justify (4), vindicated (3).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1344: δικαιόωδικαιόω,
δικαίῳ; future
δικαιώσω; 1 aorist
ἐδικαίωσα; passive (present
δικαιοῦμαι); perfect
δεδικαίωμαι; 1 aorist
ἐδικαιωθην; future
δικαιωθήσομαι; (
δίκαιος); the
Sept. for
צִדֵּק and
הִצְדִּיק;
1. properly, (according to the analogy of other verbs ending in , asτυφλόω,δουλόω)to makeδίκαιος;to render righteous or such as he ought to be; (Vulg.justifico); but this meaning is extremely rare, if not altogether doubtful;ἐδικαίωσατήνκαρδίανμου stands forלְבָבִיזִכִּיתִי inPsalm 72:13 () (unlessI have shown my heart to be upright be preferred as the rendering of the Greek there).2.τινα,to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is and wishes himself to be considered (Ezekiel 16:51f;τήνψυχήναὐτοῦ,Jeremiah 3:11, and, probably,δικαιοῦνδίκαιον,Isaiah 53:11):ἡσοφίαἐδικαιώθηἀπότῶντέκνωναὐτῆς, the wisdom taught and exemplified by John the Baptist, and by Jesus, gained from its disciples (i. e. from their life, character, and deeds) the benefit of being shown to be righteous, i. e. true and divine (cf.Buttmann, 322 (277); others interpret, was acknowledged to be righteous on the part of (nearly, equivalent to, by) her children; cf.Buttmann, 325 (280); seeἀπό, II. 2 d. bb.),Luke 7:35;Matthew 11:19 (hereTTr textWH readἔργων, i. e. by her works); passive, of Christ:ἐδικαιώθηἐνπνεύματι, evinced to be righteous as to his spiritual (divine ((?) cf. e. g. Ellicott at the passage or Meyer onRomans 1:4)) nature,1 Timothy 3:16; of God:ὅπωςδικαιωθῇςἐντοῖςλόγοιςσου,Romans 3:4 fromPsalm 50:6 () (κύριοςμόνοςδικαιωθήσεται, Sir. 18:2); passive used reflexively,to show oneself righteous: of men,Revelation 22:11Rec.; (τίδικαιωθῶμεν;Genesis 44:16).3.τινα,to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be, (cf.ὁμοιόω to declare to be like, liken, i. e. compare;ὁσιόω, Wis. 6:11;ἀξιόω, which never meansto make worthy, butto judge worthy,to declare worthy,to treat as worthy; see alsoκοινόω, 2 b.);
a. with the negative idea predominant,to declare guiltless one accused or who may be accused,acquitted of a charge or reproach, (Deuteronomy 25:1; Sir. 13:22 (21), etc.; an unjust judge is saidδικαιοῦντόνἀσεβῆ inExodus 23:7;Isaiah 5:23):ἑαυτόν,Luke 10:29; passiveοὐδεδικαίωμαι, namely, with God,1 Corinthians 4:4; pregnantly withἀπότῶνἁμαρτιῶν added, to be declared innocent and therefore to be absolved from the charge of sins (cf.Buttmann, 322 (277)),Acts 13:38 (39) (soἀπόἁμαρτίας, Sir. 26:29; simply,to be absolved, namely, from the payment of a vow, Sir. 18:22 (21)); hence, figuratively, by a usage not met with elsewhere,to be freed,ἀπότῆςἁμαρτίας, from itsdominion,Romans 6:7, where cf. Fritzsche or ((less fully) Meyer).
b. with the positive idea predominant,to judge, declare, pronounce, righteous and therefore acceptable, (God is saidδικαιοῦνδίκαιον,1 Kings 8:32):ἑαυτόν,Luke 16:15;ἐδικαίωσαντόνΘεόν, declared God to be righteous, i. e. by receiving the baptism declared that it had been prescribed by God rightly,Luke 7:29; passive by God,Romans 2:13;ἐξἔργωνἐδικαιώθη, got his reputation for righteousness (namely, with his countrymen (but see Meyer (edited by Weiss) at the passage)) by works,Romans 4:2;ἐκτῶνλόγων, by thy words, in contrast withκαταδικάζεσθαι, namely, by God,Matthew 12:37. Especially is it so used, in the technical phraseology of Paul, respecting God who judges and declares such men as put faith in Christ to be righteous and acceptable to him, and accordingly fit to receive the pardon of their sins and eternal life (seeδικαιοσύνη, 1 c.): thus absolutely,δικαιοῦντινα,Romans 3:26;Romans 4:5;Romans 8:30, 33 (namely,ἡμᾶς, opposed toἐγκάλειν); with the addition ofἐκ (in consequence of)πίστεως,Romans 3:30;Galatians 3:8; ofδιάτῆςπίστεως,Romans 3:30; men are saidδικαιοῦσθαι,δικαιωθῆναι,τῇχάριτιτοῦΘεοῦ,Titus 3:7;δωρεάντῇχάριτιτοῦΘεοῦ,Romans 3:24πίστει,Romans 3:28;ἐκπίστεως, by means of faith,Romans 5:1;Galatians 2:16;Galatians 3:24;ἐντῷαἵματιτοῦΧριστοῦ (as the meritorious cause of their acceptance, as the old theologians say,faith being the apprehending or subjective cause),Romans 5:9;ἐντῷὀνόματιτοῦκυρίουἸησοῦκαίἐντῷπνεύματιτοῦΘεοῦἡμῶν, by confessing the name of the Lord (which implies faith in him,Romans 10:10, cf.2 Corinthians 4:13), and by the Spirit of God (which has awakened faith in the soul),1 Corinthians 6:11;ἐνΧριστῷ through Christ,Galatians 2:17;Acts 13:39; it is vehemently denied by Paul, that a manδικαιοῦταιἐξἔργωννόμου,Galatians 2:16 — with the additionἐνώπιοναὐτοῦ, i. e. of God,Romans 3:20, cf.Romans 3:28;Romans 4:2, (seeδικαιοσύνην, 1 c. under the end) — a statement which is affirmed by James inf (though he says simplyἐξἔργωνδικαιοῦται, significantly omittingνόμου); to the same purport Paul denies that a manδικαιοῦταιἐννόμῳ, in obeying the law, or by keeping it,Galatians 5:4; with the addition,παράτῷΘεῷ, in the sight of God,Galatians 3:11.Luke 18:14 teaches that a manδικαιοῦται by deep sorrow for his sins, which so humbles him that he hopes for salvation only from divine grace. The Pauline conceptions ofδίκαιος,δικαιοσύνη,δικαιόω, are elucidated especially by Winzer, De vocabulisδίκαιος, etc., in Ep. ad Rom.,Lipsius 1831; Usteri, Paulin. Lehrbegriff, p. 86f edition 4 etc.; Neander, Gesch. der Pfianzung as above with ii., p. 567ff et passim, edition 3 (Robinson's translation of edition 4, pp. 382ff, 417ff); Baur, Paulus, p. 572ff ((Zeller's) edition 2, vol. ii 145-183; English translation, vol. ii, p. 134ff); Rauwenhoff Disquisitio etc., Lugd. Bat. 1852;Lipsius, Die paulin. Rechtfertigungslehre, Lpz. 1853; Schmid, Biblical Theologie des N. T., p. 562ff edition 2 (p. 558ff edition 4; English translation, p. 495f); Ernesti, Vom Ursprung der Sunde as above with i., p. 152ff; Messner, Lehre der Apostel, p. 256ff (summary by S. R. Asbury in Bib. Sacr. for 1870, p. 140f); Jul. Kostlin in the Jahrbb. fur deutsche Theol. 1856 fasc. 1, p. 85ff; Wieseler, Commentar u. d. Br. an d. Galater, pp. 176ff (see in Schaff's Lange's Rom., p. 122f); Kahnis, Lutherische Dogmatik, Bd. i., p. 592ff; Philippi, Dogmatik, v. 1, p. 208ff; Weiss, Biblical Theol. des N. T. § 65; Ritschl, Die christl. Lehre v. d. Versohnung u. Rechtf. ii. 318ff; Pfleiderer, Paulinismus, p. 172ff (English translation, vol. i., p. 171ff; but especially Dr. James Morison, Critical Exposition of the Third Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, pp. 163-198. On the patristic usage see Reithmayr, Galaterbrief, p. 177f;Cremer, Worterbuch, 4te Aufl., p. 285; Suicer, Thesaurus under the word). In classic Greekδικαιόω (Ionicδικαιέω,Herodotus) is:1. equivalent toδίκαιοννομίζω,to deem right orfair:τί, often followed by the infinitive;to choose what isright and fair, hence, universally,to choose, desire, decide:Herodotus,Sophocles,Thucydides, others.
2. with the accusative of person,τόδίκαιονποιῶτιναto do one justice, in a bad sense, viz.to condemn, punish, one:Herodotus,Thucydides,Plato, others; hence,δικαιοῦσθαι,to have justice done oneself, to suffer justice, be treated rightly, opposed toἀδικεῖσθαι,Aristotle, eth. Nic. 5, 9, 11, p. 1136{a}, 18ff (In like manner the German rechtfertigen in its early forensic use bore a bad sense, viz. to try judicially (so forἀνακρίνειν,Acts 12:19 Luther), thencondemn; execute judgment, especiallyput to death.)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
free, justify, be righteous.Fromdikaios; to render (i.e. Show or regard as) just or innocent -- free, justify(-ier), be righteous.
see GREEKdikaios
Forms and Transliterations
δεδικαιωμαι δεδικαίωμαι δεδικαιωμένα δεδικαιωμενος δεδικαιωμένος δεδικαιωται δεδικαίωται δικαιοι δικαιοί δικαιοῖ δικαιουμενοι δικαιούμενοι δικαιούν δικαιουντα δικαιούντα δικαιοῦντα δικαιουντες δικαιούντες δικαιοῦντες δικαιουσθαι δικαιούσθαι δικαιοῦσθαι δικαιουσθε δικαιούσθε δικαιοῦσθε δικαιουται δικαιούται δικαιοῦται Δικαιωθεντες Δικαιωθέντες δικαιωθή δικαιωθηναι δικαιωθήναι δικαιωθήναί δικαιωθῆναι δικαιωθης δικαιωθής δικαιωθῇς δικαιωθησεται δικαιωθήσεται δικαιωθηση δικαιωθήση δικαιωθήσῃ δικαιωθησονται δικαιωθήσονται δικαιωθήτωσαν δικαιωθωμεν δικαιωθώμεν δικαιωθῶμεν δικαιων δικαιών δικαιῶν δικαιωσαι δικαιώσαι δικαιώσαί δικαιῶσαι δικαιώσας δικαιώσατε δικαιωσει δικαιώσει δικαιώσεις δικαιώσουσι δικαιώσω δικαιώσωσι εδικαιωθη εδικαιώθη ἐδικαιώθη εδικαιωθητε εδικαιώθητε ἐδικαιώθητε εδικαίωσα εδικαιωσαν εδικαίωσαν ἐδικαίωσαν εδικαίωσας εδικαίωσε εδικαιωσεν εδικαίωσεν ἐδικαίωσεν dedikaiomai dedikaiōmai dedikaíomai dedikaíōmai dedikaiomenos dedikaioménos dedikaiōmenos dedikaiōménos dedikaiotai dedikaiōtai dedikaíotai dedikaíōtai dikaioi dikaioî dikaion dikaiôn dikaiōn dikaiō̂n dikaiosai dikaiôsai dikaiōsai dikaiō̂sai dikaiosei dikaiōsei dikaiṓsei dikaiothêis dikaiōthē̂is dikaiothenai dikaiothênai dikaiōthēnai dikaiōthē̂nai Dikaiothentes Dikaiothéntes Dikaiōthentes Dikaiōthéntes dikaiothes dikaiōthēs dikaiothese dikaiōthēsē dikaiothḗsei dikaiōthḗsēi dikaiothesetai dikaiothḗsetai dikaiōthēsetai dikaiōthḗsetai dikaiothesontai dikaiothḗsontai dikaiōthēsontai dikaiōthḗsontai dikaiothomen dikaiothômen dikaiōthōmen dikaiōthō̂men dikaioumenoi dikaioúmenoi dikaiounta dikaioûnta dikaiountes dikaioûntes dikaiousthai dikaioûsthai dikaiousthe dikaioûsthe dikaioutai dikaioûtai edikaiosan edikaiōsan edikaíosan edikaíōsan edikaiosen edikaiōsen edikaíosen edikaíōsen edikaiothe edikaiōthē edikaiṓthe edikaiṓthē edikaiothete edikaiōthēte edikaiṓthete edikaiṓthēteLinks
Interlinear Greek •Interlinear Hebrew •Strong's Numbers •Englishman's Greek Concordance •Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •Parallel Texts
