spurn the name as vile

πονηρός, ά, όν (s. πονέω, πόνος; Hes., Thu.+) comp. πονηρότερος Mt 12:45; Lk 11:26; superl. πονηρότατος (Diod S 14, 4, 2; PRyl III, 493, 89) Hm 3:5.—Freq. in Gk. lit. the opp. of ἀγαθός/καλός or χρηστός.

① pert. to being morally or socially worthless, wicked, evil, bad, base, worthless, vicious, degenerate

ⓐ as adj.

α. of humans or transcendent beings (since Trag. and Ps.-X., Rep. Ath. 1, 1; Is 9:16; Sir 25:16, 25; TestJob 43:5; ApcMos 21 γύναι; Philo, Joseph., Just.) ὁ πον. ἄνθρωπος (Plut., Alcib. 196 [13, 4]; cp. GrBar 13:1, 3; Philo, Exsecr. 149; Jos., Ant. 7, 291; Just., A II, 12, 3) Mt 12:35a; Lk 6:45a (where ἄνθρωπος is to be supplied); cp. 2 Th 3:2; 2 Ti 3:13. δοῦλος πον. (Comp. 120; Jos., Ant. 2, 55; 16, 296) Mt 18:32; 25:26; Lk 19:22 (cp. PFouad 25 verso I, 2 [II A.D.] address to an incompetent helper); γενεὰ πον. Mt 12:39, 45b; 16:4; Lk 11:29.—Mt 12:34. ἄνδρες πον. rowdies, ruffians Ac 17:5. People are called πονηροί in contrast to God Mt 7:11 (here the component of class distinction finds dramatic expression); Lk 11:13 (Iambl., Vi. Pyth. 18, 82 ἀληθέστατον … πονηροὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι).—Of hostile spirits τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ πονηρόν (Cat. Cod. Astr. X 180, 16; 186, 4; cp. EGoodspeed, The Harrison Papyri, no. 1, 7: ClPh 5, 1910, 321) Ac 19:15f. Pl. (Cyranides p. 51, 14; Just., D. 30, 2 al.) Lk 7:21; 8:2; Ac 19:12f. Of the evil spirit that contends w. the Holy Spirit for a place in the human soul (cp. 1 Km 16:14–23) Hm 5, 1, 2 and 3. ἄγγελος πον. B 9:4 (Just., A II, 9, 4, D. 105, 3; cp. Paus. Attic. τ, 18 and Just., A I, 66, 4 πονηροὶ δαίμονες; Julian p. 371, 5; 11 Hertlein δαίμονες πονηροί; PLips 34 recto, 8 [375 A.D.] π. δαίμων. Did., Gen. 45, 4 αἱ π. δυνάμεις). ὁ πονηρὸς ἄρχων 4:13 (ἄρχων 1c).

β. of things βουλή (Menand., Mon. 134 [568 Mei.]) B 6:7 (Is 3:9); 19:3; D 2:6; Hv 1, 2, 4b (βουλή 1). διαλογισμοί Mt 15:19; Js 2:4 (διαλογισμός 2). διδαχή Hm 6, 2, 7 (παντὶ ἔργῳ is dat. of disadvantage [Schwyzer II 150f]). δόλος (SIG 693, 6 [129 B.C.]) IEph 7:1. ἐπιθυμία (-αι: Dio Chrys. 4, 89) 2 Cl 16:2; Hv 1, 1, 8b; 1, 2, 4c; Hs 6, 2, 1 and oft. ἔργον 2 Ti 4:18; Hv 1, 2, 4b. (TestAbr A 6 p. 83, 28 [Stone p. 14] w. opp. ἀγαθόν.) ἔργα J 3:19; 7:7; Col 1:21; 1J 3:12b; 2J 11; Hv 3, 7, 6; 3, 8, 4 al. θησαυρός Mt 12:35b; Lk 6:45b (here θης. is to be supplied fr. the context). καρδία (ApcMos 13; cp. Menand., Fgm. 540, 8 [=538 Kö.], ψυχή) 1 Cl 3:4; καρδία πονηρὰ ἀπιστίας (gen. of quality; s. Schwyzer under πονηρία; B-D-F §165; definition Mlt. 74) Hb 3:12. καταλαλιά Hm 2:3. Arrogant καύχησις Js 4:16; λόγοι π. malicious words (Menand., Mon. 822 [542 Mei.]) 3J 10. Of the ὁδὸς τοῦ θανάτου D 5:1; cp. B 4:10 (PsSol 10:1). ὀφθαλμὸς π. (ὀφθαλμός 1 and s. 3 below) Mt 20:15; Mk 7:22. πρᾶγμα (Menand., Epitr. 1107 S. [749 Kö.]; Fgm. 530 Kö.; TestAbr A 4 p. 81, 5 [Stone p. 10]; Tat. 17, 3) Hv 1, 1, 8a; ῥᾳδιούργημα π. Ac 18:14. ῥῆμα π. slanderous, evil word (SIG 1175, 16; Jdth 8:8, 9) Mt 5:11 v.l. (the ῥ. is ‘bad’ because of the content consisting, as the context indicates, of false charges); Hs 5, 3, 6; συνείδησις π. evil, guilty conscience Hb 10:22 (the conscience is not itself intrinsically bad, but evil deeds load it with a bad content; B 19:12; D 4:14; Hm 3:4; ὑπόνοιαι π. 1 Ti 6:4. Cp. Ac 25:18 v.l. τὸ πονηρότατον ψεῦσμα the most wicked sin of lying Hm 3:5. Of a Christian’s name ἐκβάλλειν τὸ ὄνομα ὡς πονηρόν spurn the name as vile (i.e as held only by worthless persons) Lk 6:22 (cp. Ath. 2, 2).—In the judgment of Christians a close connection w. sin is the chief characteristic of this age: ἐκ τοῦ αἰῶνος τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος πονηροῦ Gal 1:4. Cp. αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσιν Eph 5:16.—B 2:1. Sg. Eph 6:13.

ⓑ as subst.

α. wicked or evil-intentioned person, evildoer (Dt 21:21; Esth 7:6; Just., A I, 27, 1; Ath. 2, 3; Theoph. Ant. 2, 37 [p. 198, 22]) ὁ πονηρός (the art. is generic) Mt 5:39; 1 Cor 5:13 (Dt 17:7, cp. 19:19 al.; PZaas, JBL 103, ’84, 259–61); B 19:11 v.l. (but τὸ πον. in text).—Pl. πονηροὶ καὶ ἀγαθοί (cp. Philo, Praem. 3; Jos., Ant. 6, 307; 8, 314 God ἀγαπᾷ τ. ἀγαθούς, μισεῖ δὲ τ. πονηρούς; Iren. 1, 24, 2 [Harv. I 198, 4]) Mt 5:45; 22:10. Opp. οἱ δίκαιοι 13:49 (cp. T. Kellis 22, 48f). W. οἱ ἀχάριστοι (s. ἀχάριστος; also Lucian, Timon 48, perh. fr. comedy [III p. 654 Kock]) Lk 6:35. W. ἁμαρτωλοί B 4:2.

β. ὁ πονηρός the evil one=the devil (who is not defined as a sinner but as one who is morally destructive) Mt 13:19; J 17:15; Eph 6:16; 1J 2:13f; 5:18, 19 (κεῖμαι 3d); B 2:10; B 21:3; MPol 17:1; AcPlCor 2:2, 15) ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ εἶναι be a child of the evil one (ἐκ 3a, end) 1J 3:12a; cp. οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ Mt 13:38, in case πον. is masc. here.—The gen. τοῦ πονηροῦ Mt 5:37; 6:13 can also be taken as masc. (it is so taken by Ps.-Clem., Hom. 3, 55 p. 51, 19; 21; Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, Chrysostom; KFritzsche, JWeiss; s. also Schniewind on Mt 6:13; Weymouth, Goodsp.;—it is taken as a neut. [s. γ] by Augustine: WMangold, De Ev. sec. Mt 6:13, 1886; BWeiss, Zahn, Wlh.; Harnack, SBBerlAk 1907, 944; PFiebig, D. Vaterunser 1927, 92; Betz, SM 380f; 405–13; Mft., NRSV marg.); Lk 11:4 v.l.; 2 Th 3:3; D 8:2. These passages may also belong under

γ. τὸ πονηρόν (that which is) evil Lk 6:45c; Ro 12:9; 1 Th 5:22 (sim. Plut., Mor. 82c; s. also εἶδος 2); B 19:11. πᾶν πον. every kind of evil Mt 5:11; ποιεῖν τὸ πονηρὸν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ κυρίου (cp. Dt 17:2; 4 Km 21:2, 20) Hm 4, 2, 2; cp. Ac 5:4 v.l.; 1 Cl 18:4 (Ps 50:6). τὸ πονηρὸν τοῦτο this shameful deed GJs 13:1. ἀγρυπνεῖν εἰς τὸ π. D 5:2 and ἐπὶ τὸ π. B 20:2 s. ἀγρυπνέω 2. ἐλάλησέν τι περὶ σοῦ πονηρόν Ac 28:21 (cp. JosAs 6:6).—Pl. wicked thoughts, evil deeds (Gen 6:5; 8:21) Mt 9:4; 12:35c; Mk 7:23; Lk 3:19; J 3:20 v.l.; Ac 25:18; 2 Cl 8:2. δύο καὶ πονηρά two evil things B 11:2 (Jer 2:13 v.l.).—πονηρόν ἐστίν τινι it is bad for someone Hm 5, 1, 4.—ῥύσασθαι ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ D 10, 5.

② pert. to being so deficient in quality in a physical sense as to be worthless, of poor quality, worthless (X., Pla. et al.) καρποί (Ael. Aristid. 23, 57K.=42 p. 787 D.) Mt 7:17f (the same idea 13:48; cp. Jer 24:8 τὰ σῦκα τὰ πονηρά).

③ pert. to being in an unhealthy condition physically

ⓐ in ref. to a part of the body sick (Pla., Prot. 313a σῶμα; πονηρῶς ἔχειν ‘be badly off’, ‘be ill’ since Thu. 7, 83, 3) of the eye (cp. Pla., Hipp. Min. 374d πονηρία ὀφθαλμῶν) Mt 6:23; Lk 11:34 (Weizsäcker, BWeiss, HHoltzmann, Fitzmyer, Goodsp., NRSV. But see s.v. ἁπλοῦς, λύχνος b, ὀφθαλμός 1, also 1aβ above and the four articles ET 53, ’42, 181f; 354f; 54, ’42, 26; 26f).

ⓑ in ref. to the status of some ailment painful, virulent, serious (since Theognis 274) ἕλκος sore, ulcer (Dt 28:35; Job 2:7) Rv 16:2.—See Lofthouse s.v. κακός, end; WBrandt, ZNW 14, 1913, 189ff.—DELG s.v. πένομαι. M-M. TW.