UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: to sin, to engage in wrongdoing, sin

Semantic entry: 88.289

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Sin, Wrongdoing, Guilt

Definition: to act contrary to the will and law of God

Sense 2: sinfulness, being evil

Semantic entry: 88.118

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Bad, Evil, Harmful, Damaging

Definition: a state of sinfulness as an integral element of someone’s nature

Notes: The implication of this statement made in criticism of Jesus in RV JHN 9:34 · LV JHN 9:34 · Read together JHN 9:34 was that he had not adhered rigorously to all the conventional requirements of the OT law as interpreted by the Pharisees.

Sense 3: guilt, sin

Semantic entry: 88.310

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Sin, Wrongdoing, Guilt

Definition: the moral consequence of having sinned

Notes: A number of languages make a clear distinction between the active event of committing sin and the resulting moral effect of guilt, so that one must speak of ‘committing sin’ but ‘forgiving guilt.’ This is often required in some languages since a term meaning ‘to forgive’ is literally ‘to wipe away,’ ‘to erase,’ ‘to blot out,’ or ‘to return to someone.’ The actual event of sinning often does not fit with such verb expressions, since it is not the event itself which is eliminated but the moral consequences of such an event, namely, the guilt.