"empty; having nothing, empty-handed, Mk. 12:3; met. vain, fruitless, void of effect, Acts 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:10; εἰς κενόν, in vain, to no purpose, 2 Cor. 6:1; hollow, fallacious, false, Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:8; inconsiderate, foolish, 1 Thess. 3:5; Jas. 2:20"
Definition and meaning
empty; having nothing, empty-handed, Mk. 12:3; met. vain, fruitless, void of effect, Acts 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:10; εἰς κενόν, in vain, to no purpose, 2 Cor. 6:1; hollow, fallacious, false, Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:8; inconsiderate, foolish, 1 Thess. 3:5; Jas. 2:20
In the original Greek the word is written: κενός
Historical context
The Gospel of Mark moves urgently — the word "immediately" appears over 40 times. It was written for a Roman audience familiar with power and action. Jesus is portrayed as a man who acts, heals, and commands authority that the Roman world had never seen from a Jewish teacher.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of kenos (G2756) across the King James Bible.
And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
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Common questions
Strong's G2756 (kenos) is a Greek word that means: empty; having nothing, empty-handed, Mk. 12:3; met. vain, fruitless, void of effect, Acts 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:10; εἰς κενόν, in vain, to no purpose, 2 Cor. 6:1; hollow, fallacious, false, Eph. 5:6; Col. 2... It appears 16 times in the King James Bible.
The word kenos (G2756) appears 16 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G2756 is kenos, a Greek word defined as: empty; having nothing, empty-handed, Mk. 12:3; met. vain, fruitless, void of effect, Acts 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:10; εἰς κενόν, in vain, to no purpose, 2 Cor. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
kenos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.