"to make vain; from the Hebrew, pass. to fall into religious error, to be perverted, Rom. 1:21*"
Definition and meaning
to make vain; from the Hebrew, pass. to fall into religious error, to be perverted, Rom. 1:21*
In the original Greek the word is written: ματαιόω
Historical context
Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, one of the most important commercial cities in the empire. Rome had a Jewish population of around 50,000. The letter addresses real tensions between Jewish believers with centuries of Torah tradition and Gentile believers with no such background. Emperor Nero was on the throne. Within ten years he would execute both Paul and Peter.
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 mataioo (G3154) across the King James Bible.
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
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Common questions
Strong's G3154 (mataioo) is a Greek word that means: to make vain; from the Hebrew, pass. to fall into religious error, to be perverted, Rom. 1:21* It appears 1 times in the King James Bible.
The word mataioo (G3154) appears 1 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G3154 is mataioo, a Greek word defined as: to make vain; from the Hebrew, pass. to fall into religious error, to be perverted, Rom. 1:21*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
mataioo is a Greek word found in the New Testament.