ἐπιεικής
epieikḗs
gentle
Characterized by reasonableness, fairness, and consideration; exhibiting a disposition to yield where strict justice might demand otherwise. In Koine usage, the term primarily denotes being equitable or yielding—acting with forbearance and gentle moderation in situations where one could insist on absolute right or strict justice. Extended senses include 'gentle in demeanor,' 'lenient,' and 'not insisting on the letter of the law.'
James 3:17 · Word #11
Lexicon G1933
| Lemma | ἐπιεικής |
| Transliteration | epieikḗs |
| Strong's | G1933 |
| Definition | Characterized by reasonableness, fairness, and consideration; exhibiting a disposition to yield where strict justice might demand otherwise. In Koine usage, the term primarily denotes being equitable or yielding—acting with forbearance and gentle moderation in situations where one could insist on absolute right or strict justice. Extended senses include 'gentle in demeanor,' 'lenient,' and 'not insisting on the letter of the law.' |
Morphology ADJ.S NOM F SG
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | ADJ.S — Substantive Adjective — An adjective functioning as a noun |
| Case | NOM — Nominative — The subject of the sentence |
| Gender | F — Feminine — Grammatical feminine |
| Number | SG — Singular — One |
Common Translation
| Phrase | gentle |
| Literal | gentle |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | ἐπιεικής |
| Strong's | G1933 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G1933-03
yielding fairness
| Morphological Notes | Adjective used substantively; nominative, neuter, singular. |
| Rendering Rationale | The rendering captures the root sense of being inclined to yield (εἴκω) and expresses the quality of equitable reasonableness. As a nominative neuter singular substantive adjective, it is rendered as an abstract quality rather than describing a specific person. |
View full lexicon entry for G1933 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
yielding fairness
| Same as P1 | Yes |
| Rationale | P1 carefully covers both the fairness and yielding connotation of ἐπιεικής; well-suited to the surrounding list of virtues. |