3153. mataiotés

Lexical Summary

mataiotés: Vanity, futility, emptiness

Original Word: ματαιότης
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: mataiotés
Pronunciation: mah-tah-yot'-ace
Phonetic Spelling: (mat-ah-yot'-ace)
KJV: vanity
NASB: futility, vanity
Word Origin: [from G3152 (μάταιος - worthless)]

1. inutility
2. (figuratively) transientness
3. (morally) depravity

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

vanity.

From mataios; inutility; figuratively, transientness; morally, depravity -- vanity.

see GREEK mataios

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 3153 mataiótēs (a noun) – aimlessness due to lacking purpose or any meaningful end; nonsense because transitory.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from mataios
Definition
vanity, emptiness
NASB Translation
futility (2), vanity (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 3153: ματαιότης

ματαιότης, ματαιότητος, ἡ (μάταιος, which see), a purely Biblical and ecclesiastical word ((Pollux 50:6 c. 32 § 134)); the Sept. for הֶבֶל (often in Ecclesiastes), also for שָׁוְא, etc.; vanity;

a. what is devoid of truth and appropriateness: ὑπέρογκα ματαιότητος (genitive of quality), 2 Peter 2:18.

b. perverseness, depravation: τοῦ νως, Ephesians 4:17.

c. frailty, want of vigor: Romans 8:20.

Topical Lexicon

Conceptual Overview

Strong’s Greek 3153 describes the state of frustrating emptiness that results whenever a person or a system is severed from the purpose for which God created it. The term embraces moral vanity (Ephesians 4:17), cosmic frustration (Romans 8:20), and the hollow promises of false religion or philosophy (2 Peter 2:18).

Occurrences in the New Testament

• Romans 8:20 – “For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope”.
• Ephesians 4:17 – “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking”.
• 2 Peter 2:18 – “With lofty but empty words, they appeal to sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are barely escaping from those who live in error”.

Old Testament Background

The Septuagint repeatedly uses the same word in Ecclesiastes to translate the Hebrew “hevel” (“vanity”): “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). By doing so, it links Solomon’s lament over life lived “under the sun” with Paul’s and Peter’s warnings about life estranged from God’s design.

Theological Significance

1. Creation’s Bondage (Romans 8:20–21)
• Futility is cosmic, not merely personal. The entire created order groans under a divinely imposed curse awaiting future liberation.
• God subjected creation “in hope,” ensuring futility is temporary and will culminate in “the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

2. Gentile Mind-Set (Ephesians 4:17–19)
• Futility is intellectual and moral. Darkened understanding leads to “ignorance” and “hardness of heart,” producing every kind of impurity.
• The antidote is to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds” and to “put on the new self” (Ephesians 4:23–24).

3. False Teachers (2 Peter 2:18–19)
• Futility is rhetorical. Deceptive leaders employ impressive language but offer nothing that truly satisfies, promising “freedom” while themselves “slaves of corruption.”
• Their emptiness contrasts with the “precious and magnificent promises” through which believers “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Historical Interpretation

• Early Church writers (e.g., Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.29) viewed creation’s futility as evidence of humanity’s fall and as the stage upon which God’s redemptive plan unfolds.
• Reformation commentators emphasized the contrast between futile human striving and the sufficiency of Christ. John Calvin, on Romans 8:20, saw futility as “the universal curse” awaiting eschatological reversal.

Pastoral Implications

1. Evangelism – Highlight the bankruptcy of life apart from Christ, echoing Ecclesiastes and Ephesians 4:17, while pointing to the sure hope grounded in the resurrection.
2. Discipleship – Encourage believers to reject empty cultural narratives and embrace renewed minds shaped by Scripture.
3. Apologetics – Expose the hollow rhetoric of aberrant teachings (2 Peter 2:18) and defend the coherence and fulfillment found in the gospel.

Ministry Application

• Preach Romans 8 to cultivate perseverance amid suffering, reminding congregations that present frustration is temporary and purposeful.
• Use Ephesians 4 in counseling to challenge sinful thought patterns and to set practical holiness within the larger framework of renewed purpose.
• Equip the church to discern and refute enticing yet empty philosophies, ensuring the flock remains anchored in sound doctrine.

Summary

Strong’s 3153 depicts the pervasive emptiness resulting from alienation from God, whether in creation, human reasoning, or deceptive teaching. Scripture confronts this futility with the gospel’s promise of renewal, liberation, and eternal purpose, urging believers to live now in the fullness Christ has secured and will consummate.

Forms and Transliterations

ματαιότης ματαιότητα ματαιότητας ματαιοτητι ματαιότητι ματαιοτητος ματαιότητος ματαιότητός ματαιοτήτων mataioteti mataiotēti mataióteti mataiótēti mataiotetos mataiotētos mataiótetos mataiótētos

Englishman's Concordance

Romans 8:20 N-DFS
GRK: τῇ γὰρ ματαιότητι ἡ κτίσις
NAS: was subjected to futility, not willingly,
KJV: was made subject to vanity, not
INT: to the indeed futility the creation

Ephesians 4:17 N-DFS
GRK: περιπατεῖ ἐν ματαιότητι τοῦ νοὸς
NAS: walk, in the futility of their mind,
KJV: walk, in the vanity of their mind,
INT: are walking in [the] futility of the mind

2 Peter 2:18 N-GFS
GRK: ὑπέρογκα γὰρ ματαιότητος φθεγγόμενοι δελεάζουσιν
NAS: out arrogant [words] of vanity they entice
KJV: great swelling [words] of vanity, they allure
INT: arrogant indeed of vanity speaking they allure

Strong's Greek 3153
3 Occurrences

ματαιότητι — 2 Occ.
ματαιότητος — 1 Occ.