Definition and Etymology:
The term "villany" is an archaic English word that refers to wickedness, evil conduct, or moral depravity. It is derived from the Old French "vilenie," which means baseness or disgrace, and ultimately from the Latin "villanus," meaning a farmhand or peasant, which over time came to be associated with low moral character.

Biblical Context:
In the Bible, the concept of villany is closely associated with sin, iniquity, and unrighteousness. It encompasses actions and behaviors that are contrary to the nature and commands of God. Villany is often depicted as a characteristic of those who reject God's laws and pursue their own sinful desires.

Scriptural References:
While the specific term "villany" may not appear in modern translations of the Bible, the concept is prevalent throughout Scripture. The Berean Standard Bible provides numerous passages that address the nature and consequences of wickedness:

· Proverbs 6:12-14 : "A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth, winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, and pointing with his fingers. With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord." This passage describes the behavior of a person characterized by villany, highlighting deceit and discord as key elements.

· Isaiah 32:6 : "For a fool speaks foolishness, and his mind plots iniquity: to practice ungodliness and speak falsely about the LORD, to leave the hungry empty and deprive the thirsty of drink." Here, the prophet Isaiah condemns the actions of those who engage in villany, emphasizing their disregard for God and their fellow man.

· Romans 1:29-32 : "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these things but also approve of those who practice them." The Apostle Paul provides a comprehensive list of behaviors associated with villany, illustrating the depth of human depravity apart from God.

Moral and Theological Implications:
Villany, as depicted in the Bible, is not merely a set of actions but a condition of the heart. It reflects a willful rebellion against God's authority and a rejection of His moral order. The Scriptures consistently warn of the destructive consequences of such behavior, both in this life and in the life to come.

The Bible calls believers to a life of holiness and righteousness, contrasting the path of villany with the path of obedience to God. In Ephesians 5:8-11 , Paul exhorts Christians: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Test and prove what pleases the Lord. Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."

Conclusion:
While the Bible acknowledges the reality of villany in the world, it also offers hope through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Believers are called to turn away from wickedness and embrace the transformative power of the Gospel, living lives that reflect the character and holiness of God.(n.) See Villainy.VILE, VILLANY

vil, vil'-an-i: The original words for "vile" and "villany" are used in about 10 different senses, e.g. despised (1 Samuel 15:9), despicable (Daniel 11:21 the King James Version), lightly esteemed (Deuteronomy 25:3), empty (Judges 19:24 the King James Version), foolish (Isaiah 32:6, the King James Version and the English Revised Version), dishonorable (Romans 1:26), filthy or dirty (James 2:2), humiliation (Philippians 3:21).

Villany occurs but twice in the King James Version (Isaiah 32:6 Jeremiah 29:23), and signifies emptiness or folly (so the Revised Version (British and American)). From the foregoing meanings it will be seen that the word "vile" does not always bear the meaning which has come to be invariably given it in our present-day speech. Anything common or ordinary or humble might, in the Scriptural sense, be termed "vile." So Job 40:4, the Revised Version (British and American) "Behold, I am of small account"; also "the low estate of his handmaid" (Luke 1:48). Ordinarily, however, the idea of contemptible, despicable, is read into the word.

William Evans

VILLANY

See VILE.

5039. nebalah -- senselessness, disgrace
... folly, vile, villany. Feminine of nabal; foolishness, ie (morally) wickedness;
concretely, a crime; by extension, punishment -- folly, vile, villany. ...
/hebrew/5039.htm - 6k

The Seventh Commandment
... crime.' Job 31:2: Every failing is not a crime; and every crime is not a heinous
crime; but adultery is flagitium, a heinous crime.' The Lord calls it villany. ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 7 the seventh commandment.htm

The Life of St. Silvester.
... unto holy church, the first was that all the city should worship Jesu Christ as
very God, the second thing was that whosoever should say any villany of Jesu ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the life of st silvester.htm

And Leaving all These Reflections, I Considered and Turned in ...
... And a wise man would choose to have one of his hands full, if it were with ease
and quietness, rather than both of them with travail and with the villany of a ...
/.../a metaphrase of the book of ecclesiastes/chapter iv and leaving all.htm

An Epistle on Charity.
... fell outward cheer, and have no privy hate in thine heart for to despise him, or
judge him, or for to set him at naught: and the more shame and villany he does ...
/.../the form of perfect living and other prose treatises/an epistle on charity.htm

Here Followeth the Life of Abraham
... his presence. And when she was come, God of his good grace so purveyed for
her, that no man had power to do her villany. Wherefore ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/here followeth the life of.htm

Secondly, for Thy Words.
... fall out, yet Christian love, the main ground of your friendship, will never fall
away; and the fear of God will never suffer him to do thee any villany. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bayly/the practice of piety/secondly for thy words.htm

Epistle of Adrian in Behalf of the Christians.
... and this communication I am unwilling to pass over in silence, lest innocent persons
be disturbed, and occasion be given to the informers for practising villany ...
/.../justin/the first apology of justin/epistle of adrian in behalf.htm

Acts xiii. 4, 5
... he is ordained, as it was in Peter's case, [652] ""filled with the Holy Ghost, looked
upon him, and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou child of ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xxviii acts xiii 4.htm

The Paralytic Let Down through the Roof.
... For material riches are liable to the designs of robbers, and the tales of false
accusers, and the violence of housebreakers, and the villany of servants, and ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/homily on the paralytic let.htm

Simon Magus.
... art of Thrasymedes, in the manner in which we have explained above, [611] and partly
also by the assistance of demons perpetrating his villany, attempted to ...
/.../hippolytus/the refutation of all heresies/chapter ii simon magus.htm

Villany (4 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) See Villainy. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. VILE,
VILLANY. ... William Evans. VILLANY. See VILE. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/v/villany.htm - 9k

Vile (59 Occurrences)
... 2. (superl.) Morally base or impure; depraved by sin; hateful; in the sight of God
and men; sinful; wicked; bad. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. VILE, VILLANY...
/v/vile.htm - 26k

Lewdness (68 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary (Acts 18:14), villany or wickedness, not lewdness
in the modern sense of the word. The word "lewd" is ...
/l/lewdness.htm - 29k

Vindicate (18 Occurrences)

/v/vindicate.htm - 11k

Villainy (4 Occurrences)

/v/villainy.htm - 7k

Lewd (37 Occurrences)
... Acts 18:14, and is correctly translated in the Revised Version (British and American)
and the American Standard Revised Version "wicked villany." The thought ...
/l/lewd.htm - 20k

Guile (21 Occurrences)
... Acts 13:10 and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil,
thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways ...
/g/guile.htm - 15k

Fool (95 Occurrences)
... In Isaiah 32:5, 6 the King James Version nabhal is translated "vile person" and
nebhalah "villany," the Revised Version (British and American) "fool" and "folly ...
/f/fool.htm - 47k

Folly (68 Occurrences)
... In Isaiah 32:5, 6 the King James Version nabhal is translated "vile person" and
nebhalah "villany," the Revised Version (British and American) "fool" and "folly ...
/f/folly.htm - 39k

Mischief (64 Occurrences)
... Sometimes the Revised Version (British and American) changes the word, as to "evil"
(Exodus 32:12, 22); in Acts 13:10, to "villany" (rhadiourgia). ...
/m/mischief.htm - 26k

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