4550. sapros
Lexical Summary
sapros: Rotten, corrupt, bad, worthless

Original Word: σαπρός
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: sapros
Pronunciation: sah-PROS
Phonetic Spelling: (sap-ros')
KJV: bad, corrupt
NASB: bad, unwholesome
Word Origin: [from G4595 (σήπω - rotted)]

1. rotten, i.e. worthless
{literally or morally}

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bad, corrupt.

From sepo; rotten, i.e. Worthless (literally or morally) -- bad, corrupt. Compare poneros.

see GREEK sepo

see GREEK poneros

HELPS Word-studies

4550 saprós – properly, rotten (putrid), over-ripe; (figuratively) over-done (ripened); hence, corrupt. "4550 (saprós) is (akin to sēpō, 'to rot'), primarily, of vegetable and animal substances, expresses what is of poor quality, unfit for use, putrid" (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 49); sapros – "of poor or bad quality" (L & N, 1, 65.28).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from sépó
Definition
rotten, worthless
NASB Translation
bad (7), unwholesome (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 4550: σαπρός

σαπρός, σαπρά, σαπρόν (σήπω, 2 aorist passive σαπῆναι);

1. rotten, putrid ((Hipponax), Hippcr., Aristophanes, others).

2. corrupted by age and no lounger fit for use, worn out (Aristophanes, Dio Chr., others); hence, in general, of poor quality, bad, unfit for use, worthless (A. V. corrupt) (πᾶν, μή τήν ἰδίαν χρείαν πληροι, σαπρόν λέγομεν, Chrysostom hom. 4 on 1 Timothy): δένδρον, καρπός, opposed to καλός, Matthew 7:17; Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:43; fishes, Matthew 13:48 (here A. V. bad); tropically, λόγος, Ephesians 4:29 (cf. Harless at the passage); δόγμα, Epictetus 3, 22, 61. Cf. Lob. ad Phryn., p. 377f.

Topical Lexicon
Root Meaning and Nuance

σαπρός conveys the idea of something that has suffered decay—fish gone putrid, fruit turned mushy, words rendered toxic. In the Greco-Roman marketplace the term marked produce unfit for consumption; in Scripture it marks lives, deeds and speech unfit for the kingdom.

Occurrences in the Synoptic Gospels

1. Matthew 7:17-18; Luke 6:43. Jesus contrasts “good” and “bad” trees to expose the inner nature of prophets and disciples: “Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17). The metaphor insists that outward works inevitably disclose inward reality.
2. Matthew 12:33. Addressing the Pharisees, Jesus presses the same point: “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” The call is not to cosmetic reform but to regenerating the tree’s very nature.
3. Matthew 13:48. In the Parable of the Dragnet, fishermen “collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.” σαπρός signals final separation: the worthless is discarded when the kingdom’s net is drawn up.

Spiritual Metaphor: Moral Discernment

Jesus’ repeated pairing of καλός and σαπρός equips disciples to test teachers, movements and personal habits. The opposition is qualitative, not merely quantitative: a saprós tree cannot produce intermittent good fruit; its essence corrupts every yield. Holiness, therefore, is not an optional extra but the very sap of the kingdom life.

Ethics of Speech: Paul’s Development

Ephesians 4:29 shifts the term from horticulture to conversation: “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.” Words may nourish or rot fellow believers. Paul frames speech as a stewardship: anything saprós is forbidden because it contradicts the new creation reality (Ephesians 4:24).

Old Testament Echoes

Though σαπρός is Greek, its moral resonance aligns with Proverbs’ warnings about crooked speech (Proverbs 4:24) and Israel’s regulations against offering blemished sacrifices (Leviticus 22:20-22). The covenant consistently rejects what is decayed or defiled in favor of what is whole and pleasing to the Lord.

Christological Focus

The Gospels portray Jesus as the perfectly “good tree” whose fruit—healing, teaching, atoning death—proves His identity. Conversely, the religious leaders’ saprós fruit unmasks hearts far from God despite external piety. The cross becomes the ultimate sorting, where the Sinless One absorbs humanity’s rot to impart His righteousness.

Pastoral and Homiletical Implications

• Discernment: Churches must evaluate ministries by fruit, not flair.
• Sanctification: Genuine conversion replaces, rather than masks, saprós habits.
• Speech discipline: Edifying language is a primary mark of the Spirit-filled life.
• Eschatology: The dragnet scene urges readiness; worthless lives will be cast aside.
• Counseling: Identifying root issues, not merely trimming rotten branches, leads to lasting change.

Summary

σαπρός functions as a vivid moral diagnostic across the New Testament. Whether describing fish, fruit or speech, it exposes corruption that cannot coexist with kingdom life. The remedy is not superficial adjustment but the new birth that produces truly καλός fruit to the glory of God.

Forms and Transliterations
σαπρα σαπρά σαπρὰ σαπρον σαπρόν σαπρὸν σαπρος σαπρός σαπρὸς sapra saprà sapron saprón sapròn sapros sapròs
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 7:17 Adj-NNS
GRK: τὸ δὲ σαπρὸν δένδρον καρποὺς
NAS: good fruit, but the bad tree bears
KJV: but a corrupt tree
INT: and [the] bad tree fruits

Matthew 7:18 Adj-NNS
GRK: οὐδὲ δένδρον σαπρὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς
NAS: fruit, nor can a bad tree produce
KJV: neither [can] a corrupt tree
INT: nor a tree bad fruits good

Matthew 12:33 Adj-ANS
GRK: τὸ δένδρον σαπρὸν καὶ τὸν
NAS: make the tree bad and its fruit bad;
KJV: make the tree corrupt, and his
INT: the tree bad and the

Matthew 12:33 Adj-AMS
GRK: καρπὸν αὐτοῦ σαπρόν ἐκ γὰρ
NAS: and its fruit bad; for the tree
KJV: his fruit corrupt: for the tree
INT: fruit of it bad out of indeed

Matthew 13:48 Adj-ANP
GRK: τὰ δὲ σαπρὰ ἔξω ἔβαλον
NAS: [fish] into containers, but the bad they threw
KJV: but cast the bad away.
INT: and [the] bad out they cast

Luke 6:43 Adj-AMS
GRK: ποιοῦν καρπὸν σαπρόν οὐδὲ πάλιν
NAS: tree which produces bad fruit, nor,
KJV: not forth corrupt fruit; neither
INT: producing fruit bad nor again

Luke 6:43 Adj-NNS
GRK: πάλιν δένδρον σαπρὸν ποιοῦν καρπὸν
NAS: on the other hand, a bad tree
KJV: doth a corrupt tree
INT: again a tree bad producing fruit

Ephesians 4:29 Adj-NMS
GRK: πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς ἐκ τοῦ
NAS: Let no unwholesome word proceed
KJV: Let no corrupt communication proceed
INT: Any word bad out of the

Strong's Greek 4550
8 Occurrences


σαπρὰ — 1 Occ.
σαπρὸν — 6 Occ.
σαπρὸς — 1 Occ.

4549
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