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Greek Word for Righteousness: What Does “Dikaiosyne” Really Mean?
Quick answer: The Greek word translated “righteousness” in the New Testament is δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosyne), pronounced dee-kai-oh-SOO-nay — Strong’s G1343. It doesn’t just mean “moral goodness” or “not sinning.” At its root, dikaiosyne means being in right standing — right relationship, right order, things as they ought to be. It’s the word Jesus used when He said to “hunger and thirst” for it, and the word Paul used when he said it’s something you receive, not something you earn.
Word Study: Where It Comes From
Dikaiosyne comes from the adjective dikaios (righteous, just), which itself comes from the noun dike. In everyday Greek usage outside the Bible, dike didn’t start as a religious word at all — it meant “the way things are supposed to be,” the right order, the custom, the verdict a judge hands down when a matter is settled correctly. Ancient Greeks even personified Dike as a figure of justice, the one who set crooked things straight.
That legal, relational flavor never left the word. By the time dikaiosyne shows up in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) and then the New Testament, it carries two ideas at once that English “righteousness” tends to flatten into one: personal moral uprightness, and right standing — being in correct relationship with God and with other people, the way a case is “righted” in court.
This is why the word matters so much for reading the Sermon on the Mount correctly. When Jesus talks about righteousness, He’s not only talking about private virtue. He’s talking about a right relationship that shapes how you treat people, how you handle money, how you pray, how you forgive — the whole shape of a life set right.
Where This Word Appears in the Bible
| Reference | KJV Text |
|---|---|
| Matthew 5:6 | “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” |
| Matthew 5:20 | “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” |
| Matthew 6:33 | “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” |
| Romans 3:22 | “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.” |
| 2 Corinthians 5:21 | “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” |
Verse Deep Dive: Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Read quickly, this verse sounds like a trade: seek God’s stuff first, and your stuff gets handled. But look at what Jesus actually says to seek — not a feeling, not a reward, but his righteousness. Dikaiosyne autou. God’s own right-standing, offered to you.
That word “seek” (Greek zeteo) means an active, ongoing pursuit — not a one-time decision but a direction you keep walking in. And “first” isn’t just first in a list; it’s first in priority, the thing everything else gets ordered around. So the verse isn’t “get your morality in order and blessings will follow.” It’s closer to: pursue right relationship with God above every competing anxiety — what you’ll eat, what you’ll wear, the very things Jesus spent the previous six verses telling His listeners not to worry about — and let that relationship reorder the rest of your life underneath it.
This is also why Matthew 5:20, a few verses earlier in the same sermon, isn’t a contradiction but the same idea from the other side. The scribes and Pharisees had plenty of dikaiosyne by outward measure — meticulous law-keeping. What they lacked was the relational core the word was always pointing to. Jesus isn’t asking for more rule-following. He’s asking for the real thing the rules were only ever supposed to point toward.
Why the Original Word Changes the Meaning
In English, “righteousness” can sound like a finish line — a moral standard you either clear or don’t, measured mostly by what you avoid doing. Dikaiosyne was never that narrow. It’s relational before it’s behavioral: right standing first, right living flowing out of it.
That reorders Matthew 6:33 from a self-improvement project into an invitation. You’re not told to manufacture righteousness through effort and then hope God notices. You’re told to seek — to keep turning toward — a right standing with God that Paul says later is given “by faith,” not earned by performance (Romans 3:22). The hungering and thirsting of Matthew 5:6 makes far more sense once you see it this way: you don’t hunger for something you already have the ingredients to make yourself. You hunger for something you need to receive.
Living It Out
Where in your life have you been treating righteousness like a performance review — tallying what you’ve done right or wrong — instead of a relationship you’re being invited deeper into? Today, try Jesus’ own instruction literally: before you try to fix or improve anything about yourself, seek the relationship first. Sit with God for a few honest minutes, not with a list of things to confess or accomplish, but simply seeking. Let whatever needs reordering in your life get reordered from there, not the other way around.
Journal Prompts
- Matthew 5:20 says your righteousness has to exceed the scribes and Pharisees’ — people who kept the law with extraordinary precision. If dikaiosyne is relational, not just behavioral, what does “exceeding” theirs actually look like for you this week?
- Read Matthew 5:6 slowly. What’s the difference between wanting righteousness the way you want a convenience, and hungering and thirsting for it the way you’d hunger and thirst for food or water after going without?
- Matthew 6:33 says “seek ye first.” What is currently first in your life instead — and what would it look like this week to actually reorder your day around seeking right relationship with God before it?
Prayer
Lord, You know how easily I turn righteousness into a performance — something I try to earn or prove instead of something I receive from You. Teach me to hunger and thirst the way Jesus described, honestly and without pretending I already have what I need. I want to seek Your kingdom and Your dikaiosyne first, ahead of every worry crowding in behind it. Right my standing with You, and let everything else in my life find its right order underneath that. Amen.
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FAQ
Is righteousness the same thing as being sinless?
No. Dikaiosyne is broader than “never sinning” — it’s about being in right relationship and right order with God, which produces right living, but it starts as a standing you’re given, not a record you keep spotless.
What’s the difference between “my righteousness” and “God’s righteousness”?
Scripture draws that exact contrast. Human righteousness (like the scribes and Pharisees’ rule-keeping in Matthew 5:20) is self-produced and always falls short. God’s righteousness, described in Romans 3:22 and 2 Corinthians 5:21, is given through faith in Christ rather than earned by performance.
Why does Jesus say to “hunger and thirst” for righteousness instead of just wanting it?
Hunger and thirst describe a need you can’t meet yourself — you don’t manufacture food or water, you seek it out and receive it. Jesus is describing the same posture toward righteousness: an honest, ongoing need, not a project you complete on your own.
Is dikaiosyne the same Greek word translated “justice” elsewhere?
Yes, in some contexts. Dikaiosyne and its root dikaios sit behind both “righteousness” and “justice” in English translations, depending on whether the context is personal/relational or social. The underlying idea — things being set right — is the same either way.
