Sin — Meaning in the Bible

Wrongdoing against God and others: breaking God's commands, missing the mark, rebelling. The Bible traces sin from Genesis 3 and presents God's answer in forgiveness.

Scripture in WEBWorld English Bible — Protestant Edition

What it means

Genesis 3 tells how the first people disobeyed God, and Genesis 4 shows sin "crouching at the door" before Cain kills Abel. Paul writes that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory. Genesis 3:6 Genesis 4:7 Romans 3:23

The Bible uses several words for sin: missing the mark, transgression (crossing a line), iniquity (crookedness). It also speaks of God's forgiveness and of Christ taking away sin. Psalm 32:1–5 Psalm 51:1–4 John 1:29 1 John 1:8–9

Key passages

Genesis 3:1–13 — The first disobedience.
Genesis 4:6–8 — Sin crouching at the door.
Psalm 51:1–12 — David's prayer of confession.
Romans 3:23 — All have sinned.
Romans 6:23 — The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life.
1 John 1:8–9 — Confession and forgiveness.

Original language

חַטָּאָה chat.ta.ah

Hebrew · Strong’s H2403a · gloss: “sin”

A Hebrew word for sin (and for the sin offering). Psalm 51:3

ἁμαρτία hamartia

Greek · Strong’s G266 · gloss: “sin”

The Greek word for sin. Romans 3:9 John 1:29

A Strong’s number is a reference identifier, not a complete definition: what a word means in a passage depends on its context. Lexical data: STEPBible.org, based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

For children

Sin means doing wrong things that hurt God and other people. The Bible says that when we tell God we are sorry, he forgives us. 1 John 1:9

Study further

Genesis 3:1–24 Where sin begins.
Psalm 51 Confession.
Romans 5:12–21 Adam and Christ.
1 John 1:5–2:2 Walking in the light.