κῶμος (kōmos)
kōmos
orgy
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun kōmos describes a wild night-time procession or revelry, often involving music and torches in honor of deities like Bacchus. It captures the image of groups parading through streets late into the night, indulging in excessive drinking and frolicsome behavior that spills over into public disorder.
Scripture uses this term to label serious moral failures, placing it alongside other vices such as sexual immorality and idolatry (Galatians 5:21; Romans 13:13). In 1 Peter 4:3, it represents the reckless lifestyle believers are called to leave behind. Translators typically render it as "orgies" or "carousals," emphasizing that this is not simple socializing but a chaotic, self-indulgent excess that disrupts community order.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word kōmos paints a vivid picture of wild, late-night processions filled with excessive drinking and public disorder. In the ancient world, this often involved honoring pagan deities through chaotic revelry that spilled into the streets. Scripture uses this strong term to describe a lifestyle defined by self-indulgence and a lack of restraint, standing in sharp contrast to the peace and order found in faith.
For believers, this word serves as a clear marker of what we are called to leave behind. It reminds us that our past lives may have included such reckless behavior, but Christ offers a new path. We are invited to walk with integrity during the day, choosing clarity and self-control over the confusion of excess.
This call to holiness is not about suppressing joy, but about directing our energy toward what builds up community rather than tearing it down. By turning away from these destructive patterns, we open ourselves to the freedom and stability that come from living in alignment with God’s will.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- in reveling1×
- in orgies,1×
- carousing,1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- κῶμοι,1×
- κώμοις,1×
- κώμοις1×
Key Verses
-
Galatians 5:21
envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
This verse places kōmos alongside envy and murder, showing it is a serious barrier to inheriting the Kingdom of God.
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Romans 13:13
Let’s walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.
Here the term contrasts with walking properly in the day, highlighting the need for moral clarity over secret excess.
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I Peter 4:3
For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries.
Peter lists this word among the desires of the Gentiles that believers have now spent enough time pursuing.