Word studies · Greek · Strong's G1343
δικαιοσύνη · dikaiosýnē · appears 94 times in the New Testament
In one line: Being right and just — both morally and in standing before God.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6
Righteousness is the quality of being right and just — living in conformity with God's character, and, for Paul, the right standing God grants through faith in Christ.
Dikaiosynē covers both ethical uprightness — doing what is right — and the forensic idea of being declared “not guilty” before God. Paul develops the latter especially, describing a righteousness that comes from God as a gift rather than a human achievement.
Dikaiosynē derives from dikaios, “just” or “right,” itself rooted in dikē, the ordinary Greek word for justice or a legal verdict. The word family carries strong courtroom overtones, which is why Paul's discussion of righteousness often reads like a legal argument about verdicts and standing.
Because dikaiosynē has this legal background, “the righteousness of God” in Paul can mean both God's own justice and the righteous status He grants believers — a double meaning easy to flatten in English but which drives much of Romans' argument.
Dikaiosynē (G1343) and its related verb dikaioō (“to justify”) together form one of the densest word clusters in Paul's letter to the Romans.
Righteousness sits at the heart of the doctrine of justification: believers are “made righteous” not by their own moral record but by being credited with Christ's righteousness through faith.
Let the gift of righteousness free you from performance-based standing with God, while still pursuing right living as its fruit, not its cause. Ask where you're relying on your own record instead of resting in what's been credited to you.
equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification
“Let it be so now, Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way. Then John permitted Him.
Matthew 3:15in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
Luke 1:75And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
John 16:8but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
Acts 10:35For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 1:17It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
1 Corinthians 1:30Press and hold righteousness in any chapter and this study opens on the verse you are reading, with the lexicons, every occurrence and the commentaries beside it. The Bible is free to read.
Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Strong's definitions are public domain. Counts come from The Pillar's own tagged text.