WORTHLESS, shoddy, of no account — a milder word than ponēros, actively evil, and John 3 uses both one verse apart: people loved darkness because their works were ponēra (v19), and everyone doing phaula avoids the light (v20). The man who will not come into the light is not necessarily a villain; he may simply have nothing he wants looked at. Most versions flatten both to 'evil'; ASV and NWT distinguish them. → first discussed at John 3:20