Sarkinos describes persons, hearts, or a commandment in contrast with what is spiritual, enduring, or made of stone.

Across the attested verses, the adjective marks people, hearts, and a commandment as associated with flesh, each set in contrast with a spiritual, stone, or indestructible-life counterpart.

1. Associated with flesh in contrasting descriptions · dominant

   In 1 Corinthians 3:1, the dative plural masculine form describes the people addressed in contrast to “spiritual people”; in Romans 7:14, the nominative singular masculine form occurs where the speaker is contrasted with the law as spiritual. The dative plural feminine form in 2 Corinthians 3:3 qualifies tablets contrasted with stone, while the genitive singular feminine form in Hebrews 7:16 qualifies a commandment contrasted with “the power of an indestructible life.”

   1 Corinthians 3:1Romans 7:142 Corinthians 3:3Hebrews 7:16

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB uses “fleshly” in 1 Corinthians 3:1, Romans 7:14, and Hebrews 7:16. In 2 Corinthians 3:3 it renders the larger contrast as “tablets of stone” and “tablets of human hearts”; The adjective's specific English rendering there is less certain.