Diaphtheiro describes destruction, corruption or deterioration, with the affected object determining what kind of harm is in view. Luke speaks of a moth destroying earthly goods while Jesus calls His little flock toward generosity and lasting treasure.
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Reader summary
Full entry for διαφθείρω (G1311) · Open the biblical lexicon
Diaphtheiro describes destruction, corruption or deterioration, with the affected object determining what kind of harm is in view. Luke speaks of a moth destroying earthly goods while Jesus calls His little flock toward generosity and lasting treasure.
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include destroy (1), destroys (1), is wasting away (1), of depraved (1), to destroy (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 12:33. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (3), 1 Timothy (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Luke (1).
Diaphtheiro describes destruction, corruption or deterioration, with the affected object determining what kind of harm is in view. Luke speaks of a moth destroying earthly goods while Jesus calls His little flock toward generosity and lasting treasure. Paul describes the outer self wasting away while the inner self is renewed; bodily weakness is not thereby classified as moral corruption.
First Timothy instead names corrupted minds within an argument against contentious teaching that treats godliness as a way to make money. Revelation portrays destroyed ships and the judgment of those who destroy the earth. These are different scenes, not five interchangeable accusations. The verb directs attention to what is damaged and how the passage evaluates the action.
Its serious moral uses must not become a label for sick bodies, aging people, honest questions or victims of exploitation.
Six tagged BSB verb tokens in five verses describe moth damage, bodily deterioration, corrupted thinking, destroyed ships and judgment on earth-destroying people. The two Revelation 11 forms retain their opposed agents.
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
Moth damage contrasts with lasting treasure as Jesus joins trust in the Father to generosity toward the poor.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
The outer self wastes away amid apostolic affliction while inner renewal and resurrection hope prevent bodily weakness from becoming disgrace.
And constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
Corrupted thinking accompanies abusive disputes and a profit-driven account of godliness, contrasted with contentment and generous good works.
A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Ships are destroyed in the second trumpet scene alongside sea creatures dying; the vision does not supply a modern event identification.
The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
The thanksgiving distinguishes God judging destroyers from their destructive action against the earth and includes reward for His servants.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Destroy utterly with moral corruption sense; emphasizes complete ruin both physical and spiritual depravity.
Destroy utterly with moral corruption sense; emphasizes complete ruin both physical and spiritual depravity.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseI destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseI destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseI destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseI destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseI destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 6 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
διαφθείρω is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Second Corinthians places wasting away beside renewal, not beside a charge that the sufferer is corrupt. The surrounding account of fragile jars, persecution and the promised raising of believers makes room for real bodily cost without treating weakness as spiritual failure. First Timothy supplies a different test: speech that breeds envy and abuse while turning godliness into gain.
There the concern is the teaching and its fruit, answered by contentment, gentleness and generosity. Revelation then places destruction within visions of judgment rather than giving readers a license to destroy their opponents. A teacher can therefore name exploitative conduct clearly while honoring frail people and leaving final judgment with God. Faithful application protects neighbors from concrete damage and refuses accusations based only on illness or adversity.
2Cor.4.16
The witnesses include active and passive forms, participles and an infinitive. Revelation 11:18 uses two forms in one verse for judging destroyers and their destructive action; six tokens therefore do not mean six distinct verse witnesses.
Psalm 102:23-28 voices weakened strength and shortened days while confessing God's enduring years and creation's passing. That lament helps readers hear bodily decline without blaming the sufferer, while remaining a supporting Hebrew context rather than another Greek occurrence.