What does διαφθείρω (diaphtheírō) mean in the Bible?
διαφθείρω (diaphtheírō): Destroy utterly with moral corruption sense; emphasizes complete ruin both physical and spiritual depravity.
Greek · G1311
διαφθείρω
To destroy
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διαφθείρωG1311
Pronunciationdiaphtheírō
What does διαφθείρω (diaphtheírō) mean in the Bible?
διαφθείρω (diaphtheírō): Destroy utterly with moral corruption sense; emphasizes complete ruin both physical and spiritual depravity.
Full entry for διαφθείρω (G1311) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1311?
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).
Where does διαφθείρω (diaphtheírō) appear in Scripture?
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).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itdestroy1×Revelation 11:18
destroys1×Luke 12:33
is wasting away1×2 Corinthians 4:16
of depraved1×1 Timothy 6:5
to destroy1×Revelation 11:18
were destroyed1×Revelation 8:9
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 12:33διαφθείρειtodestroysVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular2 Corinthians 4:16διαφθείρεταιtois wasting awayVerb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular1 Timothy 6:5διεφθαρμένωνtoof depravedVerb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine PluralRevelation 8:9διεφθάρησανtowere destroyedVerb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person PluralRevelation 11:18διαφθεῖραιtoto destroyVerb - Aorist Infinitive ActiveRevelation 11:18διαφθείρονταςtodestroyVerb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 12:33
Aligned rows6
Books represented4
Luke12 Corinthians11 Timothy1Revelation3
Source forms
διαφθεῖραι1xdiaphtheiraiRevelation 11:18
διαφθείρει1xdiaphtheireiLuke 12:33
διαφθείρεται1xdiaphtheiretai2 Corinthians 4:16
διαφθείροντας1xdiaphtheirontasRevelation 11:18
διεφθάρησαν1xdiephtharēsanRevelation 8:9
διεφθαρμένων1xdiephtharmenōn1 Timothy 6:5
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural1xRevelation 8:9
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active1xRevelation 11:18
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural1x1 Timothy 6:5
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xLuke 12:33
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular1x2 Corinthians 4:16
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural1xRevelation 11:18
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Destroy utterly with moral corruption sense; emphasizes complete ruin both physical and spiritual depravity.
Strong'sG1311
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms3 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 12:22-34Source Gloss
to destroy
Extended definition
Destroy utterly with moral corruption sense; emphasizes complete ruin both physical and spiritual depravity.
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Greek Text Appearances
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.
Luke 12:33Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
διαφθείρει·diafqeirei
I destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verse2 Corinthians 4:16Verb Third Person Singular Present Passive Indicative
διαφθείρεται,diafqeiretai
I destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verse1 Timothy 6:5Verb Perfect Passive Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
διεφθαρμένωνdiefqarmenwn
I destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseRevelation 8:9Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Passive Indicative
διεφθάρη.diefqarh
I destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseRevelation 11:18Verb Aorist Active Infinitive
διαφθεῖραιdiafqeirai
I destroy, waste, corrupt
Read verseRevelation 11:18Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
διαφθείρονταςdiafqeirontav
I 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.
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form groups3Aligned forms6TensesPresent, Perfect, AoristVoicesActive, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Present ActiveLuke 12:331×
Present Passive2 Cor 4:161×
Aorist PassiveRev 8:91×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality2×
Perfect Passive1 Tim 6:51×
Present ActiveRev 11:181×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract1×
Aorist ActiveRev 11:181×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 6 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present3aorist2perfect1
Voice
passive3active3
Mood
indicative3participle2infinitive1
NT Occurrences
Luke 12:33διαφθείρειpresent active indicativeongoing2 Corinthians 4:16διαφθείρεταιpresent passive indicativeongoing1 Timothy 6:5διεφθαρμένωνperfect passive participleparticipleRevelation 8:9διεφθάρησανaorist passive indicativecompletedRevelation 11:18διαφθεῖραιaorist active infinitiveinfinitiveRevelation 11:18διαφθείρονταςpresent active participleparticiple
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 Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Physical destruction of material possessions, moth and rust corrupting treasures
Complete and utter destruction of a great mountain, total annihilation in judgment
Moral corruption and perversion through treacherous conduct and depravity
Ruin and decay of fabric symbolizing divine judgment upon a nation's covenant
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
διαφθείρω is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.