What Does 2 Timothy 4:14 Mean?
Alexander the coppersmith showed me much evil; the Lord will give back to him according to his works.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:THE KEY
The Lord’s “reward” is a give-back: the harm is named, and its answer is measured by the deeds that produced it.
THE MEANING
When harm reaches you, this verse names it plainly and places its answer with the Lord. The Lord’s response is according to the deeds, so the harm is neither erased nor treated as weightless.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that naming harm means you must avenge it yourself, or that leaving vengeance to the Lord means pretending the harm never happened.
THE ROOT
ἀποδώσει
apodōsei
GROWS FROM
ἀποδίδωμι (ἀπό + δίδωμι)
To give back, render, or repay.
“give back” in this verse is apodōsei. The verb carries the sense of giving back, so “reward” here holds the possibility of repayment in response to what was done. Paired with “according to his works,” it makes the measure part of the sentence: the answer corresponds to the deeds.
ALSO GROWS
didōmi: To give.
δίδωμι
This is the giving at the heart of the compound; with ἀπό, the act takes on the sense of giving back.
antapodidōmi: To repay in return.
ἀνταποδίδωμι
This related compound makes the return explicit, echoing the verse’s sense of repayment.
ἔργα
erga
GROWS FROM
ἐργ-
erg-
Work, deed, or act.
“Works” points to what is done, not just to a label or reputation. Beside “give back,” the word makes the deeds the measure of the response.
ALSO GROWS
ergazomai: To work or do.
ἐργάζομαι
The verb shows the same word family in action, connecting a deed with the doing that produces it.
ergatēs: Worker or laborer.
ἐργάτης
This branch names the one who does the work, keeping the focus on acts and their source.
THE PATTERN
What a person does is not erased; the Lord’s response is rendered according to the work.
And yours, O Lord, is faithful love, for you repay each man according to his deed.Who will give back to each one according to his works.Look, I come swiftly, and my wages are with me, to give back to each one as his work will be.THE THREAD
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but give room to wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will give back, says the LORD.“I will repay” uses a related Greek verb from the same give-back family as “reward” here. The connection opens the verse’s measure further: the harm remains named, while repayment is placed with the Lord.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us