What Does 1 Corinthians 15:33 Mean in the King James?
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
“Communications” means company and association, so the verse says that character is shaped by who shares your life, not only by what is said.
THE MEANING
The company and conversation around you enter your habits and can wear down what is sound. The verse describes good conduct as something that can be spoiled through repeated exposure. That influence is active now, even when it is easy to overlook.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie this undoes is that good intentions make you immune to the company and conversation you repeatedly absorb.
THE ROOT
ὁμιλίαι
homiliai
GROWS FROM
ὁμιλ-
homil-
company, association, being together
“communications” in this verse is homiliai. The word reaches beyond spoken messages to the company and association people share. The same word family can describe people simply talking together, so the verse shows that harmful influence comes from company that corrupts; company itself is not inherently harmful.
ALSO GROWS
homileō: to converse or associate with
ὁμιλέω
This verb appears in Luke 24:14 for people talking together, showing how the word family holds conversation and shared company together.
homilos: a crowd or company
ὅμιλος
This related word makes the social sense plain: the verse concerns the company surrounding a person, not just isolated words.
ἤθη χρηστά
ēthē chrēsta
GROWS FROM
ἦθος
ēthos
habit, custom, customary disposition
“good manners” in this verse is ēthē chrēsta. “Manners” here means habits and customary character, not merely politeness. The verse says that what has become a settled way of being can still be damaged by the company kept around it.
ALSO GROWS
ethos: a custom or habitual practice
ἔθος
This related form underscores that the verse concerns conduct made familiar through repetition.
ēthikos: ethical or relating to character
ἠθικός
This derivative connects habitual conduct with the character it expresses.
φθείρουσιν
phtheirousin
GROWS FROM
φθειρ-
phtheir-
to spoil, ruin, or bring to decay
“corrupt” in this verse is phtheirousin. The verb describes damage and decay, not a mere difference in opinion. It presents good habits as something that can be worn down through exposure to corrupting company.
ALSO GROWS
phthora: decay, corruption, ruin
φθορά
The related noun names the damaged state toward which the verb points.
diaphtheirō: to corrupt or destroy thoroughly
διαφθείρω
This compound form intensifies the same sense of spoiling or ruin.
THE PATTERN
Influence works through proximity: company, small inputs, and small actions can reshape the wider pattern they enter.
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!THE THREAD
And they talked together of all these things which had happened.“Talked together” translates ὡμίλουν (homiloun), from the same Greek word family as “communications” here. That shared root shows the range of the word: it can describe ordinary conversation, while this verse names the harm that comes from corrupting company.
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