What Does Ephesians 4:22 Mean in the King James?
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
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
The “old man” is a self already decaying in step with desires that deceive.
THE MEANING
The verse names a former way of being that is wearing down under desires shaped by deception. It presents that old self as something to put aside, not the final truth of who you are.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that every desire tells the truth about the self: desire can mislead and wear the self down.
THE ROOT
ἀποθέσθαι
apothesthai
GROWS FROM
τίθημι
tithēmi
to put, place, or set
“put off” in this verse is apothesthai. The Greek verb joins apo, “away,” to the basic action of placing: the old self is pictured as something that can be set aside. English keeps the removal but can hide the underlying image of a pattern being put down.
ALSO GROWS
apotithēmi: put away, lay aside
ἀποτίθημι
This same compound describes setting something aside, making the old self a pattern that can be put away.
epitithēmi: put upon, lay on
ἐπιτίθημι
This branch shows the shared action of placing; the prefix shifts the relation from setting aside to laying upon.
φθειρόμενον
phtheiromenon
GROWS FROM
φθείρω
phtheirō
to spoil, ruin, or bring to decay
“corrupt” in this verse is phtheiromenon. The Greek uses a present participle, portraying the old self as being worn down in an ongoing process. Its decay is tied to deceptive desires, linking the pattern of wanting with the pattern of ruin.
ALSO GROWS
phthora: decay, corruption
φθορά
This noun names the ruin toward which the old self is moving.
diaphtheirō: destroy, ruin
διαφθείρω
This compound intensifies the same root’s sense of spoiling, showing how far the process of decay can reach.
ἀπάτης
apatēs
GROWS FROM
ἀπάτη
apatē
deception, delusion
“deceitful desires” in this verse is apatēs. The Greek phrase is literally “desires of deceit,” tying the wanting itself to deception rather than treating deceit as an incidental label. It reveals a false promise inside the old pattern: the desire that draws can also mislead.
ALSO GROWS
apataō: deceive, mislead
ἀπατάω
The verb makes explicit the misleading action carried in the noun’s root.
exapataō: deceive thoroughly, lead astray
ἐξαπατάω
This compound extends the same root, reflecting how deception can carry a person further into a false way.
THE PATTERN
What is worn out or corrupt can be set aside as a renewed way of being is received.
And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,THE THREAD
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.James uses the same Greek verb as “put off”: lay apart what corrupts, then receive the word. The shared root links release with receptivity, the thing set aside makes room for what can be received.
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