What Does Matthew 18:34 Mean in the King James?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
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
In Greek, the man is “handed over” and must “pay back” with two forms built from the same verb, δίδωμι (didōmi): give.
THE MEANING
The lord’s anger becomes a concrete act: the debtor is handed to tormentors until the full amount is paid. Here, debt reaches the body, and the torment continues for as long as the claim remains unpaid.
THE ROOT
παρέδωκεν
paredōken
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι
didōmi
To give, grant, or hand over.
“delivered / pay” in this verse is paredōken. “Delivered” and “pay” sound like separate actions in English, but both Greek forms grow from δίδωμι, “give.” The verse joins the act of handing the debtor over to torment with the demand that he give back everything owed.
ALSO GROWS
paradidōmi: Hand over, deliver; in some contexts, betray.
παραδίδωμι
This is the verb behind “delivered”: the debtor is given over into the tormentors’ hands.
apodidōmi: Give back, render, repay.
ἀποδίδωμι
This compound appears in the demand to pay what is owed: repayment is framed as giving back.
didōmi: Give, grant, place into someone’s hands.
δίδωμι
The shared base makes the handover and the demanded repayment two forms of giving within the same sentence.
THE PATTERN
An unpaid debt can keep a person under another’s power until the claim is settled or released.
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’s release.When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.THE THREAD
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.The Greek verb παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi), “hand over,” appears in both verses: the debtor is handed to tormentors here, and Jesus is handed over after scourging there. The shared verb keeps “delivered” concrete, a person placed in another’s power, with bodily consequences.
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