What Does Matthew 24:48 Mean in the King James?
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
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 danger begins when the heart turns a long wait into a reason to live as though the master is absent.
THE MEANING
This verse catches a private interpretation taking shape: “My lord delayeth his coming.” The servant lets the length of the wait define what is true for him now, before that thought becomes outward conduct.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A master’s seeming delay means his authority no longer matters.
THE ROOT
χρονίζει
chronizei
GROWS FROM
χρον-
chron-
Time or duration; the verb describes taking time, lingering, or delaying.
“delayeth” in this verse is chronizei. The verb names the duration of the wait; by itself, it does not mean the master has abandoned his return. The servant turns the passage of time into a conclusion about the master’s absence.
ALSO GROWS
chronos: time; a span or season
χρόνος
This related noun makes the time element visible: the servant is interpreting an interval.
chronizō: to take time, tarry, or delay
χρονίζω
This is the verb in the verse, naming the servant’s claim that the master’s coming is taking time.
καρδίᾳ
kardia
GROWS FROM
καρδ-
kard-
Heart; the inner center of thought and intention.
The claim is made “in his heart” before it becomes action: the servant is already interpreting the wait inwardly. Greek compounds show the heart as something that knows and can harden, making this inner interpretation consequential.
ALSO GROWS
kardiognōstēs: knower of hearts
καρδιογνώστης
This compound pictures the heart as a place of knowing, fitting the servant’s private conclusion about the master.
sklērokardia: hardness of heart
σκληροκαρδία
This compound shows how an inward disposition can become fixed, as the servant’s conclusion begins to shape his conduct.
THE PATTERN
When accountability seems delayed, the heart can turn the interval into permission to deny or disregard it.
He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.THE THREAD
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.“Tarried” is χρονίζω (chronizō), the same Greek verb translated “delayeth” here. The shared word links the servant’s claim to another image of waiting, where the interval itself does not settle what the coming means.
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