Greek word · G2865

κομίζω

komizō

to bring/be repaid

Active: to carry or bring. Middle (as here): to carry off for oneself, to get, to receive back, to recover what was one's own or what one has earned. It was used of collecting wages, recovering a deposit, and getting something back with interest.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κομίζω

[in LXX for נָשָׂא, etc. ;]

1. to take care of.

2. to carry off safe.

3. to carry off as booty.

4. to bear or carry: Luke 7:37. Mid., to bear for oneself, hence,

(a) to receive: Hebrews 10:36 11:13, 39, 1 Peter 1:9 5:4, 2 Peter 2:13;

(b) to receive back, recover (in cl. so also act.): Matthew 25:27, Hebrews 11:19; metaphorically, of requital, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Colossians 3:25; παρὰ Κυρίου, Ephesians 6:8 (cf. ἐκ-, συν-κομίζω).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Corinthians 5:10

Range of meaning

Active: to carry or bring. Middle (as here): to carry off for oneself, to get, to receive back, to recover what was one's own or what one has earned. It was used of collecting wages, recovering a deposit, and getting something back with interest.

Against the English

KJV "receive the things done in his body" is literal but unclear in modern English. BSB "receive his due", NIV/ESV "receive what is due" and NASB "be recompensed" catch the idea of fitting repayment. None fully conveys "receive back": what a person gets is, in a sense, the return on his or her own deeds.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matt 25:27, "I would have received back my own with interest". Eph 6:8, whatever good anyone does, "this he will receive back from the Lord". Col 3:25, "the wrongdoer will receive back the wrong he has done". The same verb in the same setting of repayment. Heb 10:36 and 1 Pet 1:9 use it of receiving a promised outcome. It is common in the papyri for receiving payments and goods.

From the study of Ephesians 6:8

Range of meaning

In the active voice: carry, bring. In the middle voice (as here): carry off for oneself, obtain, and especially get back what belongs to you, recover a deposit, or receive what is owed (wages, repayment, recompense). In Christian writing it is used for receiving at God's judgment what one's deeds deserve, whether good or bad.

Against the English

BSB and NIV 'reward' and NLT 'will reward' turn the sentence around so that the Lord is the subject who gives a prize. The Greek makes the doer the subject who gets back his own deed. KJV 'the same shall he receive' and ESV/NASB 'this he will receive back' are closer. WEB 'receive the same good again' catches the idea of return.

How it drifted

'Reward' in modern English suggests a bonus, prize or perk added on top. Komizō is about recovering and being repaid, and the same verb is used for repayment of wrongdoing (Col 3:25).

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Gen 38:20: Judah sends a goat 'to get back' (komisasthai) the pledge he left. 2 Macc 7:11: a martyr hopes 'to get back' his hands from God in the resurrection. Heb 11:19: Abraham 'received back' Isaac. 2 Cor 5:10: 'so that each may receive back (komisētai) what was done in the body, whether good or bad.' Col 3:25, the parallel passage: 'the wrongdoer will receive back (komisetai) the wrong he did, and there is no partiality.' Papyri use the verb for receiving payment and recovering goods.

From the study of Hebrews 10:36

Range of meaning

Active: to carry, bring or convey. Middle (as here): to carry off for oneself, get, obtain, or get back. It often means receiving what is owed: wages, a payment, a recompense, or a deposit returned.

Against the English

All the major versions say 'receive', which is accurate. English loses two things: the sense of carrying off as your own, and the sense of getting what is due that ties the word to the 'reward' (misthapodosia, 'payment of wages') of v.35.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the documentary papyri it is used for receiving goods or payments. In the NT: 2 Cor 5:10 and Eph 6:8 (receiving back for what one has done), 1 Pet 1:9 and 5:4 (obtaining salvation, the crown of glory). Hebrews 11:19 says Abraham 'received back' Isaac, figuratively. Hebrews 11:13 and 11:39 say the faithful of old died 'not having received' (mē komisamenoi) the promise(s).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 25:27 ἐκομισάμην received

    Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 7:37 κομίσασα having taken

    When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.

    Here: 'Having brought'. She carried the flask with her deliberately, so the act was planned. The sentence is still unfinished here; its main verb, 'she began', comes in v.38.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 5:10 κομίσηται may receive back

    For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

    Here: "Carry away for oneself" or "get back". It was used of collecting what is owed, such as wages or a deposit returned. Each person receives back what matches his deeds.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 6:8 κομίσεται he will receive [back]

    because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

    Here: 'He will get back.' The word is used for recovering something deposited or collecting what one is owed. The future tense looks to the Lord's final settling of accounts.

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 3:25 κομίσεται he will be repaid

    Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

    Here: Future middle: "will carry off for himself, will get back." It is the language of collecting what is owed, and the same word is used of being paid back at the Lord's judgment in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and Ephesians 6:8.

Hebrews · 3

  1. Hebrews 10:36 κομίσησθε you may receive

    You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

    Here: The middle voice suggests 'carry off for yourselves'. The word is used for receiving wages, a reward or something owed, and it picks up 'great reward' in v.35. It is the same verb used of the heroes in 11:13 and 11:39, who 'did not receive' the promise.

  2. Hebrews 11:19 ἐκομίσατο.¶ he received.

    Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.

    Here: "He got (him) back." The verb's form stresses getting something for yourself, and it was often used for recovering what was already yours, such as a pledge or a deposit. Abraham had given Isaac up to God, and he got him back.

  3. Hebrews 11:39 ἐκομίσαντο did receive

    These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.

    Here: In the middle voice it means "to receive for oneself, to collect what is due." It is the word for getting into your hands the thing you were waiting for, and the same verb used for the readers' own hope in 10:36. The aorist tense views the whole of their lives together: not one of them ever collected it.

1 Peter · 2

  1. 1 Peter 1:9 κομιζόμενοι receiving

    now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

  2. 1 Peter 5:4 κομιεῖσθε you will receive

    And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

    Here: "You will carry off for yourselves". It was used for receiving wages, a repayment or a prize. Verse 2 warned elders not to serve for shameful gain, and this word answers that warning: their real pay comes later, from the Chief Shepherd.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.