2 Corinthians 11:15

Bible in Basic English (1941)

So it is no great thing if his servants make themselves seem to be servants of righteousness; whose end will be the reward of their works.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Οὐ μέγα οὖν εἰ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ μετασχηματίζονται ὡς διάκονοι δικαιοσύνης· ὧν τὸ τέλος ἔσται κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.

Transliteration

Not mega therefore if also the diakonoi of him metaschēmatizontai as diakonoi dikaiosynēs; of whom the telos estai kata the erga of them.

Grammar Details

• *mega*: nominative/accusative, neuter, singular - great/important thing
• *diakonoi*: nominative, masculine, plural - servants/ministers
• *metaschēmatizontai*: present middle/passive indicative, 3rd plural - transform/disguise themselves
• *dikaiosynēs*: genitive, feminine, singular - of righteousness
• *telos*: nominative, neuter, singular - end/outcome
• *estai*: future middle indicative, 3rd singular - will be
• *kata*: preposition + accusative - according to
• *erga*: accusative, neuter, plural - works/deeds

Word Meanings

• *mega*: great thing/important matter/surprising
• *diakonoi*: servants/ministers/attendants
• *metaschēmatizontai*: transform/disguise themselves/masquerade
• *dikaiosynēs*: righteousness/justice/uprightness
• *telos*: end/outcome/conclusion/destiny
• *erga*: works/deeds/actions

Referenced Verses

• Phil 3:19 : 19 Whose end is destruction, whose god is the stomach, and whose glory is in their shame, whose minds are fixed on the things of the earth.
• 2 Cor 3:9 : 9 For if the operation of the law, producing punishment, had its glory, how much greater will be the operation of the Spirit causing righteousness?
• Jer 23:14-15 : 14 And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a shocking thing; they are untrue to their wives, walking in deceit, and they make strong the hands of evil-doers, so that a man may not be turned back from his evil-doing: they have all become like Sodom to me, and its people like Gomorrah. 15 So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.
• Jude 1:4 : 4 For certain men have come among you secretly, marked out before in the holy Writings for this evil fate, men without the fear of God, turning his grace into an unclean thing, and false to our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
• Jude 1:10-13 : 10 But these men say evil about such things as they have no knowledge of; and the things of which they have natural knowledge, like beasts without reason, are the cause of their destruction. 11 A curse on them! They have gone in the way of Cain, running uncontrolled into the error of Balaam for reward, and have come to destruction by saying evil against the Lord, like Korah. 12 These men are unseen rocks at your love-feasts, when they take part in them with you, keepers of sheep who without fear take the food of the sheep; clouds without water rushing before the wind, wasted trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots, 13 Violent waves of the sea, streaming with their shame, wandering stars for whom the darkest night is kept in store for ever.
• Rev 9:11 : 11 They have over them as king the angel of the great deep: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek language Apollyon.
• Rev 13:2 : 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority.
• Rev 13:14 : 14 And those who are on the earth are turned from the true way by him through the signs which he was given power to do before the beast; giving orders to those who are on the earth to make an image to the beast, who was wounded by the sword, and came to life.
• Rev 19:19-21 : 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, come together to make war against him who was seated on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, by which they were turned from the true way who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image: these two were put living into the sea of ever-burning fire. 21 And the rest were put to death with the sword of him who was on the horse, even the sword which came out of his mouth: and all the birds were made full with their flesh.
• Rev 20:2-3 : 2 And he took the dragon, the old snake, which is the Evil One and Satan, and put chains on him for a thousand years, 3 And put him into the great deep, and it was shut and locked over him, so that he might put the nations in error no longer, till the thousand years were ended: after this he will be let loose for a little time.
• Rev 20:7-9 : 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be let loose out of his prison, 8 And will go out to put in error the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to get them together to the war, the number of whom is like the sands of the sea. 9 And they went up over the face of the earth, and made a circle about the tents of the saints, and the well loved town: and fire came down out of heaven for their destruction. 10 And the Evil One who put them in error was sent down into the sea of ever-burning fire, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their punishment will go on day and night for ever and ever.
• 2 Kgs 5:13 : 13 Then his servants came to him and said, If the prophet had given you orders to do some great thing, would you not have done it? how much more then, when he says to you, Be washed and become clean?
• Isa 9:14-15 : 14 For this cause the Lord took away from Israel head and tail, high and low, in one day. 15 The man who is honoured and responsible is the head, and the prophet who gives false teaching is the tail.
• Jer 5:31 : 31 The prophets give false words and the priests give decisions by their direction; and my people are glad to have it so: and what will you do in the end?
• Jer 28:15-17 : 15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, Give ear, now, Hananiah; the Lord has not sent you; but you are making this people put their faith in what is false. 16 For this reason the Lord has said, See, I will send you away from off the face of the earth: this year death will overtake you, because you have said words against the Lord. 17 So death came to Hananiah the prophet the same year, in the seventh month.
• Jer 29:32 : 32 For this cause the Lord has said, Truly I will send punishment on Shemaiah and on his seed; not a man of his family will have a place among this people, and he will not see the good which I am going to do to my people, says the Lord: because he has said words against the Lord.
• Ezek 13:10-15 : 10 Because, even because they have been guiding my people into error, saying, Peace; when there is no peace; and in the building of a division wall they put whitewash on it: 11 Say to those who put whitewash on it, There will be an overflowing shower; and you, O ice-drops, will come raining down; and it will be broken in two by the storm-wind. 12 And when the wall has come down, will they not say to you, Where is the whitewash which you put on it? 13 For this reason, the Lord has said: I will have it broken in two by a storm-wind in my passion; and there will be an overflowing shower in my wrath, and you, O ice-drops, will come raining angrily down. 14 So I will let the wall, which you were covering with whitewash, be broken down; I will have it levelled to the earth so that its base is uncovered: it will come down, and destruction will come on you with it; and it will be clear to you that I am the Lord. 15 So I will let loose my passion on the wall in full measure, and on those who put whitewash on it; and I will say to you, Where is the wall, and where are those who put whitewash on it?
• Ezek 13:22 : 22 Because with your false words you have given pain to the heart of the upright man when I had not made him sad; in order to make strong the hands of the evil-doer so that he may not be turned from his evil way and get life:
• Matt 7:15-16 : 15 Be on the watch for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are cruel wolves. 16 By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?
• Acts 13:10 : 10 O you, who are full of false tricks and evil ways, a son of the Evil One, hating all righteousness, will you for ever be turning people from the right ways of the Lord?
• 1 Cor 9:11 : 11 If we have been planting the things of the Spirit for you, does it seem a great thing for you to give us a part in your things of this world?
• 2 Cor 11:13 : 13 For such men are false Apostles, workers of deceit, making themselves seem like Apostles of Christ.
• 2 Cor 11:23 : 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking foolishly) I am more so; I have had more experience of hard work, of prisons, of blows more than measure, of death.
• Gal 1:8-9 : 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, were to be a preacher to you of good news other than that which we have given you, let there be a curse on him. 9 As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man is a preacher to you of any good news other than that which has been given to you, let there be a curse on him.
• Eph 6:12 : 12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
• 2 Thess 2:8-9 : 8 And then will come the revelation of that evil one, whom the Lord Jesus will put to death with the breath of his mouth, and give to destruction by the revelation of his coming; 9 Even the one whose coming is marked by the working of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 And with every deceit of wrongdoing among those whose fate is destruction; because they were quite without that love of the true faith by which they might have salvation. 11 And for this cause, God will give them up to the power of deceit and they will put their faith in what is false: 12 So that they all may be judged, who had no faith in what is true, but took pleasure in evil.
• 2 Pet 2:3 : 3 And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them.
• 2 Pet 2:13-22 : 13 For the evil which overtakes them is the reward of their evil-doing: such men take their pleasure in the delights of the flesh even in the daytime; they are like the marks of a disease, like poisoned wounds among you, feasting together with you in joy; 14 Having eyes full of evil desire, never having enough of sin; turning feeble souls out of the true way; they are children of cursing, whose hearts are well used to bitter envy; 15 Turning out of the true way, they have gone wandering in error, after the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was pleased to take payment for wrongdoing; 16 But his wrongdoing was pointed out to him: an ass, talking with a man's voice, put a stop to the error of the prophet. 17 These are fountains without water, and mists before a driving storm; for whom the eternal night is kept in store. 18 For with high-sounding false words, making use of the attraction of unclean desires of the flesh, they get into their power those newly made free from those who are living in error; 19 Saying that they will be free, while they themselves are the servants of destruction; because whatever gets the better of a man makes a servant of him. 20 For if, after they have got free from the unclean things of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again taken in the net and overcome, their last condition is worse than their first. 21 For it would have been better for them to have had no knowledge of the way of righteousness, than to go back again from the holy law which was given to them, after having knowledge of it. 22 They are an example of that true saying, The dog has gone back to the food it had put out, and the pig which had been washed to its rolling in the dirty earth.