ἀπολέσαι
apóllymi
to destroy
To cause to perish, to ruin, to destroy, to lose; in active usage, to bring to ruin, to kill, or to make an end of something or someone; in middle or passive, to perish, to be lost, to be ruined, to die; contextually, also indicates being rendered useless, forfeited, or rendered ineffective. The verb describes a range of intensities, from complete destruction to loss of purpose or value.
James 4:12 · Word #10
Lexicon G622
| Lemma | ἀπόλλυμι |
| Transliteration | apóllymi |
| Strong's | G622 |
| Definition | To cause to perish, to ruin, to destroy, to lose; in active usage, to bring to ruin, to kill, or to make an end of something or someone; in middle or passive, to perish, to be lost, to be ruined, to die; contextually, also indicates being rendered useless, forfeited, or rendered ineffective. The verb describes a range of intensities, from complete destruction to loss of purpose or value. |
Morphology V AOR ACT INF
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past |
| Voice | ACT — Active — The subject performs the action |
| Mood | INF — Infinitive — The verbal idea without person/number |
Common Translation
| Phrase | to destroy |
| Literal | to-destroy |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | ἀπόλλυμι |
| Strong's | G622 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G622-04
to cause to perish
| Morphological Notes | Verb; aorist tense (simple/completed aspect), active voice, infinitive mood. |
| Rendering Rationale | The aorist active infinitive denotes a simple, completed action viewed as a whole, and the active voice preserves the causative force of the verb. "To cause to perish" reflects the intensified sense of bringing something to ruin or destruction inherent in ἀπόλλυμι. |
View full lexicon entry for G622 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
to destroy
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | 'ἀπολέσαι' is best rendered as 'to destroy' in this context rather than 'to cause to perish'; the SILEX definition includes both options, but 'to destroy' aligns with the parallel contrast to 'to save.' |