Word of the Week
April 4, 2026
Antapodidōmi: Getting Back What You Gave
For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-7 NASB
Whether it involves the labor camps of North Korea or the bloody attacks of Boka Haram in Nigeria, persecutions of Christians is a jolting feature of modern reality. People are arrested or killed simply because they choose to place their loyalty to Jesus above everything else.
They have committed no crime. They are not a threat to society. But they are on the run while their persecutors are free to continue their harassment.
It doesn’t seem fair! Why do the good guys suffer, while the bad guys escape the fate they deserve?
Persecution happened in the first century as well, and the same questions arose.
The fledgling church in Thessalonica was undergoing a harsh persecution – one that they didn’t deserve. And the apostle Paul wrote to reassure them that their plight had not escaped God’s notice.
Even if it seemed that the wrong side was winning, Paul promised them that God would make everything right in the end. He used a colorful Greek word to describe God’s intentions.
The Greek word is antapodidōmi [ahn-tah-paw-DIH-doh-mee], usually translated “repay, pay back.” As you can see, it’s a long word, built from three short words.
Didōmi means “to give.”
Apodidōmi means “to give back.”
And antapodidōmi means “to give back in place of what you gave.”
We find a clear example of the idea in Christ’s comments when he attended a dinner at a Pharisee’s home. He instructed his host, “When you give a dinner, don’t invite your friends or relatives. They will invite you in return, repaying you for your hospitality. No, instead invite the poor, crippled, lame and blind to come. Then you will be blessed “since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14).
Invite someone to dinner, and they in turn will invite you to dinner. That’s our word: getting back what you give.
You can always repay a dinner invitation, but the New Testament makes it clear that we can never reimburse God for His great gifts to us.
At the conclusion of Paul’s massive presentation of God’s great gift of salvation, he exclaims, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again?” (Romans 11:34-35)
What can we give Him that matches His grace to us?
All we can give is our thankfulness. Paul told the Thessalonians, “What thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account? (1 Thessalonians 3:9).
It gives God pleasure to see the joy of His children when they receive His gifts.
So far we have examined the response to good gifts. However, there are times when there is a negative side to repayment. Evil has consequences. And evil actions can reap a harsh reward.
God is the one who has the ability and the right to even the balance beam of justice.
We have neither the right nor the ability to settle scores and take vengeance on those who harm us. We don’t have the authority to punish them. We seldom have the power to do so. And we don’t have the knowledge to do it properly.
That’s why Scripture twice tells us that God is the one who settles the score in the end.
- Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Romans 12:19).
- For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Hebrews 10:30a).
It may have seemed to the persecuted believers in Thessalonica that life was unjust. But Paul promises them that the Righteous One would ensure that everything was right in the end.
For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be rvealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7).
The enemies of God have been dealing out affliction; God will ultimately inflict affliction on them. The followers of Jesus have been suffering affliction; God will grant them relief.
Does it happen immediately? Not necessarily. This life is not always “fair.” But we have His promise that all will be right when the last page has been turned.
One footnote: The Bible makes it clear that all of us deserve judgment. If God gave us what we merited, we would all be headed for destruction. It’s only the grace of God that provides salvation as a free gift. We come to Jesus in faith, so that we will NOT experience antapodidōmi.
Study Hint:
The passages that use this word draw on the Old Testament, and it’s valuable to go back to those passages from additional insights.
Vengeance is mine – Deuteronomy 32:35
I will repay – Proverbs 20:22
And the concept is enlarged in Deuteronomy 28.
Coming Up
Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy as a manual for church leadership. The key concept is “how to behave in the house of God.” Next week we will look more closely at that phrase so that we too can “behave” properly in the Lord’s household.
©Ezra Project 2026
4 Responses
John, your explanations of the word of God are truly enlightening. Thank you.
This passage gives us an interesting window into the time when and after Christ returns. People will be receiving rewards, refreshments and punishments. He will ‘repay with affliction those who afflict you’. I wonder how this will occur, for how long and in what context?
God is just, fair and equitable. His mercy and grace are extended to all, in spite of our own enmity toward Him. In all of this, His magnificent, benevolent love is the crowning jewel of His character, the motive for all that He does. It is infinite for each of us, yet we must respond and change by the power of the Holy Spirit, which His love also gives us. Payback will be according to how we have chosen, yet we have everything available to us to help us make the right choice!
As Paul said, right before the passage you quoted:
“For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
— Romans 11:32-33
Praise God for His abundant mercy and grace and for His fair and equitable judgments!
Thank you, John, for your insights into the Greek words you present to us.
God is just, fair and equitable. His mercy and grace are extended to all, in spite of our own enmity toward Him. In all of this, His magnificent, benevolent love is the crowning jewel of His character, the motive for all that He does. It is infinite for each of us, yet we must respond and change by the power of the Holy Spirit, which His love also gives us. Payback will be according to how we have chosen, yet we have everything available to us to help us make the right choice!
As Paul said, right before the passage you quoted:
“For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
— Romans 11:32-33
Praise God for His abundant mercy and grace and for His fair and equitable judgments!
God’s word tells us that His judgement is righteous. And at an appointed time, He will make everything right. We have life because of His grace and mercy.