diaphtheirō

The compound διαφθείρω is the intensive of φθείρω, and the standard lexica treat its range as one continuum rather than as homonymy. BDAG divides the New Testament uses into destruction of things (Rev 8:9; Lk 12:33), gradual destruction or decay (2 Cor 4:16), and deterioration of the inner life (1 Tim 6:5, διεφθαρμένων τὸν νοῦν), with Rev 11:18 listed under destruction while noting that corruption is possible there. LSJ documents the same spread in classical usage, from destroying ships and armies to corrupting persons and bribing judges. Harder's TDNT treatment of the φθείρω group stresses that the compound intensifies rather than redirects the simple verb, and that in the Septuagint it is among the regular renderings of שׁחת, where moral corruption and the destruction it draws down are held together in one lexeme. On Rev 11:18 commentators divide: Aune reads τοὺς διαφθείροντας τὴν γῆν as those who devastate the earth in the eschatological judgment sequence, while Beale presses the moral nuance in light of Rev 19:2 (ἔφθειρεν τὴν γῆν of Babylon's immorality), and several read the double occurrence as a deliberate lex talionis wordplay pairing crime and punishment. On 2 Cor 4:16 Harris notes that the present passive διαφθείρεται depicts continuous decay of the ὁ ἔξω ἄνθρωπος rather than a completed destruction, which is why English versions reach for "wasting away."