wage
misthos is payment or recompense received in connection with work, conduct, or an unlawful pursuit.
The term most often denotes recompense received in connection with a person's service or actions, including promised return for faithful conduct and reward already received through public display. It also marks payment due to workers and, in several warnings, gain or consequence associated with unrighteousness.
Senses in use
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Recompense connected with service or conduct · dominant
In 1 Corinthians 3:8, the accusative singular form occurs as each worker receives his own return according to his labor; 1 Corinthians 3:14 likewise places it after work that survives. In Mark 9:41, a cup of water given because of Christ is followed by the assurance that the giver will not lose it, while Revelation 22:12 joins the nominative singular form with repaying each person according to what he has done. The APB also renders the clause in Matthew 6:2 as people who seek public glory having received their return in full.
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Payment owed for labor · common
Matthew 20:8 places the accusative singular form in the manager's instruction to pay vineyard workers. The genitive singular form occurs in Luke 10:7 and 1 Timothy 5:18 where the APB says that a worker or laborer deserves payment, and James 5:4 identifies the withheld payment of field workers. Romans 4:4 contrasts what is counted to the worker with grace and debt.
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Gain or consequence of unrighteousness · occasional
In 2 Peter 2:15, the accusative singular form is what Balaam loved in the phrase concerning unrighteousness; Acts 1:18 says that a place was acquired out of such gain. In 2 Peter 2:13, the APB renders the clause as suffering harm as the return of unrighteousness, and Jude 1:11 places the genitive singular form in the account of error for Balaam's gain.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously uses "wage," "wages," and "reward," including payment for workers, return for conduct, and the gain of unrighteousness. Because its English is a whole-verse translation, those variations do not by themselves establish separate meanings.