Opsonion denotes compensation or support due in connection with service, and Romans applies it to sin’s resulting death.

The attested use chiefly concerns compensation or support connected with service: soldiers are told to be content with their wages, a soldier is not expected to serve at personal expense, and support is accepted for ministry. Romans 6:23 uses the term in a contrasting statement about sin and death.

1. Compensation or support for service · dominant

   The dative plural form occurs in settings of service and provision. In Luke 3:14 the APB renders the instruction to soldiers, “be content with your wages”; in 1 Corinthians 9:7 it asks whether a soldier serves “at his own expense”; and in 2 Corinthians 11:8 it describes accepting “support” in order to serve others.

   Luke 3:141 Corinthians 9:72 Corinthians 11:8
2. Sin’s resulting payment · occasional

   In Romans 6:23, the nominative plural form stands in the clause that the APB renders, “the wages of sin is death,” contrasting that result with God’s gift of eternal life.

   Romans 6:23

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the service-related occurrences with “wages,” “expense,” and “support,” and renders the Romans 6:23 clause with “the wages of sin.” These are presentations of the surrounding clauses rather than fixed English equivalents.