What is a reviler?

Question

In the question Why will drunkards not inherit the kingdom of God?, the querent asks about drunkards. My question is about revilers (emphasis mine):

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV):

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

What is a reviler? To revile something, I believe, is to hate it, or find it most disgusting. But to simply say out loud: "I really revile homeless people," does that make me a reviler and therefor not entitled to ascend to heaven? Why is speaking out considered sinful?

_{Personal note: I am not intimately knowledgeable in or of any organized religions. I did not attend church other than the minimum required to be married in one.}

Answer 1

The operative Greek word translated "reviler" is λοίδορος (loidoros) which occurs only twice in the NT, namely 1 Cor 5:11 and 6:10.

According to one of the most respected lexicons, BDAG, this word means:

reviler, abusive person

According the another respected lexicon, Thayer, it means:

a railer, reviler

That is, a person who is constantly verbally abusive. Strong's dictionary offers this helpful background:

From loidos (mischief); abusive, i.e. A blackguard -- railer, reviler.

Matthew Poole offers these remarks:

Nor revilers; nor persons that use their tongues intemperately, railing at others, and reviling them with reproachful and opprobrious names.

Similarly, Gill suggests this:

Nor revilers; who are free with other men's characters, load them with reproaches, and take away their good names; either openly or secretly, either by tale bearing, whispering, and backbiting, or by raising and spreading scandalous reports in a public manner.

The Cambridge commentary goes one step further:

nor drunkards, nor revilers] Here, as in ch. 1 Corinthians 5:11, where the same word is translated railer, we have the inevitable conjunction between drunkenness and strife.

Answer 2

At https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/6-10.htm, 10 versions use the word "reviler" (G3060) and 10 versions use the word "abusers" or "abusive".

Berean Study Bible

nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

This Greek word appears another time in 1 Corinthians 5:11 in a similar context (English Standard Version)

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

Another time that G3060 appears is in LXX Proverbs 25:24 in a very different context (New International Version)

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome [G3060] wife.

Barnes

Or a railer - A reproachful man; a man of coarse, harsh, and bitter words; a man whose characteristic it was to abuse others; to vilify their character, and wound their feelings. It is needless to say how much this is contrary to the spirit of Christianity