Canker

The word canker in the KJV translates two different Greek terms. In 2 Timothy 2:17, Paul compares the spread of false teaching to gangrene (gangraina), warning that the heresy of Hymenaeus and Philetus — their claim that the resurrection had already occurred — would eat through the body of faith like spreading necrosis. In James 5:3, the word describes the rust or corrosion (ios) that will eat the flesh of the wealthy who have hoarded riches while defrauding workers, serving as a witness against them on the day of judgment. Both uses employ vivid physical imagery to describe the spiritually destructive effects of false doctrine and covetousness.