The Greek adjective endikos means just, righteous, or deserved — describing something that is in accordance with right and justice. It appears twice in the New Testament to affirm the justice of divine judgments and punishments.
Endikos is the word of divine justice — what God does is always endikos, inherently right and deserved. Romans 3:8 uses it to condemn those who slander Paul's gospel by claiming it promotes sin: their condemnation is 'endikos' — fully deserved. Hebrews 2:2 argues from lesser to greater: if the Law given through angels was binding and every violation received its 'just (endikos) punishment,' how much more serious is neglecting so great a salvation? Endikos establishes the moral coherence of the universe: consequences are real, proportional, and grounded in divine righteousness. The good news of the gospel is that Christ received the endikos consequence of our sin, so that we might receive the endikos reward of His righteousness.