The Greek noun basanistēs means a torturer, tormentor, or jailer — one who applies basanos (torture/torment). In the ancient world, basanistai were officials who administered judicial torture to extract confessions or punish criminals. The word appears in Matthew 18:34 in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
In Matthew 18:34, the unforgiving servant is handed over to the basanistai — tormentors. Jesus uses this image to depict the spiritual consequences of refusing to forgive: those who withhold mercy toward others place themselves outside God's mercy and under the weight of unforgiven debt. The image is stark: unforgiveness is its own prison, and the torment it creates is real. The lesson is not that God tortures reluctant forgivers, but that refusing to live in the grace you've received is a self-imposed torment that separates you from the freedom Christ purchased.