What Does 1 Corinthians 9:22 Mean?
To the weak I became as they are, so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I might deliver some.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.THE KEY
The repeated word “gain” makes becoming weak with the weak a way of reaching them, not an end in itself.
THE MEANING
When weakness is present, this verse places you within reach rather than outside the possibility of deliverance. It describes meeting someone inside their condition, becoming many things to many people so that some may be brought out. Its outcome is precise: some, not everyone.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that only strength can reach someone who is weak: shared condition becomes a point of contact. It also makes room for an effort that reaches some without reaching all.
THE ROOT
κερδήσω
kerdēsō
GROWS FROM
κερδ
kerd-
Gain, profit, or win.
The verb κερδαίνω (kerdainō, “to gain”) can mean gaining or winning; here its object is people, specifically the weak. That makes “becoming all things” purposeful: the aim is a connection that reaches someone.
ALSO GROWS
kerdos: Gain or profit.
κέρδος
This noun shares the gain-family behind “that I might gain,” making the verse’s repeated aim visible.
kerdainō: To gain or win.
κερδαίνω
This is the verb whose form appears in the verse; it ties adapting to another’s condition to the hope of reaching them.
ἀσθενής
asthenēs
GROWS FROM
σθεν
sthen-
Strength; with the privative prefix a-, “without strength.”
The word ἀσθενής (asthenēs, “weak”) is formed with a privative a- and the strength-stem σθεν (sthen-). The speaker’s “as weak” enters the condition named by the word, rather than viewing it from a distance.
ALSO GROWS
astheneia: Weakness or infirmity.
ἀσθένεια
It names the condition the verse approaches by sharing it.
astheneō: To be weak or infirm.
ἀσθενέω
This verb gives weakness as a lived condition, matching the verse’s movement into another person’s experience.
σώσω
sōsō
GROWS FROM
σωζ
sōz-
Rescue, preserve, or bring to safety; deliver.
The verb σώζω (sōzō, “to deliver”) names being brought out into safety. It keeps “gain” from sounding like mere acquisition: the intended outcome is that some are delivered.
ALSO GROWS
sōtēria: Deliverance or rescue.
σωτηρία
This noun names the outcome sought in the verse’s final phrase.
sōtēr: Deliverer or rescuer.
σωτήρ
It names the one who brings another to safety, sharpening what “save some” means here.
THE PATTERN
Weakness is met through nearness and care that does not crush what is already fragile.
A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimming wick he will not snuff out. He will bring out judgment into truth.Now we who are strong owe it to carry the weaknesses of the powerless, and not to please ourselves.For we do not have a high priest who cannot suffer alongside our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every way as we are, apart from falling short.THE THREAD
For though I am free from all people, yet I have enslaved myself to all, so that I might gain more.The same Greek verb, κερδαίνω (kerdainō, “to gain”), appears in both verses. In 9:19 the speaker becomes servant to all to gain more; in 9:22, meeting the weak within their condition is a particular expression of that same aim.
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