What Does 1 Corinthians 16:13 Mean in the King James?
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
When trust bears weight, it keeps watch, stands firm, and becomes courage and strength.
THE MEANING
You are awake to what is unfolding, standing on trust, and meeting it with courage and strength. These are not separate qualities: trust gives the inner stance, while wakefulness keeps it present. Strength names a posture that holds under pressure.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that trust is passive agreement: here, trust stays alert and takes a stand.
THE ROOT
πίστει
pistei
GROWS FROM
πειθ-
peith-
To persuade, be persuaded, or trust.
“faith” in this verse is pistei. The word carries the sense of trust that leans its full weight, not mere agreement with an idea. Here that trust is something you can stand in: it becomes the ground of alertness, courage, and strength.
ALSO GROWS
peithō: Persuade, be persuaded, trust.
πείθω
This related verb shows the movement from being persuaded to relying on what you trust.
pistos: Firm, steady, trustworthy.
πιστός
This branch shows how trust takes shape as steadiness.
γρηγορεῖτε
grēgoreite
GROWS FROM
ἐγείρω
egeirō
To wake or raise.
“Watch” in this verse is grēgoreite. The watchfulness here belongs to wakefulness: an alert presence, not anxious scanning. The word’s family also carries the sense of rising, linking attention with being fully awake to what is happening now.
ALSO GROWS
egeirō: Wake, raise.
ἐγείρω
This related verb supplies the root image of waking that underlies watchfulness.
grēgoreō: Stay awake, keep watch.
γρηγορέω
This is the verb used here; it makes watchfulness a state of wakeful attention.
στήκετε
stēkete
GROWS FROM
στηκ-
stēk-
To stand firmly or remain in place.
“stand fast” in this verse is stēkete. The verse pairs watchfulness with a stance that holds. Trust is not floating inward sentiment here; it has a position, and the reader remains in it.
ALSO GROWS
stēkō: Stand firm, remain steadfast.
στήκω
This is the verb translated “stand fast,” naming the posture trust takes.
histēmi: Set in place, stand.
ἵστημι
This related verb makes the image concrete: standing means being established in a position.
THE PATTERN
Wakeful trust becomes a steady stance that holds through danger and pressure.
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.THE THREAD
Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.The same verb, στήκω (stēkō), meaning “stand firm,” appears in both verses. Philippians locates that stance “in the Lord,” while this verse joins it to trust, wakefulness, courage, and strength.
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