What Does 1 Timothy 4:6 Mean in the King James?
If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
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
The reminder you carry outward is also the food that keeps you inwardly nourished.
THE MEANING
The words of trust and sound teaching nourish you as you keep bringing these things to mind and placing them before others. You carry the teaching outward while being formed by what feeds you; what you share is also received inwardly.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that sharing truth must leave the giver depleted: the same words carried outward also nourish the one who receives them.
THE ROOT
ἐντρεφόμενος
entrephomenos
GROWS FROM
τρέφ-
The Greek stem τρέφ- (treph-) means to nourish, feed, or rear.
“nourished up” in this verse is entrephomenos. The word pictures ongoing nourishment, not a single lesson taken in and finished. The one who carries these words is being fed by them as they are held and shared.
ALSO GROWS
ektrephō: nourish, bring up
ἐκτρέφω
This compound uses the same τρεφ- stem; its sense of bringing up shows how nourishment can shape someone over time.
trophē: food, nourishment
τροφή
This noun names what the verb supplies: the words in this verse are not merely information, but sustenance.
πίστις
pistis
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
The Greek stem πιστ- (pist-) carries the sense of trust and reliability; here, faith is trust that can bear weight.
“faith” in this verse is pistis. The words that nourish are words of trust, not ideas held at a distance. Their nourishment comes with a steady reliance that shapes the one receiving them.
ALSO GROWS
pisteuō: trust, entrust oneself
πιστεύω
This verb shares the πιστ- stem and shows faith as an act of reliance, not just a subject to discuss.
pistos: trustworthy, reliable
πιστός
This adjective shares the same stem and points to the steadiness that grows where trust is nourished.
διδασκαλία
didaskalia
GROWS FROM
διδασκ-
The Greek stem διδασκ- (didask-) means to teach or instruct.
The word translated “doctrine” belongs to the language of teaching and instruction. Paired with nourishment, it presents good teaching as something received and lived with, not merely filed away as a set of claims.
ALSO GROWS
didaskō: teach, instruct
διδάσκω
This verb shares the διδασκ- stem and makes the active work of teaching visible beneath the noun.
didaskalos: teacher
διδάσκαλος
This related word shares the same stem and shows that instruction is carried through a living relationship of teaching and receiving.
THE PATTERN
Words received deeply become nourishment that sustains and forms the one who carries them.
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.THE THREAD
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.The Greek τροφή (trophē, nourishment or food) belongs to the same τρεφ- (treph-) family as ἐντρεφόμενος (entrephomenos, being nourished) in this verse. Here, nourishment bears fruit as discernment formed through sustained practice.
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