What Does 2 Corinthians 13:11 Mean in the King James?
Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
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
“Be perfect” names restoration into wholeness, not a demand to become flawless.
THE MEANING
This verse describes a shared life taking shape now: people are restored, comforted, and drawn toward a common orientation and wholeness. The God of love and wholeness is with you within that life together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that you must become faultless before you can belong to a whole community dissolves here: the word points toward being repaired and made ready.
THE ROOT
καταρτίζεσθε
katartizesthe
GROWS FROM
καταρτίζω
katartizō
To restore, mend, fit together, or bring into readiness.
“Be perfect” in this verse is katartizesthe. This verb names the work of setting something back into fit condition, like a net being mended or a person being restored. Here completeness is repair and readiness within community, not flawlessness.
ALSO GROWS
katartizō: Restore; mend.
καταρτίζω
In Galatians 6:1 the same verb is translated “restore,” making the sense of repair visible in this verse’s call to “be perfect.”
katartismos: Equipping; bringing to readiness.
καταρτισμός
Ephesians 4:12 uses this related noun, translated “perfecting,” to describe people being equipped for their work.
φρονεῖτε
phroneite
GROWS FROM
φρονέω
phroneō
To think, hold a mindset, or orient one’s judgment.
“Be of one mind” in this verse is phroneite. The phrase calls for a shared orientation, not simply matching words or erasing each person’s perspective. This common direction sits alongside restoration and peace as part of a whole communal life.
ALSO GROWS
symphroneō: Agree; be of the same mind.
συμφρονέω
Philippians 4:2 uses this related form for two people to share an orientation, echoing the verse’s call to be of one mind.
phronēma: Mindset; orientation of thought.
φρόνημα
Romans 8:6 uses this noun for a settled orientation of mind and links it with life and peace.
εἰρηνεύετε
eirēneuete eirēnēs
GROWS FROM
εἰρήνη
eirēnē
Peace; wholeness.
The verse joins the verb for living in peace with the noun naming peace itself. Wholeness here is something lived together, held beside love and the presence of God.
ALSO GROWS
eirēneuō: Live in peace.
εἰρηνεύω
This is the verb used in the command “live in peace,” showing peace as a way of living rather than a distant state.
eirēnopoios: Peacemaker.
εἰρηνοποιός
Matthew 5:9 uses this related word for one who makes peace, showing wholeness as something expressed in relationship.
THE PATTERN
Wholeness takes shape through restoration, a steady shared orientation, and peace held in relationship.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.THE THREAD
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.The verb translated “be perfect” here reappears as “restore” there: both are καταρτίζω (katartizō), the work of mending and fitting back into wholeness. The command reads as a call into mutual restoration, not a demand for faultlessness.
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