What Does 2 Corinthians 2:7 Mean in the King James?
So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
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 verse sets freely granted release beside a call to draw near, countering sorrow’s swallowing grip.
THE MEANING
When sorrow threatens to consume you, forgiveness loosens the hold of what has gone wrong, and comfort keeps you within reach of others. Your grief is real, but it does not have to become the whole of you.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that a person must remain submerged in sorrow for the harm to be taken seriously.
THE ROOT
χαρίσασθαι
charisasthai
GROWS FROM
χάρις
charis
Favor or a gracious gift freely bestowed.
“forgive” in this verse is charisasthai. Forgiveness here carries the sense of freely granting favor; in this moment, that grant takes shape as release from the offense’s hold. A related word for a gift makes pardon an act bestowed rather than a verdict that keeps the person submerged in sorrow.
ALSO GROWS
charizomai: To grant freely, show favor, or pardon.
χαρίζομαι
This word family supplies the verb translated “forgive,” presenting pardon as something freely granted.
charisma: A gift or favor freely bestowed.
χάρισμα
This related gift-word illuminates forgiveness as a generous act, rather than continued withholding.
παρακαλέσαι
parakalesai
GROWS FROM
καλέω
kaleō
To call, summon, or invite.
Comfort here comes from a verb built on calling: the grieving person is called near, not left at a distance. The same word family can name an appeal or encouragement, so comfort is active presence that meets sorrow.
ALSO GROWS
parakaleō: To call near; to appeal, urge, or comfort.
παρακαλέω
The verse’s comfort carries the image of drawing the grieving person near.
paraklēsis: Comfort, appeal, or encouragement.
παράκλησις
This related noun shows how the same calling-near family can describe both comfort and encouragement.
καταποθῇ
katapothē
GROWS FROM
πίνω
pinō
To drink.
“swallowed” in this verse is katapothē. The verse pictures excessive sorrow as an engulfing force that can drink a person down. That image gives urgency to the release and nearness around it: grief is taking over, and the person is not left alone inside it.
ALSO GROWS
katapinō: To swallow, drink down, or devour.
καταπίνω
This is the verb family behind “swallowed,” making sorrow’s consuming force vivid.
poma: A drink or beverage.
πόμα
This related noun preserves the root’s drinking image, which becomes the verse’s picture of being consumed.
THE PATTERN
When sorrow threatens to consume a person, release and words that draw them near help restore connection.
Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.THE THREAD
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.The Greek verb translated “forgive” here is the same verb rendered “forgiven” in 2 Corinthians 2:7: both describe favor freely granted. In 2:7, release stands beside comfort, showing forgiveness joined to drawing the person near.
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