What Does 2 Corinthians 9:3 Mean in the King James?
Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
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
A boast can be emptied of substance; readiness is what keeps it real.
THE MEANING
When you speak confidently about what is coming, those words carry weight when the preparation is real. This verse holds your claim and your readiness together: the claim can be emptied, while preparation gives it substance.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that confident speech is already proof of readiness.
THE ROOT
κενωθῇ
kenōthē
GROWS FROM
κενόω
kenoō
to empty, make void
“in vain” in this verse is kenōthē. The Greek pictures the boast being emptied, not merely a prediction failing. Readiness keeps confidence from becoming a hollow claim.
ALSO GROWS
kenos: empty, void, without content
κενός
This names the condition the boast risks entering: no substance behind its claim.
kenoō: to empty or deprive of content
κενόω
This verb carries the image behind “in vain”: the boast could be emptied of force.
παρεσκευασμένοι
pareskeuasmenoi
GROWS FROM
παρασκευάζω
paraskeuazō
to prepare, make ready, equip
The word describes a prepared state, with the work of preparation already done. “Ready” here holds more than willingness; it carries the substance of being made ready.
ALSO GROWS
paraskeuē: preparation, readiness
παρασκευή
The related noun makes the preparation within their readiness visible.
paraskeuazō: to prepare, make ready
παρασκευάζω
The verb shows that readiness is something formed through preparation, not just claimed.
THE PATTERN
Preparation gives substance to what is expected or claimed.
Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:THE THREAD
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:“In vain” here translates a form of kenōō, the same verb rendered “made himself of no reputation” in Philippians 2:7. In both verses, the language carries the image of something being emptied, bringing the risk of a hollow boast into sharper focus.
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