What Does 2 Thessalonians 3:3 Mean in the King James?
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
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 Lord’s steadiness becomes your steadiness: he both makes you firm and keeps watch over you.
THE MEANING
The Lord is steady toward you, and his steadiness takes two forms: he makes you firm and guards you from evil. Your stability and protection both come from his action.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that being kept depends on your ability to hold yourself together: the verse names the Lord as the one who establishes and guards you.
THE ROOT
στηρίξει
stēríxei
GROWS FROM
στηριγ-/στερε- (stērig-/stere-)
Make firm, support, or fix in place.
“stablish” in this verse is stēríxei. The verb carries the sense of setting you firm, like support that keeps something from shifting. The Lord’s steadiness is expressed as an action that steadies you.
ALSO GROWS
stereos: Solid, firm.
στερεός
It makes the firmness inside “stablish” visible: you are made steady.
stereōma: A firm structure or support.
στερέωμα
It extends the root’s image from being firm to being held up by something firm.
φυλάξει
phyláxei
GROWS FROM
φυλακ-
phylak-
Guard, watch over, or keep watch.
The verb carries a guard’s work: watching over and protecting what is entrusted. “Keep you from evil” pictures active guardianship.
ALSO GROWS
phýlax: A guard or guardian.
φύλαξ
The same word family names the one who keeps watch, making the Lord’s keeping personal and active.
phylakē: A guard, watch, or place of custody.
φυλακή
It carries the sense of something being kept under watch, echoing the protection named in the verse.
πιστός
pistós
GROWS FROM
πειθ- (peith-), from πείθω (peíthō)
Persuade, bring to trust, or be convinced.
“faithful” in this verse is pistós. Here πιστός (pistós) means firm, steady. Its word family also joins trust with being persuaded or convinced; the next verbs show the Lord’s steadiness at work, establishing and guarding you.
ALSO GROWS
pístis: Trust or confidence.
πίστις
Trust can rest on the Lord’s steadiness, which the verse shows through his actions.
peíthomai: Be persuaded, trust, or be confident.
πείθομαι
It links trust with the reliability that “faithful” names here.
THE PATTERN
The Lord’s keeping joins protection from evil to strength that holds a person steady.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.THE THREAD
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 Greek form στηρίξει (stēríxei, “will make firm”) appears in both verses. First Peter places that same making-firm beside strengthening and settling, opening “stablish you” as support that holds through pressure.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us