What Does 2 Timothy 2:7 Mean in the King James?

Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

2 Timothy 2:7 · KJV

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

You are asked to attend to the words, but the understanding that gathers them into sense is given.

THE MEANING

The words before you ask your mind to take them seriously; the Lord gives the capacity to see their meaning across all things. Understanding here is both attentive and received: your attention matters, but insight is not manufactured by effort alone.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that confusion proves you have failed: attention is asked of you, while comprehension is given by the Lord.

THE ROOT

σύνεσιν

sýnesin

GROWS FROM

συνίημι

syníēmi

To bring together; to comprehend.

English can make understanding sound like possession of an answer; ⁨σύνεσις⁩ names comprehension as pieces coming together. The verse holds together what can seem opposed: you attend to the words, while the Lord supplies the grasp that gathers them into sense.

ALSO GROWS

syníēmi: To bring together; to understand.

συνίημι

This related verb makes understanding an act of gathering what is heard into a whole.

synetós: Discerning; intelligent.

συνετός

Discernment is the quality that emerges when the parts have been brought together.

νόει

noei

GROWS FROM

νοῦς

nous

Mind; perception.

“Consider” calls the mind to perceive what is being said, not merely to pass over the words. Beside ⁨σύνεσις⁩, it traces attentive perception toward a meaning that can be grasped as a whole.

ALSO GROWS

noéō: To perceive; to think; to understand.

νοέω

This is the verb form in the verse, directing the mind toward what is said.

noēma: A thought; an understanding or purpose.

νόημα

This related word shows perception taking shape as something the mind can hold.

THE PATTERN

Understanding takes shape when attention meets a capacity God gives.

For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:6 · KJVWisdom, knowledge, and understanding flow as what the LORD gives.

Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Luke 24:45 · KJVUnderstanding appears as a capacity opened so that the words can be grasped.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

James 1:5 · KJVThe verse presents wisdom as something God gives when it is sought.

THE THREAD

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Matthew 13:23 · KJV

“Understandeth” here is ⁨συνίημι⁩, the verb related to ⁨σύνεσις⁩: to bring together and comprehend. In both verses, understanding is more than hearing words; meaning gathers into a whole, and here that coherence bears fruit.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us