What Does 2 Timothy 4:21 Mean in the King James?
Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.
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 command “do thy diligence” is the same Greek verb rendered “study” earlier in this letter: here earnestness takes the concrete form of arriving before the season changes.
THE MEANING
Care has a time and a form: you can be reached by a message, and you can be met by someone who comes. The names gathered here hold distinct people within a wider circle of kinship, while “before winter” makes presence time-sensitive.
THE ROOT
σπούδασον
spoudason
GROWS FROM
σπουδ-
spoud-
Earnest haste; devoted exertion.
“diligence” in this verse is spoudason. This is a form of σπουδάζω, the same verb translated “study” in 2 Timothy 2:15. Here that earnestness becomes movement toward another person, with a season as its deadline.
ALSO GROWS
spoudē: Diligence, earnestness, or haste.
σπουδή
It carries the same purposeful urgency beneath the English word “diligence.”
spoudaios: Earnest, serious, or eager.
σπουδαῖος
It shows that this root names a quality of committed attention as well as quick action.
χειμῶνος
cheimōnos
GROWS FROM
χειμ-
cheim-
Winter or stormy weather.
“winter” in this verse is cheimōnos. The Greek word can name the season and its harsh weather, so the urgency is concrete: conditions change whether travel is easy or possible. “Before” marks a boundary, not a vague someday.
ALSO GROWS
cheimōn: Winter, storm, or rough weather.
χειμών
This is the base form behind the verse’s “winter,” holding season and storm together.
cheimazō: To be storm-tossed or exposed to winter weather.
χειμάζω
It shows how the season can act on the body and make movement harder.
ἀδελφοί
adelphoi
GROWS FROM
ἀδελφ-
adelph-
Sibling; traditionally traced to the idea of being of the same womb.
The greetings are more than a list of acquaintances: “brethren” names a shared kinship. The people remain distinct by name while belonging to a larger family.
ALSO GROWS
adelphē: Sister.
ἀδελφή
The feminine form makes clear that this word family can name kinship across the family, not only a gathering of men.
adelphotēs: Brotherhood or siblinghood.
ἀδελφότης
It names the shared bond gathered around the people who send their greetings.
THE PATTERN
Care and opportunity unfold within changing seasons, so presence and action have their moment.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)THE THREAD
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.“Study” translates the same Greek verb, σπουδάζω (spoudazō), as “do thy diligence” here. The letter links earnest attention to truth with earnest movement toward another person.
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