What Does Philippians 1:14 Mean in the King James?
And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
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 chains that visibly restrain one speaker become evidence that persuades others to speak.
THE MEANING
When a voice is visibly held in bonds, you see how its restraint can persuade others in the Lord to speak the word without fear. The restraint is real, but it does not end the word’s movement; courage passes from the one bound to the wider community.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that visible restraint proves a message has been defeated and requires every other voice to fall silent.
THE ROOT
πεποιθότας
pepoithotas
GROWS FROM
πείθω
peithō
To persuade or convince.
“confident” in this verse is pepoithotas. The word carries the sense of having been persuaded, not merely feeling brave. The bonds themselves become the evidence that moves the brethren toward fearless speech.
ALSO GROWS
pepoithēsis: confidence, reliance
πεποίθησις
This related word names the settled reliance already carried by the verse’s description of confidence.
peithomai: to be persuaded, to trust
πείθομαι
This form shows confidence as something received through persuasion, which fits the way the bonds move others to speak.
δεσμοῖς
desmois
GROWS FROM
δέω
deō
To bind or tie.
“bonds” in this verse is desmois. These are actual restraints, not a figure for inconvenience. Yet the visible binding becomes the occasion for others to speak with greater courage.
ALSO GROWS
desmos: bond, chain, fetter
δεσμός
This is the singular form of the word used here, keeping the image grounded in real restraint.
desmōtēs: prisoner, one held in bonds
δεσμώτης
This word names a person by the condition of being bound, the very condition that emboldens the other speakers here.
THE PATTERN
Visible constraint can become evidence that the word remains speakable, multiplying fearless speech.
I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.Where in I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.THE THREAD
Where in I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.The same bond-root runs through “bonds” and “bound” in both verses. Philippians shows the effect at the human level: one person’s chains make many more voices speak.
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