Greek word · G1930
ἐπιδιορθόω
epidiorthoō
to straighten out
A compound of epi- ('on, in addition, further') and diorthoō ('to make straight, correct, restore to proper order'). It means to set right something more, to finish correcting, or to correct on top of what has already been done.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A compound of epi- ('on, in addition, further') and diorthoō ('to make straight, correct, restore to proper order'). It means to set right something more, to finish correcting, or to correct on top of what has already been done. Diorthoō covered correcting texts, setting broken limbs, restoring affairs, and reforming laws.
- Against the English
'Set in order' (KJV, BSB, WEB) and 'put in order' are fair, but they lose the 'further' or 'in addition' of the prefix. YLT's 'arrange' is weaker still. 'Straighten out what remains' comes closest.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Found nowhere else in the New Testament or the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). The compound appears in Hellenistic inscriptions about putting legal or civic arrangements right, and BDAG gives 'set right or correct in addition'. Related words: diorthōsis, 'the time of setting things right' (Heb 9:10). Diorthōma means 'reform' (Acts 24:2, in some manuscripts). Plutarch and other writers use diorthoō for reforming laws and constitutions.
Where it appears
Titus · 1
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Titus 1:5 ἐπιδιορθώσῃ you may set in order
The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Here: Used only here in the New Testament. Literally 'straighten out in addition': finish setting right what the first phase of the mission left undone. The picture is of finishing and correcting, not of starting from nothing.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.