Greek word · G2964

κυρόω

kyroō

to affirm

From κῦρος ("authority, validity") and related to κύριος ("one with authority"). It means to give something legal force: to ratify, validate, confirm officially, make binding. Used of contracts, wills, treaties, sales and the decisions of assemblies and courts.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κυρόω, -ῶ

(κῦρος, 1. authority. 2. validity), [in LXX for קוּם ;]

to confirm, ratify, make valid: 2 Corinthians 2:8; pass., Galatians 3:15 (cf. προ-κυρόω).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Corinthians 2:8

Range of meaning

From κῦρος ("authority, validity") and related to κύριος ("one with authority"). It means to give something legal force: to ratify, validate, confirm officially, make binding. Used of contracts, wills, treaties, sales and the decisions of assemblies and courts. In the passive, of something "made sure" or "settled" as legally one's own.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, NIV and NASB give "reaffirm"; KJV, WEB and YLT give "confirm." Both are correct as far as they go, but in modern English "reaffirm your love" sounds like telling someone again that you care, and "confirm" often means checking that something is true. Neither conveys clearly that the word belongs to the language of formal, binding decisions.

How it drifted

English "confirm" once carried the strong legal sense ("to confirm a grant, a treaty"), as the KJV translators would have heard it. Everyday English has since narrowed it toward "verify" or "reassure," and church usage adds the rite of "confirmation." "Reaffirm" leans toward a verbal declaration.

Used elsewhere in the period

The only other New Testament use is Galatians 3:15, of a person's covenant or will that has been "ratified" (κεκυρωμένην) and so cannot be annulled or added to. In the Septuagint, Genesis 23:20 says the field and cave "were made sure" (ἐκυρώθη) to Abraham as a legal possession, and Leviticus 25:30 uses it of a house sale becoming permanently valid. Classical writers (e.g., Thucydides, Herodotus) use it of assemblies ratifying decrees. The papyri use it of confirming sales and legal acts (Moulton–Milligan; BDAG).

From the study of Galatians 3:15

Range of meaning

To give legal force to something, to validate, confirm or ratify. Related to kyrios ('lord, one with authority') and kyros ('authority, validity').

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'confirmed'; BSB, ESV and NASB 'ratified'; NIV 'duly established'. All are accurate. 'Ratified' best keeps the formal legal ring.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in legal papyri and inscriptions for validating documents, sales and wills (MM; BDAG). In the NT it also appears at 2 Cor 2:8 ('reaffirm your love'). Paul's compound prokyroō, 'ratify beforehand' (Gal 3:17), is very rare.

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 2:8 κυρῶσαι to confirm

    Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.

    Here: A legal word for making something formally valid, as a contract, will or public decision is ratified. Paul asks the church to put its love for the man into force by a decisive act, likely a public, communal decision that reverses the penalty. The aorist (single-act) form fits one clear decision rather than an ongoing mood.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 3:15 κεκυρωμένην ratified

    Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.

    Here: A legal term: formally validated and in force. The perfect tense describes a lasting state: once it has been ratified, it stays valid. Paul picks it up again in v. 17 with "previously ratified" (prokekyrōmenēn) by God.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.