04/30/2026
Rightly expounding the Word of truth
What does 2 Timothy 2:15 mean by “rightly dividing the word of truth”? (VKJ) “Sharing rightly” in 2 Timothy 2:15 simply means “teaching accurately” the Word of God. The key to evaluating both views is to look at the original language of 2 Timothy 2:15. And this is what we find. The word which is translated “Share rightly” is (rightly dividing) in the Old King James versions, and in several others, is a single word in the Greek. It is a form of the Greek verb orthotomeo.
It's a very interesting word. In New Testament times, orthotomeo was primarily a civil engineering term. It has been used, for example, as a road construction term. The idea of the word was to cut straight, or to guide on a straight path. The idea is to cut a road in a straight way, so that people traveling on this road can arrive at their destination directly, without deviation. Orthotomeo has also been used as a mining term. This meant drilling a straight mineshaft so that miners could get to the “mother line” quickly and safely.
There is another word in Greek, katatomeo, which means “to cut into sections.” But this is not the word that the apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, uses here in 2 Timothy 2:15. Paul is not talking about "dividing rightly" by taking God's Word apart, or cutting it into sections based on Jews and Gentiles, or Israel and the Church, or any other criteria. It's interesting that the Apostle Paul uses this other word - katatomeo, cut out - in Philippians 3:2, where he says, literally, "beware of those who divide you" - in other words, beware of those who would try to differentiate between believers between Jews andthe Gentiles.
So, what is the proper meaning of orthotomeo – “to share rightly” the Word of truth? What is intended is not to divide Scripture, nor to cut it up, but to teach Scripture accurately, as a single, unified whole, without being distracted by false teachings or artificial agendas. This is why I much prefer the Darby translation for this verse: ''Exposing rightly the word of truth'' which better expresses the thoughts of the apostle Paul.
You see, by rightly exposing the Word of truth, by teaching it precisely, it will build a sure road, in order to guide us on a straight path, and this without detour. So by building this road of truth from the Word of God which is represented by a sword, it will cut this road straight, so that people who travel on this road arrive at their destination without deviating from this trajectory by false teaching. ISAIAH 35:8 says; ''And there shall be there a highway and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass through it, but for such shall it be.
Those who go this way, even those who are fools, will not go astray.' And John 17:17 says: ''Sanctify them by the truth; your word is the truth.'' You see it is not another's word, but HIS WORD. And the word sanctified means separated, set apart, purified; to separate, order and appoint to the work of redemption and government of the ekklesia.
Cleanse from corruption; To cleanse from sin; To make one holy, to be detached from the affections of the world and its defilement. Sanctify them with your truth; Your word is the truth. The truth of God's word will separate the false from the true and we will see the difference between those who serve God with a real intention and those who serve God with a purpose that is not pure. The double-edged sword will separate everything. The tares of the wheat wish is the true believers (wheat) and false/evil (tares or weeds)—until final judgment. and the righteous "sheep" from the wicked "goats" It advises that divine judgment, not human intervention, will separate them, typically at (the end of the age).