COMFORT, encouragement, consolation — from parakaleō, 'to call alongside' (para + kaleō); the drawing-near of one who steadies you and calls you to your feet. It is not soft: the related noun paraklētos is the word John's Gospel uses for the Holy Spirit — the ADVOCATE, the Comforter, one summoned to your side in a court (John 14:16). ⚠ The word-family rings TEN TIMES in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, a drum-beat English cannot keep — Greek can ring one root like a bell, but English has to alternate 'comfort / console / encourage', which breaks the chime. This translation holds to 'comfort' throughout, with the KJV. → first discussed at 2 Corinthians 1:3