The Greek noun epanorthosis (from epi + ana + orthos, 'straight') means the act of setting something upright again — correcting, restoring, or reforming what has gone wrong. It appears once in the New Testament, in Paul's famous description of Scripture's uses in 2 Timothy 3:16.
In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul lists four functions of Scripture: teaching, reproof, correction (epanorthosis), and training in righteousness. Epanorthosis is the third — the restorative function that comes after reproof. Where elegchos (reproof) exposes the wrong, epanorthosis sets the course right again. It is not condemnation but rehabilitation — God's Word doesn't merely identify what is broken but actively restores it. This sequence (doctrine → reproof → correction → training) describes a complete pastoral and formative process, grounding all spiritual formation in the authoritative, sufficient Word. The word's etymology ('standing upright again') is itself a picture of grace lifting the fallen.