NOTES

BIBLE

1 Timothy 6

1	All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be slandered.	Ὅσοι εἰσὶν ὑπὸ ζυγὸν δοῦλοι, τοὺς ἰδίους δεσπότας πάσης τιμῆς ἀξίους ἡγείσθωσαν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία βλασφημῆται.
2	But those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.	οἱ δὲ πιστοὺς ἔχοντες δεσπότας μὴ καταφρονείτωσαν, ὅτι ἀδελφοί εἰσιν· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον δουλευέτωσαν, ὅτι πιστοί εἰσιν καὶ ἀγαπητοὶ οἱ τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἀντιλαμβανόμενοι. Ταῦτα δίδασκε καὶ παρακάλει.	*things* Translating this as “these things” rather than “these principles” (ταῦτα; tauta) helps the reader to notice the literary structure Paul has created in this letter, as he uses the same phrase in 4:11 (“Command and teach these things”) and 5:7 (“command these things as well”), summarizing the content of his prior instruction.
3	If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words—those of our Lord Jesus Christ—and with the doctrine conforming to godliness,	εἴ τις ἑτεροδιδασκαλεῖ καὶ μὴ προσέρχεται ὑγιαίνουσι λόγοις, τοῖς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τῇ κατʼ εὐσέβειαν διδασκαλίᾳ,
4	he is conceited, understanding nothing but having a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, slander, evil suspicions,	τετύφωται, μηδὲν ἐπιστάμενος, ἀλλὰ νοσῶν περὶ ζητήσεις καὶ λογομαχίας, ἐξ ὧν γίνεται φθόνος, ἔρις, βλασφημίαι, ὑπόνοιαι πονηραί,	understanding nothing but having a morbid interest This translation reflects the participial nature of the verbs (understanding nothing; having a morbid interest), which modify the main verb, “is conceited.” Paul uses participles here to expand on what he means by “conceited.”
5	and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.	διαπαρατριβαὶ διεφθαρμένων ἀνθρώπων τὸν νοῦν καὶ ἀπεστερημένων τῆς ἀληθείας, νομιζόντων πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν.
6	But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.	ἔστιν δὲ πορισμὸς μέγας ἡ εὐσέβεια μετὰ αὐταρκείας·
7	For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.	οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι δυνάμεθα·
8	And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.	ἔχοντες δὲ διατροφὰς καὶ σκεπάσματα, τούτοις ἀρκεσθησόμεθα.
9	But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.	οἱ δὲ βουλόμενοι πλουτεῖν ἐμπίπτουσιν εἰς πειρασμὸν καὶ παγίδα καὶ ἐπιθυμίας πολλὰς ἀνοήτους καὶ βλαβεράς, αἵτινες βυθίζουσι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἰς ὄλεθρον καὶ ἀπώλειαν·
10	For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils, and some by aspiring to it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.	ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία, ἧς τινες ὀρεγόμενοι ἀπεπλανήθησαν ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως καὶ ἑαυτοὺς περιέπειραν ὀδύναις πολλαῖς.	evils The translation as “evils” rather than “evil” here accurately brings out the plural of the Greek τῶν κακῶν (tōn kakōn). This clarifies even further that Paul is talking about many varieties of evils here. This is an important distinction because this verse is often misquoted by those who say that “money is the root of all evil.” It is not money that results in all evil without exception, but the love of money which can sprout into many different varieties of evil actions, and was most often the motivation of the false teachers Paul wants Timothy to guard against.
11	But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness.	Σὺ δέ, ὦ ἄνθρωπε θεοῦ, ταῦτα φεῦγε· δίωκε δὲ δικαιοσύνην, εὐσέβειαν, πίστιν, ἀγάπην, ὑπομονήν, πραϋπαθίαν.	gentleness Some translations place a summarizing “and” before the last item in Paul’s list here, but this is not in the Greek text. Instead, Paul simply ends the list by stating the last item. The lack of prosaic flow created by this makes the list more impactful, emphasizing the seriousness of pursuing each of these qualities.
12	Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.	ἀγωνίζου τὸν καλὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς πίστεως, ἐπιλαβοῦ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, εἰς ἣν ἐκλήθης καὶ ὡμολόγησας τὴν καλὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐνώπιον πολλῶν μαρτύρων.
13	I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,	παραγγέλλω σοι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῳογονοῦντος τὰ πάντα καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ μαρτυρήσαντος ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου τὴν καλὴν ὁμολογίαν,
14	that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,	τηρῆσαί σε τὴν ἐντολὴν ἄσπιλον ἀνεπίλημπτον μέχρι τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,
15	which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,	ἣν καιροῖς ἰδίοις δείξει ὁ μακάριος καὶ μόνος δυνάστης, ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων,
16	who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal might! Amen.	ὁ μόνος ἔχων ἀθανασίαν, φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον, ὃν εἶδεν οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν δύναται· ᾧ τιμὴ καὶ κράτος αἰώνιον· ἀμήν.	might “Might” is from κράτος (kratos). While the word can sometimes have the nuance of “dominion,” it normally means strength or might (cf. Luke 1:51; Acts 19:20; Eph 1:19; and 6:10). Furthermore, the only time “honor” (τιμή; timē) and “might” occur is in Daniel 4:30. The allusion is that Nebuchadnezzar tried to assert his might but ate grass instead. God has eternal might though, and is thus the true King.
17	Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.	Τοῖς πλουσίοις ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι παράγγελλε μὴ ὑψηλοφρονεῖν μηδὲ ἠλπικέναι ἐπὶ πλούτου ἀδηλότητι, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ θεῷ τῷ παρέχοντι ἡμῖν πάντα πλουσίως εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν,	Command “Command” translates the Greek word παραγγέλλω (parangellō), which is consistently translated throughout the epistle with “command,” as Paul is equipping Timothy for the task of putting an end to the false teachers by providing the church with sound doctrine. Consistent translation of the same term helps the reader to see that commanding is a theme in 1 Timothy that ties sections of this letter together (cf. 1:3, 5, 18; 4:11; 5:7; 6:17, 18). haughty “Haughty” is a more consistent translation of the Greek root ὑψηλός (hupsēlos; cf. Rom 11:20; 12:16) which appears here in a compound term ὑψηλοφρονέω (hupsēlophroneō). Because the term here refers to being “high-minded,” Paul is stating that someone’s high earnings should not translate to thinking highly of oneself. Rather, it is to magnify their thoughts of and dependence upon the Lord.
18	Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,	ἀγαθοεργεῖν, πλουτεῖν ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς, εὐμεταδότους εἶναι, κοινωνικούς,	Command Refer to the discussion on verse 17 above. While παραγγέλλω (parangellō) is not included in the text here (demonstrated by the use of italics), it is implied from verse 17.
19	storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.	ἀποθησαυρίζοντας ἑαυτοῖς θεμέλιον καλὸν εἰς τὸ μέλλον, ἵνα ἐπιλάβωνται τῆς ὄντως ζωῆς.
20	O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning aside from godless and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge—	Ὦ Τιμόθεε, τὴν παραθήκην φύλαξον, ἐκτρεπόμενος τὰς βεβήλους κενοφωνίας καὶ ἀντιθέσεις τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως,	turning aside “Turning aside” is rendered by ἐκτρέπω (ektrepō). The word is used in 1 Timothy elsewhere to refer to false teachers and their followers (cf. 1:6; 5:15). Timothy is to have the exact opposite kind of work—he is to turn away from them, even as they turn away from the truth.
21	which some, while professing, have gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.	ἥν τινες ἐπαγγελλόμενοι περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἠστόχησαν. Ἡ χάρις μεθʼ ὑμῶν.

Copyright © 2023 The Tyndale Center at The Master's Seminary. All rights reserved.
The English biblical text is taken from the Legacy Standard Bible
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org
For permission to quote information visit http://www.LSBible.org
The Hebrew Old Testament is taken from the Unicode/XML Westminster Leningrad Codex
WLC Version 4.20 | UXLC 2.0 (27.1)
Transcribed to Unicode/XML by Christopher V. Kimball, Publisher (Tanach.us Inc.)
The Westminster Leningrad Codex is in the public domain.
For more information visit www.Tanach.us
The Greek New Testament is taken from the Society of Biblical Literature Greek New Testament
Edited by Michael W. Holmes
The SBLGNT is licensed freely under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License
Copyright 2010 Logos Bible Software and the Society of Biblical Literature
For more information about the SBLGNT visit www.SBLGNT.com