For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Parallel Translations
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For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
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For coveteousnes is the rote of all evyll which whill some lusted after they erred from the fayth and tanglyd them selves with many sorowes.
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For the desire of money is the roote of all euill, which while some lusted after, they erred from the faith, and pearced themselues through with many sorowes.
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Cross-references (38)
Passages linked to 1 Timothy 6:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 1:19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.
- 1 Timothy 6:9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
- Psalms 32:10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in Yahweh.
- Proverbs 1:31 Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.
- Titus 1:11 whose mouths must be stopped: men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain’s sake.
- Isaiah 56:11 Yes, the dogs are greedy. They can never have enough. They are shepherds who can’t understand. They have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
- Micah 3:11 Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.”
- Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
- 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; and Titus to Dalmatia.
- Deuteronomy 16:19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
- 1 Timothy 3:3 not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
- Malachi 1:10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
- Deuteronomy 23:18 You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the wages of a male prostitute, into the house of Yahweh your God for any vow; for both of these are an abomination to Yahweh your God.
- Acts 1:16-19 “Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus. For he was counted with us, and received his portion in this ministry. Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his wickedness, and falling headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines gushed out. It became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem that in their language that field was called ‘Akeldama,’ that is, ‘The field of blood.’
- 2 Peter 2:7-8 and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds):
- Genesis 29:31-35 Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, “Because Yahweh has looked at my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” She conceived again, and bore a son, and said, “Because Yahweh has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also.” She named him Simeon. She conceived again, and bore a son. She said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. She conceived again, and bore a son. She said, “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
- Genesis 34:23-24 Won’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
- Exodus 23:7-8 “Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. “You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.
- Deuteronomy 23:4-5 because they didn’t meet you with bread and with water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless Yahweh your God wouldn’t listen to Balaam, but Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because Yahweh your God loved you.
- Judges 17:10-11 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food.” So the Levite went in. The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.
- Judges 18:29-31 They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; however the name of the city used to be Laish. The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah’s engraved image which he made, and it remained all the time that God’s house was in Shiloh.
- 2 Samuel 4:10-11 when someone told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking that he brought good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house on his bed, should I not now require his blood from your hand, and rid the earth of you?”
- Isaiah 1:23 Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They don’t defend the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
- Jeremiah 5:27-28 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit. Therefore they have become great, and grew rich. They have grown fat. They shine; yes, they excel in deeds of wickedness. They don’t plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and they don’t defend the rights of the needy.
- Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to kill the souls who should not die, and to save the souls alive who should not live, by your lying to my people who listen to lies.’
- Ezekiel 22:12 In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Micah 7:3-4 Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together. The best of them is like a brier. The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, even your visitation, has come; now is the time of their confusion.
- 1 Timothy 6:21 which some profess, and thus have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
- James 5:19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
- Genesis 29:14 Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” Jacob stayed with him for a month.
- Genesis 29:26 Laban said, “It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn.
- Genesis 38:16 He turned to her by the way, and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he didn’t know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
- Judges 18:19-20 They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us. Be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?” The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went with the people.
- 2 Kings 5:27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your offspring forever.” He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow.
- Ezekiel 16:33 People give gifts to all prostitutes; but you give your gifts to all your lovers, and bribe them, that they may come to you on every side for your prostitution.
- Revelation 2:14-15 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans likewise.
- Revelation 18:13 and cinnamon, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, sheep, horses, chariots, and people’s bodies and souls.
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Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10 For the root of all evils is avarice…
10 For the root of all evils is avarice There is no necessity for being too scrupulous in comparing other vices with this. It is certain that ambition and pride often produce worse fruits than covetousness does; and yet ambition does not proceed from covetousness. The same thing may be said of the sins forbidden by the seventh commandment. But Paul’s intention was not to include under covetousness every kind of vices that can be named. What then? He simply meant, that innumerable evils arise from it; just as we are in the habit of saying, when we speak of discord, or gluttony, or drunkenness, or any other vice of that kind, that there is no evil which it does not produce. And, indeed, we may most truly affirm, as to the base desire of gain, that there is no kind of evils that is not copiously produced by it every day; such as innumerable frauds, falsehoods, perjury, cheating, robbery, cruelty, corruption in judicature, quarrels, hatred, poisonings, murders; and, in short, almost every sort of crime.
Statements of this nature occur everywhere in heathen writers; and, therefore, it is improper that those persons who would applaud Horace or Ovid, when speaking in that manner, should complain of Paul as having used extravagant language. I wish it were not proved by daily experience, that this is a plain description of facts as they really are. But let us remember that the same crimes which spring from avarice, may also arise, as they undoubtedly do arise, either from ambition, or from envy, or from other sinful dispositions.
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Which some eagerly desiring The Greek word ὀρεγόμενοι is overstrained, when the Apostle says that avarice is “eagerly desired;” but it does not obscure the sense. He affirms that the most aggravated of all evils springs from avarice — revolting from the faith; for they who are diseased with this disease are found to degenerate gradually, till they entirely renounce the faith. Hence those sorrows, which he mentions; by which term I understand frightful torments of conscience, which are wont to befall men past all hope; though God has other methods of trying covetous men, by making them their own tormentors.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Sorrow and grief do as it were pierce through…
Sorrow and grief do as it were pierce through the mind of man, and are the harvest and true fruits of covetousness.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 10 For the love of money is the root…
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Ver. 10. For the love of money] Phocylides saith the same, ηη φιλοχρημοσυνη μητηρ κακοτητος απασης. Covetousness is the mother of all mischief. Bion called it the metropolis of misdemeanor. Timon, the proper element of evils. There are those who draw it through all the commandments, and demonstrate it to be a breach of all.
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The root of all evil] As there is life in the root when there is no sap in the branches; so covetousness often liveth when other vices die and decay, as in old men, who because they are likely to leave the world, spit on their hands and take better hold.
They have erred from the faith] Selling themselves to the devil, as Judas, Ahab, that pope for seven years’ enjoyment of the popedom.
And pierced themselves through] Undique transfixerunt, They have galled and gored themselves. The covetous man hath his name in Hebrew of a word that signifieth sometimes to pierce or wound, Psa 10:3; cf. Joe 2:8. He that will be rich takes no more rest than one upon a rack or bed of thorns; when he graspeth earthly things most greedily, he embraceth nothing but smoke, which wringeth tears from his eyes, and vanisheth into nothing. Three vultures he hath always feeding upon his heart, care in getting, fear in keeping, grief in spending and parting with that which he hath; so that he is in hell beforehand.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain For the love of money is the root of…
For the love of money is the root of all evil; money itself is not evil, but the immoderate love of it, whether discerned in an over eager desire after it, or an excessive delight in it, is the cause of much evil, both of sin and punishment.
Which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith; which money while some too greedily thirsted after, (for though the article be feminine and cannot grammatically agree with αργυοιον, which is neuter, yet that doth agree with it as to the sense, being understood in φιλοργυρια, with which the subjunctive article grammatically agreeth),
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they have erred, or been seduced, from the faith, that is, the doctrine of the gospel, or profession of Christianity.
And pierced themselves through with many sorrows; and exposed themselves to a great many sorrows, which have pierccd their very souls, such as cares, troubles for the loss of their estates, &c.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Here we have the nature of covetousness, the evil…
Here we have the nature of covetousness, the evil and sin of covetousness, and the mischief and hurt of it declared.
Observe, 1. The nature of it: it is an inordinate love of money, an insatiable desire after wealth.
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Observe, 2. The evil and sinfulness of it: it is a root of sin, The root of all evil; the fruit of all sin grows from this root, distrustful care, tormenting fear, anger, malice, envy, deceit, oppression, bribery, perjury, vexatious lawsuits, and the like; nay, farther, covetousness is the root of heresy in judgment, as well as of iniquity in practice.
They have erred from the faith: that is, in point of doctrine, as well as in practice; it makes a man believe, as well as act, against the rule of faith, for filthy lucre.
Observe, 3. The mischief and hurt of covetousness declared: it pierces, it pierces through with sorrows, yea, with many sorrows.
But whom doth it pierce?
First, others; it pierces the poor, the needy, the widow, the fatherless, all that fall within the reach of its gripping hand; nay, it doth not spare its own master, or slave rather, but pierces him: They pierce themselves through, says the apostle, with many sorrows, with many more, and much worse sorrows, than they pierce others with.
Riches ill gotten, by covetousness or oppression, instead of making their owners heartily merry, make their consciences ache, and give them many a stitch in their side. None can tell what gall and wormwood springs from this bitter root, both to themselves and others: The love of money is the root of all evil; which while some covet after, they err from the faith, piercing themselves through with many sorrows. It is the root of all evil, of sin, and also of trouble and disquiet.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For the love of money is the root of…
For the love of money is the root of all evil,.... Of all the evils before mentioned, and of others; not money itself, as silver and gold, which are God's creatures, and his gifts, and may be used to, and answer many good purposes; but the love of it, and not any love of it; for there may be a lawful love of it, and desire after it, so far as it is requisite to the necessaries of life, to answer the calls of Providence, the duties we owe to God and men, to serve the interest of Christ, and do good to fellow creatures and fellow Christians: but it is an immoderate insatiable desire after it, and an inordinate love of it, which is here meant, such as is properly idolatry: as when a man loves it, not only besides, but above God; serves it as if it was God, and places his trust and confidence in it, independent of God, and his providence; such love of it is the source and spring of all iniquity, as above; it was the sin of Judas, and the root of all his iniquity. The phrase is Jewish. So idolatry is said to be , "the root of all iniquities" (q); see Heb 12:15
which while some coveted after; in a greedy and insatiable way:
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they have erred from the faith; the doctrine of faith. Observing that the professors of it are generally poor, they have declined that path, and have not so much as heard the word; and if they have heard and embraced it, yet when persecution arises because of it, they drop their profession of it; or else their minds are so filled with worldly cares, and deceitful riches, that the word is choked, and becomes unprofitable, and by and by, Demas like, they forsake it, having loved this present world.
And pierced themselves through with many sorrows; riches are therefore fitly compared to thorns, which give great trouble and uneasiness, both in getting and keeping them; and oftentimes the reflection upon the unlawful ways and means made use of to obtain them, gives very pungent pain and distress; see Job 20:15. The apostle seem to allude to the Hebrew word used for a covetous man, which signifies one that pierces, cuts, and wounds, as such an one does both himself and others.
(q) R. David Kimchi in Isa. xxvii. 9.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Love of money - Commonly called "prudent care" of…
Love of money - Commonly called "prudent care" of what a man has. Is the root - The parent of all manner of evils. Which some coveting have erred - Literally, missed the mark. They aimed not at faith, but at something else. And pierced themselves with many sorrows - From a guilty conscience, tormenting passions, desires contrary to reason, religion, and one another. How cruel are worldly men to themselves!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 10. The love of money is the root…
Verse 10. The love of money is the root of all evil] Perhaps it would be better to translate παντωντωνκακων, of all these evils; i.e. the evils enumerated above; for it cannot be true that the love of money is the root of all evil, it certainly was not the root whence the transgression of Adam sprang, but it is the root whence all the evils mentioned in the preceding verse spring. This text has been often very incautiously quoted; for how often do we hear," The Scripture says, Money is the root of all evil!" No, the Scripture says no such thing. Money is the root of no evil, nor is it an evil of any kind; but the love of it is the root of all the evils mentioned here.
While some coveted after] ορεγομενοι. Insatiably desiring.
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Have erred from the faith] απεπλανηθησαν. Have totally erred-have made a most fatal and ruinous departure from the religion of Christ.
And pierced themselves through with many sorrows.] The word περιεπειραν signifies to be transfixed in every part; and is an allusion to one of those snares, παγιδα, mentioned 1Ti 6:9, where a hole is dug in the earth, and filled full of sharp stakes, and, being slightly covered over with turf, is not perceived; and whatever steps on it falls in, and is pierced through and through with these sharp stakes, the οδυναις πολλαις, the many torments, mentioned by the apostle. See note on 1Ti 6:9.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For the love of money is the root of…
For the love of money is the root of all evil - That is, of all kinds of evil. This is evidently not to be understood as literally true, for there are evils which cannot, be traced to the love of money - the evils growing out of ambition, and intemperance, and debasing lusts, and of the hatred of God and of goodness. The expression here is evidently a popular saying - “all sorts of evils grow out of the love of money.” Similar expressions often occur in the classic writers; see Wetstein, in loc, and numerous examples quoted by Priceaus. Of the truth of this, no one can doubt. No small part of the crimes of the world can be traced to the love of gold. But it deserves to be remarked here, that the apostle does not say that “money is the root of all evil,” or that it is an evil at all. It is the “love” of it which is the source of evil.
Which while some coveted after - That is, some who were professing Christians. The apostle is doubtless referring to persons whose history was known to Timothy, and warning him, and teaching him to warn others, by their example.
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They have erred from the faith - Margin, “been seduced.” The Greek is, they have been led astray from; that is, they have been so deceived as to depart from the faith. The notion of deception or delusion is in the word, and the sense is, that, deceived by the promises held out by the prospect of wealth, they have apostatized from the faith. It is not implied of necessity that they were ever real Christians. They have been led off from truth and duty, and from all the hopes and joys which religion would have imparted.
And pierced themselves through with many sorrows - With such sorrows as remorse, and painful reflections on their folly, and the apprehension of future wrath. Too late they see that they have thrown away the hopes of religion for that which is at best unworthy the pursuit of an immortal mind; which leads them on to a life of wickedness; which fails of imparting what it promised when its pursuit is successful, and which, in the great majority of instances, disappoints its votaries in respect to its attainment. The word rendered “pierced themselves through” - περιέπειραν periepeiran - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is a word whose force and emphasis cannot be well expressed in a translation. It is from πείρω peirō, and is made more emphatic by the addition of the preposition περι peri. The word πείρω peirō, means, properly, “to pierce through from one end to another,” and is applied to meat that is “pierced through” by the spit when it is to be roasted (Passow); then it means to pierce through and through. The addition of the preposition περι peri to the word, conveys the idea of doing this “all round;” of piercing everywhere. It was not a single thrust which was made, but they are gashed all round with penetrating wounds. Such is the effect on those who cast off religion for the sake of gold. None can avoid these consequences who do this. Every man is in the hands of a holy and just God, and sooner or later he must feel the effects of his sin and folly.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The root of all evils is covetousness,[6] or the…
The root of all evils is covetousness,[6] or the love of money, as it is in the Greek; a covetous man being ready to sacrifice his soul for money. (Witham) --- This truth is verified and illustrated by the example of Judas, in the gospel; of Ananias and Saphira, in the Acts; of Demas, mentioned by St. Paul in his second epistle to Timothy; and many others, who have made shipwreck of their faith through eagerness to gain riches. Whoever seeks visible and terrestrial goods with great avidity, cannot be supposed to retain much faith in things that are celestial and invisible. He quits a future real and substantial good to seek for a delusive happiness that presents itself, but which will prove a source of present and future evils.
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Cupiditas, Greek: philarguria, amor pecuniæ.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the love of money--not the money itself, but the…
the love of money--not the money itself, but the love of it--the wishing to be rich (Ti1 6:9) --"is a root (ELLICOTT and MIDDLETON: not as English Version, 'the root') of all evils." (So the Greek plural). The wealthiest may be rich not in a bad sense; the poorest may covet to be so (Psa 62:10). Love of money is not the sole root of evils, but it is a leading "root of bitterness" (Heb 12:15), for "it destroys faith, the root of all that is good" [BENGEL]; its offshoots are "temptation, a snare, lusts, destruction, perdition."
coveted after--lusted after.
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erred from--literally, "have been made to err from the faith" (Ti1 1:19; Ti1 4:1).
pierced-- (Luk 2:35).
with . . . sorrows--"pains": "thorns" of the parable (Mat 13:22) which choke the word of "faith." "The prosperity of fools destroys them" (Pro 1:32). BENGEL and WIESINGER make them the gnawings of conscience, producing remorse for wealth badly acquired; the harbingers of the future "perdition" (Ti1 6:9).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. The root—No definite article; a root, or a…
10. The root—No definite article; a root, or a source.
All evil—Evil of every sort; of total amount.
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Erred from the faith—Often has the Christian man apostatized by becoming rich. Sometimes he abandons the Church, gives up all profession, and becomes professedly profane. Sometimes he stays in the Church; yet only to dishonour religion by persistent frauds. But St. Paul is here specifying Christian teachers who abandon the truth in order to propagate a false yet remunerative doctrine; a doctrine which gives freer license to immorality, and so attracts adherents and pay.
Pierced themselves through—As with a dagger, with many arrows, or pangs; the pangs being either the dagger itself, or its agonizing accompaniments. These piercing pangs are the penalties of conscience; the deep assurance of guilt and forewarning of retribution, which, forgotten in the eagerness of the pursuit and the flush of enjoyment, return at their own time.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. the love of money] One word in the…
10. the love of money] One word in the original, occurring only here and belonging to the later Greek; the adjective in Luk_16:14, ‘the Pharisees, who were covetous,’ R.V. ‘lovers of money,’ and so 2Ti_3:2. ‘It differs from the ordinary word for covetousness (e.g. Col_3:5) (which does not occur in these Epistles) in denoting rather avarice, a love of money already gained, than an active grasping after more.’ Trench’s N. T. Synonyms, § 24.
the root of all evil] It has been much questioned whether we are to translate this admitted predicate ‘a root’ or ‘the root.’ On the general grammatical question, such passages as 1Co_11:3, ‘the head of the woman is (the) man,’ make ‘the root,’ quite correct; if with R.V. we render ‘a root,’ it lays a stress on there being other roots, which is beside the point: the stress surely is on the ‘all,’ interpreted however in that rhetorical sense, if it may be so called, which is common in N. T. as elsewhere (cf. 1Ti_6:17), and is well given in R.V. We may translate the root of all kinds of evil. For this use of the plural we may compare ‘supplies of food,’ 1Ti_6:8.
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which while some coveted after] ‘Which (love-of-money) some reaching after,’ R.V. keeping to the root-notion of the participle. The verb (and its noun) occur four times in N. T. and in each place the Revisers give a different version, 1Ti_3:1 and Heb_11:16 in a good sense; here and Rom_1:27 in a bad sense. ‘Desire,’ a colourless word, would fit everywhere, but is weak. Bp Wordsworth ingeniously explains the seemingly incongruous desire for the love-of-money thus: ‘riches were a proof of divine approbation: love of wealth was a love of God’s favour: thus they sanctified avarice.’ But the relative is only formally, logically, in agreement with the abstract. ‘love-of-money:’ all readers of A.V. or R.V. would refer the ‘which’ to the real antecedent in sense, ‘money,’ and would be virtually right.
have erred from the faith] R.V. is justified in rendering have been led astray. The Greek aorist ‘merely represents the action of having occurred, as filling a point of past time’ (Winer, iii., xl. 45, a). When it stands by itself, as here, with no qualifying word, this force is represented by the English perfect, as giving just in our idiom the past verbal idea merely, with no further stress or point, cf. Ellicott on 1Th_2:16. The word occurs in N.T. again only in Mar_13:32, ‘that they may lead astray, if possible, the elect.’ ‘The faith’ as in 1Ti_1:19, where see note.
pierced themselves through] Lat. transfigo; only here in N.T.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) For the love of money is the root…
(10) For the love of money is the root of all evil.—Some would water down this strong expression by translating the Greek words by “a root of all evil,” instead of “the root,” making this alteration on the ground of the article not being prefixed to the Greek word rendered “root.” This change, however, grammatically is unnecessary, as the article disappears before the predicate, in accordance with the well-known rule respecting subject and predicate.
St. Paul had just written (1Ti_6:9) of men being plunged into destruction and perdition—the awful consequence of yielding to those lusts into which the fatal love of riches had guided them; he now sums up the teaching contained in these words by pithily remarking. “Yes, for the love of money is the root of all evil,” meaning thereby, not that every evil necessarily must come from “love of money,” but that there is no conceivable evil which can happen to the sons and daughters of men which may not spring from covetousness—a love of gold and wealth.
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Which while some coveted after.—There is a slight irregularity in the image here, but the sense of the expression is perfectly clear. It is, of course, not the “love of money,” strictly speaking, which “some have coveted after,” but the money itself. The thought in the writer’s mind probably was—The man coveting gold longs for opportunities in which his covetousness (love of money) may find a field for exercise. Such inaccuracies in language are not uncommon in St. Paul’s writings, as, for instance, Rom_8:24, where he writes of “hope that is seen.”
They have erred from the faith.—Better rendered, they have wandered away from the faith. This vivid picture of some who had, for sake of a little gold, given up their first love—their faith—was evidently drawn by St. Paul from life. There were some in that well-known congregation at Ephesus, once faithful, now wanderers from the flock, over whom St. Paul mourned.
And pierced themselves through with many sorrows.—The language and the thoughts of Psa_16:4 were in St. Paul’s mind when he wrote these words—“Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another (god).” The “many sorrows” here are, no doubt, the “gnawings of conscience,” which must ever and anon harass and perplex the man or woman who, for covetousness’ sake, has deserted the old paths, and has wandered away from the old loved communion of Christ.
The imagery used in this tenth verse seems to be that of a man who wanders from the straight, direct path of life, to gather some poisonous, fair-seeming root growing at a distance from the right road on which he was travelling. He wanders away and plucks it; and now that he has it in his hands he finds himself pierced and wounded with its unsuspected thorns.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain A root for the root, A.V; all kinds of…
A root for the root, A.V; all kinds of for all, A.V; some reaching after for while some coveted after, A.V; have been led astray for they have erred, A.V; have pierced for pierced, A.V Love of money (filarguria); only here in the New Testament, but found in the LXX and in classical Greek. The substantive filargurov is found in Luk_16:14 and ntwn 2Ti_3:2. A root. The root is better English. Moreover, the following pa twn kakwn (not pollwn kakwn) necessitates the giving a definite sense to rJiza, though it has not the article; and Alford shows dearly that a word like rJiza, especially when placed as here in an emphatic position, does not require it. (comp., 1Co_11:3, where in the second and third clause kefalh being in the emphatic place, has not the article) Alford also quotes a striking passage from Diog. Laert., in which he mentions a saying of the philosopher Diogenes that "the love of money (hJ filarguria) is the metropolis, or home, pantwn twn kakwn." Reaching after (ojregomenoi). It has been justly remarked that the phrase is slightly inaccurate. What some reach after is not "the love of money," but the money itself. To avoid this, Hofmann (quoted by Luther) makes rJiza the antecedent to h+v, and the metaphor to be of a person turning out of his path to grasp a plant which turns out to he not desirable, but a root of bitterness. This is ingenious, but hardly to be accepted as the true interpretation. Pierced themselves through (periepeiran); only here in the New Testament, and rare in classical Greek. But the simple verb peirw, to "pierce through," "transfix," applied "especially to "spitting" meat, is very common in Homer, who also applies it metaphorically exactly as St. Paul does here, to grief or pain. jOdunhsi peparmenov, "pierced with pain" ("Il.," 5:399).
The root of all evil.
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the love of money is the root of all evil." This almost proverbial saying is intended to support the statement of the previous verse.
I THE LOVE OF MONEY AS A ROOT OF EVIL.
1. The assertion is not concerning money, which, as we have seen, is neither good nor bad in itself, but concerning the love of money.
2. It is not asserted that there are not other roots of evil besides covetousness. This thought was not present to the apostle"s mind.
3. It is not meant that a covetous man will be entirely destitute of all virtuous feeling.
4. It means that a germ of all evil lies in one with the love of money; that there is no kind of evil to which a man may net be led through an absorbing greed for money. It is really a root-sin, for it leads to care, fear, malice, deceit, oppression, envy, bribery, perjury, contentiousness.
II UNHAPPY EFFECTS OF THE LOVE OF MONEY. "Which some having coveted after have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1. It led to apostasy. They made shipwreck of their Christian principles. They surrendered the faith. The good seed of the Word was choked by the deceitfulness of riches, and, like Demas, they forsook the Word, having loved this present world.
2. It involved the Tangs of conscience, to the destruction of their own happiness. They felt the piercings of that inward monitor who forebodes the future destruction. T.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 10. For the love of money is the root…
10. For the love of money is the root of all evil. Not the money itself, which if used as by a steward of God is a blessing, so much as the love of it. This greedy love is the source of every sin. Men murder, cheat, lie, rob, run saloons, gambling houses, brothels, all for the love of money. For love of money Judas sold his Master. Some … have erred. Have wandered from the faith through the love of money. Judas is one example.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.