For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out.
Parallel Translations
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For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out.
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For we brought nothynge into the worlde and it is a playne case that we can cary nothynge out.
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For we brought nothing into the world, and it is certaine, that we can carie nothing out.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 1 Timothy 6:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 1:21 He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.”
- Psalms 49:17 for when he dies he will carry nothing away. His glory won’t descend after him.
- Luke 12:20-21 “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:15-16 As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit does he have who labors for the wind?
- Proverbs 27:24 for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.
- Luke 16:22-23 The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 7 For we brought nothing into the world., He…
7 For we brought nothing into the world., He adds this for the purpose of setting a limit to the sufficiency. Our covetousness is an insatiable gulf, if it be not restrained; and the best bridle is, when we desire nothing more than the necessity of this life demands; for the reason why we transgress the bounds, is, that our anxiety extends to a thousand lives which we falsely imagine. Nothing is more common, and indeed nothing is more generally acknowledged, than this statement of Paul; but as soon as all have acknowledged it, (as we see every day with our eyes,) every man swallows up with his wishes his vast possessions, in the same manner as if he had a belly able to contain half of the world. And this is what is said, that,
“although the folly of the fathers appears in hoping that they will dwell here for ever, nevertheless their posterity approve of their way.” (Psalm 49:13.)
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In order, therefore, that we may be satisfied with a sufficiency, let us learn to have our heart so regulated, as to desire nothing but what is necessary for supporting life.
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 He mocketh their folly, which do so greedily gape…
He mocketh their folly, which do so greedily gape after frail things, that they can in no wise be satisfied, and yet notwithstanding they cannot enjoy that excess.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and…
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Ver. 7. We can carry nothing out] But a winding sheet, as Saladin’s shirt, which he commanded to be hung up at his burial, a bare priest going before the bier, and proclaiming, Saladin the mighty monarch of the East is gone, and hath taken no more with him than what you see. (Carlon. Chron.) Indeed I read of one that being ready to die, clapped a twenty shilling piece of gold into his mouth, and said, Some wiser than some; if I must leave all the rest, yet this I will take with me. (Mr Rogers’ Treatise of Love.) But this was none of the wisest men, you will say; as that great caliph {a} of Babylon was none of the happiest, that was starved to death by the great Cham of Cataia, amidst the infinite treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones that he and his predecessors had most covetously heaped together, whereof he willed him to eat, and make no spare. It is with us in the world (saith one) as it was in the Jewish fields and orchards; pluck and eat, they might, while there; not pocket, or put up. Or as boys that rob an orchard and meet with the owner at the door.
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"- modo quem fortuna fovendo
Congestis opibus donisque refersit opimis,
Nudum tartarea portarit navita cymba."
De Annibale, Silius Ital.
{a} The title given in Muslim countries to the chief civil and religious ruler, as successor of Muhammad. ŒD
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 This agreeth with Job 1:21, and with experience, and…
This agreeth with Job 1:21, and with experience, and is a potent argument against immoderate desires of having much of this world’s goods, or using extravagant actions to obtain them; for when we have got all we can, we have got but a viaticum, something to serve us in our journey, which we must leave when we die, and whether to a wise man or a fool none knoweth, Ecc 2:19.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For we brought nothing into this world,.... Which is…
For we brought nothing into this world,.... Which is a reason both clearly showing that godliness is great gain, since those who have it brought nothing into the world with them but sin, and yet are now in such happy circumstances as before described; and that godly persons should be content with what they have, even of worldly things, seeing they are so much more than they had when they came into the world, into which they came naked; and which should be a quieting consideration under the most stripping providences; see Job 1:21
and it is certain we can carry nothing out: as men come into the world, so will they go out of it; nor will they need their worldly substance after death, any more than they did before they were born; and what they now have, and use not, will then be lost to them, whatever gain it may be to others: wherefore it becomes them cheerfully to use what they have, and be content therewith; see Ecc 5:15. The Jews have a saying like this (o), that
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"as a man comes (into the world), "simply" or "nakedly", so he goes out in like manner.''
(o) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 42. fol. 36. 3.
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 Neither can we carry anything out - To what…
Neither can we carry anything out - To what purpose, then, do we heap together so many things? O, give me one thing, - a safe and ready passage to my own country!
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. We brought nothing into this world] There…
Verse 7. We brought nothing into this world] There are some sayings in Seneca which are almost verbatim with this of St. Paul: Nemo nascitur dives; quisquis exit in lucem jussus est lacte et panno esse contentus; Epist. xx, "No man is born rich; every one that comes into the world is commanded to be content with food and raiment." Excutit natura redeuntem, sicut intrantem; non licet plus auferre, quam intuleris; Epist., cap. ii. "Nature, in returning, shakes off all incumbrances as in entering; thou canst not carry back more than thou broughtest in." Seneca and St. Paul were contemporary; but all the Greek and Latin poets, and especially the stoic philosophers, are full of such sentiments. It is a self-evident truth; relative to it there can be no controversy.
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 we brought nothing into this world ... -…
For we brought nothing into this world ... - A sentiment very similar to this occurs in Job 1:21 - and it would seem probable that the apostle had that passage in his eye; see the notes on that passage. Numerous expressions of this kind occur in the classic writers; see Wetstein, in loc., and Pricaeus, in loc. in the Critici Sacri. Of the truth of what is here said, there can be nothing more obvious. It is apparent to all. We bring no property with us into the world - no clothing, no jewels, no gold - and it is equally clear that we can take nothing with us when we leave the earth. Our coming into the world introduces no additional property to that which the race before possessed, and our going from the world removes none that we may have helped the race to accumulate. This is said by the apostle as an obvious reason why we should be contented if our actual needs are supplied - for this is really all that we need, and all that the world is toiling for.
We can carry nothing out - compare Psa 49:17. “For when he - the rich man - dieth, he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain For--confirming the reasonableness of "contentment."
For--confirming the reasonableness of "contentment."
and it is certain--Vulgate and other old versions support this reading. The oldest manuscripts, however, omit "and it is certain"; then the translation will be, "We brought nothing into the world (to teach us to remember) that neither can we carry anything out" (Job 1:21; Ecc 5:15). Therefore, we should have no gain-seeking anxiety, the breeder of discontent (Mat 6:25).
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 7. For—Reason why earthly gains should not be the…
7. For—Reason why earthly gains should not be the supreme end of our godliness; it ends with this world, and reaches not eternity.
Nothing into… nothing out—We go into eternity as naked of this world’s goods as we came into the world.
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 7. we brought nothing into this world] A further…
7. we brought nothing into this world] A further reason for contentment is drawn; ‘the nakedness of our birth and death.’ Exactly, into the world.
and it is certain] Editors are divided as to the authority for this word here: the Revisers and Westcott and Hort omit. Inclining to this view with Codex Sinaiticus, and on the ground that proclivi praestat ardua lectio, we have to render the connecting particle that remains ‘because;’ but need not adopt Alford’s strained explanation ‘we were appointed by God to come naked into the world, to teach us to remember that we must go naked out of it,’ which mars the simple sequence of thought (we should look rather to the looser usage of such particles already beginning to prevail): ‘because’ may be referred back to the contentment, and so introduce a parallel not a subordinate clause to ‘we brought,’ because too we cannot carry anything out. The verse is linked at the commencement of the Prayer-Book Burial Service with Job_1:21, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord,’ and so illustrates further the ‘godly content’ of the previous verse.
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 (7) For we brought nothing into this world, and…
(7) For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.—(Comp. Job_1:21.) Every earthly possession is only meant for this life—for the period between the hour of birth and the hour of death; we entered this world with nothing, we shall leave the world again with nothing. If we could take anything with us when death parts soul and body there would at once be an end to the “contentment” (of 1Ti_6:6), for the future then would in some way be dependent on the present. This sentence is quoted by Polycarp, in his letter to the Philippians, written early in the second century. Such a reference shows that this Epistle was known and treasured in the Christian Church even at that early date.
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 The for this, A.V; for neither can we for…
The for this, A.V; for neither can we for and it is certain we can, A.V and T.R.; anything for nothing, A.V For neither, etc. The omission of dhlon in the R.T., though justified by many of the best manuscripts, makes it difficult to construe the sentence, unless, with Buttman, we consider oti as elliptical for dhlon oti, The R.V "for neither" seems to imply that the truth, "neither can we carry anything out," is a consequence of the previous truth that "we brought nothing into the world." which is not true. The two truths are parallel, and the sentence would be perfectly clear without either dhlon or oti.
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 7. For we brought nothing. See Job 1:21. Since…
7. For we brought nothing. See Job 1:21. Since we must leave the earth as we came into it, contentment and an immortal hope are better than earthly gains.
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.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 7. “We brought nothing into the world, because we…
ARGUMENT 16
THE DANGER OF RICHES
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7. “We brought nothing into the world, because we are not able to carry anything out.”
8. “Having food and raiment, we shall be content with these.” I am sorry for my rich friends. They are slaves to their possessions. O how free I am, possessing nothing!—still get as much as the rich. I am as sure of a coffin and shroud as they are.
9. “Those wishing to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many injurious and hurtful lusts, which drown people in destruction and perdition.” Could you uncap hell, and hear the mournful wails of the countless millions who have been drowned in the bottomless abyss of unquenchable fire through the allurements of riches, you would surrender forever your cherished aspirations after wealth. I knew a man, already rich, to kill his own dear brothers, and appropriate their part of the estate.
What will not fallen man do for money? Nothing but entire sanctification can make you as dead to money as to oyster shells. Hence, you are never safe without it. Satan is watching for a chance to throw the lasso of money love about your neck.
10. “For the love of money is a root to all evils.” “The root of all evil,” E.V., is not in harmony with the Greek, nor with the facts of universal observation. Many evils come from other sources than the love of money, and are really antagonistical to it; e.g., drunkenness and debauchery, which, instead of loving money, entail swift bankruptcy in earth and hell. “Which certain ones seeking after have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” The love of money is a wooden horse carrying Satan’s Greeks into the Churches of the present day. Why all these projects, causing wholesale apostasy? It is to get money, scandalizing the Christian’s God as if he were poor, when he is so rich that he needs none of these things. Preachers and people thus backslide together, hunting money. It ruined poor Judas, and nearly ruined Jacob. Look out, preacher, lest you prove a follower of Judas. You do not need any of these money-raising fandangoes. God’s ravens are not all dead. God open your eyes to see your members going to hell in platoons! You need a revival, instead of a festival.
11. “O man of God, fly from these things!” What things? Doctrinal heresies—i.e., all anti-holiness teaching; for godliness is everything—and from the love of money. Be God’s freeman, and not man’s hireling. Good Lord, give us the spirit of Elijah, who stood alone for God! “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, Divine love, patience, and meekness.” Let us appropriate these beautiful graces in their perfection!
12. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.” When the sinner is not willing to be led captive by the devil at his will, he fights his own fight, and gets whipped all the time. When converted, it becomes a partnership fight between him and Jesus. But when he gets sanctified, then he fights the fight of faith alone, sweetly resting in the arms of Jesus, and shouting all the time over the victory which he receives by faith, even in anticipation; meanwhile Jesus does all the fighting for him, and gives him an everlasting victory. “Lay hold on eternal life.” Timothy was gloriously saved and sanctified long before this was written, and, of course, had the life of God in his soul. Yet he was still on probation, and liable to forfeit that life by apostasy; so Paul exhorts him to “lay hold on eternal life;” evidently, as we see from the context, referring to his admission into heaven at the end of probation. A man does not “lay hold on” what he already possesses. Hence, there was a sense in which Timothy did not then possess eternal life. What is that sense? Why, he did not at that time posses it in a non-forfeitable sense. There are no non-forfeitable blessings here. Let us take God’s Word as it is, and not trust to our creed, or trust that of another. This Scripture is decisive on this question. Lord, save us from controversy and creedism, make us to receive thy plain Word as the umpire in every case, and never bring our poor little ratiocinaton against thy ipse dixit!
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.