1 Timothy 6:9

6:6-10 Those that make a trade of Christianity to serve their turn for this world, will be disappointed; but those who mind it as their calling, will find it has the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. He that is godly, is sure to be happy in another world; and if contented with his condition in this world, he has enough; and all truly godly people are content. When brought into the greatest straits, we cannot be poorer than when we came into this world; a shroud, a coffin, and a grave, are all that the richest man in the world can have from all his wealth. If nature should be content with a little, grace should be content with less. The necessaries of life bound a true Christian's desires, and with these he will endeavour to be content. We see here the evil of covetousness. It is not said, they that are rich, but they will be rich; who place their happiness in wealth, and are eager and determined in the pursuit. Those that are such, give to Satan the opportunity of tempting them, leading them to use dishonest means, and other bad practices, to add to their gains. Also, leading into so many employments, and such a hurry of business, as leave no time or inclination for spiritual religion; leading to connexions that draw into sin and folly. What sins will not men be drawn into by the love of money! People may have money, and yet not love it; but if they love it, this will push them on to all evil.

{8} But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (8) He puts fear into Timothy to avoid covetousness using a different reasoning, that is, because it draws with it an infinite sort of lusts and those very hurtful, with which covetous men do torment themselves to the degree that in the end, they cast away from them their faith and salvation.

But; or, for. They that will be rich; they who, out of a covetous and immoderate desire of being rich in this world’s goods, will use any arts, and do any unlawful thing, without any just regard to the law of God. Fall into temptation and a snare; fall into many temptations and snares, are exposed to impetuous inclinations and motions to that which is evil, and may and will be snares to their souls. And into many foolish and hurtful lusts; kindling in them many foolish and pernicious desires, contrary to the law of God. Which drown men in destruction and perdition; have a direct tendency to the eternal ruin of their souls, not to be prevented but by the force and powerful grace of God.

1 Timothy 6:9 . Βουλόμενοι , wishing ) This wish is the enemy of a mind contented with its lot; it is not the wealth itself (that is the enemy of contentment): rich men are not therefore commanded to cast away their wealth, 1 Timothy 6:17-18 .— πλουτεῖν , to be rich ) to have more than food and clothing.— ἐμπίπτουσι — βυθίζουσι , fall into—drown ) A sad gradation.— πειρασμὸν ) There is a Paronomasia [the signification of a word changed by a slight change of the letters]: πορισμὸς , πειρασμὸς . Temptation is opposed to ‘food,’ likewise to faith: a snare is opposed to ‘clothing’ and to righteousness: ‘ lusts ’ are opposed to “a contented mind.”— παγίδα , a snare ) Therefore they do not find πόρον , true gain .— ὄλεθρον , destruction ) of the body.— ἀπώλειαν , perdition ) also of the soul: comp. of all , 1 Timothy 6:10 . This is opposed to that expression, great gain , 1 Timothy 6:6 .

They that will be rich (οἱ βουλόμενοι πλουτεῖν) Better, they that desire to be rich. It is not the possession of riches, but the love of them that leads men into temptation. Fall (ἐμπίπτουσιν) oP. Lit. fall into; but invariably in N.T. with εἰς into. Temptation (πειρασμὸν) See on Matthew 6:13. Foolish (ἀνοήτους) Foolish answers to several words in N.T., ἀνοήτος, ἀσύνετος, ἄφρων, μωρός. Ἁνοήτος not understanding; a want of proper application of the moral judgment or perception, as Luke 24:25, note; Galatians 3:1, note. Ἄφρων is senseless, stupid, of images, beasts. Comp. Luke 12:20, note. Ἁσύνετος approaches the meaning of ἀνοήτος unintelligent. See Sir. 22:13, 15; 27:12. It also implies a moral sense, wicked, Wisd. 1:5; 11:15; Sir. 15:7. On the etymological sense, see on Matthew 11:25; see on Mark 12:33; see on Luke 2:47. Μωρός is without forethought, as Matthew 7:26; Matthew 25:3; without learning, as 1 Corinthians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 3:18; with a moral sense, empty, useless, 2 Timothy 2:23; Titus 3:9; and impious, godless, Matthew 5:22; Psalm 94:8; Jeremiah 5:21. Hurtful (βλαβεράς) N.T.o. lxx once, Proverbs 10:26. Drown (βυθίζουσι) Only here and Luke 5:7, note. A strong expression of the results of avarice. Destruction (ὄλεθρον) See on 1 Thessalonians 1:9, and additional note. continued...

9. will be rich—have more than "food and raiment." Greek, "wish to be rich"; not merely are willing, but are resolved, and earnestly desire to have riches at any cost (Pr 28:20, 22). This wishing (not the riches themselves) is fatal to "contentment" (1Ti 6:6). Rich men are not told to cast away their riches, but not to "trust" in them, and to "do good" with them (1Ti 6:17, 18; Ps 62:10). fall into temptation—not merely "are exposed to temptation," but actually "fall into" it. The falling into it is what we are to pray against, "Lead us not into temptation" (Jas 1:14); such a one is already in a sinful state, even before any overt act of sin. The Greek for "temptation" and "gain" contains a play on sounds—porasmus, peirasmus. snare—a further step downwards (1Ti 3:7). He falls into "the snare of the devil." foolish—irrational. hurtful—to those who fall into the snare. Compare Eph 4:22, "deceitful lusts" which deceive to one's deadly hurt. lusts—With the one evil lust ("wish to be rich") many others join themselves: the one is the "root of all evils" (1Ti 6:10). which—Greek, "whatever (lusts)." drown—an awful descending climax from "fall into"; this is the last step in the terrible descent (Jas 1:15); translated "sink," Lu 5:7. destruction … perdition—destruction in general (temporal or eternal), and perdition in particular, namely, that of body and soul in hell.

Verse 9. - Desire to for will , A.V.; a temptation for temptation , A.V.; many for into many , A.V.; such as for which , A.V. A temptation . The reason of the insertion of the article before "temptation" in the R.V. seems to be that, as the three substantives all depend upon the one preposition εἰς , they ought all to be treated alike. But if so, the reasoning is not good, because "temptation" implies a state, not merely a single temptation. The prefixing of the article is therefore improper. It should be "temptation," as in the A.V. and in Matthew 6:13 ; Matthew 26:41 ; Luke 22:40 , etc. Snare ( παγίδα ); as 1 Timothy 3:7 , note. The concur-pence of the two words περιρασμός and παγίς show that the agency of Satan was in the writer's mind. Several good manuscripts, Fathers, and versions, add the words τοῦ διαβόλου after παγίδα (Huther). Drown ( βυθίζουσι ); only here and Luke 5:7 in the New Testament. Found also in 2 Macc. 12:4, and in Polybius - "to sink," transitive. Destruction and perdition ( ὔλεθρον καὶ ἀπώλειαν ).

The two words taken together imply utter ruin and destruction of body and soul. Ὄλεθρος , very common in classical Greek, occurs in 1 Corinthians 5:5 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ; 2 Thessalonians 1:9 , and is limited in the first passage to the destruction of the body, by the words, τῆς σαρκός . Ἀπωλεία , less common in classical Greek, is of frequent use in the New Testament, and, when applied to persons, seems to be always used (except in Acts 25:16 ) in the sense of "perdition" ( Matthew 7:13 ; John 17:12 ; Romans 9:22 ; Philippians 3:19 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:3 ; Hebrews 10:39 ; 2 Peter 3:7 ; Revelation 17:3 , etc.). 1 Timothy 6:9

9 . they that will be rich ] In so wealthy a city as Ephesus the temptation would be very great to the teacher to adapt his ‘wares’ of doctrine to the popular Asiatic speculations, so as to get and keep name and means; and his hearers would be equally tempted to accept such a compromise. There would be the genius loci to whisper ‘si possis, recte; si non, quocunque modo, rem;’ ‘ye know that by this business we have our wealth.’ Hence the specially appropriate warning now addressed to those that are desiring to be rich , as we must render exactly. Chrysostom’s words ‘not “ the rich ,” for one may have money and dispense it well and disesteem it all the while,’ are well quoted here. But G.

Herbert’s words are still better ( Priest to the Temple , c. 3), ‘The country parson is very circumspect in avoiding all covetousness, neither being greedy to get, nor stubborn to keep, nor troubled to lose any worldly wealth; but in all his words and actions slighting and disesteeming it, even to a wondering that the world should so much value wealth, which in the day of wrath hath not one dram of comfort for us.’ temptation and a snare ] There seems no reason to depart from the usual rendering elsewhere of the phrase ‘into temptation’ as R.V. does ‘into a temptation,’ because of the words coupled with it; ‘a snare’ naturally follows, just as ‘deliver us from the evil one’ follows ‘bring us not into temptation,’ Matthew 6:13 ; it is the thought present to the Apostle’s mind at this time; see above 1 Timothy 3:7 , ‘lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil’ where the conjunction of words is very similar, and from whence some mss. have even added here ‘of the devil;’ and 2 Timothy 2:26 , ‘that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.’ See Appendix, K. lusts, which drown men ] The lengthened generalised relative here is properly ‘of a kind which,’ ‘which indeed naturally,’ so R.V. such as . Cf. 1 Timothy 3:15 . The simple use of the passive of ‘drown’ in Luke 5:7 , ‘they were being sunk,’ is the only other N.