A familiar Bible saying, checked in context
Money is the root of all evil
Altered wording
The familiar line starts inside 1 Timothy 6:10, but omitting “the love of” changes what Paul identifies as the root.
By @The..Mustard..Seed · Updated
Read the relevant KJV passage
1 Timothy 6:10For 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.
Compare the evidence
The previous verse warns about those who will be rich falling into temptation and harmful desires, the immediate setting for verse 10.
1 Timothy 6:9But 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.
Hebrews calls readers to live without covetousness and to be content. This is a related concern without claiming money itself is evil.
Hebrews 13:5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
What the context adds
The omitted words “the love of” change the subject of 1 Timothy 6:10. Paul is not naming coins, possessions, or wages as the root; he describes a desire that can lead people away and pierce them with sorrows. Verse 9 speaks of the wish to be rich, and verses 6–8 discuss godliness with contentment. Hebrews 13:5 offers another call away from covetousness. The popular line is memorable partly because it is shorter and sharper, but its shortened subject makes a different claim. Following the link to the full chapter lets readers test a phrase often used to condemn wealth without asking what desire Paul is actually warning about.
A question to carry forward
If “the love of money” is the subject, how does that change the person or behavior you would examine?
Keep reading
Read 1 Timothy 6:6–11 and underline the words that name the danger.
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