Passage

1 Timothy 2.6

Book: 1 Timothy · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"4. who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. 5. For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus,"

"6. who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times;"

"7. whereunto I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth, I lie not), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8. I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing." (1 Timothy 2:4-8, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"4. who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. 5. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,"

"6. who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;"

"7. to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8. I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting." (1 Timothy 2:4-8, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"4. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

"6. Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. ^{to: or, a testimony}"

"7. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." (1 Timothy 2:4-8, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"4. who doth will all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth; 5. for one [is] God, one also [is] mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus,"

"6. who did give himself a ransom for all, the testimony in its own times --"

"7. in regard to which I was set a preacher and apostle, truth I say in Christ, I do not lie, a teacher of nations, in faith and truth. 8. I wish, therefore, that men pray in every place, lifting up kind hands, apart from anger and reasoning;" (1 Timothy 2:4-8, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul (as author of 1 Timothy)
Audience: Timothy, Paul's apostolic delegate at Ephesus, with instructions for ordering church-life in that congregation
Location: Ephesus (Timothy); Macedonia (likely Paul, after release from first Roman imprisonment)
Time period: c. AD 62-64

Theological reading

1 Timothy 2:6 sits in the middle of one of the NT's tightest soteriological statements (vv. 3-6): God is the universal-saving-desirer; Christ is the one mediator; He gave Himself as antilytron for all. The word antilytron (G0487 in some numbering schemes; a hapax in the NT) compounds anti (in-exchange-for, in-substitution-for) with lytron (ransom-price); the result is a counter-ransom or equivalent-substitute, intensifying the substitutionary-redemptive content beyond what bare lytron alone carries. The verse is one of the most-disputed in atonement-theology because of the universal hyper pantōn ("for all"): Arminian and Wesleyan traditions read it as the universal extent of the atonement (Christ died potentially for every individual; the application is conditional on faith); Reformed-particularist traditions (limited / definite atonement) read pantōn as all kinds of people in light of vv. 1-2's "all men... kings and all who are in authority" and harmonize with Eph 5:25 and Acts 20:28 on the church-specific shape of Christ's purchasing-love. The exegetical question is contested; the verse's christological substance, one mediator, self-given as substitutionary ransom, is held by all sides.

Key words

G0487 - antilytron (pending; covered in G0487 - antallagma entry's conceptual nexus), antilytron (counter-ransom, substitutionary equivalent)
G3316 - mesitēs (pending), mesitēs (mediator)
G1325 - didōmi (pending), edōken heauton (gave Himself), self-giving formula

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.