Passage

1 Timothy 6.16

Book: 1 Timothy · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

14. that thou keep the commandment, without spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15. which in its own times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16. who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power eternal. Amen.

Charge them that are rich in this present world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18. that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to communicate; (1 Timothy 6:14-18, ASV)

WEB

14. that you keep the commandment without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; 15. which in its own times he will show, who is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16. who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.

Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be haughty, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy; 18. that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute, willing to communicate; (1 Timothy 6:14-18, WEB)

KJV

14. That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15. Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16. Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; ^{uncertain: Gr. uncertainty of riches} 18. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; ^{willing: or, sociable} (1 Timothy 6:14-18, KJV)

YLT

14. that thou keep the command unspotted, unblameable, till the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15. which in His own times He shall shew, the blessed and only potentate, the King of the kings and Lord of the lords,

16. who only is having immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable, whom no one of men did see, nor is able to see, to whom [is] honour and might age-during! Amen.

Those rich in the present age charge thou not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who is giving to us all things richly for enjoyment; 18. to do good, to be rich in good works, to be ready to impart, willing to communicate, (1 Timothy 6:14-18, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul, or a writer in the Pauline tradition on the disputed view of authorship
Audience: Timothy, in a closing doxology
Location: traditionally written to Timothy at Ephesus
Time period: c. AD 62-65 on the traditional view; the Pastorals' authorship and date are disputed

Theological reading

Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see. The doxology makes two claims that are used in quite different debates.

The first is that God alone has athanasia, deathlessness. This is a central text for conditional immortality, the position that human beings are not naturally immortal and that immortality is a gift given rather than a possession held. Proponents pair it with the statement two chapters earlier that God alone possesses immortality and with the tree of life in Genesis. The traditional reply distinguishes underived immortality, which belongs to God alone, from derived and sustained immortality granted to creatures, so that the verse denies only that any creature has it of itself. Both readings are live, and the verse does not settle the question by itself.

The second is that no one has seen or can see God, which stands alongside John's statement that no man hath seen God at any time and Exodus's declaration that no man shall see the face of God and live. The tension is with the passages in which people do see God, including Jacob at Peniel, the elders of Israel who saw the God of Israel and ate and drank, and Isaiah in the temple. The traditional resolution distinguishes the divine essence, which no creature apprehends, from theophanic manifestation, which is what those texts describe.

That distinction is also where the passage becomes christologically interesting, since the New Testament repeatedly presents the Son as the one in whom the invisible God is seen, most directly in the claim that he is the image of the invisible God.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G0166 - aionios, aionios, Strong's G0166
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

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.