1 Timothy 6:16 BSB — MannaFest

1 Timothy 6:16

He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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

KJV

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.

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Commentary

4 voices

Ambrose of Milan

Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.2.35 (397)

How could the Son not have immortality who has life in himself? He has it in his nature. He has it in his essential Being. God has it not as a temporal grace but owing to his eternal Godhead. He has it not by way of a gift as a servant but by peculiar right of his generation, as the coeternal Son. He has life in the same way that the Father has life.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

Who only hath immortality,.... Angels are immortal, and so are the souls of men, and so will be the bodies of men after the resurrection; but then neither of these have immortality of themselves, they have it from God; who only has it, of himself, originally, essentially, and inderivatively.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Who only hath immortality - All beings that are not eternal must be mutable; but there can be only one eternal Being, that is God; and he only can have immortality. Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto - All this is said by the apostle in three words φως οικων απροσιτον, inhabiting unapproachable light. Such is the excessive glory of God, that neither angel nor man can approach it. It is indeed equally unapproachable to all created beings.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The term used in the New Testament for "immortal," which does not occur, is "incorruptible." "Immortality" is found in 1Co 15:53, 54. dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto--After life comes mention of light, as in Joh 1:4. That light is unapproachable to creatures, except in so far as they are admitted by Him, and as He goes forth to them [BENGEL].

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

20 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ὁ	ho	<the>	G3588 →
μόνος	monos	alone	G3441 →
ἔχων	echōn	having	G2192 →
ἀθανασίαν,	athanasian	immortality,	G110 →
φῶς	phōs	in light	G5457 →
οἰκῶν	oikōn	dwelling	G3611 →
ἀπρόσιτον,	aprositon	unapproachable,	G676 →
ὃν	hon	whom	G3739 →
εἶδεν	eiden	has seen	G1492 →
οὐδεὶς	oudeis	no [one]	G3762 →
ἀνθρώπων	anthrōpōn	of men	G444 →
οὐδὲ	oude	nor	G3761 →
ἰδεῖν	idein	to see	G1492 →
δύναται,	dunatai	is able,	G1410 →
ᾧ	hō	to whom [be]	G3739 →
τιμὴ	timē	honor	G5092 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
κράτος	kratos	dominion	G2904 →
αἰώνιον,	aiōnion	eternal,	G166 →
ἀμήν.¶	amēn	Amen.	G281 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Colossians 1:15
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
leads to
- Hebrews 1:3
  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the…
- John 14:9
  Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the…
- John 1:1
  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Through
1 John 1:5
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
leads to
- John 8:12
  Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- James 1:17
  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
Through
John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
leads to
- Colossians 1:15
  The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- John 6:46
  not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
- Matthew 11:27
  All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses…

About 1 Timothy

Preaching in the Wilderness — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

1 Timothy: the study guide →Read chapter 6 →The featured study →

Continue: 1 Timothy 6 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About 1 Timothy

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About 1 Timothy