1 TIM 2:5 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT For there is one God, and one mediator of God and of men—the man Christ Jesus,

UST You can tell that God wants those things to happen because God is the only God. Further, Jesus the Messiah is the only one who reconciles God and humans. He is human himself.

BLB For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

AICNT For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

OEB There is but one God, and one mediator between God and humanity – the human, Christ Jesus,

CSB For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

NLT For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

NIV For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,

CEV There is only one God, and Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God. Jesus was truly human, and he gave himself to rescue all of us.

ESV For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

NASB For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

LSB For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

WEBBE For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

WMBB For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Messiah Yeshua,

MSG ^(4-7)He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.

NET For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human,

LSV for [there is] one God, also one mediator of God and of men—the man Christ Jesus,

FBV For there is one God, and one mediator of God and mankind—the man Christ Jesus.

TCNT For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

T4T He is the only one true God! And there is only one person who talks to God on behalf of people. That person is Christ Jesus, who himself is a man!

LEB For there is one God and one mediator between God and human beings, the man Christ Jesus,

NRSV For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,

NKJV For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

NAB For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human,

BBE For there is one God and one peacemaker between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Moff For "there is one God" and "one intermediary between God and men,

Wymth For there is but one God and but one Mediator between God and men—Christ Jesus, Himself man;

ASV For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus,

DRA For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus:

YLT for one [is] God, one also [is] mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus,

Drby For [fn]God is one, and [the] mediator of [fn]God and men one, [the] man Christ Jesus,

2.5 Elohim

RV For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus,

SLT For one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Wbstr For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

KJB-1769 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

KJB-1611 For there is one God, and one Mediatour betweene God and men, the man Christ Iesus,
(For there is one God, and one Mediatour between God and men, the man Christ Yesus/Yeshua,)

Bshps For there is one God, and one mediatour of God and men, the man Christe Iesus:
(For there is one God, and one mediatour of God and men, the man Christ Yesus/Yeshua:)

Gnva For there is one God, and one Mediatour betweene God and man, which is the man Christ Iesus,
(For there is one God, and one Mediatour between God and man, which is the man Christ Yesus/Yeshua, )

Cvdl For there is one God, and one mediatour betwene God and men, (namely) the man Christ Iesus,
(For there is one God, and one mediatour between God and men, (namely) the man Christ Yesus/Yeshua,)

TNT For ther is one god and one (mediator) bitwene god and man which is the man Christ Iesus
(For there is one god and one (mediator) bitwene god and man which is the man Christ Yesus/Yeshua )

Wycl For o God and a mediatour is of God and of men, a man Crist Jhesus,
(For o God and a mediatour is of God and of men, a man Christ Yhesus,)

Luth Denn es ist ein GOtt und ein Mittler zwischen GOtt und den Menschen, nämlich der Mensch Christus JEsus,
(Because it is a God and a Mittler between God and the people, namely the/of_the person Christ Yesus,)

ClVg Unus enim Deus, unus et mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus:
(One because God, one and mediator of_God and of_men human Christ/Messiah Yesus: )

UGNT εἷς γὰρ Θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς,
(heis gar Theos, heis kai mesitaʸs Theou kai anthrōpōn, anthrōpos Ⱪristos Yaʸsous,)

SBL-GNT εἷς γὰρ θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς,
(heis gar theos, heis kai mesitaʸs theou kai anthrōpōn anthrōpos Ⱪristos Yaʸsous,)

RP-GNT Εἷς γὰρ θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς,
(Heis gar theos, heis kai mesitaʸs theou kai anthrōpōn, anthrōpos ⱪristos Yaʸsous,)

TC-GNT Εἷς γὰρ Θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς,
(Heis gar Theos, heis kai mesitaʸs Theou kai anthrōpōn, anthrōpos Ⱪristos Yaʸsous, )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 2:1–15: Paul told Timothy that it was important that believers should pray

In this section Paul told Timothy some things that the believers should do when they met together regularly to worship God. They should pray for everybody. The men should pray in holiness and without anger, and the women should dress and behave modestly and appropriately.

Paragraph 2:1–7

When believers gather together, they should pray for everybody. They should pray that God would help their government officials to govern well so that believers can worship God peacefully. They should also pray for everybody else because God wants to save everybody.

Everything that Paul wrote in this paragraph (2:1–7) was to help Timothy communicate the gospel to everyone.

One reason that Paul emphasized that the gospel was for everyone was probably because the false teachers were doing exactly the opposite. They were encouraging their followers to consider themselves as better than other people and as part of a small, elite group that excluded other people.Fee, pages 61 and 62, says, “…what might be the place of this first paragraph in the argument? The frequent answer is that the point lies in verse 2, that prayer be made for rulers so that the church may enjoy a peaceful existence. It has even been suggested that a correct Christian attitude toward the state is what is in view. Verses 4–7, then, are seen as nearly irrelevant to that point, but go back to elaborate on a secondary point made in verse 1 (prayer be made for everyone). However, it seems much more likely that precisely the opposite is the case. The one clear concern that runs through the whole paragraph has to do with the gospel as for everyone (‘all people,’ vv. 1, 4–6, and 7). In this view, the phrase this is good in verse 3 refers to prayer for everyone in verse 1, thus seeing verse 2 as something of a digression —albeit as before (1:12–17), a meaningful one. The best explanation for this emphasis lies with the false teachers, who either through the esoteric, highly speculative nature of their teaching (1:4–6) or through its ‘Jewishness’ (1:7) or ascetic character (4:3) are promoting an elitist or exclusivist mentality among their followers. The whole paragraph attacks that narrowness.”

2:5–6

These verses were probably a special saying that believers recited together when they met to worship God. It is not clear where the saying ends.

2:5a

For there is one God,

For there is only one God
We^(incl) believe that there is one true God

For: Paul used the Greek word that the BSB translates as For to introduce verses 2:5–6. Paul could have used this Greek word gar in one of two ways in this verse:

To loosely connect two thoughtsBAGD says that for (γάρ) in this verse expresses “continuation or connection (in later Gk. writers, where more recent users of the texts, not finding the causal force they expect, would often prefer to see it replaced by δέ…) yes, indeed; certainly…” See also Zerwick, paragraph 473. Dibelius and Conzelmann on page 41 say, “These verses are not easy to connect with what precedes. The contrast is not “one God and not many” (as in 1 Cor 8:6), but rather, looking back to “all men” (πάντες), “since there is one God, all shall be saved” (related to this are Rom 3:30 and Eph 4:6). However this connection seems secondary and the phrase is perhaps best explained by the assumption that the author concludes the thought with a solemn formula.”
To introduce a reason for the previous verses. This is the more normal use of gar in Greek.

However, 2:5 says that there is one God (2:5a) and one mediator (2:5b). It does not give the reason why God wants to save everybody. Therefore, it is best to translate the word For here in a way that shows that 2:5 is loosely connected with what Paul had said in 2:4.

there is one God: One of the most important beliefs of the Bible is that there is only one God. Even before New Testament times Jewish people repeated the words of Deuteronomy 6:4 every day to remind themselves of this truth. These words say, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”This confession is called the Shema. M. R. Wilson in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (volume 4, page 469) says, “The practice of reciting the Shema daily is firmly established in the Mishnah (ca. A.D. 200), which underscores the Shema’s importance in Jewish religious experience by its opening words: ‘From what time in the evening may the Shema’ be recited?’ (Berakoth i.1). But there is also evidence of the Shema’s use during and even before the NT era…”

2:5b

and there is one mediator between God and men,

and there is only one person who can make peace between God and people.

one mediator between God and men: At the time when Paul wrote this letter, some Jewish people thought that Moses was the mediator between God and humanity. Other people thought that angels were mediators. Paul was making it clear here that there is only one person who can mediate between God and people.

mediator: The Greek word that the BSB translates as mediator refers to a person who helps two people or groups of people resolve a dispute.

In 2:6a Paul explained the way in which Christ was the mediator between God and people. After Jesus died on the cross, he began to mediate between God and sinful people, so that God could accept them.

men: The word that the BSB translates as men here does not only refer to males. It includes all human beings: men, women, and children.

2:5c

the man Christ Jesus,

That person is Christ Jesus.

the man Christ Jesus: Jesus was both God and human. That means that he is a good mediator because he can represent both God and people. When Paul said here that Christ, the mediator, was a man, he was emphasizing that Christ was not only God, but also fully human.

The Greek word that the BSB translates as man does not emphasize that Christ was male instead of female. Instead, it emphasizes that he is a person, a human being.

Notice that Paul said the name of the mediator, Christ Jesus, only after he had talked about him. By waiting until after he had talked about him to say his name, Paul emphasized the identity of the mediator. In your language it may be necessary to show this emphasis in another way.

Christ Jesus: Notice that in this verse Paul referred to Jesus as Christ Jesus instead of “Jesus Christ.” The names “Christ Jesus” and “Jesus Christ” refer to the same person.Some people, however, think that when Paul used the word Christ before the word Jesus, as in Christ Jesus, he was emphasizing that Jesus was the Messiah.

In most English versions “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus” are translated in the same order as they occur in the Greek manuscripts. It is recommended that you do the same thing.

However, it is possible that, in some languages, people may be confused to see the names in two different orders. They may even think that Paul was referring to two different people. If this is true in your language, it may be necessary to translate Christ Jesus as “Jesus Christ.” This is the more usual word order in the New Testament.

Christ: The word Christ is used in two ways in the New Testament. In the Gospels, Christ is a title for Jesus. It means “the anointed one.” But later, by the time that Paul and others wrote letters to individuals and churches, the word Christ was used as another name for Jesus. It was no longer used as a title. So here and in other New Testament letters you should spell Christ according to the rules of your language.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἱς Γάρ Θεός εἱς καί μεσίτης Θεοῦ καί ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος Χριστός Ἰησοῦς)

Here, the word For introduces a basis for Paul’s claim in the previous verse that God desires all people to be saved and to know the truth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different word or phrase that introduces a basis for a claim. Alternate translation: [We know that because] or [That claim is supported by this:]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

εἷς καὶ μεσίτης Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἱς Γάρ Θεός εἱς καί μεσίτης Θεοῦ καί ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος Χριστός Ἰησοῦς)

Here, Paul is using the possessive form to describe a mediator who mediates between God and men. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [and one who mediates between God and men]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀνθρώπων

humans

Although the term men is masculine, Paul is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [of people]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς

˓the˒_human (Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἱς Γάρ Θεός εἱς καί μεσίτης Θεοῦ καί ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος Χριστός Ἰησοῦς)

Here Paul uses the word man to emphasize that Christ Jesus is human, just like the men for whom he functions as a mediator. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [Christ Jesus, who also is human]