1 Timothy 2:4

1 Timothy 2:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
• New International Version (NIV)who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Context of 1 Timothy 2:4

2Pray in that way for kings and for all rulers and people who have authority. Pray for God to help them, so that we may live our lives without trouble or danger. Then we can live in a good way that respects God and other people. 3It is good that we should pray like that. It makes God, our Saviour, happy. He wants to save all people. He wants everyone to know his message about what is true. 5There is only one God. There is also only one person who brings God and people together. That person is Christ Jesus, who became a man himself. 6He died as a sacrifice on behalf of all people, to pay the debt of their sins. He died at the proper time for God to show his purpose clearly.

1 Timothy 2:4 word by word

ὃς πάντας ἀνθρώπους θέλει σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• will haveθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• to be savedσῴζωsōzō · to saveG4982
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• untoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the knowledgeἐπίγνωσιςepignōsis · knowledgeG1922
• of the truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225

Cross-references for 1 Timothy 2:4

• Isaiah 45:22So turn to me and I will make you safe. I say that to everybody all over the world. Turn to me, because I am God. There is nobody else like me.
• Isaiah 49:6‘As my servant, I have a greater job for you to do. It will not only be to make Jacob's tribes strong again. It will not only be to bring back Israel's people that I have kept safe. It will also be your job to bring light to the other nations. You will show people all over the world that I have the power to save them.’
• Isaiah 55:1‘Listen! All of you who are thirsty, come here for water to drink! You may have no money, but come here and buy food to eat! Come and buy wine and milk! You do not need to pay any money. It is free!
• Ezekiel 18:23It does not make me happy when a wicked person dies. I want wicked people to stop doing wicked things. Then I am happy because they will continue to live. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
• Ezekiel 33:11Tell them, “It does not make me happy to punish wicked people with death. I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. I want wicked people to stop doing wrong things so that they may continue to live. So stop doing evil things! Israel's people, you do not have to die. Turn back to me!”
• Luke 14:23The master spoke to his servant again. “Go to the roads and fields outside the town, and look for people there. Command them all to come here, so that my house will be full.
• John 3:15As a result, everyone who believes him will be able to live for ever with God.
• John 6:37Everyone that the Father gives to me will come to me. When anyone comes to me, I will never send that person away.
• Romans 3:29God is not God only for Jewish people. He is also God for the Gentiles. Yes! He is the God for all people.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17When anyone belongs to Christ, they become a new person. Their old way of life has gone. Their new life has begun!
• 1 Thessalonians 2:15People like that even killed the Lord Jesus. They killed God's prophets, too. They also did bad things against us, so that we had to leave their towns. They make God become angry. They are enemies of all people,
• 2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not being slow to do what he has promised to do. Some people may think that he is being slow to do it. But he is being patient with you. He does not want to destroy anyone. He wants all people to turn away from the wrong things that they do.
• Matthew 28:19So you must go to people in every country of the world. Teach them how to become my disciples. Baptize them by the authority of God the Father, his Son and the Holy Spirit.
• Mark 16:15Then Jesus said to them, ‘Go to all people everywhere in the world. Tell God's good news to everyone.
• Luke 24:47People in every country of the world must hear God's message. They must stop doing wrong things and change how they live. When they do this, God will forgive them. He will forgive all the bad things that they have done. People need to tell this message about the Messiah in Jerusalem first, then tell people in other countries.
• Romans 10:12It says ‘everyone’. There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. There is the same Lord for all of them. He helps everyone who asks him with many good things.

Commentaries on 1 Timothy 2:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Who will have all men to be saved - Because he wills the salvation of all men; therefore, he wills that all men should be prayed for. In the face of such a declaration, how can any Christian soul suppose that God ever unconditionally and eternally reprobated any man? Those who can believe so, one would suppose, can have little acquaintance either with the nature of God, or the bowels of Christ. And to come unto the knowledge of the truth - The truth - the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Who will have all men to be saved - That is, it is in accordance with his nature, his feelings, his desires. The word “will” cannot be taken here in the absolute sense, denoting a decree like that by which he willed the creation of the world, for then it would certainly be done. But the word is often used to denote a desire, wish, or what is in accordance with the nature of anyone. Thus it may be said of God that he “wills” that his creatures may be happy…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-7Here, prayer focuses on the church’s mission. This suggests that false teachers damaged the church's reputation in society and hindered its mission to non-Jewish people (see 3:6–7; 6:1; Titus 2:5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. "Imitate God." Since He wishes that all should be saved, do you also wish it; and if you wish it, pray for it. For prayer is the instrument of effecting such things [Chrysostom]. Paul does not say, "He wishes to save all"; for then he would have saved all in matter of fact; but "will have all men to be saved," implies the possibility of man's accepting it (through God's prevenient grace) or rejecting it (through man's own perversity). Our prayers ought…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Timothy 2:4

• Gospel
• Minister, Christian
• Salvation
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Lead
• Verity
• Love
• Mystery
• Regeneration
• Repentance
• Restoration
• Timothy, Epistles of Paul to

Commentaries on 1 Timothy 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings