1 Timothy 6:17 - Exposition

This present for this , A.V.; have their hope set on the uncertainty of for trust in uncertain , A.V.; on God for in the living God , A.V. and T.R. Charge ( παράγγελλε ); as in 1 Timothy 1:3 ; 1 Timothy 4:11 ; 1 Timothy 5:7 ; and in 1 Timothy 5:13 , and elsewhere frequently. Rich in this present world. Had St. Paul in his mind the parable of Dives and Lazarus (comp. Luke 16:19 , Luke 16:25 )? That they be not high-minded ( μὴ ὑψηλοφρονεῖν ); elsewhere only in Romans 11:20 . The words compounded with ὑψηλός have mostly a bad sense—"haughtiness," "boastfulness," and the like. The uncertainty ( ἀδηλότητι ); here only in the New Testament, but used in the same sense in Polybius (see ἄδηλος in 1 Corinthians 14:8 ; and ἀδήλως in 1 Corinthians 9:6 ). The A.V., though less literal, expresses the sense much better than the R.V., which is hardly good English. Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy ; for enjoyment. The gifts are God's. Trust, therefore, in the Giver, not in the gift. The gift is uncertain; the Giver liveth forever. (For the sentiment that God is the Giver of all good, comp. James 1:17 ; Psalms 104:28 ; Psalms 145:16 , etc.)