1 Timothy 2:4
What does 1 Timothy 2:4 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Timothy 2:4 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Timothy 2:4 means
God’s pleasure in broad prayer rests on his saving desire: he wills that all people be saved and come to a true knowledge of reality as he has revealed it. Salvation is not merely escape from judgment; it is entering the light of “the truth,” centered on the gospel. This statement does not teach that all will be saved regardless of response, but it shows the openness of God’s heart and the proper breadth of the church’s concern. Our intercessions reach as far as God’s mercy extends. He invites all to repentance and faith, and he uses the church’s prayers in his saving work.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Whose desire is that all men may have salvation and come to the knowledge of what is true.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862who doth will all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890who desires that all men should be saved and come to [the] knowledge of [the] truth.
Context
This verse explains why praying for all is good: it matches God’s gracious will. Yet God’s saving purpose operates through a specific means, which Paul immediately clarifies in verses 5–6—there is one God and one Mediator who ransomed all. The flow moves from the scope of God’s desire (all) to the exclusivity of the provision (one Mediator), keeping universal concern tethered to the particularity of Christ.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Luke 14:23
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled.
- Isaiah 45:22
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.
- Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins,
- John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- Ezekiel 33:11
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
- Titus 1:1
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
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