What does your bible translation say at 1 Timothy 3:16?

Question

KJV 1 Timothy 3:16

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

The Textus Receptus Manuscript from which it was taken contained the Greek word for God. The Gnostics had removed “qeos” (Theos-God) which is a noun and changed it to “Ος” (Hos-He), which is a pronoun. This is a glaring attack upon the Lord Jesus Christ by removing the fact that He was and is God, and specifically as God being the Savior. (Isa 43:11 KJV) I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. If Christ, as God, did not die upon that cross for His children, then we are still in our sins. For no mere man can die for another and have their sins removed, for who will remove the sins of the one sacrificing himself? Sinner cannot redeem sinner!

What does your version say?

Read this: http://www.scionofzion.com/1_timothy_3_16.htm

Answer 1

The Good News Bible says this:

"No one can deny how great is the secret of our religion:
He appeared in human form, was shown to be right by the Spirit, and was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, and was taken up to heaven." Footnote gives an alternative reading re Spirit: or and, in spiritual form, was shown to be right.

The Message puts it this way:

"This Christian life is a great mystery, far exceeding our understanding, but some things are clear enough:

He appeared in a human body, was proved right by the invisible Spirit, was seen by angels. He was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples, believed in all over the world, taken up into heavenly glory."

'God was manifest in the flesh' is much less ambiguous. Thanks for sharing that with us.

Oh, just a comment to the first answerer re the Bible being inanimate. Yes, books are inanimate, but the Holy Bible is 'God breathed', is alive by virtue of the fact that God speaks into our hearts and minds when we read it, and is powerful to save and transform. So, although it is understandable that people think it's just a collection of writings, to those who believe God inspired all those writings it is much more than just a book - it is the LIVING word of God.

Answer 2

1 Timothy 3:16 (English Standard Version)
English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
[ESV from Good News Press]

16Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He[a] was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated[b] by the Spirit,[c]
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.



Footnotes:

1. 1 Timothy 3:16 Greek Who; some manuscripts God; others Which
2. 1 Timothy 3:16 Or justified
3. 1 Timothy 3:16 Or vindicated in spirit

Answer 3

"Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: he appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, ws taken up in glory. 1 Tim.3:16 NIV

Answer 4

And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Beheld by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.

Answer 5

It is quite true that the way to live a godly life is not an easy matter. But the answer lies in Christ, who came to earth as a man, was proved spotless and pure in his Spirit, was served by angels, was preached among the nations, was accepted by men everywhere and was received up again to his glory in heaven.

Answer 6

But consider Revelation 1:8

NIV "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

KJV "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

So why did the KJV remove the word "God"? Did the KJV translators conspire to remove the deity of Christ in this verse?

King James ONLY people need to get off their propaganda bandwagon and look at the facts objectively. Each group of translators simply translated from the best source documents they had available at the time.

What's this foolishness you speak of as if the doctrine of the deity of Christ was based on a single verse - 1Tim 3:16. All the translations have abundant verses to support the deity of Christ.

See http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/jdeity.html

Answer 7

Nugget Lover, I agree with the first version from everything else that I have read in the scriptures and the KJV is my favorite. 1 Timothy 2:4 (KJV) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. I have never been fond of the NIV but the NWT is "way off base" from what I find here! Have a great weekend. Thanks, Eds ~~~ .

Answer 8

Jesus and God are frequently referred to as Him, He, etc. Why is it a big deal if they used a pronoun. As long as in context, you can see that the pronoun is point to God as the noun it's replacing, then no big deal. Relax and believe and don't get so uptight about the rest of the world.

Answer 9

The author of Timothy also may have gotten it wrong by declaring the personage of God. You're attacking the Gnostic for removing "queos" and changing it to a pronoun. Either case could be very wrong.

This brings you back to Timothy's author. That passage you quoted could very well have been just made up. You're on the right track on Biblical text criticism. Just need to get down to the source and psychology of Timothy.

Answer 10

1 Timothy
Greek: Modern
1 Timothy 3 [Context] [Commentary]

16. Και αναντιρρητως το μυστηριον της ευσεβειας ειναι μεγα· ο Θεος εφανερωθη εν σαρκι, εδικαιωθη εν πνευματι, εφανη εις αγγελους, εκηρυχθη εις τα εθνη, επιστευθη εις τον κοσμον, ανεληφθη εν δοξη.