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who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.
1 Timothy 2:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;
  • KJV Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
  • NKJV who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
  • NASB who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
  • NLT He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Christ gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. It points to the cross as the price paid for our redemption.

Overview

Paul describes Christ's self-giving as a 'ransom for all,' the heart of his atoning work. The 'testimony in its own times' marks this as God's appointed revelation in history. The verse declares the gospel that Christ's death secures redemption for those who come to Him.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 31

  • Matt 20:28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
  • 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
  • 1 Jn 2:1–2My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
  • Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
  • Gal 4:4But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
  • 1 Jn 4:10And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
  • 1 Cor 1:6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
  • Titus 2:14He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
  • Eph 5:2and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
  • Job 33:24to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the Pit; I have found his ransom,’
  • 1 Tim 6:15which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
  • 2 Cor 5:21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
  • 1 Pet 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
  • Titus 1:3In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
  • John 10:15just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
  • 2 Cor 5:14–15For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.
  • 1 Pet 1:18–19For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
  • John 6:51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
  • Mark 10:45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
  • Isa 53:6We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
  • 1 Jn 5:11–12And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
  • Rev 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
  • 2 Th 1:10on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.
  • 2 Tim 1:8So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.
  • Rom 16:26but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—
  • Eph 1:7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
  • Heb 9:12He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
  • Eph 1:9–10And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ
  • Eph 1:17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.
  • Rom 5:6For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
  • Eph 3:5which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Timothy videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Timothy 2:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 TimothyMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

There is 'one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all' — the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh.

How 1 Timothy 2:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.