A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now in a large house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay. Some are for honor, and some for dishonor.
- KJV But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
- NKJV But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
- NASB Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver implements, but also implements of wood and of earthenware, and some are for honor while others are for dishonor.
- NLT In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.
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
In a great house there are vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable and some for dishonorable use. The visible church contains both noble and ignoble members.
Overview
Paul uses a household analogy to explain the mixed condition of the visible church, where faithful and false coexist. The differing vessels picture differing uses and worth before God. The image sets up the call in the next verse to be a vessel fit for honorable purposes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Rom 9:21–23Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?
- 1 Tim 3:15in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
- 1 Pet 2:5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- 1 Cor 3:9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
- Eph 2:22And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.
- Ezra 1:6And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.
- Ezra 6:5Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.
- 2 Cor 4:7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
- 1 Cor 3:16–17Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- Lam 4:2How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, are now esteemed as jars of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
- Heb 3:2–6He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.
- Dan 5:2Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
- Exod 27:3Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans.
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Christ Jesus 'abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel' — the risen Lord whose word and kingdom endure to the end.
How 2 Timothy 2:20 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
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