Does the Bible Say “Money Is the Root of All Evil”?

The short answer

The verse is 1 Timothy 6:10, and it does not say money is the root of all evil. It says the love of money is. The King James rendering runs: For the love of money is the root of all evil. Many modern translations are more precise still, giving a root of all kinds of evil rather than the root of all evil.

Three words, and the meaning inverts

Without the love of, the sentence indicts a thing. With it, the sentence indicts an appetite. That is not a subtle distinction — it is the difference between claiming that currency is inherently corrupting and observing that craving it leads people astray. The first is a position most people would struggle to defend for five minutes. The second is a piece of moral psychology that survives contact with the world.

Why the shorter version won

For the usual reason: it is shorter, blunter, and easier to deploy. It also flatters the person quoting it, since condemning money outright sounds more radical than warning about desire. The result is a line quoted for centuries against wealth by people who would have found the actual verse considerably more uncomfortable — because everyone is capable of loving money, including those who have none.

How to check a scriptural quote

Scripture is the easiest category to verify, because the primary source is indexed to the verse. Any quotation from it should come with a book, chapter, and verse, and comparing two or three translations takes under a minute. When a religious-sounding line arrives without a reference — God helps those who help themselves is another famous example — that absence is usually the answer.

What this means for your English

This is a lesson in how much English meaning rides on small function words. Of, the, and a are doing enormous work here: the root versus a root, money versus the love of money. Learners often treat these words as noise to be skimmed. They are frequently where the meaning actually lives.