6:16a

He alone is immortal: To say that only God is immortal is to say that he is the only one who lives forever and never dies.

6:16b

and dwells in unapproachable light: In the Old Testament, God often demonstrated his presence by appearing as a bright light. This is part of the meaning of God’s “glory.” Paul was probably thinking about this aspect of God’s presence when he wrote that God dwells in unapproachable light. Even Moses was not able to approach the tabernacle when God’s glory (light) filled it (Exodus 40:34–35).

unapproachable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unapproachable means that no one can approach or come near this “light.”

6:16c

Him: This refers to God.

nor can anyone see Him: Not only has no person seen God, but it is not possible for a person to see God and remain alive (Exodus 33:20).

6:16d

To Him be honor and eternal dominion: Paul was not praying for God to receive honor and might. Instead, he was praising God because it is right to honor God, and God is mighty. The Contemporary English Version expresses this:

God will be honored, and his power will last forever.

honor: In some languages it may be necessary to use a verb rather than a noun like honor. To honor someone means to respect him and to treat him as an important person. See the note on 1:17d.

eternal dominion: In Greek the expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as eternal means that God will always deserve honor and might.

Amen: When people in the Bible prayed to God, they often ended by saying Amen. This means not only that they had finished, but that they fully agreed with what they had said. Because this word is well known even today, many translations just transliterate it. Another possibility is to translate it with an expression like “so let it be.” See the note on 1:17d.

© 2003 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.