In contrast to those who are contented with what they have, there are people who desire to be rich in a material way; these people are on their way to ruin and destruction; in fact, as the next verse shows, some of them have lost their faith because of this desire for wealth. Those who desire to be rich may also be expressed as “Those people who want lots of money.”

Grammatically temptation, snare, and desires are all governed by fall into, as the literal translation in Revised Standard Version shows. But the verse can also be understood as depicting a process: first, falling into temptation, and then being caught in a snare that consists of many senseless and hurtful desires (compare Good News Translation). As a result of all this, these people and others like them are pulled down to ruin and destruction.

To fall into means to be defeated, to succumb, to be overcome. Temptation refers to the desire to sin, that is, the desire to do evil things or to act against God’s will. Other ways to express this are “are tricked (or, deceived) into doing all sorts of sin,” “are conquered by the desire to do all sorts of sins,” or “Satan easily causes them to do all kinds of evil.” As already indicated, the snare consists of the desires that are senseless (that is, foolish, unwise, irrational, both in the intellectual and ethical sense) and hurtful (that is, injurious to life in general, and to morals in particular). Desires is here used in a bad sense and perhaps is related to the all-consuming wish to become rich. The phrases into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires may also be expressed as “they fall into (or, are caught in) as it were a trap which stands for the many foolish desires which will hurt them.” Such desires lead to their own destruction. Plunge is literally “to sink” as a ship or “to drown” but is used here in a causative sense, “to cause to sink,” “to drag down,” “to pull down” (see Good News Translation), with the cause of sinking being the harmful desires. The clause that plunge men into ruin and destruction may be expressed as “cause them to be completely destroyed,” “completely destroy them as if they were drowning,” or “… as if they were sinking like a ship.”

Men translates the generic word for people. There is a definite article before “people”; this has led some interpreters to identify these people with those who want to be rich in the first part of the verse (so Jerusalem Bible “eventually plunge them,” Phillips “their souls”). Others translate literally, with the result that the word for “people” becomes generic, referring to everyone, including those who desire to be rich (in addition to Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version, see also New Revised Standard Version, New English Bible). Ruin and destruction are synonyms, both referring to violent and extensive destruction; the combination of these two terms together stresses the intensity and severity of the destruction. In translating these two terms, the translator can use two synonymous words, provided that this would capture the intensity of destruction that is intended in the text. If this is not achieved, then the translator could use one term combined with an intensifier; for example, “terrible destruction” or “fatal destruction.”

In many languages it will be impossible to use the idea of fall to describe the various things that will happen to people who desire riches. Good News Translation‘s model is a good one. Other alternative translation models are the following:
• But these people who want to get lots of money are deceived into doing all sorts of evil (or, sins). They are also caught as it were in a trap which represents the many foolish desires that will hurt them. These desires will completely destroy them as if they were drowning (or, like a sinking ship).

Or:
• But Satan causes those people who want to be rich to do all kinds of evil things. They are caught as it were in a trap….

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .