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Who really said it

Money is the root of all evil

Not in the Bible as worded — a misquote of 1 Timothy 6:10 The Bible (1 Timothy 6:10) — paraphrased Epistle traditionally ascribed to Paul the Apostle · 1st century AD
Disputed Free to reuse

The verse this comes from does not say money is the root of all evil. In the King James Version, 1 Timothy 6:10 reads “For the love of money is the root of all evil” — the Greek is philargyria (φιλαργυρια), ‘love of money.’ Dropping those three words turns a warning about greed into a condemnation of money itself, which the passage never makes.

Last verified 16 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed — copy with the correction

“Money is the root of all evil” Misquote of the Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10. The verse (KJV) says "the love of money is the root of all evil" — not money itself.

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In context

Evoking the world of Paul the Apostle — Apostle & letter-writer of the early Church. Theme: "Money is the root of all evil". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "Money is the root of all evil". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The verse behind the misquote

Attributed source
1 Timothy 6:10
Actual wording (KJV, 1611)
“For the love of money is the root of all evil”
Greek original
ἡ φιλαργυρία (hē philargyria) — ‘the love of money’
Verdict
Misquotation — a qualifier dropped

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10, KJV

King James Version (1611). Modern translations render it “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (e.g. NIV, ESV) — a further softening of the sweeping ‘the root of all evil.’

1 Timothy 6:10 — KJV, Greek text and interlinear

How we know

  • The Koine Greek reads hē philargyria (φιλαργυρια), literally ‘the love of money’ — not money — as shown in the interlinear Greek and KJV at BibleHub.
  • Fact-checkers note the verse “is often misquoted as saying, ‘Money is the root of all evil’” — per GotQuestions.org.
  • The misquote substitutes ‘money’ for ‘love of money’ — but, as BibleStudyTools notes, “only the love of money is evil, not money itself.”
Public domain

The popular saying is a folk paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so it has no single copyright holder. The verse it derives from — 1 Timothy 6:10 in the King James Version (first published 1611) and its Koine Greek original — is long in the public domain in the United States.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Fact-check

What the Bible actually says

“Money is the root of all evil” is one of the most common misquotations of Scripture. The line people cite is a shortened, meaning-altered version of a single verse.

The Bible (1 Timothy 6:10) Misquoted

The verse condemns the love of money, not money. KJV: “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” The Greek philargyria (φιλαργυρια) means ‘love of money’ — confirmed in the interlinear Greek.

The popular paraphrase Reverses the sense

Dropping ‘the love of’ blames money itself; as BibleStudyTools notes, “only the love of money is evil, not money itself.” Many translations soften it further to ‘a root of all kinds of evil.’

The Bible never says money is the root of all evil; it says the love of money is — a warning about greed, not wealth (GotQuestions).

Context

Why the missing words matter

The three dropped words — ‘the love of’ — carry the entire ethical point. The verse is not an indictment of commerce, wealth, or coins; it is a warning about desire: the craving for money that, the letter says, leads some to “wander from the faith.” The misquote flattens a caution about the human heart into a slogan against money as such.

It is not money, but the love of money, that the verse condemns.

On ‘the’ vs ‘a’ root

The KJV’s ‘the root of all evil’ itself sharpens the Greek, where the definite article is absent before the predicate. Modern translations such as the NIV and ESV render it ‘a root of all kinds of evil,’ presenting greed as one source of many troubles rather than the single origin of everything wrong — a reading closer to the Greek.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Wisdom Power

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

BibleHub — 1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV, Greek, interlinear)biblehub.com

Primary text: KJV wording plus the Koine Greek philargyria (‘love of money’) in interlinear form.
King James Bible Online — 1 Timothy 6:10kingjamesbibleonline.org

The 1611 KJV verse: ‘For the love of money is the root of all evil.’
GotQuestions — is the love of money the root of all evil?gotquestions.org

States the verse ‘is often misquoted as saying, Money is the root of all evil.’
BibleStudyTools — Money is the Root of All Evil? 1 Timothy 6:10 explainedbiblestudytools.com

Explains the misquote swaps ‘money’ for ‘love of money,’ changing the meaning.
BibleRef — What does 1 Timothy 6:10 mean?bibleref.com

Verse-by-verse commentary distinguishing money from the love of money.

The verse’s traditional author

Whose warning was actually misquoted

Paul the Apostle

1st century AD · Apostle & letter-writer of the early Church

The First Epistle to Timothy, from which this line comes, is traditionally ascribed to Paul the Apostle, though many modern scholars regard the Pastoral Epistles as written later in his name. Whoever the author, the Greek text is unambiguous: it warns against philargyria, the love of money — the appetite for wealth, not wealth itself. The popular saying that drops those words says something the letter never did.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

1 Timothy 6:10 (KJV)

The Bible. 1 Timothy 6:10. King James Version (London, 1611); Koine Greek: ἡ φιλαργυρία (hē philargyria), ‘the love of money.’

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Money is the root of all evil’?” Last verified 16 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/money-is-the-root-of-all-evil

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