1 Timothy 4:8

American Standard Version (1901)

for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Ἡ γὰρ σωματικὴ γυμνασία πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ὠφέλιμος: ἡ δὲ εὐσέβεια πρὸς πάντα ὠφέλιμός ἐστιν, ἐπαγγελίαν ἔχουσα ζωῆς τῆς νῦν, καὶ τῆς μελλούσης.

Transliteration

The gar sōmatikē gymnasia pros oligon estin ōphelimos: the de eusebeia pros panta ōphelimos estin, epangelian echousa zōēs tēs now, and tēs mellousēs.

Grammar Details

• *gar*: conjunction, postpositive - for/because
• *sōmatikē*: nominative, feminine, singular - bodily/physical
• *gymnasia*: nominative, feminine, singular - exercise/training
• *pros*: preposition + accusative - for/toward
• *oligon*: accusative, neuter, singular - little/small/brief
• *estin*: present, active, indicative, 3rd singular - is
• *ōphelimos*: nominative, feminine, singular - profitable/useful/beneficial
• *de*: conjunction, postpositive - but/and
• *eusebeia*: nominative, feminine, singular - godliness/piety
• *panta*: accusative, neuter, plural - all things
• *epangelian*: accusative, feminine, singular - promise
• *echousa*: present, active, participle, nominative, feminine, singular - having/holding
• *zōēs*: genitive, feminine, singular - of life
• *tēs*: genitive, feminine, singular - of the
• *mellousēs*: present, active, participle, genitive, feminine, singular - coming/future

Word Meanings

• *sōmatikē gymnasia*: bodily exercise/physical training
• *oligon*: little/brief time/small extent
• *ōphelimos*: profitable/beneficial/useful
• *eusebeia*: godliness/piety/reverence toward God
• *panta*: all things/every way
• *epangelian*: promise/pledge
• *zōēs*: life/existence
• *mellousēs*: coming/future/about to be

Referenced Verses

• Matt 6:33 : 33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
• 1 Tim 6:6 : 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain:
• Rev 3:21 : 21 He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne.
• Mark 10:30 : 30 but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
• Ps 84:11 : 11 For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield: Jehovah will give grace and glory; No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
• Job 5:19-26 : 19 He will deliver thee in six troubles; Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20 In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword. 21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 22 At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. 23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. 24 And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing. 25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth. 26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, Like as a shock of grain cometh in in its season.
• Ps 37:3-4 : 3 Trust in Jehovah, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on [his] faithfulness. 4 Delight thyself also in Jehovah; And he will give thee the desires of thy heart.
• Ps 37:9 : 9 For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the land.
• Ps 145:19 : 19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him; He also will hear their cry and will save them.
• Prov 3:16-18 : 16 Length of days is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: And happy is every one that retaineth her.
• Prov 19:23 : 23 The fear of Jehovah [tendeth] to life; And he [that hath it] shall abide satisfied; He shall not be visited with evil.
• Prov 22:4 : 4 The reward of humility [and] the fear of Jehovah [Is] riches, and honor, and life.
• Eccl 8:12 : 12 Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and prolong his [days], yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him:
• Isa 1:11-16 : 11 What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies,-- I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting. [ 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
• Isa 3:10 : 10 Say ye of the righteous, that [it shall be] well [with him] ; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
• Isa 32:17-18 : 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever. 18 And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
• Isa 33:16 : 16 He shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; his bread shall be given [him] ; his waters shall be sure.
• Isa 58:3-5 : 3 Wherefore have we fasted, [say they], and thou seest not? [wherefore] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find [your own] pleasure, and exact all your labors. 4 Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?
• Isa 65:13-14 : 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be put to shame; 14 behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall wail for vexation of spirit.
• Jer 6:20 : 20 To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
• Amos 5:21-24 : 21 I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Yea, though ye offer me your burnt-offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24 But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
• Matt 5:3-9 : 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye when [men] shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.
• Ps 37:11 : 11 But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
• Ps 37:16-19 : 16 Better is a little that the righteous hath Than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; But Jehovah upholdeth the righteous. 18 Jehovah knoweth the days of the perfect; And their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
• Ps 37:29 : 29 The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell therein for ever.
• Ps 50:7-9 : 7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify unto thee: I am God, [even] thy God. 8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me. 9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goats out of thy folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the Most High: 15 And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
• Job 22:2 : 2 Can a man be profitable unto God? Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.
• Deut 28:1-9 : 1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth: 2 and all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God. 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7 Jehovah will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. 8 Jehovah will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. 9 Jehovah will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways. 10 And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11 And Jehovah will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12 Jehovah will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13 And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them] , 14 and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
• 1 Sam 15:22 : 22 And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
• Ps 91:10-16 : 10 There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. 11 For he will give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honor him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, And show him my salvation.
• Ps 112:1-3 : 1 Praise ye Jehovah. Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, That delighteth greatly in his commandments. 2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: The generation of the upright shall be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house; And his righteousness endureth for ever.
• Ps 128:1-6 : 1 [A Song of Ascents]. Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah, That walketh in his ways. 2 For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands: Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. 3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine, In the innermost parts of thy house; Thy children like olive plants, Round about thy table. 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed That feareth Jehovah. 5 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion: And see thou the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. 6 Yea, see thou thy children's children. Peace be upon Israel.
• Luke 12:31-32 : 31 Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you. 32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
• Matt 19:29 : 29 And every one that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life.
• Mark 10:19-20 : 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor thy father and mother. 20 And he said unto him, Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth.
• 1 Cor 3:22 : 22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
• 1 Cor 8:8 : 8 But food will not commend us to God: neither, if we eat not, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better.
• Col 2:21-23 : 21 Handle not, nor taste, nor touch 22 (all which things are to perish with the using), after the precepts and doctrines of men? 23 Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and severity to the body; [but are] not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.
• Titus 3:8 : 8 Faithful is the saying, and concerning these things I desire that thou affirm confidently, to the end that they who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men:
• Heb 9:9-9 : 9 which [is] a figure for the time present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect, 10 [ being] only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.
• Heb 13:9 : 9 Be not carried away by divers and strange teachings: for it is good that the heart be established by grace; not by meats, wherein they that occupied themselves were not profited.
• 2 Pet 1:3-4 : 3 seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; 4 whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in that world by lust.
• 1 John 2:25 : 25 And this is the promise which he promised us, [even] the life eternal.
• Rev 3:12 : 12 He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name.
• Rom 8:28 : 28 And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, [even] to them that are called according to [his] purpose.