6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
desire (v.9) = deliberate grasping — not just a temporary emotion, but a planned, calculated effort rooted in the mind
greediness (v.10) = stretched out to grab
contentment (v.6) = self-content — translated “sufficiency” in 2 Corinthians 9:8
It [contentment] speaks of an inward self-sufficiency as opposed to the lack or the desire of outward things. It is a favorite Stoic word, expressing the doctrine of that philosophy that a man should be sufficient to himself for all things, and able, by the power of his own will, to resist the force of circumstances. In Song of Solomon 5:18, we read: “Blessed is the man whom God remembereth with a sufficiency convenient for him”; that is, with a sufficiency proportioned to his needs. Thus, Paul’s teaching here is that the possession of a godly piety makes a person independent of outward circumstances, and self-sufficient, enabling him to maintain a spiritual equilibrium in the midst of both favorable circumstances and those which are adverse. “With” is meta, a preposition showing close association of two things. This inward self-sufficiency is a natural accompaniment of godly piety. — Wuest, page 94
and (v.7) — should read “because”
The fact that we brought nothing into the world is shown by the impossibility of our taking with us anything out of it: since if anything belonging to us in our premundane state had been brought by us into the world, it would not be separated from us at our departure from the world. The reasoning of this clause depends upon the evident truth that since a man comes naked into this world (Job 1:21), and when he leaves it can take nothing for his labor which he may carry away in his hand (Ecclesiastes 5:15; Psalm 49:17), nothing the world can give is any addition to the man himself. He is a complete man, though naked (Matthew 6:25; Luke 12:15). — Wuest, page 94.
clothing (v.8) = covering — can include shelter as well as clothing
content (v.8) = possessed of unfailing strength, to suffice, to be enough against danger — so … defend, ward off, fortified against outward circumstances — same as contentment in v.6, but without the “self” prefix
drown (v.9) = plunge into a depth, sink
destruction (v.9) — not the destruction of being, but of well-being
evil (v.10) — plural
love of money (v.10) — one word in Greek, philarguria = love silver
sorrows (v.10) = consuming grief