The Greek text reads rhiza gar panton ton kakon estin he philarguria: for the love of money is a root of all evils. The King James Version rendered it 'the love of money is the root of all evil'; modern critical texts and translations (lacking the definite article before 'root' and reading 'all kinds of') soften it further to 'a root of all kinds of evil'. The context is a warning about wanderers from the faith pierced by griefs, not a condemnation of currency.
The truncated form 'money is the root of all evil' functions as a proverb against wealth itself, deployed in sermons, arguments, and hip-hop hooks. It is one of the most common biblical misquotations in English.
The verse's logic matches the epistle's broader theme: the object is neutral, the craving is the engine. Read whole, it is a verse about attachment, a first-century cousin of the Dao De Jing's warning about those who grasp.
If the verse condemns an orientation of the heart rather than an object, what other verses have been flattened into objects?