1 Thessalonians 1:4

1:4 We know, ¹  brothers and sisters ²  loved by God, that he has chosen you, ³ 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

5:18 in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:3

4:3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy, ⁴  that you keep away from sexual immorality,

1 Thessalonians 2:2

2:2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, ⁵  as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God ⁶  in spite of much opposition.

1 Thessalonians 2:4

2:4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts.

1 Thessalonians 2:8

2:8 with such affection for you ⁷  we were happy ⁸  to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

1 Thessalonians 2:12

2:12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory.

1 Thessalonians 3:9

3:9 For how can we thank God enough for you, ⁹  for all the joy we feel ¹⁰  because of you before our God?

1 Thessalonians 4:16

4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, ¹¹  and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

2:13 And so ¹²  we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, ¹³  you accepted it not as a human message, ¹⁴  but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 1:3

1:3 because we recall ¹⁵  in the presence of our God and Father ¹⁶  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ¹⁷  in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:9

2:9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, ¹⁸  our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

1 Thessalonians 2:14

2:14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, ¹⁹  of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews,

1 Thessalonians 3:2

3:2 We ²⁰  sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God ²¹  in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith,

1 Thessalonians 3:13

3:13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. ²² 

¹ tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started here in the translation.

² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

³ tn Grk “your election.”

⁴ tn Or “your sanctification.”

⁷ map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.

⁸ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. This same phrase occurs in vv. 8 and 9 as well.

¹⁰ tn Grk “longing for you in this way.”

¹¹ tn Or “we are happy.” This verb may be past or present tense, but the context favors the past.

¹³ tn Grk “what thanks can we render to God about you.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “all the joy with which we rejoice.”

¹⁶ tn Neither noun in this phrase (ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου, ejn fwnh ajrcangelou, “with the voice of the archangel”) has the article in keeping with Apollonius’ Canon. Since ἀρχάγγελος (ajrcangelo") is most likely monadic, both nouns are translated as definite in keeping with Apollonius’ Corollary (see ExSyn 250-51).

¹⁹ tn Grk “for this reason,” which seems to look back to Paul’s behavior just described. But it may look forward to v. 13b and mean: “and here is another reason that we constantly thank God: that…”

²⁰ tn Grk “God’s word of hearing from us.”

²¹ tn Paul’s focus is their attitude toward the message he preached: They received it not as a human message but a message from God.

²² tn Grk “making mention…recalling.” The participle ποιούμενοι (poioumenoi) in v. 2 has been translated as temporal, and μνημονεύοντες (mnhmoneuonte") in v. 3 has been translated as causal.

²³ tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

²⁴ tn These phrases denote Christian virtues in action: the work produced by faith, labor motivated by love, and endurance that stems from hope in Christ.

²⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

²⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³² tc A variety of readings occurs in this verse. Instead of “and fellow worker for God” (καὶ συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, kai sunergon tou qeou), B has “and fellow worker” (καὶ συνεργόν); א A P Ψ 0278 6 81 629* 1241 1739 1881 2464 lat co read “and servant of God” (καὶ διάκονον τοῦ θεοῦ, kai diakonon tou qeou); D² Ï and a few versional witnesses read “and a servant of God and our fellow worker” (καὶ διάκονον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ συνεργὸν ἡμῶν); and F G have “servant and fellow worker for God” (διάκονον καὶ συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ). The reading of the text (καὶ συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ) is found in D* 33 b {d m o} Ambst {Pel}. It may be argued that all readings that do not collocate συνεργόν with θεοῦ are secondary, as this is certainly the harder reading. Indeed, in only one other place in the NT are human beings said to be συνεργοὶ θεοῦ (sunergoi qeou; 1 Cor 3:9), and the simplest (though by no means the only) interpretation is that the genitive should be taken associatively (“a fellow worker in association with God”). It is difficult to account for συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ here unless it is authentic because of the theological difficulty that would be easily seen in this wording. A genealogy of the readings suggests that various scribes may have deleted τοῦ θεοῦ or swapped διάκονον for συνεργόν to remove the offense. The readings of the Byzantine text and two Western mss (F G) appear to be conflations of earlier readings, but the reading of F G nevertheless indirectly supports καὶ συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ since it does not remove the offense. Although the witnesses for καὶ συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ are minimal, the internal evidence is quite strong in favor of this reading. With hesitation, it is adopted as authentic.

³⁴ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א* A D* 81 629 lat) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this benediction, while the majority of mss, including several excellent witnesses (א² B D² F G Ψ 0278 1739 1881 Ï it sy sa), lack the particle. A decision is difficult, but in light of Paul’s habit of adding the ἀμήν to his notes of praise, even in the middle of his letters (cf. Rom 9:5; 11:36; 15:33; Gal 1:5), one might expect scribes to emulate this practice. Although a decision is difficult, it is probably best to follow the shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the particle in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.