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. ¹ 

Acts 14:22-23

14:22 They strengthened ²  the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue ³  in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom ⁴  of God through many persecutions.” ⁵  14:23 When they had appointed elders ⁶  for them in the various churches, ⁷  with prayer and fasting ⁸  they entrusted them to the protection ⁹  of the Lord in whom they had believed.

Acts 16:5

16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day. ¹⁰ 

Ephesians 6:22

6:22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know our circumstances ¹¹  and that he may encourage your hearts.

Philippians 1:25

1:25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress ¹²  and joy in the faith, ¹³ 

¹ 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.

² tn Grk “to Antioch, strengthening.” Due to the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was started here. This participle (ἐπιστηρίζοντες, episthrizonte") and the following one (παρακαλοῦντες, parakalounte") have been translated as finite verbs connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.”

³ sn And encouraged them to continue. The exhortations are like those noted in Acts 11:23; 13:43. An example of such a speech is found in Acts 20:18-35. Christianity is now characterized as “the faith.”

⁴ sn This reference to the kingdom of God clearly refers to its future arrival.

⁵ tn Or “sufferings.”

⁶ sn Appointed elders. See Acts 20:17.

⁷ tn The preposition κατά (kata) is used here in a distributive sense; see BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.1.d.

⁸ tn Literally with a finite verb (προσευξάμενοι, proseuxamenoi) rather than a noun, “praying with fasting,” but the combination “prayer and fasting” is so familiar in English that it is preferable to use it here.

⁹ tn BDAG 772 s.v. παρατίθημι 3.b has “entrust someone to the care or protection of someone” for this phrase. The reference to persecution or suffering in the context (v. 22) suggests “protection” is a better translation here. This looks at God’s ultimate care for the church.

¹⁰ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

¹¹ tn Grk “the things concerning us.”

¹² tn Grk “for your progress.”

¹³ sn Paul’s confidence in his release from prison (I know that I will remain and continue with all of you) implies that this Roman imprisonment did not end in his death. Hence, there is the likelihood that he experienced a second Roman imprisonment later on (since the belief of the early church was that Paul died under Nero in Rome). If so, then the pastoral letters (1-2 Tim, Titus) could well fit into a life of Paul that goes beyond any descriptions in the book of Acts (which ends with Paul’s first Roman imprisonment). Some have argued that the pastorals cannot be genuine because they cannot fit into the history of Acts. But this view presupposes that Paul’s first Roman imprisonment was also his last.