1 Thessalonians 5:21

5:21 But examine all things; hold fast to what is good.

1 Thessalonians 5:15

5:15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

1 Thessalonians 3:6

3:6 But now Timothy has come ¹  to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection ²  and long to see us just as we also long to see you! ³ 

1 Thessalonians 3:2

3:2 We ⁴  sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God ⁵  in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith,

1 Thessalonians 3:1

3:1 So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens ⁶  alone.

1 Thessalonians 1:5

1:5 in that ⁷  our gospel did not come to you merely in words, ⁸  but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you). ⁹ 

1 Thessalonians 2:2

2:2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, ¹⁰  as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God ¹¹  in spite of much opposition.

1 Thessalonians 2:8

2:8 with such affection for you ¹²  we were happy ¹³  to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

1 Thessalonians 2:4

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 2:9

2:9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, ¹⁴  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 3:10

3:10 We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person ¹⁵  and make up what may be lacking in your faith.

1 Thessalonians 1:8

1:8 For from you the message of the Lord ¹⁶  has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, ¹⁷  so that we do not need to say anything.

1 Thessalonians 2:16

2:16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins, ¹⁸  but wrath ¹⁹  has come upon them completely. ²⁰ 

¹ tn Grk “but now Timothy having come,” a subordinate clause leading to the main clause of v. 7.

² tn Grk “you have a good remembrance of us always.”

³ tn Grk “just as also we you.”

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² 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.

¹ map For location see JP1-C2; JP2-C2; JP3-C2; JP4-C2.

¹ tn Or “because.”

² tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”

³ tn Grk “just as you know what sort of people we were among you for your sakes.” Verse 5 reflects on the experience of Paul and his fellow preachers; v. 6 begins to describe the Thessalonians’ response.

¹ map For location see JP1-C1; JP2-C1; JP3-C1; JP4-C1.

² 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.

¹ tn Grk “longing for you in this way.”

² tn Or “we are happy.” This verb may be past or present tense, but the context favors the past.

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

¹ tn Grk “to see your face.”

¹ tn Or “the word of the Lord.”

² tn Grk “your faith in God has gone out.”

¹ tn Grk “to fill up their sins always.”

² tc The Western text (D F G latt) adds τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) to ὀργή (orgh) to read “the wrath of God,” in emulation of the normal Pauline idiom (cf., e.g., Rom 1:18; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6) and, most likely, to clarify which wrath is in view (since ὀργή is articular).

³ tn Or “at last.”