1 Thessalonians 5:8

5:8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate ¹  of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. ² 

1 Thessalonians 2:17

Forced Absence from Thessalonica

2:17 But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters, ³  for a short time (in presence, not in affection) ⁴  we became all the more fervent in our great desire ⁵  to see you in person. ⁶ 

1 Thessalonians 3:12

3:12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you,

1 Thessalonians 4:17

4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, ⁷  will be suddenly caught up ⁸  together ⁹  with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 3:6

3:6 But now Timothy has come ¹⁰  to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection ¹¹  and long to see us just as we also long to see you! ¹² 

1 Thessalonians 4:15

4:15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, ¹³  that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

2:13 And so ¹⁴  we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, ¹⁵  you accepted it not as a human message, ¹⁶  but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe.

¹ sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.

² tn Grk “hope of salvation” (“a helmet…for salvation” is an allusion to Isa 59:17).

³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

⁴ tn Grk “in face, not in heart.”

⁵ tn Grk “with great desire.”

⁶ tn Grk “to see your face.”

⁵ tc The words οἱ περιλειπόμενοι (Joi perileipomenoi, “[the ones] who are left”) are lacking in F G {0226^vid} ar b as well as a few fathers, but the rest of the textual tradition has the words. Most likely, the Western mss omitted the words because of perceived redundancy with οἱ ζῶντες (Joi zwnte", “[the ones] who are alive”).

⁶ tn Or “snatched up.” The Greek verb ἁρπάζω implies that the action is quick or forceful, so the translation supplied the adverb “suddenly” to make this implicit notion clear.

⁷ tn Or “simultaneously,” but this meaning does not fit as well in the parallel in 5:10.

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

⁸ tn Grk “you have a good remembrance of us always.”

⁹ tn Grk “just as also we you.”

⁹ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

¹¹ 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…”

¹² tn Grk “God’s word of hearing from us.”

¹³ 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.