1 Thessalonians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹  and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians ²  in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you! ³ 

1 Thessalonians 1:6

1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received ⁴  the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction.

1 Thessalonians 2:15

2:15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets ⁵  and persecuted us severely. ⁶  They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people,

1 Thessalonians 2:19

2:19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of ⁷  before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you?

1 Thessalonians 3:11-12

3:11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 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 4:6

4:6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, ⁸  because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, ⁹  as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly.

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, ¹⁰  and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

Final Instructions

5:12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, ¹¹  to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you,

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ² map For the location of Thessalonica see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ³ tc The majority of witnesses, including several early and important ones (א A [D] I 33 Ï bo), have ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυριοῦ Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (apo qeou patro" Jhmwn kai kuriou Ihsou Cristou, “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”) at the end of v. 1. The more abrupt reading (“Grace and peace to you”) without this addition is supported by B F G Ψ 0278 629 1739 1881 pc lat sa. Apart from a desire to omit the redundancy of the mention of God and Christ in this verse, there is no good reason why scribes would have omitted the characteristically Pauline greeting. (Further, if this were the case, why did these same scribes overlook such an opportunity in 2 Thess 1:1-2?) On the other hand, since 1 Thessalonians is one of Paul’s earliest letters, what would become characteristic of his greetings seems to have been still in embryonic form (e.g., he does not yet call his audience “saints” [which will first be used in his address to the Corinthians], nor does he use ἐν (en) plus the dative to refer to the location of the church). Thus, the internal evidence is overwhelming in support of the shorter reading, for scribes would have been strongly motivated to rework this salutation in light of Paul’s style elsewhere. And the external evidence, though not overwhelming, is supportive of this shorter reading, found as it is in some of the best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texttypes.

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Or “after you received.”

[2:15]  ⁷ tc ἰδίους (idious, “their own prophets”) is found in D¹ Ψ Ï sy Mcion^T. This is obviously a secondary reading. Marcion’s influence may stand behind part of the tradition, but the Byzantine text probably added the adjective in light of its mention in v. 14 and as a clarification or interpretation of which prophets were in view.

[2:15]  ⁸ tn Or “and drove us out” (cf. Acts 17:5-10).

[2:19]  ¹⁰ sn Crown to boast of (Grk “crown of boasting”). Paul uses boasting or exultation to describe the Christian’s delight in being commended for faithful service by the Lord at his return (1 Cor 9:15-16; 2 Cor 1:12-14; 10:13-18; Phil 2:16; and 1 Cor 3:14; 4:5).

[4:6]  ¹³ tn Grk “not to transgress against or defraud his brother in the matter,” continuing the sentence of vv. 3-5.

[4:6]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “concerning all these things.”

[4:16]  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).

[5:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.