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 2:19

2:19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of ⁴  before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you?

1 Thessalonians 3:11

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

1 Thessalonians 4:6

4:6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, ⁵  because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, ⁶  as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly.

1 Thessalonians 4:8

4:8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority ⁷  but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

1 Thessalonians 4:17

4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, ⁸  will be suddenly caught up ⁹  together ¹⁰  with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:3

5:3 Now when ¹¹  they are saying, “There is peace and security,” ¹²  then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains ¹³  on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.

[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.

[2:19]  ⁴ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “not to transgress against or defraud his brother in the matter,” continuing the sentence of vv. 3-5.

[4:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “concerning all these things.”

[4:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “rejecting man.”

[4:17]  ¹³ 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”).

[4:17]  ¹⁴ 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.

[4:17]  ¹⁵ tn Or “simultaneously,” but this meaning does not fit as well in the parallel in 5:10.

[5:3]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ δέ (de, “now”) is found in א² B D 0226 6 1505 1739 1881 al, but lacking in א* A F G 33 it. γάρ (gar, “for”) is the reading of the Byzantine text and a few other witnesses (Ψ 0278 Ï). Although normally the shorter reading is to be preferred, the external evidence is superior for δέ (being found in the somewhat better Alexandrian and Western witnesses). What, then, is to explain the γάρ? Scribes were prone to replace δέ with γάρ, especially in sentences suggesting a causal or explanatory idea, thus making the point more explicit. Internally, the omission of δέ looks unintentional, a case of homoioarcton (otandelegwsin). Although a decision is difficult, in this instance δέ has the best credentials for authenticity.

[5:3]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “peace and security,” with “there is” understood in the Greek construction.

[5:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk a singular “birth pain.”