1 Thessalonians 1:2-10

Thanksgiving for Response to the Gospel

1:2 We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly ¹  in our prayers, 1:3 because we recall ²  in the presence of our God and Father ³  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ⁴  in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:4 We know, ⁵  brothers and sisters ⁶  loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁷  1:5 in that ⁸  our gospel did not come to you merely in words, ⁹  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). ¹⁰ 

1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received ¹¹  the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction. 1:7 As a result you became an example ¹²  to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 1:8 For from you the message of the Lord ¹³  has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, ¹⁴  so that we do not need to say anything. 1:9 For people everywhere ¹⁵  report how you welcomed us ¹⁶  and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath. ¹⁷ 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Or “mention you in our prayers, because we recall constantly…”

[1:3]  ² tn Grk “making mention…recalling.” The participle ποιούμενοι (poioumenoi) in v. 2 has been translated as temporal, and μνημονεύοντες (mnhmoneuonte") in v. 3 has been translated as causal.

[1:3]  ³ tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn These phrases denote Christian virtues in action: the work produced by faith, labor motivated by love, and endurance that stems from hope in Christ.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb and a new sentence started here in the translation.

[1:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “your election.”

[1:5]  ⁸ tn Or “because.”

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”

[1:5]  ¹⁰ 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.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “after you received.”

[1:7]  ¹² tc Most mss (א A C D² F G Ψ 0278 Ï) have the plural τύπους (tupou", “examples”) here, while a few important witnesses have the singular τύπον (tupon, “example”; B D*^,c 6 33 81 104 1739 1881 pc lat). With ὑμᾶς (Jumas, “you”) immediately preceding, the plural form looks motivated: Scribes would be expected to change the singular to the plural here. Although the external evidence for the singular reading is not overwhelming, the internal evidence for it is compelling.

[1:8]  ¹³ tn Or “the word of the Lord.”

[1:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “your faith in God has gone out.”

[1:9]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “they themselves,” referring to people in the places just mentioned.

[1:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “what sort of entrance we had to you” (an idiom for how someone is received).

[1:10]  ¹⁷ sn The coming wrath. This wrath is an important theme in 1 Thess 5.