1 Thessalonians 1:3

1:3 because we recall ¹  in the presence of our God and Father ²  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ³  in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

2:13 And so ⁴  we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, ⁵  you accepted it not as a human message, ⁶  but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe.

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 3:9

3:9 For how can we thank God enough for you, ⁸  for all the joy we feel ⁹  because of you before our God?

1 Thessalonians 3:2

3:2 We ¹⁰  sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God ¹¹  in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith,

1 Thessalonians 1:4

1:4 We know, ¹²  brothers and sisters ¹³  loved by God, that he has chosen you, ¹⁴ 

1 Thessalonians 1:3

1:3 because we recall ¹⁵  in the presence of our God and Father ¹⁶  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ¹⁷  in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:3-6

1:3 because we recall ¹⁸  in the presence of our God and Father ¹⁹  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ²⁰  in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:4 We know, ²¹  brothers and sisters ²²  loved by God, that he has chosen you, ²³  1:5 in that ²⁴  our gospel did not come to you merely in words, ²⁵  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). ²⁶ 

1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received ²⁷  the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction.

[1:3]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

[1:3]  ³ 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.

[2:13]  ⁴ 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…”

[2:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “God’s word of hearing from us.”

[2:13]  ⁶ 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.

[2:19]  ⁷ 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).

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Grk “what thanks can we render to God about you.”

[3:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “all the joy with which we rejoice.”

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[3:2]  ¹¹ 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.

[1:4]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “your election.”

[1:3]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

[1:3]  ¹⁷ 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.

[1:3]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

[1:3]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Grk “your election.”

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Or “because.”

[1:5]  ²⁵ tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”

[1:5]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Or “after you received.”