1 Thessalonians 4:18

4:18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:15

5:15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

1 Thessalonians 4:9

4:9 Now on the topic of brotherly love ¹  you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

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 3:3

3:3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

1 Thessalonians 2:11

2:11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children,

1 Thessalonians 4:4

4:4 that each of you know how to possess his own body ²  in holiness and honor,

1 Thessalonians 5:24

5:24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this. ³ 

1 Thessalonians 4:6

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

1 Thessalonians 4:12

4:12 In this way you will live ⁶  a decent life before outsiders and not be in need. ⁷ 

1 Thessalonians 3:13

3:13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. ⁸ 

1 Thessalonians 2:7

2:7 ⁹  although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ; instead we became ¹⁰  little children ¹¹  among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children,

1 Thessalonians 2:12

2:12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory.

1 Thessalonians 4:8

4:8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority ¹²  but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

1 Thessalonians 5:13

5:13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

1 Thessalonians 1:10

1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath. ¹³ 

1 Thessalonians 2:4

2:4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts.

1 Thessalonians 3:5

3:5 So ¹⁴  when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.

1 Thessalonians 4:17

4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, ¹⁵  will be suddenly caught up ¹⁶  together ¹⁷  with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

[4:9]  ¹ tn Grk “concerning brotherly love.”

[4:4]  ¹ tn Grk “to gain [or possess] his own vessel.” “Vessel” is most likely used figuratively for “body” (cf. 2 Cor 4:7). Some take it to mean “wife” (thus, “to take a wife for himself” or “to live with his wife”), but this is less likely. See J. Smith, “1 Thess 4:4 – Breaking the Impasse,” BBR 10 (Fall 2000), who argues that “vessel” in this context is very likely a euphemism for the sexual organs.

[5:24]  ¹ tn Grk “who will also do,” with the object understood from v. 23.

[4:6]  ¹ tn Grk “not to transgress against or defraud his brother in the matter,” continuing the sentence of vv. 3-5.

[4:6]  ² tn Grk “concerning all these things.”

[4:12]  ¹ tn Grk “that you may live,” continuing the sentence of 4:10b-11.

[4:12]  ² tn Or “not be dependent on anyone”; Grk “and have need of nothing,” “of no one.”

[3:13]  ¹ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א* A D* 81 629 lat) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this benediction, while the majority of mss, including several excellent witnesses (א² B D² F G Ψ 0278 1739 1881 Ï it sy sa), lack the particle. A decision is difficult, but in light of Paul’s habit of adding the ἀμήν to his notes of praise, even in the middle of his letters (cf. Rom 9:5; 11:36; 15:33; Gal 1:5), one might expect scribes to emulate this practice. Although a decision is difficult, it is probably best to follow the shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the particle in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[2:7]  ¹ tn Punctuating vv. 6 and 7 is difficult. One must consider the difficult textual problem of v. 7 (see tc note on the word “children” in that verse) as well as the grammar of the verse. In the translation above, “little children” is understood to be a predicate nominative connected to the verb “became.” This allows a full stop to be placed at the end of v. 6 and before the phrase “like a nursing mother” in v. 7. This separates the two metaphors which impact the textual problem and allows for greater clarity in the way the sentence is read.

[2:7]  ² tn Or “were,” “proved to be.”

[2:7]  ³ tc The variant ἤπιοι (hpioi, “gentle”) has fair support (א² A C² D² Ψ^c 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï), but νήπιοι (nhpioi, “little children”) has significantly stronger backing (Ì⁶⁵ א* B C* D* F G I Ψ* pc it bo). It is not insignificant that the earliest Alexandrian and Western witnesses in support of ἤπιοι are actually not Alexandrian or Western; they are the second correctors of Alexandrian and Western mss. Such correctors generally follow a Byzantine Vorlage. The reading νήπιοι is thus superior externally. Further, νήπιοι is much harder in this context, for Paul mixes his metaphors (“we became little children in your midst…Like a nursing mother…”). Thus, the scribes would naturally alter this reading to the softer ἤπιοι (“we became gentle…”). Paul is not known for his consistency of figures, however (cf., e.g., Gal 4:19); hence, the intrinsic evidence points to νήπιοι as original. On the other hand, it is possible that νήπιοι was caused by dittography with the preceding -μεν (-men). It is even possible that νήπιοι was caused by an error of hearing right from the beginning: The amanuensis could have heard the apostle incorrectly. But such a supposition cuts both ways; further, Paul would no doubt have corrected the reading in the ms before it was sent out. If so, one would surely have expected both earlier witnesses on the side of ἤπιοι and perhaps a few first correctors to have this reading. The reading “little children” thus stands as most probably original. (For an extended discussion of this problem, see J. A. D. Weima, “‘But We Became Infants Among You’: The Case for NHPIOI in 1 Thess 2.7,” NTS 46 [2000]: 547-64; T. B. Sailors, “Wedding Textual and Rhetorical Criticism to Understand the Text of 1 Thessalonians 2.7,” JSNT 80 [2000]: 81-98.)

[4:8]  ¹ tn Grk “rejecting man.”

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

[3:5]  ¹ tn Or “for this reason.”

[4:17]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Or “simultaneously,” but this meaning does not fit as well in the parallel in 5:10.