Discovery Box1 Thessalonians 4:1--5:28
Context4:1 Finally then, brothers and sisters, 1 we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how 2 you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) 3 that you do so more and more. 4:2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 4:3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy, 4 that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4:4 that each of you know how to possess his own body 5 in holiness and honor, 4:5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. 4:6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, 6 because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, 7 as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. 4:7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 4:8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority 8 but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
4:9 Now on the topic of brotherly love 9 you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 4:10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters 10 in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 4:11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you. 4:12 In this way you will live 12 a decent life before outsiders and not be in need. 13
4:13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed, 14 brothers and sisters, 15 about those who are asleep, 16 so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that 17 God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. 18 4:15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, 19 that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, 20 and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, 21 will be suddenly caught up 22 together 23 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 4:18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
5:1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, 24 brothers and sisters, 25 you have no need for anything to be written to you. 5:2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord 26 will come in the same way as a thief in the night. 27 5:3 Now when 28 they are saying, “There is peace and security,” 29 then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains 30 on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 5:4 But you, brothers and sisters, 31 are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5:5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 5:6 So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober. 5:7 For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 5:8 But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate 32 of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation. 33 5:9 For God did not destine us for wrath 34 but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 5:10 He died 35 for us so that whether we are alert or asleep 36 we will come to life together with him. 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
5:12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, 37 to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you, 5:13 and to esteem them most highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 5:14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, 38 admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all. 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. 5:16 Always rejoice, 5:17 constantly pray, 5:18 in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 5:19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 5:20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt. 5:21 But examine all things; hold fast to what is good. 5:22 Stay away from every form of evil.
5:23 Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 5:24 He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this. 39 5:25 Brothers and sisters, 40 pray for us too. 5:26 Greet all the brothers and sisters 41 with a holy kiss. 5:27 I call on you solemnly in the Lord 42 to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. 43 5:28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 44
[4:1] 1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[4:1] 2 sn As you received instruction from us about how (Grk “as you received from us how”). The Greek word translated received is used for accepting instructions passed on as fixed traditions from teacher to follower. Paul speaks in these terms about doctrinal traditions as well as ethical instruction that he passes on to his converts and expects them to keep (cf. 1 Cor 11:2, 23; 15:1-3; Gal 1:9; Phil 4:9; 2 Thess 2:15; 3:6).
[4:1] 3 tc This parenthetical clause is absent in several later witnesses (D2 Ψ Ï), but it may have been expunged for sounding redundant. The longer text, in this instance, is solidly supported by א A B D* F G 0183vid 0278 33 81 104 326 365 629 al co and should be unquestionably preferred.
[4:3] 4 tn Or “your sanctification.”
[4:4] 5 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.
[4:6] 6 tn Grk “not to transgress against or defraud his brother in the matter,” continuing the sentence of vv. 3-5.
[4:6] 7 tn Grk “concerning all these things.”
[4:8] 8 tn Grk “rejecting man.”
[4:9] 9 tn Grk “concerning brotherly love.”
[4:10] 10 tn Grk “brothers”; this applies to the second occurrence as well. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[4:10] 11 sn To do so more and more. See 1 Thess 4:1.
[4:12] 12 tn Grk “that you may live,” continuing the sentence of 4:10b-11.
[4:12] 13 tn Or “not be dependent on anyone”; Grk “and have need of nothing,” “of no one.”
[4:13] 15 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[4:13] 16 tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “sleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term. This word also occurs in vv. 14 and 15.
[4:14] 17 tn “we believe that” is understood from the first clause of the verse, which is parallel. Grk “so also God will bring.”
[4:14] 18 tn Grk “those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.” It is possible that “through Jesus” describes “bring,” but this gives the unlikely double reference, “through Jesus God will bring them with Jesus.” Instead it describes their “falling sleep,” since through him their death is only sleep and not the threat it once was. Also Christians are those whose total existence – life and death – is in and through and for Christ (1 Cor 8:6).
[4:15] 19 sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.
[4:16] 20 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).
[4:17] 21 tc The words οἱ περιλειπόμενοι (Joi perileipomenoi, “[the ones] who are left”) are lacking in F G {0226vid} ar b as well as a few fathers, but the rest of the textual tradition has the words. Most likely, the Western
[4:17] 22 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] 23 tn Or “simultaneously,” but this meaning does not fit as well in the parallel in 5:10.
[5:1] 24 tn Grk “concerning the times and the seasons,” a reference to future periods of eschatological fulfillment (cf. Acts 1:7).
[5:1] 25 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[5:2] 26 sn The day of the Lord is the period of time in the future when the Lord will intervene in the events of this earth to consummate his redemption and his judgment (Isa 2:11-12; 13:6-13; Ezek 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:32; 3:18; Amos 5:18-20; Obad 15-17; Zeph 1:7-18; 2:2-3; Zech 14:1, 13, 20-21; Mal 4:1, 5; 1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor 1:14; 2 Thess 2:2; 2 Pet 3:10). It includes both blessings and curses, though the latter is emphasized here.
[5:2] 27 sn Jesus used a thief coming at night as an illustration of the unexpected and hostile nature of the coming of God’s judgment in the future. This is repeated in various ways in v. 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.
[5:3] 28 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] 29 tn Grk “peace and security,” with “there is” understood in the Greek construction.
[5:3] 30 tn Grk a singular “birth pain.”
[5:4] 31 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[5:8] 32 sn An allusion to Isa 59:17.
[5:8] 33 tn Grk “hope of salvation” (“a helmet…for salvation” is an allusion to Isa 59:17).
[5:9] 34 sn God did not destine us for wrath. In context this refers to the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth in the day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:2-4).
[5:10] 35 tn Grk “the one who died,” describing Jesus Christ (1 Thess 5:9). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 10 in the translation.
[5:10] 36 sn The phrases alert or asleep may be understood (1) of moral alertness (living in faith, love, and hope as vv. 6, 8 call for, versus being unresponsive to God) or (2) of physical life and death (whether alive or dead). The first fits better with the context of 5:1-9, while the second returns to the point Paul started with in 4:13-18 (no disadvantage for the believing dead).
[5:12] 37 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[5:14] 38 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[5:24] 39 tn Grk “who will also do,” with the object understood from v. 23.
[5:25] 40 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[5:26] 41 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.
[5:27] 42 tn Grk “I adjure you by the Lord,” “I put you under oath before the Lord.”
[5:27] 43 tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א2 A Ψ [33] 1739 1881 Ï ar vg sy bo), read “holy” before “brothers [and sisters]” (ἁγίοις ἀδελφοῖς, Jagioi" adelfoi"). It is possible that ἁγίοις dropped out by way of homoioteleuton (in uncial script the words would be written agioisadelfois), but it is equally possible that the adjective was added because of the influence of ἁγίῳ (Jagiw) in v. 26. Another internal consideration is that the expression ἅγιοι ἀδελφοί ({agioi adelfoi, “holy brothers”) is not found elsewhere in the corpus Paulinum, though Col 1:2 comes close. But this fact could be argued either way: It may suggest that such an expression is not Pauline; on the other hand, the unusualness of the expression could have resulted in an alteration by some scribes. At the same time, since 1 Thessalonians is one of the earliest of Paul’s letters, and written well before he addresses Christians as saints (ἅγιοι) in 1 Corinthians for the first time, one might argue that Paul’s own forms of expression were going through something of a metamorphosis. Scribes insensitive to this fact could well impute later Pauline collocations onto his earlier letters. The internal evidence seems to support, albeit slightly, the omission of ἁγίοις here. Externally, most of the better witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western texts (א* B D F G 0278 it sa) combine in having the shorter reading. Although the rating of “A” in UBS4 for the omission seems too generous, this reading is still to be preferred.
[5:28] 44 tc Most witnesses, including a few important ones (א A D1 Ψ 1739c Ï lat sy bo), conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, the witnesses for the omission are sufficiently early and diffuse (B D* F G 0278 6 33 1739* 1881 it sa) to render the verdict against the particle here.
