1 Thessalonians 5:25-26

5:25 Brothers and sisters, ¹  pray for us too. 5:26 Greet all the brothers and sisters ²  with a holy kiss.

1 Thessalonians 4:10

4:10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters ³  in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, ⁴ 

1 Thessalonians 1:4

1:4 We know, ⁵  brothers and sisters ⁶  loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁷ 

1 Thessalonians 5:1

The Day of the Lord

5:1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, ⁸  brothers and sisters, ⁹  you have no need for anything to be written to you.

1 Thessalonians 5:27

5:27 I call on you solemnly in the Lord ¹⁰  to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. ¹¹ 

1 Thessalonians 2:1

Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

2:1 For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, ¹²  about our coming to you – it has not proven to be purposeless. ¹³ 

1 Thessalonians 3:7

3:7 So ¹⁴  in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁵  through your faith.

1 Thessalonians 5:4

5:4 But you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁶  are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would.

1 Thessalonians 2:17

Forced Absence from Thessalonica

2:17 But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁷  for a short time (in presence, not in affection) ¹⁸  we became all the more fervent in our great desire ¹⁹  to see you in person. ²⁰ 

1 Thessalonians 4:6

4:6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him, ²¹  because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases, ²²  as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

The Lord Returns for Believers

4:13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed, ²³  brothers and sisters, ²⁴  about those who are asleep, ²⁵  so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 5:12

Final Instructions

5:12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, ²⁶  to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and admonish you,

1 Thessalonians 5:14

5:14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, ²⁷  admonish the undisciplined, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient toward all.

1 Thessalonians 2:9

2:9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, ²⁸  our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

1 Thessalonians 2:14

2:14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, ²⁹  of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews,

1 Thessalonians 3:2

3:2 We ³⁰  sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God ³¹  in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith,

1 Thessalonians 4:1

A Life Pleasing to God

4:1 Finally then, brothers and sisters, ³²  we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how ³³  you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) ³⁴  that you do so more and more.

[5:25]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[5:26]  ² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[4:10]  ³ tn Grk “brothers”; this applies to the second occurrence as well. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[4:10]  ⁴ sn To do so more and more. See 1 Thess 4:1.

[1:4]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “your election.”

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “concerning the times and the seasons,” a reference to future periods of eschatological fulfillment (cf. Acts 1:7).

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[5:27]  ⁶ tn Grk “I adjure you by the Lord,” “I put you under oath before the Lord.”

[5:27]  ⁷ 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.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “has not become empty.” Paul is defending himself against the charge that he lacked earnestness and personal concern for them, but appeared in their city out of greed or egotism. In his defense he appeals to what they recall of his ministry and what has become of it since he left, all of which demonstrates his God-given earnestness and effectiveness.

[3:7]  ⁸ tn Or “for this reason.”

[3:7]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[5:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in face, not in heart.”

[2:17]  ¹² tn Grk “with great desire.”

[2:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “to see your face.”

[4:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “not to transgress against or defraud his brother in the matter,” continuing the sentence of vv. 3-5.

[4:6]  ¹² tn Grk “concerning all these things.”

[4:13]  ¹² tn Grk “ignorant.”

[4:13]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[4:13]  ¹⁴ 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.

[5:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[5:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[2:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[3:2]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[3:2]  ¹⁸ 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.

[4:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:4.

[4:1]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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 0183^vid 0278 33 81 104 326 365 629 al co and should be unquestionably preferred.