1 Tesalonika 1:9

1:9 For people everywhere ¹  report how you welcomed us ²  and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

1 Tesalonika 2:5

2:5 For we never appeared ³  with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is our witness –

1 Tesalonika 2:19

2:19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of ⁴  before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you?

1 Tesalonika 3:2

3:2 We ⁵  sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God ⁶  in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith,

1 Tesalonika 3:4

3:4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know. ⁷ 

1 Tesalonika 3:7

3:7 So ⁸  in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters, ⁹  through your faith.

1 Tesalonika 3:9-10

3:9 For how can we thank God enough for you, ¹⁰  for all the joy we feel ¹¹  because of you before our God? 3:10 We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person ¹²  and make up what may be lacking in your faith.

1 Tesalonika 4:9

4:9 Now on the topic of brotherly love ¹³  you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

1 Tesalonika 4:15

4:15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, ¹⁴  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.

1 Tesalonika 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.

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

[1:9]  ² tn Grk “what sort of entrance we had to you” (an idiom for how someone is received).

[2:5]  ³ tn Or “came on the scene,” “came.”

[2:19]  ⁴ 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).

[3:2]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[3:2]  ⁶ 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.

[3:2]  tn Although 1 Thess 3:2 is frequently understood to mean that Timothy is “God’s fellow worker,” such a view assumes that the genitive θεοῦ (qeou) is associative for it is related to συνεργόν (sunergon). However, a genitive of association is not required by the syntax (cf. ExSyn 130).

[3:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “just as it also occurred and you know.”

[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.

[3:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “what thanks can we render to God about you.”

[3:9]  ¹¹ tn Grk “all the joy with which we rejoice.”

[3:10]  ¹² tn Grk “to see your face.”

[4:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “concerning brotherly love.”

[4:15]  ¹⁴ 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.