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. ¹ 

1 Tesalonika 2:14

2:14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, ²  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 Tesalonika 1:6

1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received ³  the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction.

1 Tesalonika 3:2

3:2 We ⁴  sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God ⁵  in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith,

1 Tesalonika 3:9

3:9 For how can we thank God enough for you, ⁶  for all the joy we feel ⁷  because of you before our God?

1 Tesalonika 2:2

2:2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, ⁸  as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God ⁹  in spite of much opposition.

[3:4]  ¹ tn Grk “just as it also occurred and you know.”

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

[1:6]  ³ tn Or “after you received.”

[3:2]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[3:2]  ⁵ 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).

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Grk “what thanks can we render to God about you.”

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “all the joy with which we rejoice.”

[2:2]  ⁸ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[2:2]  ⁹ tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself. This same phrase occurs in vv. 8 and 9 as well.