1 Tesalonika 5:3-4

5:3 Now when ¹  they are saying, “There is peace and security,” ²  then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains ³  on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 5:4 But you, brothers and sisters, ⁴  are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would.

1 Tesalonika 5:10

5:10 He died ⁵  for us so that whether we are alert or asleep ⁶  we will come to life together with him.

[5:3]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Grk “peace and security,” with “there is” understood in the Greek construction.

[5:3]  ³ tn Grk a singular “birth pain.”

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

[5:10]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).