1 Thessalonians 2

1 Thessalonians 2:1

33 tn Grk “flesh.”

34 tn Grk “fruit of work”; the genitive ἔργου (ergou) is taken as an attributed genitive in which the head noun, καρπός (karpos), functions attributively (cf. ExSyn 89-91).

35 tn Grk “what I shall prefer.” The Greek verb αἱρέω (Jairew) could also mean “choose,” but in this context such a translation is problematic for it suggests that Paul could perhaps choose suicide (cf. L&N 30.86).

sn I don’t know what I prefer. Paul is here struggling with what would be most beneficial for both him and the church. He resolves this issue in vv. 24-25.

1 Thessalonians 2:2

36 tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.

1 Thessalonians 2:3

37 tn Grk “But to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.”

38 tn Grk “the flesh.”

1 Thessalonians 2:4

39 tn Grk “for your progress.”

40 sn Paul’s confidence in his release from prison (I know that I will remain and continue with all of you) implies that this Roman imprisonment did not end in his death. Hence, there is the likelihood that he experienced a second Roman imprisonment later on (since the belief of the early church was that Paul died under Nero in Rome). If so, then the pastoral letters (1-2 Tim, Titus) could well fit into a life of Paul that goes beyond any descriptions in the book of Acts (which ends with Paul’s first Roman imprisonment). Some have argued that the pastorals cannot be genuine because they cannot fit into the history of Acts. But this view presupposes that Paul’s first Roman imprisonment was also his last.

1 Thessalonians 2:5

41 tn Grk “your boasting may overflow in Christ Jesus because of me,” or possibly, “your boasting in me may overflow in Christ Jesus.” BDAG 536 s.v. καύχημα 1 translates the phrase τὸκαύχημαὑμῶν (to kauchma jJumwn) in Philippians 1:26 as “what you can be proud of.”

42 tn Grk “through my coming again to you.”

1 Thessalonians 2:6

43 tn Grk “live as citizens.” The verb πολιτεύεσθε (politeuesqe) connotes the life of a freeman in a free Roman colony.

sn Conduct yourselves (Grk “live your lives as citizens”). The Philippians lived in a free Roman city, and thus understood from their own experience what it meant to live as citizens. Paul is here picking up on that motif and elevating it to the citizenship of heaven. Cf. 3:20 (our citizenship is in heaven).

44 tn Grk “the things concerning you, [namely,] that.” The ὅτι (Joti) clause is appositional to τὰπερὶὑμῶν (ta peri Jumwn) and therefore “the things concerning you” was not translated.

45 tn The phrase “the faith of the gospel” could mean one of three things: “the faith that is the gospel” (genitive of apposition), “the faith that originates from the gospel” (genitive of source), or “faith in the gospel” (objective genitive).

1 Thessalonians 2:7

46 tn Grk “which is,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 27.

sn The antecedent of the pronoun This is conceptual, most likely referring to the Philippian Christians standing firm for the gospel. Thus, their stand for the gospel is the dual sign of their opponents’ destruction and of their own salvation.

47 tn Grk “to them.”

sn Paul uses the dative “to them” (translated here as their) to describe the coming destruction of the gospel’s enemies, but the genitive “your” to describe the believers’ coming salvation. The dative accents what will happen to the enemies (called a dative of disadvantage [see ExSyn 143-44]), while the genitive accents what the believers will possess (and, in fact, do already possess, as v. 29 makes clear).

48 tn Grk “this.” The pronoun refers back to “a sign”; thus these words have been repeated for clarity.

1 Thessalonians 2:8

49 tn Grk “For that which is on behalf of Christ has been granted to you - namely, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” The infinitive phrases are epexegetical to the subject, τὸὑπὲρΧριστοῦ (to Juper Cristou), which has the force of “the on-behalf-of-Christ thing,” or “the thing on behalf of Christ.” To translate this in English requires a different idiom.

1 Thessalonians 2:9

50 tn Grk “having,” most likely as an instrumental participle. Thus their present struggle is evidence that they have received the gift of suffering.

51 tn Grk “that you saw in me and now hear [to be] in me.”

1 Thessalonians 2:11

1 tn Or “spiritual fellowship” if πνεύματος (pneumato") is an attributive genitive; or “fellowship brought about by the Spirit” if πνεύματος is a genitive of source or production.

2 tn Grk “and any affection and mercy.” The Greek idea, however, is best expressed by “or” in English.

1 Thessalonians 2:12

3 tn Or “and feel the same way,” “and think the same thoughts.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated “and be of the same mind” to reflect its epexegetical force to the imperative “complete my joy.”

4 tn The Greek word here is σύμψυχοι (sumyucoi, literally “fellow souled”).

1 Thessalonians 2:13

5 tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; the subjunctive φρονῆτε (fronhte, “be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”

1 Thessalonians 2:14

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1 Thessalonians 2:15

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We encourage you to upgrade this free version to the premier full NET Bible® version containing all 60,932 notes. This is the most complete set of translators’ notes in any Bible translation and illuminates many important issues of translation and interpretation. You can upgrade by going to www.bible.org/upgrade where you can purchase the full NET Bible or even download basic versions with all 60,932 translators’ notes for free! Your purchases and donations help ensure the ongoing supply of new resources and tools from Bible.org, which is the world’s largest source of trustworthy – and free – Bible study materials.

1 Thessalonians 2:16

10 The Bible.org ministry has provided the NET Bible® at no cost for inclusion in this Bible study software. You can learn about bible.org’s Ministry First model where we share the NET Bible and thousands of other copyrighted biblical materials at www.bible.org/ministryfirst . Ministry First means what it implies, that we’ve chosen to put ministry ahead of money. We believe that the Bible teaches the ministry first concept very clearly – and we think everyone in the world should have free access to trustworthy Bibles and study materials. Tell your friends to get their free NET Bible and free access to thousands of trustworthy Bible study materials online at www.bible.org . This free NET Bible® module includes all the translators’ notes for the first chapter of each book plus all the notes on verses 1-3 for the remaining 1,123 chapters in the Bible.

We encourage you to upgrade this free version to the premier full NET Bible® version containing all 60,932 notes. This is the most complete set of translators’ notes in any Bible translation and illuminates many important issues of translation and interpretation. You can upgrade by going to www.bible.org/upgrade where you can purchase the full NET Bible or even download basic versions with all 60,932 translators’ notes for free! Your purchases and donations help ensure the ongoing supply of new resources and tools from Bible.org, which is the world’s largest source of trustworthy – and free – Bible study materials.

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1 Thessalonians 2:17

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