5:3a

While people are saying, “Peace and security”: Paul may have been remembering the words of Jeremiah 6:14:

saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.

See also Ezekiel 13:10.

Peace: This probably refers to no war, fighting, or quarreling.

security: This probably refers to a time when there is no danger, a time when people can live without being afraid. It therefore overlaps in meaning with “peace.”

5:3b

destruction will come upon them suddenly: The Greek word olethros, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as destruction, does not mean the people will no longer exist. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

calamity (New English Bible)
-or-
disaster (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

See 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 Timothy 6:9. If you need to use a verb here in your language instead of a noun, you could translate this:

suddenly they will lose everything
-or-
suddenly they will be ruined

them: This refers to the people in 5:3a who had been saying that everything was peaceful and secure.

like labor pains on a pregnant woman: The phrase labor pains refers to the pains that a pregnant woman suffers when she is about to give birth. These pains begin suddenly, and that is the point of the comparison here, that destruction will come suddenly, just as a woman’s labor pains start suddenly.

5:3c

they will not escape: The coming destruction is not only sudden, it is also certain to come, just as a pregnant woman is certain to suffer labor pains. Those who are not prepared for Jesus’ return will not be able to escape God’s judgment.

© 2002 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.