Section 2:13–16

Paul again thanked God for the way the Thessalonians had accepted the gospel

Paul also thanked God that the new Thessalonian believers had accepted the message that he and his companions taught them as words that truly came from God. The result was that other Thessalonians caused them to suffer just as fellow Jews had caused the new believers in Judea to suffer. Furthermore, Jews had also killed Jesus and the prophets before him. The Jews had also persecuted Paul and his companions and tried to stop them from telling non-Jews how they could be saved. Because the Jews had continued to sin greatly for a long period of time, God would soon punish them.

Paragraph 2:13–16

2:13a

And we continually thank God because: This new section resumes the theme of thanking God that ended at 1 Thessalonians 1:10. In this verse Paul wrote additional reasons to thank God for the way that the Thessalonians had accepted the gospel.

because: In this verse Paul gave another reason why he thanked God for the Thessalonians, that is, he thanked God because they had accepted his preaching as a message from God.

2:13b

when you received the word of God: Notice that this is not the main clause of the verse but a temporal clause that gives the time when the main event (2:13c) occurred.

the word of God: In this verse this phrase is not referring to the Bible but to Paul’s message. It was “a message from God,” “a message that originated with God.”

2:13c

the word of men: In contrast to “the word of God” in 2:13b, this refers to a message that some person has invented.

men: As in 2:4b, the Greek word anthropos, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as men, is a word that means humans beings, male and female. It is not limited to males.

2:13d-e

the true word of God … which: In the Greek text it is not clear to whom or what this refers. There are two possibilities:

(1) It refers to “the word of God.” This is the interpretation accepted by most commentators and English versions.

(2) It refers directly to “God.” It would therefore be translated “who” rather than “which.” For example:

For God is at work in you (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1) as do most versions and commentators. God used his word / message to “work in” the Thessalonians.

2:13e

is now at work in you who believe: This means that the word of God was affecting the way that the Thessalonians were behaving and thinking. In some languages it is not possible to talk about a message “working.” If this is true in your language you could say, “God is using his message that we are preaching to cause you to behave more in the manner that pleases him.”

who believe: In this verse Paul did not give an object for the verb “believe,” so it is not clear exactly what he was referring to. There are four possibilities:

(1) Jesus Christ

(2) God

(3) both God and Jesus

(4) the gospel

If you can leave the verb “believe” without an object in your translation, you should do so. However, if you cannot do this, it is recommended that you use Jesus Christ as the object of the verb, as this is supported by most commentaries.

© 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.