Section 5:12–22

Paul gave more instructions about how to please God

In this section Paul gave a list of some very important instructions. He returned to the topic he had started in 4:12, the topic of how Christians should behave.

Paragraph 5:12–13

The first instruction Paul gave was that the Thessalonians were to respect and honor their church leaders.

5:12a

But: The Berean Standard Bible has used the word But to signal a new unit in the text, in this case, a new section. You should not translate it literally but use the appropriate method your language uses to signal a new section. This may be a special grammatical form, a specific word, or maybe nothing at all.

brothers: See the note on 1:4.

to acknowledge: The Greek verb oida, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as acknowledge, literally means “to know,” but it has a wide range of other meanings. In this context it means “to respect, esteem, appreciate.”

those who work diligently among you: Paul told the Thessalonians that they should respect their leaders not just because of their status as leaders but because of the way they worked to benefit all the believers in Thessalonica. Paul did not specify in this part of the verse what sort of work he was referring to. He was probably using a general expression here that he explained more fully in 5:12b–c.

It is important to notice that here and in 5:12b–c Paul used three expressions to describe the same group of people, the leaders of the believers in Thessalonica. He was not talking about three different groups. Make sure your translation makes this clear.

5:12b

who preside over you: The Greek verb proistēmi, which the Berean Standard Bible translates by the expression preside over, is often used to talk about leaders and the work they do. It can be translated as the Berean Standard Bible has done. Other possibilities are:

who direct/guide you
-or-
who are your leaders

in the Lord: Scholars do not agree about what this phrase means here. There are two main possibilities:

(1) It means leaders “in spiritual matters.” For example:

in the Lord’s fellowship (Revised English Bible)
-or-
in the Christian life (Good News Translation)

(2) It means that it was the Lord who had authorized the leaders.

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1), as it is supported by most commentators.

5:12c

give you instruction: The Greek word noutheteō, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as give…instruction, can mean:

(1) It means “to admonish, warn.”

(New International Version (2011 Revision), Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, King James Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision)).

(2) It means “to advise, instruct.”

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, New Century Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, The Jerusalem Bible).

It is difficult to decide between these two meanings here, as the meaning is usually determined by the context (for example in 5:14a, where it clearly means “warn”), but the context here does not assist the translator. However, the majority of commentators favor the first option because of the wider context, and it is recommended that you also translate this verb as “to admonish, warn.”

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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.