3:4a

And we have confidence in the Lord: In this context, the phrase in the Lord could be interpreted as follows:

(1) The expression connects with 3:3a (“the Lord is faithful”). Paul said there that he and the Thessalonian believers could trust the Lord Jesus to do what he had said he would do. Since this was true, Paul was also sure that the Lord Jesus was helping them and would continue to help them to believe and obey in spite of suffering and persecution.

(2) The Lord Jesus was the source of Paul’s confidence that the Thessalonians were obeying and would continue to obey what Paul had told them to do. For example:

And the Lord gives us confidence in you (Good News Translation)

(New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word)

(3) Paul was saying that he had confidence in the Thessalonians because they, like, Paul were “in Christ.” See the SSA, page 84, for a discussion of this option.

Most English versions are ambiguous. All the options above have support in the commentaries. The Display follows the first option (1). If you wish to follow the second option, you can use the Good News Translation as a guide. If you want to follow the third option you could say:

Because you, like us^(excl) , believe in the Lord Jesus, we are confident that you…

3:4b

what we command: This may refer to all Paul had commanded in this letter, or it may refer specifically to what Paul will command in the next few verses. You should try and make your translation as general as you can.

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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.