This verse contains little that is new. It repeats and expands the content of verse 3, adding only “(you know) because we told you beforehand.” In the original, this new statement is emphasized by “and,” which Phillips idiomatically translates “actually we did warn you.”

Because verses 3 and 4 overlap so much, one of the stylistic problems in translation is to avoid excessive repetition of particular words. Even Good News Translation has not avoided “persecutions … persecutions … persecuted.”

Ahead of time in the original means simply “at a point of time earlier than another event”; in this context, earlier than the persecutions themselves. The same expression in English tends to mean “in advance of a fixed time,” but this is not the meaning of the Greek. Ahead of time may be rendered simply as “before it happened to you,” or “before you were caused to suffer.”

We were going to be persecuted is one way of translating a phrase which sometimes, and probably here, refers not merely to something which is going to happen in the future, but to something which has to happen (with the implication, as in verse 3, that it is part of God’s will). The same verb is used in Luke 9.31, where Good News Bible translates “… he would soon fulfill God’s purpose by dying in Jerusalem.” Good News Translation here reverses two phrases in the original, placing the semantically subordinate “as you know” before the new information “that is what happened” (exactly is implied).

The word we occurs three times in verse 4. In the first two instances Paul clearly refers to himself and his companions, but not to the Thessalonians. However, the Thessalonians are included in the third we, since they too are involved in the persecution. This distinction must be reflected in the translation in languages which distinguish between the inclusive and the exclusive first person plural.

That is exactly what happened may be rendered more specifically as “we did in fact suffer persecution.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

All is emphatic. The Greek has the conjunction “for” (omitted in Good News Translation), which explains the relation of 4a to the preceding verse. People who belong to the light, who belong to the day translates a Greek text which is literally “sons of light you are, and sons of day.” The expression “sons” goes back to a Hebrew idiom used to identify personal characteristics (cf. Acts 4.36, where the name Barnabas is translated literally “son of encouragement,” Good News Translation “One who Encourages”). The literal translation, followed by most traditional and many modern versions, has little meaning or impact in non-Semitic languages.

We do not belong to the night or to the darkness emphasized verse 5a by putting the same idea in negative form. It also marks the inclusion of Paul and his companions by the change from you to we, which is maintained until verse 11. Bijbel in Gewone Taal attractively translates “we have nothing to do with the darkness of night.” We, or course, includes both senders and readers of the letter.

This verse seems quite simple in an English translation such as Good News Translation, but the concepts are extremely difficult to communicate effectively in some languages. It may not make sense to say people who belong to the light or we do not belong to the night. It is possible to speak of an object as belonging to a person, but how can a person belong to light? Nevertheless, in order to introduce the contrasts occurring in verse 6-8, at least reference to “light” and “darkness” and “day” and “night” is required in verse 5. In some cases one may translate “all of you are people who live just as though everything were done in the light of day,” or “… do everything as though it were done in the light, that is in the daytime.” The second part of verse 5 is simply a negative reflection of the first part, and can be translated in some languages as “we do not live like people who always carry on at night or in the darkness,” “… who do what they do at night or in the darkness,” or “… when no one can see.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The Greek here has the same link word “for” which we noted in verse 1. Here it may indicate a logical link between verses 1 and 2. It may mean “our stay in Thessalonica was a hard and costly time for us, and this proves that we had not come to win cheap popularity or to make easy money”; or it may mean “we spoke openly and fearlessly because we had no unworthy motive to hide.” But either of these interpretations makes rather too much of an unemphatic conjunction, and it is probably best to omit it in translation, as in done in various translations (Good News Translation Phillips Barclay Jerusalem Bible Knox Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal).

Some translations understand appeal as a synonym of Good News in verse 2 and so translate as “preaching” (Luther 1984 Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale) or “what we preach” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or simply refer back to verse 2 with an adverb “thereby” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Appeal in this sense, however, refers not to the whole content of the message as such, but to its application to a particular group of hearers, that is, to the preachers’ appeal to them to accept the message. (In Acts 2, for example, the appeal would be, not Peter’s entire sermon, but the application of his message in verses 38-40; the related verb meaning “made his appeal” is, in fact, used in verse 40.) Good News Translation Bible en français courant Revised Standard Version New English Bible Knox Moffatt Barclay Best all translate by appeal.

Good News Translation‘s addition of to you is justified, partly by the nearness of verse 2, which refers explicit to Thessalonica, and partly by the likelihood that Paul is here thinking of criticisms made against himself and his friends (see general note on 2.3-7a).

Neither the Greek text nor Good News Translation uses a verb such as “made” with appeal (“the appeal which we make”), but in many languages a verb must be supplied. Should it be in the past or in the present tense? If the reference is general, the present tense must be used in English. If, as seems more likely, the reference is specifically to the Thessalonians, the verb should probably be in the past tense, since Paul does not begin making any appeal to his readers until chapter 4 of the present letter. Among English translations, Moffatt Revised Standard Version New English Bible take the reference as specific, and therefore they use the present tense; Knox takes it as specific and uses the past tense; Barclay and Translator’s New Testament take it as general but use the present tense.

The noun appeal must frequently be rendered as a verb, for example, “when we were appealing to you,” but sometimes appeal must be translated as “try to convince.” When one translates appeal as a temporal clause beginning with “when,” it is necessary to restructure the latter part of the clause, for example, “when we were trying to convince you about the Good News, we did not use lies,” or “… we did not speak lies.” In this type of context, the closest equivalent of error is often “lies” or “untruths,” and “lies” is usually the more effective term.

Paul is fond of grouping three similar expressions (cf. 1.3), but the three nouns represented by error, impure motives, and nor do we try to trick anyone do not seem to be arranged in any particular order. Error is more than an innocent mistake. It means a wandering from the path of truth, a voluntary (and therefore sinful) giving in to influences which lead one astray (see 2 Thess. 2.11; Ephesians 4.14). “Impurity” (motives is implied) can mean literal or ritual uncleanness, but it is often associated with sexual immorality (e.g. in Romans 1.24; Galatians 5.19; Ephesians 5.3; Colossians 3.5). Paul may be referring to the sexual immorality which, in the Greek world as well as in the world of the Old Testament, often accompanied pagan worship. However, the word for “impurity” has a wider meaning in Romans 6.19 and perhaps in Ephesians 4.19; 5.3, and Paul does not refer to sex in 1 Thessalonians until chapter 4; so a more general meaning such as “impurity” is more likely here. If error is the state of having been led away from truth, deceit is the attempt to trick other people. Paul is indeed describing a vicious circle.

The phrase not based on … impure motives is often rendered in a figurative manner, for example, “our heart was true,” “our hearts had no shadows in them,” “there was no darkness in us,” or “we had no twisted thoughts.” Nor do we try to trick anyone may simply be rendered as “and we do not try to deceive anyone,” or, idiomatically, “we do not try to make people think that bad is good.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse adds nothing new; its function is to emphasize by repetition (though in other words) you learned from us how you should live and in the name of the Lord Jesus from verse 1. Because of this emphasis, verses 1-2 fulfill something of the same function as a large-type heading in a modern newspaper. Verse 2 looks back to Paul’s oral teaching in Thessalonica, but (more important though less explicit) it also looks forward to the more detailed specification of God’s will which will begin in verse 3. Paul often tactfully reminds his readers of what he presumes they know already (cf. 1.5; 3.3, 4; 5.2).

You know the instructions we gave you may be rendered as “you know what we told you you should do,” or “you know how we told you you should live.”

By the authority of the Lord Jesus (cf. Moffatt) means virtually the same as in the name of the Lord Jesus in verse 1. The variation is one of style, not of content. Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation “through the Lord Jesus” (cf. King James Version) is unnecessarily misleading. Paul is not saying that Jesus is an intermediary between himself and the Thessalonians. By the authority of the Lord Jesus may be rendered in some languages as “these instructions came from the Lord Jesus” (cf. Translator’s New Testament), “this is just what the Lord Jesus said should be done,” or “this is what the Lord Jesus said we should tell you.” However, this last expression may suggest a connection between Paul and the Lord Jesus which would be too immediate.

After the introductory verses 1-2, Paul specifies two matters on which he exhorts his readers: sexual morality (vv. 3-8) and Christian fellowship (vv. 9-12).

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Verses 14-15 and most of verse 16 (down to always committed) form a single sentence in Greek. Such long sentences in Paul’s letters often indicate high emotive content. Different but equivalent ways of doing this should be found in translating. Other formal indications of emotive content in this sentence include (1) the emphatic you which begins the sentence and is repeated later in verse 14; (2) the use of the word brothers; (3) the rhetorical repetition of and in verse 15 (more prominent in the Greek than in Good News Translation); (4) the piling-up of participles in verses 15-16a; (5) the abruptly contrasting short sentence in 16b. It is also significant, though not a formal feature, that Paul refers here to the Jews as if he were not a Jew. Formal features in Good News Translation which go some way toward conveying the emotive content include (1) the exclamation How displeasing…! and (2) the insertion of even before tried to stop us.

The first words of verse 14 are literally “for you became imitators” (Revised Standard Version). There are two objections, however, to the English word “imitators” in this context. First, it carries the suggestion, foreign to the text, of something not genuine or authentic (see the notes on 1.6). Second, it suggests that the Thessalonians took the initiative, “began to copy” (Moffatt) the churches in Judea. The context makes this meaning most unlikely. The idea is rather that, just as the Thessalonians have listened eagerly to Paul’s message (v. 13), so (Revised Standard Version‘s “for” makes the connection with v. 13 clear) the churches in Thessalonica have become like those in Judea. The point of comparison is not subjective: the courage or faith of Judeans and Thessalonians under pressure, but objective: the fact of undergoing persecution from their fellow countrymen. Their situation is similar: the same things happened to them, as Good News Translation (cf. New English Bible) puts it; they became “companions-in-distress” (Bijbel in Gewone Taal). The kind of suffering they have endured has given them the honorable status of disciples, close followers of the mother churches in Judea.

The order of the expressions the same things happened to you and happened to the churches … in Judea will need to be inverted in many languages so that the prior happening will be mentioned first and the latter happening afterwards, for example, “what happened to the churches of God in Judea also happened to you,” or “what the churches of God in Judea already experienced, you yourselves have also experienced.” In both cases, that of the churches in Judea and the Christians of Thessalonica, these persons were the objects of the persecution. Therefore it may be necessary, in some cases, to place the reference to them in the predicate of a verbal expression, for example, “The way people persecuted the churches of God in Judea is the same way in which people have persecuted you” (“people” referring to an indefinite subject). It is possible, however, to make the churches in Judea and the people in Thessalonica the subject if one uses a verb such as “suffer,” for example, “In the same way that people in the churches of God in Judea suffered, so you have also suffered.”

“The churches of God in Judea which are in Christ Jesus” (Revised Standard Version; cf. Galatians 1.22) illustrates the fact at this early date the word translated “church” had not yet narrowed its meaning to the local Christian community (still less to the meaning of the whole body of Christians, which is not in question here). The word still has many of its secular associations, like the ordinary English word “assembly.” Paul feels the need to specify, first that these communities belong to God, and secondly that, in contrast to Jewish synagogues, they belong to Christ Jesus. Since churches is sometimes translated as “groups of believers” or even “groups of believers in Christ,” churches of God may be rendered as “groups of believers in Christ who belong to God.”

Despite the order Christ Jesus, it is probable that Paul is here, as usual, is thinking of Christ as a name rather than a title. The translation “the Messiah Jesus” should be avoided.

The phrase in Judea is often related directly to an expression for “groups of believers,” for example, “groups in Judea who believe in Christ and belong to God.” The name Judea commonly included the neighboring areas of Galilee and Samaria.

A complication is involved in translating churches of God and the people there who belong to Christ Jesus, since churches of God would indicate some kind of possessive relation and the believers would be spoken of as people who … belong to Christ Jesus. Both possessive relations are true, but stylistically it would be important to express them in different ways, even as is done in Good News Translation.

Countrymen means primarily those belonging to the same ethnic group, rather than those living in the same area. At Thessalonica (cf. Acts 17.5, 13) the Jews had been the first to stir up trouble for the Christians, many if not most of whom were no doubt of Jewish origin themselves. Your own countrymen reflects an accidental similarity in form between Greek and English. In New Testament Greek, own is not emphatic. Some French translations, for example, have simply “your compatriots” (Bible de Jérusalem Bible en français courant), while others have “your own compatriots” (La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale), which is too emphatic. In English, expressions like your own countrymen tend to become set phrases in which own loses much of its usual emphasis. (The reason for this is probably the need to distinguish between “countrymen” in the sense of “compatriots,” and “countrymen” in the sense of “inhabitants of rural areas.”) Perhaps for that reason, New English Bible‘s “your countrymen” seems too weak.

Since the countrymen are really agents who cause the suffering, it is often necessary to shift the relation, for example, “your own countrymen have caused you to suffer in the same way that the Jews caused those in Judea to suffer.” The equivalent of countrymen in many areas of the world is “fellow tribesmen,” “people who are one with you,” or even “people who talk as you do.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The literal “we do not want you not to know” is used by Paul in Romans 1.13 and 2 Corinthians 1.8 to introduce a new piece of information. In Romans 11.25; 1 Corinthians 10.1; 12.1, the same expression introduces something which is not part of the basic Christian message as outlined, for example, by Peter in Acts 2.14-39 and by Paul himself in 1 Corinthians 15.3-5, but which is important for a fuller understanding of the scope of Christian truth and life. In Romans 11.25 it is a question of the “mystery” or “secret truth” (Good News Bible) of how God has used the stubbornness of Israel as part of his plan for other nations. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul speaks of the hidden, Christian significance of the rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. And in 1 Corinthians 12, he introduces a much-needed piece of teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The present passage is also a piece of advanced teaching, about the (still obscure) subject of the state of Christians between death and resurrection.

In translating the present passage, the double negative “we do not want you not to know” is transformed in to the positive we want you to know by Moffatt (“we would like you … to understand”) and Knox (“make no mistake”). Jerusalem Bible‘s “we want you to be quite certain” is a little too strong. Barclay has “I do not want you … to get wrong ideas,” and Phillips “we don’t want you … to be in any doubt” (cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal). Paul himself uses an equivalent positive expression (which is perhaps slightly stronger) in 1 Corinthians 11.3 and Colossians 2.1 (cf. Philippians 1.12).

Here as elsewhere in this letter, it is very likely that “we” means Paul and his companions, though Barclay disagrees.

The truth is implied, for there is no suggestion in the text that false views about the dead were circulating among the Thessalonians. Paul is fighting fear and anxiety rather than wrong ideas firmly held. The Thessalonians had seen Christians die, just as Paul himself had seen Stephen stoned to death. They needed reassurance that death would not prevent Christians from sharing in whatever God had in store for them.

What Paul wants the Thessalonian Christians to know is what happens to those who have died. In many languages, the truth can best be expressed as “what happens to” or “what really happens to,” for example, “we very much want you to know what really happens to those who have died.”

Those who have died, here and in verse 14 (but not in v. 16), is literally “those who are asleep” (Revised Standard Version cf. King James Version Luther 1984), or, according to a slightly less well-supported reading, “have fallen asleep” (cf. Zürcher Bibel Knox). “Sleep” is used in many passages to mean “die” (e.g. Job 14.12; Daniel 12.2-3; 2 Maccabees 12.43-45; John 11.11-13; 1 Corinthians 15.18, 20). This is certainly the meaning here, as the literal equivalent in verse 16 shows. Many translations (Jerusalem Bible Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale Bible de Jérusalem Traduction œcuménique de la Bible Bible en français courant Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) agree with Good News Translation in removing the figure of speech, sometimes putting it in a footnote. La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée (rather less helpfully for anyone hearing the passage read aloud) does the reverse, putting “those who sleep” in the text and “the dead” in a note. Moffatt (“those who are asleep in death”), Phillips (“those who ‘fall asleep’ in death”), and Barclay (“those who sleep death’s sleep”), cf. New American Bible, keep the metaphor, but explain it in the text. Knox (“those who have gone to their rest”) and Bijbel in Gewone Taal (“those who have crossed over”) use equivalent metaphors. The question for the translator is whether, in his receptor language, it is more usual to speak of death directly, or to use a figure of speech. The answer to this question varies not only between languages, but between temporal periods and between social groups using the same language. In many languages, especially those spoken in face-to-face societies, there is much less of a tendency to use figurative expressions than in most European languages, but the amount of such figurative language, even in English, differs greatly from time to time.

Some persons have wished to make a special point of the literal Greek rendering “those who are asleep” to imply that these are only “resting in death, looking forward to the judgment,” and that therefore they have not gone on to heaven. But it is unwise to read into this kind of an idiom a special doctrine of the future life. (In 1 Kings 22.40 the metaphor of sleep is used in speaking of the death of the bad King Ahab, and it was also used by pagans in the ancient world.) The safest and most accurate way of translating the Greek is to say “those who have died.”

The relation between we want you to know and so that you will not be sad is one of means and purpose. As indicates a comparison, but the nature of the comparison needs to be carefully defined. Those who have no hope is literally “the others” or “the rest, who do not have hope.” These are the same group of people whom Paul has just called “those outside” (v. 12), that is, those who are not members of the Christian community. The contrast is not between kinds or degrees of grief, but between two groups of people; that is, Christians, who have reason to hope, and non-Christians, who do not. Translations should therefore be avoided which suggest that Paul’s concern is simply to say that Christians should not be as sad as non-Christians. Phillips‘ “like men who have no hope” does not bring out sufficiently clearly that Paul is contrasting real groups of people. New English Bible‘s “like the rest of men, who have no hope” (cf. Bijbel in Gewone Taal) is better. On hope, see the notes on 1.3.

It is important to avoid a translation which would imply that the clause so that you will not be sad is directly related to the immediately preceding clause those who have died. To avoid this misunderstanding, it may be necessary to repeat the expression “we want you to know,” for example, “we want you to know what happens to those who have died; we want you to know this so that you will not be sad.”

Sadness is often expressed by an idiomatic phrase, for example, “with tears in your eyes,” “with your stomach in pain,” “with your heart throbbing,” or “with your face fallen.” It is better not to use an expression which would imply ritual mourning or weeping, even though this is a natural type of rendering in a context which speak about death.

The comparison introduced in the last clause, as are those who have no hope, may be rather difficult to express in some languages. In fact, a conditional clause may be necessary, for example, “if you do not know about this, you will be like those who have no hope,” or “… you will be sad just like those who do not look forward with confidence.”

In many languages it is not possible to speak of “hope” without indicating what is the goal of the hope. In this context it is hope for life after death, and it may be necessary to say “those who do not hope for life after death.” In some languages it would be more appropriate to speak about “those who have no hope for heaven,” or, even better, “no hope to be with God.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse explains a little more fully the reason for Paul’s thankfulness. The Christians at Thessalonica have the three great Christian virtues of faith, love, and hope (see 1 Corinthians 13.13; Galatians 5.5-6; Colossians 1.4-5; 1 Thessalonians 5.8; etc.), and each of these virtues has expressed and proved itself in action. The Greek contains three pairs of nouns, and these are reflected in the Revised Standard Version translation: “your (1) work of faith and (2) labor of love and (3) steadfastness of hope.” Within each pair, the first item is probably best regarded as the result of the second. Because the Thessalonians trusted Christ, they worked for Christ? for one another? Paul does not specify here, but see 5.11. Because they loved Christ, they worked hard. Because their hopes were centered on him, they were able to stand firm under attack. All six nouns refer to what the Thessalonians had done or experienced.

Before we look in more detail at the meaning of these terms, there are two more questions about the meaning of the verse as a whole.

First, do the words in our Lord Jesus Christ refer only to hope, or to faith, love, and hope together? Most traditional translations follow the order of the Greek so closely that the question is left open. Good News Translation Phillips Knox Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal Translator’s New Testament link these words exclusively with “hope,” but the wider reference is not impossible. Luther 1984 identifies hope with Christ and translates “your patience in hope, which is our Lord Jesus Christ.” This interpretation seems strained, and it is certainly unusual; even Colossians 1.27 and 1 Timothy 1.1 are not strict parallels to what Paul is saying here.

Secondly, how are the words before our God and Father related to the rest of the sentence? Knox (cf. Phillips) thinks that they are linked with “hope,” and so he translates “… hope … which gives you endurance, in the sight of him who is our God and Father.” Most modern translations restructure the verse to bring together we remember and before our God and Father, although these phrases are widely separated in the Greek. This brings out more clearly the parallel between verses 2 and 3, which Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch emphasizes still more by combining the two verses: “Every time we pray, we think of you and thank God, our Father, for you all. We continually remember….”

The Greek word translated before has a spatial meaning and calls to mind the picture of a subject facing his king. Bible de Jérusalem and Translator’s New Testament remove the metaphor and translate “in the presence of.” It may be very difficult to translate this figure of speech meaningfully, especially since the phrase before our God and Father must refer in some way to the event of praying. Accordingly, one must translate in some languages as “for whenever we pray to our God and Father, we remember how….” To indicate that what is remembered is also brought to the attention of God in prayer, it may be necessary to translate “Whenever we pray to our God and Father, we remember and mention how you put your faith into practice.”

Faith here, as so often elsewhere in Paul’s writings, is trust in or reliance on Christ, not simply a general belief in God or an acceptance of a body of doctrine. Faith is what defines someone as a Christian; he is a “believer” (see v. 7). Faith, love, and hope, especially when they are mentioned together, constitute the total human response to what God has done, is doing, and will do; that is why they are mentioned in this order. When the word for love stands alone, it more often refers to God’s or Christ’s love for men, but that is almost certainly not the meaning here.

Both faith and love result in work. Paul uses two different words for work. The first includes the idea of producing something, and the second includes an element of discomfort or hardship.

As for the third pair of words in this verse, the traditional translation “patience of hope” (King James Version) misleadingly suggests to the present-day reader a totally passive attitude. The real meaning, however, is rather that of resisting or holding out against an enemy, especially over an extended period of time. Revised Standard Version‘s rather old-fashioned “steadfastness,” New English Bible‘s literary “fortitude,” and Bests’ “endurance” (cf. Translator’s New Testament) are better. Bijbel in Gewone Taal uses a negative form, “unshakable hope.” Phillips‘ “sheer dogged endurance” (cf. Knox) gives the right idea but with perhaps exaggerated emphasis. Good News Translation perhaps errs slightly in the other direction.

It is not always easy to indicate in translation the specific relations between faith, love, and hope and their respective results in practice, labor, and steadfastness. One may find it necessary to alter the order in which each pair of terms is mentioned. How you put your faith into practice may need to be translated as “what you did because you trusted in Jesus” or “how you worked because you trusted Jesus.” Similarly, how your love made you work so hard may be rendered “how you worked so hard because you loved Jesus Christ.” How your hope in Lord Jesus Christ is firm may require even more restructuring, since firm qualifies hope, and hope in many instances must be translated as a verb. Therefore, one may need to translate as “how you hope (or hoped) so firmly in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Part of the difficulty in translating the term hope is that it is a rather complex concept, involving both the expectation of a future event and a confident waiting for that event. In some languages one may translate as “how you looked forward with complete confidence to our Lord Jesus Christ,” and in other languages the firmness of hope may be indicated by a negative, “how not once did you in any way stop looking forward confidently to our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .