Paul’s second prayer, like the third in verse 13, is not for himself but for the Thessalonians. The transition is marked by an emphatic “you,” almost “As for you, may the Lord…” (see general notes on 3.11-13). The first prayer was addressed jointly to God the Father and to Jesus; the second and third are addressed to the Lord, that is, to Jesus (see notes on 1.6) alone. A few manuscripts add “Jesus” after the Lord. This is not part of the original text, but it gives the correct meaning. God and Christ are so closely linked in this passage (see notes on v. 11) that the change of “addressee” should not be emphasized.
Make … grow more and more and make … become … great translate two Greek verbs. The first means usually “to become more, to increase,” and in this sentence “to cause to increase, to make greater.” The second is stronger; it means usually “to be more than enough, to be plentiful,” and in this sentence “to make extremely rich.” Good News Translation‘s make … become as great as our love for you is the more likely meaning of a comparison which is slightly ambiguous in the original. It could mean either (1) “may the Lord increase your love … until it is as great as our love (already) is for you,” or (2) “may the Lord increase (equally) your love … and also our love for you” (literally “as we to you”). Good News Translation chooses the first alternative. As in 1.6 (cf. 2 Thess. 3.7-9), Paul is offering his experience and that of his companions as an example to younger Christians. The theme of growth recalls 3.10 and will be taken up again in 4.1.
The expression make your love … grow is a causative, in which grow refers to an increase of love, which is the central concept. One may need to change the relations in such a way as to say “I pray that the Lord may cause you to love one another and all people more and more.”
Your love for one another and for all people. The word translated love is central to the vocabulary and experience of the first Christians (cf. 1.3; 1 Corinthians 13, and many other passages), and has a distinctively Christian meaning. However, one aspect of its distinctiveness was precisely the fact that this love was not limited in its objects to other Christians; it extended to people outside the church, and even, as probably in this verse, to enemies. This aspect distinguished it from the specific “brother-love,” that is, love for other members of the Christian family, which Paul mentions in 4.9.
In is often difficult to find a satisfactory word for love, especially if it must include, not only persons of the “in-group,” but also outsiders and even opponents. Frequently the term for Christian love is derived from an expression related primarily to affection within the family, but such a term may be so closely associated with in-group affection as to be unusable in a context such as this. In some languages an equivalent for Christian love may be “deep concern for.” On the other hand, it is unwise to use one term for affection among Christians and another to indicate the attitude of Christians toward those outside the Christian community. It is also important to avoid terms which suggest mere sentimentality. What has actually happened in many receptor languages is that in the beginning a relatively inadequate term has been adopted, but it has grown in significance as the members of the Christian community have expressed their concern for one another and for others in new and dynamic ways. What began as an inadequate expression of Christian love becomes filled with meaning. That is essentially what happened in the case of the Greek terms which the Christians adopted to express their special love for one another and for God, as well as for God’s love for them. As the term was used in the Christian community, the meaning of its content expanded.
It is difficult in some languages to talk about one kind of love being as great as another. This is particularly true if love must be translated as a verb. One may, however, be able to say “I pray that God will cause you to love one another and all people more, so that you will love others as much as we love you,” or “… so that you will love others equally as we love you.”
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 .