The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “encourage” or “comfort” is translated in Enlhet as “become calm of the innermost.” “Innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind (for other examples see here). (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
In Bacama it is translated as “(to) cool stomach” (source: David Frank in this blog post ), in Yatzachi Zapotec as “cause hearts to mature,” in Isthmus Zapotec “hearts may lie quiet” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.) and in Thai “give heart power to” (source: Bratcher / Hatton 2000).
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Thessalonians 4:18:
Uma: “So because of that, relatives, comfort one another with these words.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Therefore tell these words one to the other so that your livers will be encouraged.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “So these things which I am saying, you should use to encourage each other.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “This then is what we should remind our companions of to comfort them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “That’s why you are to remind one another of this teaching so that the mind/inner-being of one another can be made happy.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Therefore now, with these words I tell you, encourage each other.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
This concluding sentence recalls verse 13, where Paul first stated his desire to meet his readers’ anxieties. Encourage is the word which is translated “help” in 3.2, and “encourage” in 2.12 and in the exact parallel 5.11. The word can also mean “comfort” or “console.” However it is translated, it should relate to be sad (literally “be pained”) of verse 13. That is, now that the Thessalonians have been given a new understanding of one aspect of the Christian faith, they need no longer grieve over the final outcome of those who have died. What Paul tells them and assures them can change their sadness into confident hope; they can be comforted and encouraged by this teaching of the Lord’s, and they are to comfort, encourage, and give hope to one another.
In choosing a translation for encourage, it is important to select a term which will be in contrast with sad in verse 13. In some cases one may wish simply to translate “remove the sadness from one another with these words,” or “with these words cause your hearts no longer to tremble.”
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 .
Therefore: This word indicates that this verse is Paul’s final remark on this subject he discussed in 4:14–17. Here is another way to translate this word:
Because all this is true
encourage one another: The form of the Greek verb parakaleō, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as encourage, indicates a continuing action. So it is best translated as “continue encouraging” or “continually encourage.”
with these words: This refers to the whole message of 4:14–17. Paul was not telling the Thessalonians to repeat these words exactly to one another, but to remind each other about what he had said in 4:14–17, that is, that all believers, whether they had already died or were still alive when Christ returned, would meet him together.
(1) There is no real difference in meaning between the two words, and the whole expression is an idiom for “the day of the Lord” (see 5:2b).
(2) There is a difference between the two words. The word chronoi (times) refers to “duration of time.” The word kairoi (seasons) refers to “the significant events that happen before Jesus will return.” Here is one way to translate this possible sense of the expression:
times and occasions (Good News Translation)
It is not easy to decide between these two opinions. However, in this passage Paul’s main subject was “the day of the Lord.” So it is logical to assume that here he was referring to the time when the day of the Lord would occur. It is therefore recommended that you follow the first option (1).
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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.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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