5:8a

we belong to the day: Paul had already reminded the Thessalonians that they were “sons of the day.” See the note on 5:5a.

let us be sober: See the note on 5:6b. This is the same word in Greek and should be translated in the same way.

5:8b–c

In the rest of the verse, Paul introduced a new metaphor, that of a soldier and his armor. He was probably thinking about Isaiah 59:17. See also Ephesians 6:11–18. Paul meant that Christians use their faith, love, and hope to protect themselves when the devil attacks them. Paul had already mentioned that the Thessalonians had these qualities in 1 Thessalonians 1:3.

5:8b

putting on: This verb is connected with “let us be sober” in 5:8a. It explains how they should control themselves. Here is another way to translate this:

by putting on (NET Bible)

breastplate: This is the piece of armor a soldier wears to protect the front of his body.

faith: In this context, this refers to believing in Jesus Christ. If a Christian stops believing in Jesus, he becomes weak and the devil can attack him easily by tempting him to do wrong.

love: In this verse Paul probably intended this to refer to the Thessalonians’ love for other people, rather than their love for God. This is the view of most commentators.

5:8c

the helmet of our hope of salvation: See the notes on hope in 1:3d and 4:13b. Believers do not just vaguely hope that they will be saved someday. They confidently expect that when Jesus returns, he will save them rather than punish them as he will punish unbelievers. They also expect that he will take them to be with him forever. Firmly knowing these things protects believers against the devil when he attacks.

helmet: This is the hat that a soldier wears to protect his head.

If you need to make a lot of implied information explicit in your translation, you could translate 5:8b–c as follows:

We must continue to believe in Jesus, continue to love others, and believe firmly that Jesus will save us in order that we may protect ourselves when the devil attacks us, just as a soldier puts on a breastplate and helmet to protect himself when the enemy attacks.

© 2002 by SIL International®

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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.