Passage

1 Thessalonians 2.6

Book: 1 Thessalonians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

4. but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts. 5. For neither at any time were we found using words of flattery, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness, God is witness;

6. nor seeking glory of men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle in the midst of you, as when a nurse cherisheth her own children: 8. even so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were become very dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:4-8, ASV)

WEB

4. But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts. 5. For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness),

6. nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.

But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8. Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:4-8, WEB)

KJV

4. But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 5. For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

6. Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. ^{been: or, used authority}

But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. (1 Thessalonians 2:4-8, KJV)

YLT

4. but as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the good news, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who is proving our hearts, 5. for at no time did we come with speech of flattery, (as ye have known,) nor in a pretext for covetousness, (God [is] witness!)

6. nor seeking of men glory, neither from you nor from others, being able to be burdensome, as Christ's apostles.

But we became gentle in your midst, as a nurse may cherish her own children, 8. so being desirous of you, we are well-pleased to impart to you not only the good news of God, but also our own souls, because beloved ye have become to us, (1 Thessalonians 2:4-8, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: Paul, writing with Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy, who are named as co-senders in the opening (1 Thess 1:1).
Audience: The church in Thessalonica, capital of the Roman province of Macedonia; a largely Gentile congregation of recent converts (1 Thess 1:9) founded on the second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-9).
Location: Written from Corinth, shortly after Timothy returned with news of the young church (1 Thess 3:6).
Time period: c. AD 50-51. The Gallio inscription from Delphi fixes Paul in Corinth around AD 51-52 (Acts 18:12), which makes this letter either the earliest or one of the two earliest surviving Pauline writings, roughly twenty years after the crucifixion.

Theological reading

"...nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority."

Two claims in one sentence. Paul denies seeking honor, and in the same breath asserts that he had a right he did not use. The pattern is characteristic: he defends the legitimacy of apostolic support and then declines it (1 Corinthians 9:3-18).

"Might have asserted our authority." The phrase is literally "being able to be in weight" (en barei einai), which can mean to press with authority or to be a financial burden. Both senses are defensible and translations split; the following verses about working night and day so as not to burden anyone (verse 9) favor including the financial sense.

"Apostles," plural. The word covers Silvanus and Timothy here, which is a reminder that Paul's use of apostolos is broader than the Twelve; compare Romans 16:7.

Glory from men. The theme runs through Paul and through the Gospel of John, where seeking glory from one another is named as the thing that makes belief impossible (John 5:44). In a letter to a persecuted church, Paul's point is partly evidential: nobody was getting honor out of this mission, which is worth weighing when the motives of the earliest preachers are questioned.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G1391 - doxa, doxa, Strong's G1391
G5547 - christos, christos, Strong's G5547

Quoted in

Concepts:

Apostle

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.