Passage

1 Thessalonians 3.6

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

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

4. For verily, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction; even as it came to pass, and ye know. 5. For this cause I also, when I could no longer forbear, sent that I might know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain.

6. But when Timothy came even now unto us from you, and brought us glad tidings of your faith and love, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, longing to see us, even as we also to see you;

for this cause, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith: 8. for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 3:4-8, ASV)

WEB

4. For most certainly, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction, even as it happened, and you know. 5. For this cause I also, when I couldn’t stand it any longer, sent that I might know your faith, for fear that by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor would have been in vain.

6. But when Timothy came just now to us from you, and brought us glad news of your faith and love, and that you have good memories of us always, longing to see us, even as we also long to see you;

for this cause, brothers, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith. 8. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 3:4-8, WEB)

KJV

4. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. 5. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

6. But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:

Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: 8. For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 3:4-8, KJV)

YLT

4. for even when we were with you, we said to you beforehand, that we are about to suffer tribulation, as also it did come to pass, and ye have known [it]; 5. because of this also, I, no longer forbearing, did send to know your faith, lest he who is tempting did tempt you, and in vain might be our labour.

6. And now Timotheus having come unto us from you, and having declared good news to us of your faith and love, and that ye have a good remembrance of us always, desiring much to see us, as we also [to see] you,

because of this we were comforted, brethren, over you, in all our tribulation and necessity, through your faith, 8. because now we live, if ye may stand fast in the Lord; (1 Thessalonians 3:4-8, 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

"But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you..."

"Has brought us good news." The verb is euangelisamenou, the gospel verb (G2097 - euangelizo). It is the only place in the New Testament where the word is used of news other than the gospel itself, and the choice is not accidental: the report that a persecuted church has held is, for Paul, good news of the same order.

This verse dates the letter. Timothy's return from Thessalonica to Paul at Corinth is the occasion of writing (Acts 18:5 records Silas and Timothy arriving from Macedonia while Paul is in Corinth), which is what allows the letter to be placed at c. AD 50-51 and makes it the earliest or nearly the earliest surviving Christian document.

"Your faith and love." Paul's characteristic triad appears in the letter's opening (1 Thess 1:3), and here the third member is conspicuously absent from Timothy's report. Hope is exactly what the church turns out to be unsure about, which is what chapters 4 and 5 address. Whether Paul intended the omission or not, the letter's structure follows it.

The relief. The following verses are among the warmest Paul wrote: "for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord" (verse 8).

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.

G2097 - euangelizo, euangelizo, Strong's G2097
G0026 - agape, agape, Strong's G0026
G4102 - pistis, pistis, Strong's G4102
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314

Quoted in

Concepts:

Church at Thessalonica

Passages:

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.