Passage

1 Thessalonians 4.14

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

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

12. that ye may walk becomingly toward them that are without, and may have need of nothing. 13. But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope.

14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; (1 Thessalonians 4:12-16, ASV)

WEB

12. that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and may have need of nothing. 13. But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope.

14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. 16. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, (1 Thessalonians 4:12-16, WEB)

KJV

12. That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. ^{of: or, of no man} 13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ^{prevent: or, come before, or, anticipate, or, precede} 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (1 Thessalonians 4:12-16, KJV)

YLT

12. that ye may walk becomingly unto those without, and may have lack of nothing. 13. And I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, that ye may not sorrow, as also the rest who have not hope,

14. for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God those asleep through Jesus he will bring with him,

for this to you we say in the word of the Lord, that we who are living, who do remain over to the presence of the Lord, may not precede those asleep, 16. because the Lord himself, in a shout, in the voice of a chief-messenger, and in the trump of God, shall come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, (1 Thessalonians 4:12-16, 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

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus."

The argument is inferential, and the premise is the resurrection. Paul does not console the Thessalonians with a general doctrine of the soul. He argues from a historical claim they already hold to a consequence they had not drawn: because Jesus died and rose, the Christian dead are not lost. This is the same move as 1 Corinthians 15:20, where Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

A change of verb. Paul says Jesus died (apethanen) and rose (anestē), but the believers have fallen asleep. He does not use the sleep euphemism of Jesus. Whatever the reason, the effect is that Christ's death is described in its full starkness while the death of those who belong to Him is described in terms of its outcome.

"God will bring with Him." The preposition creates a well-known question: does bring with Him describe God bringing the dead along with Jesus at His return, which is how most read it in light of verses 16-17, or their being brought into God's presence? The first fits the passage's answer to the pastoral problem, since the anxiety was that the dead would miss the parousia.

"Through Jesus" or "in Jesus." The Greek phrase dia tou Iēsou can attach to the sleeping ("those who have fallen asleep through Jesus") or to the bringing ("God will bring them through Jesus"). Translations differ, and the theology is unaffected either way: the dead in Christ are His concern and He is the agent of their future.

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.

G4100 - pisteuo, pisteuo, Strong's G4100
G2424 - Iesous, Iesous, Strong's G2424
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

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.