Passage

1 Thessalonians 5.1-11

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. 2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape. 4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief: 5. for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness; 6. so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. 7. For they that sleep sleep in the night: and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. 8. But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9. For God appointed us not into wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10. who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11. Wherefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as also ye do."

"12. But we beseech you, brethren, to know them that labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; 13. and to esteem them exceeding highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-13, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. 2. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. 3. For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape. 4. But you, brothers, aren’t in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. 5. You are all children of light, and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness, 6. so then let’s not sleep, as the rest do, but let’s watch and be sober. 7. For those who sleep, sleep in the night; and those who are drunk are drunk in the night. 8. But let us, since we belong to the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9. For God didn’t appoint us to wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10. who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11. Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do."

"12. But we beg you, brothers, to know those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, 13. and to respect and honor them in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-13, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10. Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. ^{comfort: or, exhort}"

"12. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; 13. And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-13, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need of my writing to you, 2. for yourselves have known thoroughly that the day of the Lord as a thief in the night doth so come, 3. for when they may say, Peace and surety, then sudden destruction doth stand by them, as the travail [doth] her who is with child, and they shall not escape; 4. and ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day may catch you as a thief; 5. all ye are sons of light, and sons of day; we are not of night, nor of darkness, 6. so, then, we may not sleep as also the others, but watch and be sober, 7. for those sleeping, by night do sleep, and those making themselves drunk, by night are drunken, 8. and we, being of the day, let us be sober, putting on a breastplate of faith and love, and an helmet, a hope of salvation, 9. because God did not appoint us to anger, but to the acquiring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10. who did die for us, that whether we wake, whether we sleep, together with him we may live; 11. wherefore, comfort ye one another, and build ye up, one the one, as also ye do."

"12. And we ask you, brethren, to know those labouring among you, and leading you in the Lord, and admonishing you, 13. and to esteem them very abundantly in love, because of their work; be at peace among yourselves;" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-13, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

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.

TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Church at Thessalonica

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.