Passage

1 Thessalonians 5.6

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

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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." (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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." (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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." (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"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," (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle + Silas + Timothy
Audience: Christian believers in Thessalonica
Location: composed in Corinth; addressed to Thessalonica
Time period: composed c. AD 50-51

Theological reading

Key words

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Quoted in

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.