1 Thessalonians 3
No longer bearing up, they stayed in Athens alone and sent Timothy — to strengthen and exhort, that no one be unsettled in afflictions; for this we are set, as we told you beforehand. Sent lest the one testing had tested you and the labour be in vain — Timothy returned with the good news of your faith and love, and your longing to see us. In all necessity and affliction we were consoled by your faith — now we live if you stand in the Lord. What thanksgiving can we repay? Night and day we beg beyond measure to see your face and make complete what your faith lacks. A wish — may God and the Lord Jesus guide our way to you, may the Lord make your love increase and abound, to strengthen your hearts faultless in holiness at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.
Why this rendering
1Thess.3.3 Observation
Syntactic observation
Διὸ μηκέτι στέγοντες εὐδοκήσαμεν καταλειφθῆναι ἐν Ἀθήναις μόνοι, καὶ ἐπέμψαμεν Τιμόθεον, τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν καὶ συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμᾶς καὶ παρακαλέσαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν τὸ μηδένα σαίνεσθαι ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν ταύταις. αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἴδατε ὅτι εἰς τοῦτο κείμεθα … διὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ μηκέτι στέγων ἔπεμψα εἰς τὸ γνῶναι τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν, μή πως ἐπείρασεν ὑμᾶς ὁ πειράζων καὶ εἰς κενὸν γένηται ὁ κόπος ἡμῶν — Therefore, no longer bearing up, we were well pleased to be left behind in Athens alone, and we sent Timothy … to strengthen you and to exhort you for the sake of your faith, that no one be unsettled in these afflictions. For you yourselves know that for this we are set … For this reason I also, no longer bearing up, sent to know your faith, lest somehow the one testing had tested you and our labour should become in vain. μηκέτι στέγοντες (v.1) and μηκέτι στέγων (v.5) are a pair — narrowing from ‘we’ to ‘I’; στέγω is 1 Cor 9:12 ‘bear up under’. συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ (⸀ — the Received Text has ‘servant’, διάκονον) is the base text’s reading ‘fellow worker of God’ — the phrase of 1 Cor 3:9. σαίνομαι occurs once in the New Testament — ‘be unsettled’ (kept apart from σαλεύω ‘be shaken’ · ταράσσω ‘be troubled’). εἰς τοῦτο κείμεθα is the construction of Luke 2:34 · Phil 1:16 ‘set for’. ὁ πειράζων is Matt 4:3 ‘the one testing’ as there · one root with ἐπείρασεν. εἰς κενόν is Gal 2:2 ‘in vain’ · an echo of 2:1 ‘empty’ (κενή).
Rendering options · 3
Basis ‘Fellow workers of God’ as fixed at 1 Cor 3:9 — the Received Text’s ‘servant’ is not rendered.
Basis The Received Text’s reading — a copyist softening a bold phrase.
Rejected The translation does not alter the base text’s reading.
Basis A different word from σαλεύω ‘be shaken’ · ταράσσω ‘be troubled’ — kept apart as ‘unsettled’.
Lost in translation
μηκέτι στέγοντες (v.1) / μηκέτι στέγων (v.5) — ‘no longer bearing up’ twice shows the pair.
ὁ πειράζων / ἐπείρασεν (v.5) — ‘the one testing / had tested’ keep the root.
κενή (2:1) / εἰς κενόν (3:5) — ‘empty / in vain’ split the piece.
⸀συνεργόν — the sign of a divergence between base text and Received Text. A rendering shows one reading only.
Why this rendering
1Thess.3.8 Observation
Syntactic observation
Ἄρτι δὲ ἐλθόντος Τιμοθέου πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀφ’ ὑμῶν καὶ εὐαγγελισαμένου ἡμῖν τὴν πίστιν καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην ὑμῶν, καὶ ὅτι ἔχετε μνείαν ἡμῶν ἀγαθὴν πάντοτε ἐπιποθοῦντες ἡμᾶς ἰδεῖν καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ὑμᾶς, διὰ τοῦτο παρεκλήθημεν, ἀδελφοί, ἐφ’ ὑμῖν ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ ἀνάγκῃ καὶ θλίψει ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς ὑμῶν πίστεως, ὅτι νῦν ζῶμεν ἐὰν ὑμεῖς στήκετε ἐν κυρίῳ. τίνα γὰρ εὐχαριστίαν δυνάμεθα τῷ θεῷ ἀνταποδοῦναι περὶ ὑμῶν … νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ δεόμενοι εἰς τὸ ἰδεῖν ὑμῶν τὸ πρόσωπον καὶ καταρτίσαι τὰ ὑστερήματα τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν — But now, Timothy having come … and having brought us the good news of your faith and love … for this reason, brothers, we were consoled over you in all our necessity and affliction through your faith, because now we live, if you stand in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we repay to God for you … night and day begging beyond all measure to see your face and to make complete the lacks of your faith? The object of εὐαγγελίζω ‘bring the good news’ is not the gospel but ‘your faith and love’ — a rare New Testament place where this verb carries news about people. παρεκλήθημεν ‘we were consoled’ — one verb with v.2 παρακαλέσαι ‘to exhort’ (recorded). ⸂ἀνάγκῃ καὶ θλίψει⸃ ‘necessity and affliction’ (the Received Text reverses the order). νῦν ζῶμεν ‘now we live’ — with the condition following. εὐχαριστίαν ἀνταποδοῦναι ‘repay thanksgiving’ uses the verb of Luke 14:14 ‘repay’. ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ is Eph 3:20 ‘beyond all measure’. καταρτίσαι τὰ ὑστερήματα ‘make complete the lacks’ — Gal 6:1 ‘make complete’ · Phil 2:30 ‘lack’.
Rendering options · 3
Basis ‘Bring the good news’ as fixed at Gal 4:13 · Eph 2:17 — not lowered to ‘report’.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected The text’s choice of the gospel-verb for news of people would vanish.
Basis The site-rule of Gal 6:1 ‘make complete’ (active) · ὑστέρημα ‘lack’ (Phil 2:30).
Lost in translation
εὐαγγελισαμένου — ‘brought the good news’ carries the gospel-verb.
παρακαλέσαι (v.2) / παρεκλήθημεν (v.7) — ‘to exhort / were consoled’ split one verb.
ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ — the same word as Eph 3:20 is visible in ‘beyond all measure’.
νῦν ζῶμεν ἐὰν … — the order with the condition following is kept.
Why this rendering
1Thess.3.12 Observation
Syntactic observation
Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ ἡμῶν καὶ ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς κατευθύναι τὴν ὁδὸν ἡμῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ὑμᾶς δὲ ὁ κύριος πλεονάσαι καὶ περισσεύσαι τῇ ἀγάπῃ εἰς ἀλλήλους καὶ εἰς πάντας, καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς, εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας ἀμέμπτους ἐν ἁγιωσύνῃ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ — Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus guide our way to you; and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all, just as we also toward you, so as to strengthen your hearts faultless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Three optatives (κατευθύναι · πλεονάσαι · περισσεύσαι) — ‘may …’ three times. Verse 11 has two subjects (God and the Lord Jesus) with a singular verb — the renderings do not mark number, so that singular is lost. κατευθύνω is the verb of Luke 1:79 ‘guide our feet into a way of peace’ — ‘way’ is in both places. πλεονάζω (increase — Rom 5:20) and περισσεύω (abound — Matt 5:20) side by side. στηρίξαι takes up v.2; ἀμέμπτους is the adjective of 2:10 ‘faultlessly’; ἁγιωσύνη is Rom 1:4 ‘holiness’. παρουσία, the second after 2:19 — ‘with all his holy ones’ is open between people and angels. ⸀Ἰησοῦς (v.11 — Received Text ‘Jesus Christ’) · ⸀Ἰησοῦ (v.13) · ⸀αὐτοῦ (v.13 — the Received Text adds Amen) are the base text’s readings.
Rendering options · 3
Basis The optative is neither command nor statement — ‘may …’ carries its mood.
Basis Neither ‘saints’ nor ‘angels’ is in the text — ‘holy ones’ as fixed.
Basis The familiar rendering.
Rejected ‘Saints’ is not this version’s word, and it closes the reading as angels.
Lost in translation
κατευθύναι (v.11) — a singular verb with two subjects. ‘May … guide’ does not mark number.
κατευθύναι τὴν ὁδόν (v.11) / κατευθῦναι … εἰς ὁδόν (Luke 1:79) — ‘guide … way’ show the same words.
πλεονάσαι καὶ περισσεύσαι (v.12) — ‘increase and abound’ keep the two words apart.
στηρίξαι (v.2 · v.13) — ‘strengthen’ twice shows the echo.
Three optatives — ‘may …’ carries the mood.