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OET (OET-LV) For/Because all you_all sons of_light are, and sons of_day.
Neither we_are of_night nor of_darkness.
OET (OET-RV) because you’re all children of the light and of the day. No, we’re not part of the night or of the darkness
Paul explained that when the Lord Jesus returns, God will cause both the Christians who have died and those who will still be alive to ascend to meet the Lord Jesus in the sky. He also explained how the Thessalonians should behave as they waited for the Lord to return.
Because the Lord will return suddenly but people do not know when this will happen, Paul told the believers at Thessalonica that they should be prepared for the Lord Jesus to return at any time.
For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day;
I say this because you all are people who belong to the light and belong to the day.
I say this because you all are people who behave well and do what is right, which is like living in the light and belonging to the day.
For: The Greek conjunction gar, which the BSB translates as For, indicates that the words that follow are the grounds or evidence for Paul’s words in 5:4a. Here is one way to translate this:
It will not come unexpectedly for you because (SSA)
Many English versions leave this conjunction implicit in this verse. Introduce this verse in a natural way in your language.
you are all sons of the light and sons of the day: To refer to someone as the “son” of some object is a Hebrew metaphor. It means that the person has the same characteristics as the object or belongs to the object.
sons of the light: This means those who live in the light (as opposed to the darkness in 5:4a, 5:5b), those who belong to the light. You should try to translate this in a way that contrasts with 5:4a.
sons of the day: This means those who belong to the day (as opposed to the night in 5:5b). It may mean the same thing as “sons of the light.”
These are difficult phrases to translate. Here are two suggested ways to deal with this part of the verse:
You could keep the metaphor of light and day, as most modern English versions have done. For example:
people who belong to the light, who belong to the day (GNT)
You could combine the two metaphors. For example,
people who do everything as though it were done in the light, that is, in the daytime (UBS Handbook, page 109)
people who do what is right as people usually do when it is light/daytime” (SSA).
we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
We(incl) believers are not people who belong to darkness and belong to the night.
We(incl) believers are not people who sin and behave in evil ways, which is like living in darkness and belonging to this evil world.
we do not belong to the night or to the darkness: This part of the verse repeats 5:5a, but it uses negative statements instead of the positive ones of 5:5a. The word darkness here means the same as it does in 5:4a.
we: This refers to all believers.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
Here, the word For introduces a reason or basis for what Paul has said about how the “day” will not overtake the Thessalonians (see [5:2](../05/02.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a reason or basis for a previous claim. Alternate translation: [In fact,] or [That is true because]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
πάντες & ὑμεῖς υἱοὶ φωτός ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ ἡμέρας οὐκ ἐσμὲν νυκτὸς οὐδὲ σκότους
all & you_all (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
Here, the phrases sons of the light and sons of day mean basically the same thing. Also, the phrases of night and of darkness mean basically the same thing. Paul is using these phrases together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis by using a single phrase in each sentence. Alternate translation: [you are all sons of the day. We are not of night] or [you are all sons of the bright day. We are not of the dark night]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
πάντες & ὑμεῖς υἱοὶ φωτός ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ ἡμέρας
all & you_all (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
The expression son of describes a person who shares the qualities of something. Paul is using this expression to describe the behavior and character of the Thessalonians, since they are people who are characterized by light and day. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [you are all characterized by light and characterized by day] or [you all belong to the light and belong to the day]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
πάντες & ὑμεῖς υἱοὶ φωτός ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ ἡμέρας
all & you_all (Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
Here Paul speaks of the Thessalonians as if they were characterized by light and day (see the previous note for the meaning of the phrase son of). He means that they obey God and do what is right. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [you are all people who obey God and do what is right]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
υἱοὶ φωτός & καὶ υἱοὶ ἡμέρας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
Although the term sons is masculine, Paul is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [children of light and children of day]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
οὐκ ἐσμὲν νυκτὸς οὐδὲ σκότους
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
Here, Paul is using the possessive form to describe how We are not characterized by night or darkness. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [We are not characterized by night nor characterized by darkness] or [We do not belong to the night nor do we belong to the darkness]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οὐκ ἐσμὲν νυκτὸς οὐδὲ σκότους
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
Here Paul speaks of believers as those who are not characterized by night and darkness (see the previous note for the meaning of the phrases of night and of darkness). He means that believers are not people who disobey God and do what is wrong. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable figure of speech or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [we are not people who disobey God and do what is wrong]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive
ἐσμὲν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: πάντες Γάρ ὑμεῖς υἱοί φωτός ἐστέ καί υἱοί ἡμέρας Οὐκ ἐσμέν νυκτός οὐδέ σκότους)
Here, the word We includes Paul, his fellow workers, and the Thessalonians. Your language may require you to mark this form.
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
σκότους
˱of˲_darkness
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of darkness, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [of dark places] or [without light]
5:5 As children of the light, the Thessalonian believers were saved from darkness (John 12:36; Acts 26:18; Eph 5:8; 1 Pet 2:9).
• of the day: They belong to God’s new order (Rom 13:12).
• darkness and night: These refer to an immoral life (see 1 Thes 5:6-8).
OET (OET-LV) For/Because all you_all sons of_light are, and sons of_day.
Neither we_are of_night nor of_darkness.
OET (OET-RV) because you’re all children of the light and of the day. No, we’re not part of the night or of the darkness
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.