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People tagged in the matching LV passage: Paul
Used in these topics: Work, diligence and everyday witness
OET-LV Not that not we_are_having the_right, but in_order_that ourselves an_example we_may_give to_you_all, in_order that to_be_imitating us.
OET (OET-RV) not that we didn’t have the right, but in order to make ourselves a good example that you could emulate.
It seems that there were some believers in Thessalonica who had stopped working. This was probably because they thought the Lord Jesus was going to come back soon or that the Lord Jesus had already come back (see 2 Thessalonians 2:2). Therefore they had decided that there was no point in continuing to work. Paul warned people not to behave in this way. He reminded them how he and his companions had worked for their food when they stayed at Thessalonica so that they would not burden the other believers there. They did this in order to be a good example for the Thessalonians to follow, even though as apostles they had the right to be supported. Paul had already mentioned those who would not work in 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 and 5:14. But it seems that that warning had not had any effect.
Not that we lack this right,
We(excl) worked diligently/hard, not because we(excl) did not have the authority to demand that you support us(excl),
We(excl) worked like this even though we(excl) had the right to expect you to feed us(excl).
Not that we lack this right: The whole clause contains two negatives, which, added together, make a positive statement. So it means “we do have the right.” If you do not use double negatives in this way in your language, you could translate this clause as a positive statement, as in the second Meaning Line in the Display.
this right: In Greek this part of the verse is just exousian, “authority/right.” Some versions specify what right Paul is referring to. For example:
a right to receive support (GW)
Versions add such phrases in order to make it clear that Paul was talking about the right to expect food from them. This is because, as preachers and workers for the gospel, they had the right to be paid for their work or be supported with food.See 1 Corinthians 9:1–18 for a fuller explanation of their right to receive support.
but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate.
but in order to give you an example to follow.
We did this so that we(excl) would be an example for you to follow/imitate.
but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate: This is the positive purpose for which they worked so hard to pay for their food: so that they would be an example for the Thessalonians to follow. It balances the negative purpose in 3:8c. In both cases, the main clause that these purpose clauses are connected to is 3:8b.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives
οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλ’
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀλλʼ ἵνα ἑαυτούς τύπον δῶμεν ὑμῖν εἰς τό μιμεῖσθαι ἡμάς)
Paul uses a double negative to emphasize the positive. If this double negative would be misunderstood in your language, you could translate it as a positive statement. Alternate translation: [and we certainly have the right to receive food from you, but instead we worked for our food]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἑαυτοὺς τύπον δῶμεν ὑμῖν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀλλʼ ἵνα ἑαυτούς τύπον δῶμεν ὑμῖν εἰς τό μιμεῖσθαι ἡμάς)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of example, you can express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [we might show you the right way in order for you] or [we might demonstrate the way to live for you]
εἰς τὸ μιμεῖσθαι
in_order (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀλλʼ ἵνα ἑαυτούς τύπον δῶμεν ὑμῖν εἰς τό μιμεῖσθαι ἡμάς)
See how you translated imitate in verse 7.
OET-LV Not that not we_are_having the_right, but in_order_that ourselves an_example we_may_give to_you_all, in_order that to_be_imitating us.
OET (OET-RV) not that we didn’t have the right, but in order to make ourselves a good example that you could emulate.
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.
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