1 TH 1:3 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT remembering your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father;

UST We thank our God and Father for what you do because you trust in him. We thank him for the way that you help people because you love them. We thank him for the way that you patiently endure because you confidently expect our Lord Jesus the Messiah to come again.

BSB [and] continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, [your] labor of love, and [your] enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

BLB remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and unceasing labor of love, and the endurance of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,

AICNT remembering your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father,

OEB recalling continually before our God and Father the efforts that have resulted from your faith, the toil prompted by your love, and the patient endurance sustained by your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

WEBBE remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

WMBB remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, before our God and Father.

NET because we recall in the presence of our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

LSV unceasingly remembering your work of faith, and the labor of the love, and the endurance of the hope, of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and Father,

FBV We remember you before our God and Father—how you put your trust in him into practice, how you work hard in love, and how you patiently wait in the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.

TCNT remembering without ceasing, in the presence of our God and Father, your work of faith, your labor of love, and your endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

T4T We thank God because we continually remember that you work for God because you trust in him and you earnestly/energetically help people because you love them. You also endure it when people cause you to suffer. You endure it because you confidently expect that our Lord Jesus Christ will soon return from heaven to rescue you!

LEB because we[fn] remember your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,

1:3 *Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“remember”) which is understood as causal

BBE Having ever in mind your work of faith and acts of love and the strength of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;

Moff as we recall your active faith and labour of love and patient hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

Wymth For we never fail to remember your works of faith and labours of love and your persistent and unwavering hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father;

ASV remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;

DRA Being mindful of the work of your faith, and labour, and charity, and of the enduring of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before God and our Father:

YLT unceasingly remembering of you the work of the faith, and the labour of the love, and the endurance of the hope, of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and Father,

Drby remembering unceasingly your work of faith, and labour of love, and enduring constancy of hope, of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our [fn]God and Father;

1.3 Elohim

RV remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;

SLT Remembering your work of faith, and fatigue of love, and patience of hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before God and our Father;

Wbstr Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

KJB-1769 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

KJB-1611 Remembring without ceasing your worke of faith, and labour of loue, and patience of hope in our Lord Iesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Without ceassyng, callyng to remembraunce the worke of your fayth, and labour of loue, and patient abidyng in the hope of our Lorde Iesus Christe, in the syght of God and our father.
(Without ceassing, calling to remembrance the work of your faith, and labour of love, and patient abiding in the hope of our Lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ, in the sight of God and our father.)

Gnva Without ceasing, remembring your effectuall faith, and diligent loue, and the patience of your hope in our Lord Iesus Christ, in the sight of God euen our Father,
(Without ceasing, remembring your effectuall faith, and diligent love, and the patience of your hope in our Lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ, in the sight of God even our Father, )

Cvdl without ceassynge, and call to remembraunce youre worke in the faith, and youre laboure in loue, & youre pacience in hope, which is oure LORDE Iesus Christ before God oure father:
(without ceassing, and call to remembrance your(pl) work in the faith, and your(pl) labour in love, and your(pl) patience in hope, which is our LORD Yesus/Yeshua Christ before God our father:)

TNT with out ceasynge and call to remembraunce youre worke in the faythe and labour in love and perseveraunce in the hope of oure lorde Iesus Christ in the sight of God oure father:
(with out ceasing and call to remembrance your(pl) work in the faithe and labour in love and perseveraunce in the hope of our lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ in the sight of God our father: )

Wycl hauynge mynde of the werk of youre feith, and trauel, and charite, and abyding of the hope of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, bifor God and oure fadir.
(having mind of the work of your(pl) faith, and travel, and charity, and abyding of the hope of our Lord Yhesu Christ, before God and our father.)

Luth Und denken an euer Werk im Glauben und an eure Arbeit in der Liebe und an eure Geduld in der Hoffnung, welche ist unser HErr JEsus Christus vor GOtt und unserm Vater.
(And think at/to your(pl) work in_the faith and at/to your(pl) work/job in the/of_the love(n) and at/to your(pl) Geduld in the/of_the hope(n), which is our LORD Yesus Christ before/in_front_of God and ours father.)

ClVg memores operis fidei vestræ, et laboris, et caritatis, et sustinentiæ spei Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ante Deum et Patrem nostrum:[fn]
(memores work of_faith yours, and work, and caritatis, and hold_onntiæ hope Master our Yesu Christi, before God and Father our: )

1.3 Ante Deum. Inde ita certi ac si jam videatis, et ita eos animat.

1.3 Ante God. Inde so/thus certi and when/but_if already let_him_seeis, and so/thus them animat.

UGNT μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης, καὶ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν;
(mnaʸmoneuontes humōn tou ergou taʸs pisteōs, kai tou kopou taʸs agapaʸs, kai taʸs hupomonaʸs taʸs elpidos tou Kuriou haʸmōn, Yaʸsou Ⱪristou, emprosthen tou Theou kai Patros haʸmōn;)

SBL-GNT μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν,
(mnaʸmoneuontes humōn tou ergou taʸs pisteōs kai tou kopou taʸs agapaʸs kai taʸs hupomonaʸs taʸs elpidos tou kuriou haʸmōn Yaʸsou Ⱪristou emprosthen tou theou kai patros haʸmōn,)

RP-GNT ἀδιαλείπτως μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης, καὶ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ, ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν·
(adialeiptōs mnaʸmoneuontes humōn tou ergou taʸs pisteōs, kai tou kopou taʸs agapaʸs, kai taʸs hupomonaʸs taʸs elpidos tou kuriou haʸmōn Yaʸsou ⱪristou, emprosthen tou theou kai patros haʸmōn;)

TC-GNT ἀδιαλείπτως μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης, καὶ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν·
(adialeiptōs mnaʸmoneuontes humōn tou ergou taʸs pisteōs, kai tou kopou taʸs agapaʸs, kai taʸs hupomonaʸs taʸs elpidos tou Kuriou haʸmōn Yaʸsou Ⱪristou, emprosthen tou Theou kai patros haʸmōn; )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:2–10: Paul thanked God for the way that the Thessalonians had believed the gospel and continued to obey God

Paragraph 1:2–3

Whenever Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, he thanked God for them because he remembered the way that they had trusted God, the way that they loved others, and the way that they confidently expected that the Lord Jesus would return.

1:3a

and continually recalling before our God and Father

When we^(excl) pray to God our^(incl) Father we^(excl) always remember the following three things:

and continually recalling before our God and Father: Of course, neither Paul nor God had forgotten the Thessalonians or what they had done. Rather, this phrase means that as Paul prayed for them, he remembered certain things about them (1:3b–d).

continually: The Greek word adialeiptōs, which the BSB translates as continually, actually occurs at the end of 1:2 in the Greek text. However, the commentators do not agree about which verb this word modifies. There are two possibilities:

It modifies mnēmoneuō “recall” in 1:3a. (BSB, NIV, KJV, GW, JB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, REB, SSA)
It modifies the Greek phrase mneian poioumenoi “making mention” in 1:2. (GNT, RSV, CEV, NEB, NET, NJB, NLT)

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1) because it is the most natural way to understand the Greek (see SSA, pages 22–23 for more details of why this is recommended).

before: This word is used in a figurative way here. Paul was saying that when he prayed to God, it was as if he was in the presence of a king to request something. You should translate this carefully so your readers do not misunderstand and think that Paul was talking about going to a specific place to pray.

our God and Father: In some languages using a possessive such as “our” with God might imply that God was in some sense possessed or owned. Clearly this phrase does not mean that here, because God cannot be owned by anyone. In other languages using a possessive might mean that Paul’s God was only one God among many. This is also not true, because Paul’s God is the only God. Here the expression our God means “the God whom we worship/serve.” Another method of avoiding the problem in this context is to combine the expression our God with and Father and say: “God who is our (incl) Father.”

1:3b–d

your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ: In this part of the verse Paul listed the three aspects of the Thessalonians’ behavior that he remembered before God when he thanked God for them. The Greek here literally says: “…of you the work of the faith and labor of the love and endurance of the hope…” The following notes discuss the connection between faith and work, love and labor, hope and endurance.

your: In Greek the word humōn “of you (plur), your (plur)” only occurs once at the beginning of the list, but it belongs with all three phrases, as the BSB shows.

1:3b

your work of faith,

the way you work for God because you believe in the Lord Jesus,

your work of faith: Literally “of you the work of the faith.” Commentators suggest two meanings for this expression:

Their work was the result of their faith. This means that they worked because they believed in Jesus. (GNT, NIV, NCV, SSA).
Their work proved they had faith. (REB, JB)

It is recommended that you follow the first option (1) because it has the strongest commentary support.

1:3c

your labor of love,

and the way you work to help other believers because you love them,
and the way that you love others which makes you work hard to help them,

your labor of love: Literally “of you…the labor of the love.” Most scholars think that this means that because the Thessalonians loved other believers, they worked diligently to help them. When you translate this, it may be necessary to make clear who loves and who is the one loved. One way to do this would be:

You work diligently to help other believers, because you love them.

1:3d

and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

and that because you are certain that our^(incl) Lord Jesus Christ will come again you endure persecution.
and how the fact that you are looking forward to the return of our^(incl) Lord Jesus Christ causes you to continue believing firmly despite being persecuted.

and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ: Literally “of you…the endurance of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

enduring hope: Literally “endurance of hope.” Biblical scholars understand this expression in one of two ways:

It means that the Thessalonians endured persecution because they believed strongly in the Lord Jesus. In other words, what they believed caused them to endure. (NIV, NCV, SSA)
It means that their hope was steadfast, that it endured. For example:
how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm (GNT) (BSB, GNT, GW, CEV, NJB).

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1). 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 2:14, 3:4, and 3:8 support this. In these verses Paul spoke favorably about how the Christians had endured firmly while people were persecuting them.

hope in our Lord Jesus Christ: In this context, the event that the Thessalonians were hoping for was the time when the Lord Jesus would return. See 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.

hope: In English a person can “hope” that something will happen without being sure in any way that it will happen. However, in the biblical sense it means “being certain that something will happen.” It is almost equivalent to “strongly believing that something will happen.”

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης, καὶ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν;

remembering ˱of˲_you_all ˱about˲_the work ¬the ˱of˲_faith (Some words not found in SR-GNT: μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως καί τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης καί τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός ἡμῶν)

Here, when Paul says that he and those with him are remembering things before our God and Father, he means that they are thanking God about specific things. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [gratefully mentioning to our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope of our Lord Jesus Christ]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης, καὶ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

˱of˲_you_all ˱about˲_the work ¬the ˱of˲_faith (Some words not found in SR-GNT: μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως καί τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης καί τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός ἡμῶν)

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of faith, love, endurance, and hope, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [how you work because you believe, and how you labor because you love, and how you endure because you hope in our Lord Jesus Christ]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως

˱of˲_you_all ˱about˲_the work ¬the ˱of˲_faith

Here, Paul could be using the possessive form to describe work that is: (1) a result of faith. Alternate translation: [your work produced by faith] (2) a proof of faith. Alternate translation: [your work that proves that you have faith]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης

˱about˲_the the labor ¬the ˱of˲_love

Here, Paul could be using the possessive form to describe labor that is: (1) a result of love for other believers. Alternate translation: [labor produced by love for others] (2) a result of love for God. Alternate translation: [labor produced by love for God] (3) a proof of love. Alternate translation: [labor that proves that you have love]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος

¬the ¬the the endurance ¬the ˱of˲_hope

Here, Paul could be using the possessive form to describe endurance that is: (1) a result of hope. Alternate translation: [endurance produced by hope] (2) a characteristic of hope. Alternate translation: [enduring hope]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

¬the ¬the the ¬the ˱of˲_hope ˱of˲_the Lord ˱of˲_us Jesus Christ

Here, Paul is using the possessive form to describe a hope that is based in our Lord Jesus Christ. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys

τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν

˱about˲_the the ˱of˲_the the God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως καί τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης καί τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός ἡμῶν)

Here, our God and Father refers to the one divine person who is both God and Father. The word God and the word Father refer to the same person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [God our Father] or [our Father God]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

(Occurrence -1) ἡμῶν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μνημονεύοντες ὑμῶν τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως καί τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης καί τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός ἡμῶν)

In both places, the word our includes Paul, Silvanus, Timothy, the Thessalonians, and all believers. Your language may require you to mark this form.

Parallel 1 TH 1:3