1 TH 2:3 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=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
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 For our exhortation was neither from error, nor from impurity, nor in deceit,

UST When we encouraged you to believe the good news, we did not convince you to believe an incorrect message. We did not say or do unclean things. We did not deceive you.

AICNT For our exhortation was not from error, nor from impurity, nor in deceit,

OEB Our appeal to you was not based on a delusion, nor was it made from unworthy motives, or with any intention of misleading you.

CSB For our exhortation didn’t come from error or impurity or an intent to deceive.

NLT So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.

NIV For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.

CEV We didn't have any hidden motives when we won you over, and we didn't try to fool or trick anyone.

ESV For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive,

NASB For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit;

LSB For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit;

WEBBE For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deception.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG No Hidden Agendas (3-5) God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval. Since we’ve been put through that battery of tests, you’re guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.

NET For the appeal we make does not come from error or impurity or with deceit,

LSV for our exhortation [is] not out of deceit, nor out of uncleanness, nor in guile,

FBV For what we speak about isn't deceptive, or worthless, or fraudulent.

TCNT For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or with deceit,

T4T When we exhorted/urged (OR, tried to convince) you to obey God’s message, we did not tell you an untrue message. Instead, we told you a true message. We do not want to get something for ourselves by immoral means. We do not try to deceive you or other people.

LEB For our exhortation is not from error or from impurity or with deceit,

NRSV For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery,

NKJV For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.

NAB Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through deception.

BBE For our witness does not come from error or from an unclean heart or from deceit:

Moff For the appeal we make does not spring from any delusion or from impure motives — it does not work by cunning;

Wymth For our preaching was not grounded on a delusion, nor prompted by mingled motives, nor was there fraud in it.

ASV For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

DRA For our exhortation was not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deceit:

YLT for our exhortation [is] not out of deceit, nor out of uncleanness, nor in guile,

Drby For our exhortation [was] not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile;

RV For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

SLT For our entreaty nor from error, nor from uncleanness, nor in deceit:

Wbstr For our exhortation was not from deceit, nor from impurity, nor in guile;

KJB-1769 For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

KJB-1611 For our exhortation was not of deceite, nor of vncleannesse, nor in guile:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps For our exhortation was not of deceit, neither of vncleannes, neither in guile:
(For our exhortation was not of deceit, neither of uncleannes, neither in guile:)

Gnva For our exhortation was not by deceite, nor by vncleannes, nor by guile.
(For our exhortation was not by deceit, nor by uncleannes, nor by guile. )

Cvdl For oure exhortacion was not to brynge you to erroure ner yet to vnclennes, nether was it with gyle:
(For our exhortacion was not to bring you to error nor yet to unclennes, neither was it with gyle:)

TNT Oure exhortacion was not to brynge you to erroure nor yet to vnclennes nether was it with gyle:
(Our exhortacion was not to bring you to error nor yet to unclennes neither was it with gyle: )

Wycl And oure exortacioun is not of errour, nether of vnclennesse, nether in gile,
(And our exortacioun is not of error, neither of unclenness, neither in guile,)

Luth Denn unsere Ermahnung ist nicht gewesen zu Irrtum noch zu Unreinigkeit noch mit List,
(Because our Ermahnung is not been to/for Irrtum still to/for uncleanness still with List,)

ClVg Exhortatio enim nostra non de errore, neque de immunditia, neque in dolo,[fn]
(Exhortatio because our not/no from/about errore, nor from/about impurity, nor in/into/on trickery, )

2.3 Exhortatio. Hic contra pseudoapostolos videtur incipere commemorans de Evangelii veritate, deinde sua inter nos prudenti conversatione. In dolo. Etiam veritas est in dolo quando non pro amore veritatis et utilitate auditorum prædicatur, sed ut gloria vel aliud lucrum acquiratur.

2.3 Exhortatio. Here/This on_the_contrary pseudoapostolos it_seems incipere commemorans from/about of_the_Gospels with_truth, then/next his_own between us prudenti conversation. In trickery. Yes the_truth it_is in/into/on trickery when not/no for with_love to_the_truths and usefulness audience is_preached, but as glory or something_else lucrum acquiratur.

UGNT ἡ γὰρ παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης, οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας, οὐδὲ ἐν δόλῳ,
(haʸ gar paraklaʸsis haʸmōn ouk ek planaʸs, oude ex akatharsias, oude en dolōi,)

SBL-GNT ἡ γὰρ παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας ⸀οὐδὲ ἐν δόλῳ,
(haʸ gar paraklaʸsis haʸmōn ouk ek planaʸs oude ex akatharsias ⸀oude en dolōi,)

RP-GNT Ἡ γὰρ παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης, οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας, οὔτε ἐν δόλῳ·
(Haʸ gar paraklaʸsis haʸmōn ouk ek planaʸs, oude ex akatharsias, oute en dolōi;)

TC-GNT Ἡ γὰρ παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης, οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας, [fn]οὔτε ἐν δόλῳ·
(Haʸ gar paraklaʸsis haʸmōn ouk ek planaʸs, oude ex akatharsias, oute en dolōi; )

2:3 ουτε ¦ ουδε CT

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–12: Paul reminded the Thessalonians about his visit to them

Paragraph 2:3–9

Paul then defended himself and his companions against the accusations that he believed that people were making. He affirmed that what he and his companions had preached was true and that they wanted to please God rather than people. Paul and his companions had never asked anyone to honor them personally, although they could have done that because they were apostles. In the Greek world there were many people who traveled from place to place teaching people and living at the expense of those who began to follow them. Paul wanted to emphasize how different he and his companions were from people like that. This is probably the reason why he defended himself here.

To prove this, Paul reminded the Thessalonians believers how he and his companions had worked to earn their own money so they would not burden them. He also reminded them that he and his companions behaved toward them the way a good father behaves toward his children. He then urged them to behave in a way that would please God.

In 2:3–4 Paul was describing his ministry among people in general, wherever he and his companions went and preached. Then in 2:5 he talks about his specific ministry among the Thessalonians.

2:3a

For our appeal

¶ The reason that our^(excl) message to you succeeded was that when we^(excl) urge people to believe the gospel,

For: Paul and his companions had succeeded in producing the result that they had hoped to produce by preaching to the Thessalonians. That result was that Thessalonians had believed in Jesus. Here Paul gave another reason why their preaching was successful (2:1) and why they could preach the gospel boldly (2:2c).

our appeal: It is not clear from the Greek text or from most English versions to whom Paul made this appeal. There are two possibilities:

He appealed to people in general. (NET, SSA)
He appealed to the Thessalonians in particular. (GNT, CEV, GW, NJB)

If possible you should leave your translation ambiguous here. However, if you must say to whom Paul appealed, it is recommended that you follow the first option and use a word for people in general. This option has the support of most commentators.

appeal: Paul’s appeal was to urge people to believe the gospel.

2:3b

does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives

what we^(excl) say is not based on incorrect thinking, nor do we^(excl) intend to do what is morally wrong,

does not arise from: There is no verb in the Greek text in this part of the verse, yet all English translations need to supply one. Most English versions supply a verb such as “spring from,” “come from,” or “is based on.” You should choose a verb that makes it clear that Paul was saying that his appeal did not originate from error.

All English versions except the KJV supply a verb in the present tense to indicate that Paul was talking about something he did habitually. It is recommended that you use a verb tense or aspect that refers to habitual actions, that is, actions that occur frequently. This matches the tense of the verb “speak” in 2:4a, which also shows habitual action.

deceit: The Greek word that the BSB translates as deceit is more literally “error” or “delusion.” This Greek word can have two meanings:

Paul meant that he was not mistaken or deluded or mad. (NIV, NJB, REB)
Paul meant that he was not deliberately deceiving them. (BSB, GW, KJV, NCV, NLT, NRSV)

Some English versions are ambiguous. Probably the first opinion (1) is correct here. Otherwise the meaning would be almost the same as 2:3c and Paul would just have been repeating himself.

ulterior motives: The Greek word akatharsia, which the BSB translates as ulterior motives, literally means “uncleanness.” This could mean one of two things:

It means any kind of moral impurity, for example, greed, ambition, vanity, pride, or sexual immorality. Preaching to gain money, as some people were doing, is one example of an “impure motive” in this context. (GW, NCV)
It specifically means sexual immorality. (JB)

Most English versions are ambiguous. It is recommended that you follow the first meaning (1) here. Choose a general term, because most commentators agree that in this context the meaning should not be limited to sexual immorality.

2:3c

or trickery.

and we^(excl) are not trying to deceive anyone.

or trickery: Literally, “nor trickery.” Paul was speaking generally here, so it is most likely that Paul was saying that he and his companions were not intending to deceive anyone at any time. Here are some other ways to translate this:

we didn't try to fool or trick anyone (CEV)

nor do we try to trick anyone (GNT)

He said more about this in 2:5a and 2:5b when he talked about “flattery” and “any pretext for greed.” See the notes on those verses.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡ Γάρ παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης οὐδέ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας οὐδέ ἐν δόλῳ)

Here, the word For introduces an explanation of how Paul and his fellow workers spoke the gospel. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces an explanation, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [Here is how we spoke:] or [Indeed,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἡ & παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης, οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας, οὐδὲ ἐν δόλῳ

the & exhortation ˱of˲_us not of deception (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἡ Γάρ παράκλησις ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης οὐδέ ἐξ ἀκαθαρσίας οὐδέ ἐν δόλῳ)

If your language does not use nouns for some or all of the ideas in this verse, you could express the ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [when we appealed to you, we did not lead you astray, nor did we speak impurely, nor did we deceive you]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἡ & παράκλησις ἡμῶν

the & exhortation ˱of˲_us

Here Paul could be implying that this exhortation was addressed to: (1) the Thessalonians specifically. Alternate translation: [our exhortation to you] (2) anyone to whom Paul and his fellow workers proclaim the gospel. Alternate translation: [our exhortation to people]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὐκ ἐκ πλάνης

not of deception

Here Paul could be implying that the exhortation was not from error because: (1) he and his fellow workers did not try to convince the Thessalonians to believe what is wrong. Alternate translation: [was neither from false teaching] (2) he and his fellow workers did not believe what is wrong. Alternate translation: [was neither from false beliefs]

Parallel 1 TH 2:3

Section 2:1–12: Paul reminded the Thessalonians about his visit to them

Paragraph 2:3–9

2:3a

2:3b

2:3c

Parallel 1 TH 2:3