1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
English Standard Version
3 For this is the will of God, (A)your sanctification:[a] (B)that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own (C)body[b] in holiness and (D)honor, 5 not in (E)the passion of lust (F)like the Gentiles (G)who do not know God;
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- 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Or your holiness
- 1 Thessalonians 4:4 Or how to take a wife for himself; Greek how to possess his own vessel
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
New English Translation
3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy,[a] that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to possess his own body[b] in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God.
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- 1 Thessalonians 4:3 tn Or “your sanctification.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:4 tn Grk “to gain [or possess] his own vessel.” “Vessel” is most likely used figuratively for “body” (cf. 2 Cor 4:7). Some take it to mean “wife” (thus, “to take a wife for himself” or “to live with his wife”), but this is less likely. See J. Smith, “1 Thess 4:4—Breaking the Impasse,” BBR 10 (Fall 2000), who argues that “vessel” in this context is very likely a euphemism for the sexual organs.
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