1 Thessalonians 2:5-8
New International Version
5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed(A)—God is our witness.(B) 6 We were not looking for praise from people,(C) not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles(D) of Christ we could have asserted our authority.(E) 7 Instead, we were like young children[a] among you.
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,(F) 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God(G) but our lives as well.(H)
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Some manuscripts were gentle
1 Thessalonians 2:5-8
The Message
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.
6-8 Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t standoffish with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.
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1 Thessalonians 2:5-8
New Living Translation
5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! 6 As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
7 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children[a] among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. 8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
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- 2:7 Some manuscripts read we were gentle.
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