1 Thessalonians 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
1 That is why, when we could bear it no longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens(A) 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,(B) 3 so that no one be disturbed in these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined[a] for this. 4 For even when we were among you, we used to warn you in advance that we would undergo affliction, just as has happened, as you know.(C) 5 For this reason, when I too could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had put you to the test and our toil might come to nothing.
6 But just now Timothy has returned to us from you, bringing us the good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us and long to see us as we long to see you. 7 Because of this, we have been reassured about you, brothers, in our every distress and affliction, through your faith. 8 For we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.
Concluding Thanksgiving and Prayer. 9 [b]What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you, for all the joy we feel on your account before our God? 10 Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the deficiencies of your faith. 11 Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you,(D) 13 so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. [Amen.](E)
Footnotes
- 3:3 We are destined: the Greek phraseology and the context suggest Paul’s concern to alert his readers to difficulties he knew they would necessarily face and to enable them to see their present experience in the light of what he warned them would happen in the future. This line of thought is followed in 2 Thes 2:1–15.
- 3:9–10 The tension between Paul’s optimism concerning the Thessalonians’ faith and his worries about their perseverance remains unresolved. Perhaps this is accounted for not only by the continuing harassment but also by the shortness of his own stay in Thessalonica (even if that were over twice as long as the conventional three weeks that Luke assigns to it, Acts 17:2).
1 Thessalonikerbrevet 3
nuBibeln (Swedish Contemporary Bible)
3 När vi inte kunde stå ut längre, beslöt vi oss därför att själva stanna kvar i Athen 2 och skicka vår bror Timotheos, Guds medarbetare som sprider evangeliet om Kristus. Han skulle styrka och uppmuntra er tro, 3 så att ingen vacklar under dessa svårigheter. De ingår i vad som ligger framför oss, det visste ni redan. 4 Medan vi fortfarande var kvar hos er, sa vi till er att vi kommer att få lida, och så har det också blivit, som ni vet.
5 När jag inte längre kunde stå ut, skickade jag därför Timotheos för att ta reda på hur det var med er tro. Jag var rädd att frestaren kunde ha lockat er, så att vårt arbete hade varit förgäves.
Timotheos glädjande rapport
6 Men nu har Timotheos just återvänt med de goda nyheterna om er tro och kärlek, och han har berättat att ni minns oss med glädje och längtar lika mycket efter oss som vi längtar efter er. 7 Syskon, ni har med er tro gett oss nytt mod i alla våra svårigheter och lidanden här. 8 Nu kan vi leva upp igen, när ni står fasta i Herren.
9 Vi kan inte nog tacka Gud för er, för den glädje ni har gett oss inför vår Gud! 10 Dag och natt ber vi nu ivrigt till Gud att vi ska få träffa er igen, så att vi kan hjälpa er med det som fortfarande saknas i er tro.
11 Måtte vår Gud och Fader själv och vår Herre Jesus låta det bli möjligt för oss att resa till er. 12 Måtte Herren också låta er kärlek till varandra och till alla människor bli stark och överflödande, precis som vår kärlek till er, 13 så att ni alltmer styrkas i era hjärtan och kan stå klanderfria och heliga inför vår Gud och Fader, den dag då vår Herre Jesus kommer med alla sina heliga[a].
Footnotes
- 3:13 alla sina heliga kan syfta antingen på troende eller på änglar, eller på båda; änglar verkar dock troligast eftersom Jesus kommer för att hämta de troende till sig, se t.ex. Matt 24:31.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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