Anxiety in Athens

Therefore, when we could no longer stand it, we thought it was better to be left alone in Athens.(A) And we sent Timothy,(B) our brother and God’s coworker[a] in the gospel of Christ,(C) to strengthen and encourage you concerning your faith, so that no one will be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. In fact, when we were with you, we told you in advance that we were going to experience affliction, and as you know, it happened. For this reason, when I could no longer stand it, I also sent him to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that our labor might be for nothing.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:2 Other mss read servant

Paul Sends Timothy to Thessalonica

Therefore when we[a] could bear it no longer, we determined to be left behind in Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, in order to strengthen and to encourage you about your faith, so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are appointed for this, for indeed when we were with you we told you beforehand that we were about to be afflicted, just as indeed it happened, and you know. Because of this, I also, when I[b] could endure it no longer, sent in order to know your faith, lest somehow the tempter tempted you and our labor should be in vain.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 3:1 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“could bear”) which is understood as temporal
  2. 1 Thessalonians 3:5 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“could endure”) which is understood as temporal