1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
New Living Translation
3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body[a] and live in holiness and honor— 5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 6 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife,[b] for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Read full chapter
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
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. 6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him,[c] because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases,[d] as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority[e] but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:6 tn Grk “not to transgress against or defraud his brother in the matter,” continuing the sentence of vv. 3-5.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:6 tn Grk “concerning all these things.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8 tn Grk “rejecting man.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.