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The First Epistle to the Thessalonians — Interlinear: Themes, Outlines & Translation Notes

A consolidated companion to the 1 Thessalonians data set: 1 Thessalonians (1–5) rendered as a six-tier Greek reverse-interlinear (Greek · gloss · parsing/case · syntax · semantic force · lexical note), with per-verse discourse analysis and a chapter argument-outline.

This document gathers the theme, the argument outline (the outline movements authored into each data file), and the translation / textual / exegetical notes (the text_note of each file, reproduced verbatim) — followed by a summary of the major translation and interpretive cruxes that were deliberately annotated rather than silently resolved. It is part of the same project as the Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians volumes.

Scope

Chapter Verses Words annotated Outline movements
1 Thessalonians 1 10 213 5
1 Thessalonians 2 20 390 7
1 Thessalonians 3 13 248 4
1 Thessalonians 4 18 310 4
1 Thessalonians 5 28 319 7
Total 89 1480 —

Each annotated word carries Greek, a working gloss, color-coded grammatical case, parsing (Tense·Voice·Mood·Person·Number + lemma), a Wallace-style syntactic-function label, an aspectual semantic-force label (verbal forms), and a condensed lexical note. The Greek follows the standard critical text (uniform across NA28 / SBLGNT / THGNT in its main wording, and itself an ancient public-domain text); the copyrighted NA28 apparatus is not reproduced.

The argument of the book

The macro-structure of the whole book — its major movements — under which the chapter-by-chapter detail below unfolds. (Section divisions are interpretive; the more common analysis is generally followed.)

Chapter-by-chapter

1 Thessalonians 1 — ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Α′ Α′

Theme. Thanksgiving for the model church's faith, love, and hope — turning from idols to await the Son from heaven.

Outline.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of 1 Thessalonians 1, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few places carry interpretive or text-critical weight: at v.1 the shorter greeting χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη is printed (the Byzantine tradition expands with ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ); at v.5 the editions read ἐγενήθη … εἰς ὑμᾶς (some witnesses πρὸς ὑμᾶς); at v.10 the participle ῥυόμενον is the present ('who delivers'). The chapter has 10 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text.

1 Thessalonians 2 — ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Α′ Β′

Theme. Paul's blameless, affectionate conduct among them — like a nursing mother and a father — and their reception of the word as God's word.

Outline.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of 1 Thessalonians 2, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. The most consequential variant is at v.7: the witnesses divide between ἤπιοι ('gentle') and νήπιοι ('infants, babes') — a single-letter difference (ΕΓΕΝΗΘΗΜΕΝΗΠΙΟΙ), since the preceding word ends in -ν. The printed text reads ἤπιοι ('we were gentle among you'), the reading adopted by SBLGNT and the traditional text and well suited to the surrounding nursing-mother imagery; NA28/THGNT print νήπιοι ('we became infants'). At v.12 the editions vary among μαρτυρόμενοι / παραμυθούμενοι constructions and between the present participle and the infinitive in the final clause; the reading printed follows the main editions. The chapter has 20 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text.

1 Thessalonians 3 — ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Α′ Γ′

Theme. The sending of Timothy and the relief of his good report; Paul's prayer to see them and that they abound in love.

Outline.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of 1 Thessalonians 3, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. The chapter has thirteen verses; none is omitted in the critical text. A few readings carry minor text-critical weight: at v.2 the editions divide over the description of Timothy (διάκονον τοῦ θεοῦ / συνεργὸν τοῦ θεοῦ / διάκονον … καὶ συνεργόν), and the NA28 text adopted here reads διάκονον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ; at v.13 the adopted text frames the goal with an articular infinitive (εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι), though some editions punctuate the verb as the aorist optative στηρίξαι. These variants are not annotated word by word.

1 Thessalonians 4 — ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Α′ Δ′

Theme. Sanctification and sexual purity; brotherly love and a quiet working life; the coming of the Lord and the dead in Christ.

Outline.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of 1 Thessalonians 4, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. A few places carry interpretive or text-critical weight: at v.1 the printed text includes καθὼς καὶ περιπατεῖτε ('as indeed you are walking'), present in the main editions though absent from some witnesses; at v.8 the printed participle is the present διδόντα ('gives,' NA28/SBLGNT) rather than the aorist δόντα of some witnesses; at v.11 the editions read ἰδίαις ('your own') before χερσίν, which a few witnesses omit. The chapter has 18 verses; none is legitimately omitted by the critical text.

1 Thessalonians 5 — ΠΡΟΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΕΙΣ Α′ Ε′

Theme. The day of the Lord like a thief; children of light; rapid-fire exhortations; and the benediction of complete sanctification.

Outline.

Translation & textual notes. The Greek follows the standard critical text of 1 Thessalonians 5, uniform in its main wording across the modern editions (NA28, SBLGNT, THGNT) and itself an ancient, public-domain text; NA28's distinctively copyrighted critical apparatus is not reproduced. Verse punctuation, paragraphing, and capitalization are editorial and conventional. Minor orthographic and word-order variants (e.g. the placement of ὑμᾶς in v.4, ὀφθαλμόν/ἀγαθόν readings in v.15) are not noted; the chapter comprises 28 verses with no critically omitted verse.

Major translation & exegetical cruxes

Where the Greek legitimately admits more than one rendering or reading, the point was flagged in the lexical notes and chapter text_notes rather than decided silently; the more common analysis was generally taken and the alternative noted. The principal cruxes in 1 Thessalonians:

Reference Crux Discussion
2:7 ἤπιοι / νήπιοι — 'gentle' vs. 'infants' A single-letter manuscript split (the preceding word ends in -ν): 'we were gentle among you' or 'we became infants.' The printed reading is followed, the variant noted.
4:4 τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκεῦος κτᾶσθαι — 'acquire his own vessel' Whether σκεῦος ('vessel') means one's own body (self-control) or one's wife (marrying honorably); the rendering reflects the chosen sense, the alternative flagged.
4:15 ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες — 'we who are alive' Whether Paul expected to be among the living at the parousia; the first-person is rendered as is, the question of Paul's expectation noted, not pressed.
5:10 εἴτε γρηγορῶμεν εἴτε καθεύδωμεν — 'whether we wake or sleep' Here 'wake/sleep' most likely means 'live or die' (unlike the moral 'watchfulness' of 5:6); the shift in the metaphor is noted.

Other recurring features noted in the lexical tier include the triad of faith, love, and hope (1:3; 5:8), the parousia vocabulary that closes each major section (2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23), and the family imagery (nursing mother, father, orphaned) of ch. 2.

How the data set is organized

The interpretive tiers (syntactic function, semantic force, discourse structure, and the proposed argument outlines) are interpretive by nature; where readings legitimately differ, the more common analysis was generally chosen, and the lexical notes are condensed orientation rather than a substitute for a lexicon (e.g. BDAG) or a full commentary.