Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. New Living Translation We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. English Standard Version For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. Berean Standard Bible By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. Berean Literal Bible For this we declare to you in the word of the Lord, that we the living, remaining unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those having fallen asleep, King James Bible For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. New King James Version For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. New American Standard Bible For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. NASB 1995 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. NASB 1977 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. Legacy Standard Bible For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. Amplified Bible For we say this to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death]. Christian Standard Bible For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. Holman Christian Standard Bible For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. American Standard Version For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. Contemporary English Version Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won't go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died. English Revised Version For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. GOD'S WORD® Translation We are telling you what the Lord taught. We who are still alive when the Lord comes will not go [into his kingdom] ahead of those who have already died. Good News Translation What we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. International Standard Version For we declare to you what the Lord has told us to say: We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died. Majority Standard Bible By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. NET Bible For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. New Heart English Bible For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. Webster's Bible Translation For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep. Weymouth New Testament For this we declare to you on the Lord's own authority--that we who are alive and continue on earth until the Coming of the Lord, shall certainly not forestall those who shall have previously passed away. World English Bible For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionfor we say this to you in the word of the LORD, that we who are living—who remain over to the coming of the LORD—may not precede those asleep, Berean Literal Bible For this we declare to you in the word of the Lord, that we the living, remaining unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those having fallen asleep, Young's Literal Translation for this to you we say in the word of the Lord, that we who are living -- who do remain over to the presence of the Lord -- may not precede those asleep, Smith's Literal Translation For this we say to you in the word of the Lord, that we the living being left at the arrival of the Lord shall not get beforehand with them having slept. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleFor this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept. Catholic Public Domain Version For we say this to you, in the Word of the Lord: that we who are alive, who remain until the return of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. New American Bible Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. New Revised Standard Version For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleFor this we say to you by the very word of our LORD, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of our LORD shall not overtake those who are dead. Aramaic Bible in Plain English But this we say to you by the word of Our Lord, that we, those who remain at the coming of Our Lord, we who have life, shall not overtake those who are asleep; NT Translations Anderson New TestamentFor this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain till the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who are asleep Godbey New Testament For we speak this to you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left unto the coming of the Lord, can not anticipate those who are asleep, Haweis New Testament For this I say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent those who are fallen asleep. Mace New Testament for one thing I have in charge to tell you from the Lord, that we, who shall be found still alive at the coming of the Lord, shall not get the advance of those that are dead: Weymouth New Testament For this we declare to you on the Lord's own authority--that we who are alive and continue on earth until the Coming of the Lord, shall certainly not forestall those who shall have previously passed away. Worrell New Testament For this we say to You, in a word of the Lord, that we, the living who remain over to the coming of the Lord, shall in nowise precede those who fell asleep; Worsley New Testament For this we tell you in the word of the Lord, that we who shall be living and remain to the coming of the Lord, shall not be before those that are asleep. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Return of the Lord…14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. 15 By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.… Cross References 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— / in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. Matthew 24:30-31 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. / And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am. Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, / who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. Acts 1:11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:23 But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him. Matthew 24:36-44 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. / As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. / For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. ... 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, Revelation 20:4-6 Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. / The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection. / Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. Daniel 12:2 And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. Isaiah 26:19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead. Zechariah 14:5 You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him. Job 19:25-27 But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth. / Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. / I will see Him for myself; my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger. How my heart yearns within me! Psalm 50:3-5 Our God approaches and will not be silent! Consuming fire precedes Him, and a tempest rages around Him. / He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people: / “Gather to Me My saints, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” Treasury of Scripture For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. by the. 1 Kings 13:1,9,17,18,22 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense… 1 Kings 20:35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. 1 Kings 22:14 And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. which are. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, … 2 Corinthians 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. prevent. Job 41:11 Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine. Psalm 88:13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. Psalm 119:147,148 I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word… asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Jump to Previous Alive Anticipate Asleep Authority Continue Declare Earth Fallen Lord's Passed Prevent Previously Sleeping Way Wise WordJump to Next Alive Anticipate Asleep Authority Continue Declare Earth Fallen Lord's Passed Prevent Previously Sleeping Way Wise Word1 Thessalonians 4 1. He exhorts them to go forward in all manner of godliness;6. to live holily and justly; 9. to love one another; 11. and quietly to follow their own business; 13. and last of all, to sorrow moderately for the dead. 17. followed by a brief description of the resurrection, and second coming of Christ to judgment. By the word of the Lord This phrase emphasizes the divine authority and inspiration behind Paul's message. The Greek term "logos" (word) signifies not just a spoken word but a divine utterance, a message from God Himself. In the context of early Christianity, this underscores the belief that Paul's teachings are not merely human opinions but are rooted in divine revelation. Historically, this reflects the early church's reliance on apostolic authority as a foundation for doctrine. we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep We which are alive and remain.--Literally, We, (that is) the quick, those who are left over. There is not the least necessity for supposing from these words that St. Paul confidently expected the Advent before his death. Very likely he did, but it cannot be proved from this passage. Had the "we" stood alone, without the explanatory participles, it might have amounted to a proof, but not so now. His converts are strongly under the impression that they will be alive at the Coming, and that it will be the worse for the departed: therefore, St. Paul (becoming all things to all men) identifies himself with them--assumes that it will be as they expected--and proves the more vividly the fallacy of the Thessalonians' fears. It would have been impossible, on the contrary, for St. Paul to have said "we which are dead" without definitely abandoning the hope of seeing the Return. Besides which, St. Paul is only picturing to imagination the scene of the Advent; and for any man it is far easier to imagine himself among the quick than among the dead at that moment. Shall not prevent--i.e., "be before," "get the start of." If it were not for these words, we might have fancied that the Thessalonians had not been taught to believe in a resurrection at all; which would have been a strange departure from the usual apostolic gospel (1Corinthians 15:1, et seq.). We here learn what was the exact nature of the Thessalonians' anxiety concerning the dead. They were full of excited hopes of the coming of that kingdom which had formed so prominent a part of the Apostles' preaching there (Acts 17:7); and were afraid that the highest glories in that kingdom would be engrossed by those who were alive to receive them; and that the dead, not being to rise till afterwards, would have less blessed privileges. This would make them not only sorry for their dead friends, but also reluctant to die themselves. The negative in this clause is very emphatic in the Greek, and throws all its force upon the verb: "We shall certainly not get the start of them that sleep;" i.e., "if anything, we shall be behind them; they will rise first." . . . Verse 15. - For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord; or rather, by a word of the Lord. The apostle does not refer to those portions of the gospel which record our Lord's discourses concerning the last things; nor to some sayings of Christ preserved by tradition; but to a direct revelation made unto himself by the Lord. We know from Scripture that Paul had many such revelations imparted to him (comp. 1 Corinthians 11:23; Galatians 1:11, 12). That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord. These words are the occasion of an important discussion. It has been affirmed that the apostle here asserts that he himself expected to be alive, with the majority of those to whom he was writing, at the Lord's advent; that, according to his expectation, Christ's second coming was close at hand. "Those who are alive and remain" are distinguished from "those who are asleep," and in the former class the apostle includes himself and his readers. And a similar declaration is contained in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51). Such is the view adopted by Grotius, Olshausen, Koch, Neander, Lechler, Baur, Winer, Reuse, Lunemann, Riggenbach; and, among English divines, by Alford, Jowett, Stanley, and Conybeare. Some of them suppose that Paul changed his opinion on this point - that whilst in his earlier Epistles he taught the immediateness of the advent, in his later Epistles he renounced this hope and looked forward to his own departure. There does not seem to be any ground for this opinion. On the contrary, it would appear from the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, written only a few weeks after this Epistle, that Paul did not expect the advent immediately, but mentions a series of events which would intervene before its occurrence (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). And in this Epistle he represses the curiosity of the Thessalonians about the precise time of the advent by telling them that it was beyond the sphere of his teaching (1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2). We consider, then, that the apostle speaks here as a member of the Christian body, and uses a very common form of expression - that we Christians which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord; but not at all intending to express his confidence that he himself and his converts would be actually alive at the advent. "He spake," says St. Chrysostom, "not of himself, but of Christians who would be alive at the day of judgment." Such is the view adopted by Chrysostom, Calvin, Bengel, Hofmann, Lunge, Macknight, Ellicott, Bishop Alexander, Wordsworth, and Vaughan. At the same time, it must be remembered that the time of the advent was expressly concealed (Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:7), and that it might occur at any period; and, by reason of their proximity to the first advent, the primitive Christians would be deeply impressed with the possibility or even probability of its occurrence in their days. Christians were to be living always in readiness for this great event, and thus it became a matter of expectation. "Strictly speaking, the expectation of the day of the Lord was not a belief, but a necessity in the early Church; clinging as it did to the thought of Christ, it could not bear to be separated from him; it was his absence, not his presence, that the first believers found it hard to realize" (Jowett). Hence Paul might not regard the advent as far removed into the distant future, as wholly impossible to happen in his days, but as an occurrence which might at any time take place; but he did not teach anything definite or certain on the subject. Shall not prevent; go before or anticipate, obtain the preference over, get before, so that those that are asleep might be left behind and fail of the prize. Them that are asleep; those who are dead, so that they, the living, should be glorified before them, or perhaps hinder their glorification.Parallel Commentaries ... Greek Byἐν (en) Preposition Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. [the] word λόγῳ (logō) Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 3056: From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression. of [the] Lord, Κυρίου (Kyriou) Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Strong's 2962: Lord, master, sir; the Lord. From kuros; supreme in authority, i.e. controller; by implication, Master. we declare λέγομεν (legomen) Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command. to you ὑμῖν (hymin) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou. that ὅτι (hoti) Conjunction Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because. we ἡμεῖς (hēmeis) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Plural Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I. who are οἱ (hoi) Article - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. alive ζῶντες (zōntes) Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 2198: To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live. [and] remain περιλειπόμενοι (perileipomenoi) Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 4035: To leave behind; pass: To be left behind, remain, survive. From peri and leipo; to leave all around, i.e. survive. until εἰς (eis) Preposition Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases. the τὴν (tēn) Article - Accusative Feminine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. coming παρουσίαν (parousian) Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Strong's 3952: From the present participle of pareimi; a being near, i.e. Advent; physically, aspect. of the τοῦ (tou) Article - Genitive Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. Lord Κυρίου (Kyriou) Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Strong's 2962: Lord, master, sir; the Lord. From kuros; supreme in authority, i.e. controller; by implication, Master. will by no means precede φθάσωμεν (phthasōmen) Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Plural Strong's 5348: Apparently a primary verb; to be beforehand, i.e. Anticipate or precede; by extension, to have arrived at. those who τοὺς (tous) Article - Accusative Masculine Plural Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. have fallen asleep. κοιμηθέντας (koimēthentas) Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural Strong's 2837: From keimai; to put to sleep, i.e. to slumber; figuratively, to decease. Links 1 Thessalonians 4:15 NIV1 Thessalonians 4:15 NLT 1 Thessalonians 4:15 ESV 1 Thessalonians 4:15 NASB 1 Thessalonians 4:15 KJV 1 Thessalonians 4:15 BibleApps.com 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Biblia Paralela 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Chinese Bible 1 Thessalonians 4:15 French Bible 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Catholic Bible NT Letters: 1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we tell you by (1 Thess. 1 Thes. 1Th iTh i Th) |
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