American Standard Version
1 Thessalonians 5:3
3When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
- New International Version (NIV)While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- English Standard Version (ESV)While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
Context of 1 Thessalonians 5:3
1But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. 2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape. 4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief: 5for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness;
Read all of 1 Thessalonians 51 Thessalonians 5:3 word by word
ὅταν λέγωσιν· εἰρήνη καὶ ἀσφάλεια, τότε αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐφίσταται ὄλεθρος ὥσπερ ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσῃ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκφύγωσιν.¶Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 5:3
- Deuteronomy 29:19and it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry.
- Judges 18:27And they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.
- Psalms 10:11He saith in his heart: God hath forgotten; He hideth his face, he will never see it.
- Isaiah 21:4My heart fluttereth, horror hath affrighted me; the twilight that I desired hath been turned into trembling unto me.
- Isaiah 56:12Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, a day great beyond measure.
- Daniel 5:3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
- Nahum 1:10For entangled like thorns, and drunken as with their drink, they are consumed utterly as dry stubble.
- Matthew 24:37And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
- Luke 17:26And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
- Luke 21:34But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare:
- Exodus 15:9The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
- Joshua 8:20And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
- Judges 20:41And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil was come upon them.
- 2 Chronicles 32:19And they spake of the God of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men’s hands.
- Psalms 73:18Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction.
- Proverbs 29:1He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 5:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety - This points out, very particularly, the state of the Jewish people when the Romans came against them; and so fully persuaded were they that God would not deliver the city and temple to their enemies, that they refused every overture that was made to them. Sudden destruction - In the storming of their city and the burning of their temple, and the massacre of several hundreds of thousands of themselves; the rest…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety - That is, when the wicked shall say this, for the apostle here refers only to those on whom “sudden destruction” will come; compare Matthew 24:36-42 notes; 2 Peter 3:3-4 notes. It is clear from this: (1) that when the Lord Jesus shall come the world will not all be converted. There will be some to be “destroyed.” How large this proportion will be, it is impossible now to ascertain. This supposition, however, is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3“Peace and security”: This phrase was common during the time of the pax Romana (Roman peace). Despite this assumption of security, God's final judgment arrives suddenly and no one can avoid it.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-53. they--the men of the world. 1Th 5:5, 6; 1Th 4:13, "others," all the rest of the world save Christians. Peace--(Jud 18:7, 9, 27, 28; Jr 6:14; Eze 13:10). then--at the very moment when they least expect it. Compare the case of Belshazzar, Da 5:1-5, 6, 9, 26-28; Herod, Ac 12:21-23. sudden--"unawares" (Lu 21:34). as travail--"As the labor pang" comes in an instant on the woman when otherwise engaged (Psa 48:6; Is 13:8). shall not escape--Greek, "shall not…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 5:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries