1 Thessalonians 5:6

1 Thessalonians 5:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
• New International Version (NIV)So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Context of 1 Thessalonians 5:6

4But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. 5For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 word by word

Ἄρα οὖν μὴ καθεύδωμεν ὡς οἱ λοιποὶ ἀλλὰ γρηγορῶμεν καὶ νήφωμεν.Read the interlinear

• Soἄραara · thereforeG686
• thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• let us not sleepμήmē · notG3361
• let us not sleepκαθεύδωkatheudō · to sleepG2518
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• othersλοιπόςloipoi · remainingG3062
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• let us remain awakeγρηγορέωgrēgoreuō · to keep watchG1127
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• soberνήφωnēphō · be soberG3525

Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 5:6

• Proverbs 19:15Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.
• Jonah 1:6The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
• Matthew 13:25But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away.
• Matthew 25:5When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
• Mark 14:37Then Jesus returned and found them sleeping. “Simon, are you asleep?” He asked. “Were you not able to keep watch for one hour?
• Luke 22:46“Why are you sleeping?” He asked. “Get up and pray so that you will not enter into temptation.”
• Romans 13:11And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
• 1 Corinthians 15:34Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.
• Ephesians 5:14So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
• Matthew 24:42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
• Matthew 25:13Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
• Matthew 26:38Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
• Mark 13:34It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.
• Mark 14:38Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
• Luke 12:37Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them.

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 5:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Let us not sleep, as do others - Let us who are of the day - who believe the Gospel and belong to Christ, not give way to a careless, unconcerned state of mind, like to the Gentiles and sinners in general, who are stupefied and blinded by sin, so that they neither think nor feel; but live in time as if it were eternity; or rather, live as if there were no eternity, no future state of existence, rewards, or punishments. Let us watch - Be always on the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Therefore let us no sleep, as do others - As the wicked world does; compare notes, Matthew 25:5. But let us watch - That is, for the coming of the Lord. Let us regard it as an event which is certainly to occur, and which may occur at any moment; notes, Matthew 25:13. And be sober - The word here used ( ́ nēphō) is rendered sober in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:8; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 Peter 5:8; and watch in 2 Timothy 4:5, and 1 Peter 4:7. It does…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-11Verses 6-11 Most of mankind do not consider the things of another world at all, because they are asleep; or they do not consider them aright, because they sleep and dream. Our moderation as to all earthly things should be known to all men. Shall Christians, who have the light of the blessed gospel shining in their faces, be careless about their souls, and unmindful of another world? We need the spiritual armour, or the three Christian graces, faith, love…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6let us remain awake and sober: Paul is echoing the way Jesus called his people to be alert and to prepare themselves with moral living. This is because no one will not know the exact day of his return (Matthew 24:42, 44; 25:13; compare 1 Peter 1:13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. others--Greek, "the rest" of the world: the unconverted (1Th 4:13). "Sleep" here is worldly apathy to spiritual things (Ro 13:11; Ep 5:14); in 1Th 5:7, ordinary sleep; in 1Th 5:10, death. watch--for Christ's coming; literally, "be wakeful." The same Greek occurs in 1Co 15:34; 2Ti 2:26. be sober--refraining from carnal indulgence, mental or sensual (1Pe 5:8).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 5:6

• Blindness
• Commandments
• Sobriety
• Temperance
• War
• Watchfulness
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Edify
• Greet
• Patient
• Peter, Second Epistle of
• Quench
• Render
• Sudden
• Warn
• Day
• Parousia

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