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 and sisters, are not in the dark, for this day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all children of light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness. So then, let us not sleep, like the rest, but let us stay awake and be self-controlled. 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 self-controlled and put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ·ἄραara · thereforeG686
• Thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• let usκαθεύδωkatheudō · to sleepG2518
• notμήmē · notG3361
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• othersλοιπόςloipoi · remainingG3062
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• let us watchγρηγορέωgrēgoreuō · to keep watchG1127
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• be soberνήφωnēphō · be soberG3525

Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 5:6

• Proverbs 19:15Laziness induces deep sleep, and a lazy person will go hungry.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, all of them, they know nothing; all of them are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they dream, lie down, and love to sleep.
• Jonah 1:6The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god. Maybe this god will consider us, and we won’t perish.”
• Matthew 13:25But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left.
• Matthew 25:5When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
• Mark 14:37Then he came and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake one hour?
• Luke 22:46“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.”
• Romans 13:11Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
• 1 Corinthians 15:34Come to your senses and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.
• Ephesians 5:14for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
• Matthew 24:42Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 25:13“Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.
• Matthew 26:38He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”
• Mark 13:34“It is like a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his servants, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert.
• Mark 14:38Stay awake and pray so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
• Luke 12:37Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve 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