1 Thessalonians 3:12

1 Thessalonians 3:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
• New International Version (NIV)May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you,

Context of 1 Thessalonians 3:12

10We pray very much for you, during the day and during the night. We ask God to give us the chance to visit you again. We want to help you to understand the things that you still need to know. Then you will be able to trust Christ even more. 11We pray that our Father God himself and our Lord Jesus will prepare the way for us. Then we will come to visit you. We pray that the Lord will cause you to love people more and more. We love you very much. We pray that you will love each other and all people, as we love you. 13Then God will cause you to become strong inside yourselves. You will live in a completely good way. One day our Lord Jesus will come back with all the people who belong to him. Then you will stand in front of God, our Father. He will say that you are not guilty of anything that is wrong.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 word by word

ὑμᾶς δὲ ὁ κύριος πλεονάσαι καὶ περισσεύσαι τῇ ἀγάπῃ εἰς ἀλλήλους καὶ εἰς πάντας καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς ὑμᾶςRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• the Lordὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• makeπλεονάζωpleonazō · to increaseG4121
• youσύsu · youG4771
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• aboundπερισσεύωperisseuō · to exceedG4052
• in loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26
• oneἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240
• towardεἰςeis · towardG1519
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• asκαθάπερkathaper · just asG2509
• weἐγώegō · I/weG1473

Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 3:12

• 1 Thessalonians 4:10Certainly, you love all the believers in all the region of Macedonia. And now we ask you, as our Christian friends, ‘Please love each other more and more.’
• Psalms 115:4Those people's idols are made from silver and gold. Yes, human hands make them!
• Luke 17:5The apostles said to the Lord Jesus, ‘Help us to believe more and more in God.’
• 2 Corinthians 9:10It is God who supplies seeds for the farmer to plant. It is God who supplies bread for food. God will help you in the same way. He will give you plenty of things so that you can help other people. You will be like a farmer who plants many seeds. And God will cause those seeds to grow. There will be many good results from the help that you give to other people. That will be like a great harvest.
• James 1:17Remember that every good gift comes to us from God. He only does what will help us. He is our Father in heaven. He made everything in the sky that gives us light. Those things do not give us the same light all the time. They change, but God does not change.
• 2 Peter 3:18Instead, you must grow as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us. Continue to know him better and better. He will be kind to you and he will help you more and more. We praise him as he deserves! He is great now and he will be great for ever!
• 1 Thessalonians 4:9But I do not need to write to you about how you should love other believers. God himself has taught you how to love each other.
• Philippians 1:9This is what I pray for you. I pray that you will continue to love each other more and more. I pray that you will know God better and better. I pray that you will understand all those things that are true.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:3Our Christian friends, we ought always to thank God because of you. It is right that we do this, because you are learning to trust Christ more and more. All of you are also loving each other more and more.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:15If someone does something bad against you, do not do anything bad against them in return. Never do that. Instead, always try to do good things that will help one other and help everyone else.
• Matthew 7:12So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’
• Matthew 22:39The second rule is also important, like the first one. You should love other people as much as you love yourself.
• Romans 13:8Always pay your debts to people. The only debt that you should have is to love each other. Anyone who loves other people has obeyed God's Law completely.
• 1 Corinthians 13:1I may be able to speak many different languages that people or angels speak. But that is worth nothing if I do not love other people. I would only be making a loud noise, like someone who hits a piece of metal.
• Galatians 5:6We belong to Christ Jesus. So it does not matter whether anyone has circumcised us or not. The only thing that matters is that we believe in Christ. As a result we will love others in the way that we live.
• 2 Peter 1:7You should not only please God, but you should be kind to other believers. You should not only love other believers, but you must also love all people.

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 3:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Make you to increase and abound in love - They had already love to each other, so as to unite them in one Christian body; and he prays that they may have an increase and an abundance of it; that they might feel the same love to each other which he felt for them all.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love - compare notes, 2 Corinthians 9:8. The word “Lord” here probably refers to the Lord Jesus, as this is the name by which he is commonly designated in the New Testament; see the notes on Acts 1:24. If this be so, then this is a petition to the Lord Jesus as the fountain of all grace and goodness.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-13Verses 11-13 Prayer is religious worship, and all religious worship is due unto God only. Prayer is to be offered to God as our Father. Prayer is not only to be offered in the name of Christ, but offered up to Christ himself, as our Lord and our Saviour. Let us acknowledge God in all our ways, and he will direct our paths. Mutual love is required of all Christians. And love is of God, and is fulfilling the gospel as well as the law. We need the Spirit's…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12This church was known for their love for each other as members of God's family (4:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:3–4). Paul prays that their love will increase and reach those outside the Christian community even when they suffer persecution (see 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Galatians 6:10; 2 Timothy 2:24; Titus 3:2).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. The "you" in the Greek is emphatically put first; "But" (so the Greek for "and") what concerns "YOU," whether we come or not, "may the Lord make you to increase and abound in love," &c. The Greek for "increase" has a more positive force; that for "abound" a more comparative force, "make you full (supplying 'that which is lacking,' 1Th 3:10) and even abound." "The Lord" may here be the Holy Spirit; so the Three Persons of the Trinity will be appealed…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 3:12

• Commandments
• Grace of God
• Intercession
• Love
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Increase
• Live
• Sanctification
• Thessalonians, the First Epistle of Paul to the
• blameless

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 3

• 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
• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings