1 Thessalonians 4:5

1 Thessalonians 4:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
• New International Version (NIV)not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God;
• English Standard Version (ESV)not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
• New King James Version (NKJV)not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Context of 1 Thessalonians 4:5

3This is how God wants you to live: As his own people, he wants you to be completely good. So you must not have sex in a way that is wrong. 4Each of you men must learn to rule his own body properly. Then you will do only what is pure and right. People who do not know God strongly want to have sex in a wrong way. They cannot control themselves. You must not be like those people. 6No man among you should ever have sex with the wife of a Christian friend. That would be the same as if you robbed him. It would be a bad thing to do against him. Remember that the Lord will punish everyone who does things like that. We have already told you that. We warned you very seriously about it. 7God has chosen us to belong to him. He does not want us to do disgusting things. As his people, he wants us to be holy.

1 Thessalonians 4:5 word by word

μὴ ἐν πάθει ἐπιθυμίας καθάπερ καὶ τὰ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ εἰδότα τὸν θεόν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Notμήmē · notG3361
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the lustπάθοςpathos · passionG3806
• of concupiscenceἐπιθυμίαepithumia · desireG1939
• evenκαίkai · andG2532
• asκαθάπερkathaper · just asG2509
• the Gentilesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the Gentilesἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• knowεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 4:5

• Romans 1:24So God let those people do all the bad things that they wanted to do. God let those disgusting things rule their lives. As a result, they did bad things with each other's bodies. They did things that people should be ashamed to do.
• Colossians 3:5Your old nature likes to do bad things that belong to this earth. But your old nature is dead, so do not do these bad things any more. Do not have sex with someone that you are not married to. Do not think bad, disgusting thoughts. Do not want to have sex in a wrong way. Do not want to do any kinds of bad things. Do not want to have many things for yourselves. That shows that you worship those things as your idol.
• Matthew 6:32People who do not know God are always trying to get these things. But as for you, your Father in heaven knows that you need them.
• Luke 12:30People who do not know God are always trying to get these things. But as for you, your Father God knows that you need them.
• Ephesians 4:17So I say this to you. I am sure that I have the Lord's authority to say it. You must not live any longer like the Gentile people who do not know God. They do whatever their silly ideas teach them to do.
• 1 Peter 4:3You have already had enough time in your life to do bad things. Those are the kinds of things that people who do not know God like to do. You did many evil things that your bodies wanted to do. You had sex in a wrong way. You often became drunk. You went to wild parties where you drank too much alcohol. You also worshipped useless idols.
• Acts 17:23I have walked in the streets of your city. I see that you have built many special places where you worship your gods. I saw one altar with a notice on it. The notice said, “To the god that we do not know.” This shows that you want to worship a god that you do not know. Now I will tell you clearly about who this God is.
• Romans 1:28Those people decided that they did not need to know anything about God. So God let their minds become spoiled. As a result, they do bad things that people ought not to do.
• 1 Corinthians 1:21God himself is wise. He has decided that people cannot know him just because they are wise in their own way. Instead, God uses the message about Jesus to save people. That message may seem to be silly to some people. But when we tell it to people, God saves them if they believe it.
• 1 Corinthians 15:34So start thinking properly! Stop doing wrong things! Some of you do not really know God. I am saying this to make you feel ashamed.
• Galatians 4:8Before, when you did not know God, you served false gods. They were not gods at all, but you were their slaves.
• Ephesians 2:12At that time, you did not know about Christ, God's special Messiah. You did not belong to the nation of Israel's people. You did not know about the good things that God had promised to his people. You were living in this world with nothing good to hope for. You were living without God's help.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:8and with a very hot fire. He will punish those people who do not know God. Yes, he will punish those people who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 4:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Not in the lust of concupiscence - Having no rational object, aim, nor end. Some say, "not like beasts;" but this does not apply as they who use it wish, for the males and females of the brute creation are regular and consistent in their intercourse, and scarcely ever exceed such bounds as reason itself would prescribe to those most capable of observing and obeying its dictates. The Gentiles which know not God - These are the beasts; their own brutes are…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Not in the lust of concupiscence - In gross gratifications. Even as the Gentiles - This was, and is, a common vice among the pagan; see the Acts 15:20 note; Romans 1:29 note; Ephesians 4:17-18 notes, and the reports of missionaries everywhere. Which know not God - See the Romans 1:21, Romans 1:28 notes; Ephesians 2:12 note.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Ignoring God and his teachings leads to moral corruption (Romans 1:18–32; Ephesians 4:17–18). lustful passion: In the ancient Mediterranean world, people often tolerated sexual immorality. Prostitution was legal, but having sexual relations with another man's wife was not. Roman marriage customs permitted men, but not women, to have sexual affairs. In contrast to Roman customs, Jewish and Christian writers forbade all sexual activity outside of marriage…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. in the lust--Greek, "passion"; which implies that such a one is unconsciously the passive slave of lust. which know not God--and so know no better. Ignorance of true religion is the parent of unchastity (Ep 4:18, 19). A people's morals are like the objects of their worship (De 7:26; Psa 115:8; Ro 1:23, 24).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 4:5

• Adultery
• Affections
• Blindness
• Commandments
• Lasciviousness

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Asleep
• Concupiscence
• Quiet
• Rise
• Sleep
• Trump
• Lust
• Passion, Passions

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 4

• 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