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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
• New Living Translation (NLT)So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.

Context of 1 Thessalonians 5:6

4But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet 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 19:15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.
• Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
• Jonah 1:6So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."
• Matthew 13:25but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
• Matthew 25:5As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
• Mark 14:37And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour?
• Luke 22:46and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."
• Romans 13:11Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
• 1 Corinthians 15:34Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
• Ephesians 5:14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."
• Matthew 24:42Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 25:13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
• Matthew 26:38Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
• Mark 13:34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
• Mark 14:38Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
• Luke 12:37Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will 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