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, brothers and sisters, you don’t live in the dark. That day won’t take you by surprise as a thief would. 5You belong to the day and the light not to the night and the dark. Therefore, we must not fall asleep like other people, but we must stay awake and be sober. 7People who sleep, sleep at night; people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8Since we belong to the day, we must be sober. We must put on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

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 throws one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will go hungry.
• Isaiah 56:10⌞Israel’s⌟ watchmen are blind. None of them know anything. All of them are like dogs that are unable to bark. They lie around dreaming; they love to sleep.
• Jonah 1:6The captain of the ship went to him and asked, “How can you sleep? Get up, and pray to your God. Maybe he will notice us, and we won’t die.”
• Matthew 13:25But while people were asleep, his enemy planted weeds in the wheat field and went away.
• Matthew 25:5Since the groom was late, all the bridesmaids became drowsy and fell asleep.
• Mark 14:37He went back and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour?
• Luke 22:46He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up, and pray that you won’t be tempted.”
• Romans 13:11You know the times ⌞in which we are living⌟. It’s time for you to wake up. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first became believers.
• 1 Corinthians 15:34Come back to the right point of view, and stop sinning. Some people don’t know anything about God. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
• Ephesians 5:14because light makes everything easy to see. That’s why it says: “Wake up, sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
• Matthew 24:42“Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return.
• Matthew 25:13“So stay awake, because you don’t know the day or the hour.
• Matthew 26:38Then he said to them, “My anguish is so great that I feel as if I’m dying. Wait here, and stay awake with me.”
• Mark 13:34It is like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge. He assigned work to each one and ordered the guard to be alert.
• Mark 14:38Stay awake, and pray that you won’t be tempted. You want to do what’s right, but you’re weak.”
• Luke 12:37Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I can guarantee this truth: He will change his clothes, make them sit down at the table, 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