New American Standard Bible 1995
1 Thessalonians 5:3
3While they are saying, “1Peace and safety!” then 23destruction 4will come upon them suddenly like 5labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
- New International Version (NIV)While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- English Standard Version (ESV)While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
Context of 1 Thessalonians 5:3
1Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;
Read all of 1 Thessalonians 51 Thessalonians 5:3 word by word
ὅταν λέγωσιν· εἰρήνη καὶ ἀσφάλεια, τότε αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐφίσταται ὄλεθρος ὥσπερ ἡ ὠδὶν τῇ ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσῃ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκφύγωσιν.¶Read the interlinear
- Whileὅτανhotan · when(-ever)G3752
- they are sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Peaceεἰρήνηeirēnē · peaceG1515
- and safetyἀσφάλειαasphaleia · securityG803
- thenτότεtote · thenG5119
- destructionὄλεθροςolethros · destructiveG3639
- will comeἐφίστημιephistēmi · to approachG2186
- upon them suddenlyαἰφνίδιοςaiphnidios · suddenG160
- likeὥσπερhōsper · just asG5618
- laborὠδίνōdin · laborG5604
- upon a woman with childἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- upon a woman with childγαστήρgastēr · bellyG1064
- and they will not escapeἐκφεύγωekpheugō · to escapeG1628
Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 5:3
- Deuteronomy 29:19It shall be when he hears the words of this curse, that he will boast, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart in order to destroy the watered land with the dry.’
- Judges 18:27Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire.
- Psalms 10:11He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
- Isaiah 21:4My mind reels, horror overwhelms me; The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
- Isaiah 56:12“Come,” they say, “let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”
- Daniel 5:3Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.
- Nahum 1:10Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed As stubble completely withered.
- Matthew 24:37For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
- Luke 17:26And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
- Luke 21:34“Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
- Exodus 15:9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be gratified against them; I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
- Joshua 8:20When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers.
- Judges 20:41Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that disaster was close to them.
- 2 Chronicles 32:19They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of men’s hands.
- Psalms 73:18Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.
- Proverbs 29:1A man who hardens his neck after much reproof Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.
Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 5:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety - This points out, very particularly, the state of the Jewish people when the Romans came against them; and so fully persuaded were they that God would not deliver the city and temple to their enemies, that they refused every overture that was made to them. Sudden destruction - In the storming of their city and the burning of their temple, and the massacre of several hundreds of thousands of themselves; the rest…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety - That is, when the wicked shall say this, for the apostle here refers only to those on whom “sudden destruction” will come; compare Matthew 24:36-42 notes; 2 Peter 3:3-4 notes. It is clear from this: (1) that when the Lord Jesus shall come the world will not all be converted. There will be some to be “destroyed.” How large this proportion will be, it is impossible now to ascertain. This supposition, however, is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3“Peace and security”: This phrase was common during the time of the pax Romana (Roman peace). Despite this assumption of security, God's final judgment arrives suddenly and no one can avoid it.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-53. they--the men of the world. 1Th 5:5, 6; 1Th 4:13, "others," all the rest of the world save Christians. Peace--(Jud 18:7, 9, 27, 28; Jr 6:14; Eze 13:10). then--at the very moment when they least expect it. Compare the case of Belshazzar, Da 5:1-5, 6, 9, 26-28; Herod, Ac 12:21-23. sudden--"unawares" (Lu 21:34). as travail--"As the labor pang" comes in an instant on the woman when otherwise engaged (Psa 48:6; Is 13:8). shall not escape--Greek, "shall not…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 5:3
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 Jer 6:14; 8:11; Ezek 13:10 ↩
- 2. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 Or sudden destruction ↩
- 3. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 2 Thess 1:9 ↩
- 4. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 Lit comes upon ↩
- 5. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 John 16:21 ↩
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
New American Standard Bible 1995 — © 1960–1995 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Commentaries