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 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, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as 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 19:15Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.
• Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
• Jonah 1:6So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
• Matthew 13:25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
• Matthew 25:5But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
• Mark 14:37Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?
• Luke 22:46Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
• Romans 13:11And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
• 1 Corinthians 15:34Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
• Ephesians 5:14Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
• Matthew 24:42Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
• Matthew 25:13“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
• Matthew 26:38Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
• Mark 13:34It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.
• Mark 14:38Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
• Luke 12:37Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and 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