New Living Translation

1 Thessalonians 5:20

20Do not scoff at prophecies,

1 Thessalonians 5:20 in other versions

King James Version (KJV)Despise not prophesyings.
New International Version (NIV)Do not treat prophecies with contempt
English Standard Version (ESV)Do not despise prophecies,
New King James Version (NKJV)Do not despise prophecies.

Context of 1 Thessalonians 5:20

18Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, 21but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22Stay away from every kind of evil.

Read all of 1 Thessalonians 5

1 Thessalonians 5:20 word by word

προφητείας μὴ ἐξουθενεῖτε·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

Despiseἐξουθενέωexoutheneō · to rejectG1848
notμήmē · notG3361
prophesyingsπροφητείαprophēteia · prophecyG4394

Cross-references for 1 Thessalonians 5:20

1 Thessalonians 4:8Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Numbers 11:25And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.
1 Samuel 10:5“When you arrive at Gibeah of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying.
1 Samuel 19:20he sent troops to capture him. But when they arrived and saw Samuel leading a group of prophets who were prophesying, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s men, and they also began to prophesy.
Acts 19:6Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.
1 Corinthians 11:4A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying.
1 Corinthians 12:10He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
1 Corinthians 13:2If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
1 Corinthians 14:1Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy.
Ephesians 4:11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
Revelation 11:3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”

Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 5:20

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Despise not prophesyings - Do not suppose that ye have no need of continual instruction; without it ye cannot preserve the Christian life, nor go on to perfection. God will ever send a message of salvation by each of his ministers to every faithful, attentive hearer. Do not suppose that ye are already wise enough; you are no more wise enough than you are holy enough. They who slight or neglect the means of grace, and especially the preaching of God's holy…Read the comment
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Despise not prophesyings - On the subject of prophesyings in the early Christian church, see the notes on 1 Corinthians 14:1 ff1 ff. The reference here seems to be to preaching. They were not to undervalue it in comparison with other things. It is possible that in Thessalonica, as appears to have been the case subsequently in Corinth (compare 1 Corinthians 14:19), there were those who regarded the power of working miracles, or of speaking in unknown…Read the comment
Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 We are to rejoice in creature-comforts, as if we rejoiced not, and must not expect to live many years, and rejoice in them all; but if we do rejoice in God, we may do that evermore. A truly religious life is a life of constant joy. And we should rejoice more, if we prayed more. Prayer will help forward all lawful business, and every good work. If we pray without ceasing, we shall not want matter for thanksgiving in every thing. We shall see…Read the comment
Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21Do not treat prophecies with contempt: No one should dismiss prophecy intended to spiritually strengthen the church (1 Corinthians 14:1–4). Instead, the Thessalonians should evaluate the prophecies to understand where they come from. Paul says they should make sure any prophecies align with the apostles' teachings (1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 1 John 4:1–3). The church should also assess the character of those who deliver the…Read the comment
Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. prophesyings--whether exercised in inspired teaching, or in predicting the future. "Despised" by some as beneath "tongues," which seemed most miraculous; therefore declared by Paul to be a greater gift than tongues, though the latter were more showy (1Co 14:5).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Thessalonians 5:20

Commandments
Miracles
Religion
Word of God

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Thessalonians, the First Epistle of Paul to the