1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13
A Prayer for Reunion, Abounding Love, and Holy Hearts at Jesus's Coming
Direct our way, and make love overflow toward everyone.
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are asked to direct their way unto the church. The Lord is asked to make them increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all, even as the team's love does toward them. The purpose is that he may stablish their hearts unblameable in holiness before God at the coming of the Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Love's all keeps the coming from shrinking into an in-group project. Saints may name holy people, angels, or both; the ethical aim does not wait on that decision. Readiness is formed by overflowing love and holy integrity now. The coming is not a modern army, nation, or date chart.
How this should shape us
Measure any teaching about Christ's return by whether it repairs relationships and widens care. End a study with one honest repair and one outward good, not a prediction chart.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 in your own words. Include its place in the letter, one exact textual observation, one material uncertainty or limit, and one conclusion the unit does not permit.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: The identity of the holy ones and the precise syntactic relation of the clauses are debated. The prayer's explicit ethical movement from expanding love to holy readiness is strong.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording and immediate English context for 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Official SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/1Thess.txt, 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
NET Bible official 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 print view, translator, study, and textual notes attached to verses 11-13.
Supports: A complete current evangelical commentary check on literary flow, historical setting, grammar, theology, and major interpretations.
David W. Chapman, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “1 Thessalonians,” Benediction (3:11-13).
Supports: A Jewish-context and historical-critical check on audience, persecution, polemic, ethics, resurrection, day-of-the-Lord imagery, and communal practice.
David Fox Sandmel, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print p. 375 annotations on 3:11-13.
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes.
STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The exact pinned KJV wording and immediate English context for 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the shared library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording, connective structure, lexical forms, and variation markers.
Exact location: Official SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/1Thess.txt, 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.
Open the 1 Thessalonians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - 1 Thessalonians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Material translation choices, syntax, and textual variants checked at the cited verses.
Exact location: NET Bible official 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 print view, translator, study, and textual notes attached to verses 11-13.
Open NET 1 Thessalonians 3 notesmodern open commentary
1 Thessalonians
David W. Chapman
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: A complete current evangelical commentary check on literary flow, historical setting, grammar, theology, and major interpretations.
Exact location: David W. Chapman, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, “1 Thessalonians,” Benediction (3:11-13).
Open source ↗modern annotated new testament
1 Thessalonians introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
David Fox Sandmel; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: A Jewish-context and historical-critical check on audience, persecution, polemic, ethics, resurrection, day-of-the-Lord imagery, and communal practice.
Exact location: David Fox Sandmel, “1 Thessalonians,” in The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011 first edition), print p. 375 annotations on 3:11-13.
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A morphology and lexical-range cross-check for original-language notes.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, TAGNT and Greek lexical records, 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13.
Open source ↗