1 Thessalonians 3:1
So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.
BSB
ASV
Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone;
KJV
Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;
Wherefore - See 1Th 2:18. This particle (διὸ dio) is designed here to refer to another proof of his affection for them. One evidence had been referred to in his strong desire to visit them, which he had been unable to accomplish 1Th 2:18, and he here refers to another - to wit, the fact that he had sent Timothy to them. We could no longer forbear - That is, when I could not 1Th 3:5, for there is every evidence that Paul refers to himself only though he uses the plural form of the word.
The word "left behind" (Greek) implies that Timothy had been with him at Athens. It was an act of self-denial for their sakes that Paul deprived himself of the presence of Timothy at Athens, which would have been so cheering to him in the midst of philosophic cavillers; but from love to the Thessalonians, he is well content to be left all "alone" in the great city.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Jeremiah 20:9If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of…
leads to
My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:
For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me.
For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.
Through
1 Thessalonians 2:17Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.
leads to
For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.
Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
Through
1 Thessalonians 3:5For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and caused our labor to be in…
leads to
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
