Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

1 Thessalonians 5:3

in 1 Thessalonians 5

While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.

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.

⋯

This verse in 1 Thessalonians 5

Commentary

13 notes on this verse
For 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 Mat 24:36-42 notes; 2Pe 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 not inconsistent with the belief that there will be a general prevalence of the gospel before that period.

This site's exposition

While people are saying

The false security, Peace and security, echoes the condemned prophets of Jeremiah 6:14, who proclaimed peace just before judgment fell. The labor figure is the one Isaiah 13:8 and Jeremiah 6:24 use for the day of the Lord.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers4 voices

A commentator

Irenaeus

Against Heresies Book V · Written before 202.

proposed

These men, therefore, ought to learn [what really is the state of the case], and go back to the true number of the name, that they be not reckoned among false prophets.

A commentator

Theodoret of Cyrus

INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRST LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS · Written before 458.

proposed

The woman who is pregnant knows that she has a fetus in the womb but does not know when birth will occur. So it is with us as we know that the Lord will come, but we do not teach the time itself with certainty.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

HOMILIES ON MATTHEW 77.2 · Written before 407.

proposed

And that thou mayest learn by another thing also, that the silence is not a mark of ignorance on His part, see, together with what we have mentioned, how He sets forth another sign also. "But as in the days of Noe they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that the flood came, and took all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." And these things He spake, showing that He should come on a sudden, and unexpectedly, and when the more part were living luxuriously. For Paul too saith this, writing on this wise, "When they shall speak of peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them;" and to show how unexpected, He said, "as travail upon a woman with child."

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on 1 Thessalonians 9 · Written before 407.

proposed

"When they are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in nowise escape." Here he has glanced at something which he has also said in his second Epistle. For since they indeed were in affliction, but they that warred on them at ease and in luxury, and then while he comforted them in their present sufferings by this mention of the Resurrection, the others insulted them with arguments taken from their forefathers, and said, When will it happen? But it may be worth while to ask, If Antichrist comes, and Elias comes, how is it "when they say Peace and safety," that then a sudden destruction comes upon them? For these things do not permit the day to come upon them unawares, being signs of its coming. But he does not mean this to be the time of Antichrist, and the whole day, because that will be a sign of the coming of Christ, but Himself will not have a sign, but will come suddenly and unexpectedly. For travail, indeed, you say, does not come upon the pregnant woman unexpectedly: for she knows that after nine months the birth will take place. And yet it is very uncertain. For some bring forth at the seventh month, and others at the ninth. And at any rate the day and the hour is uncertain. With respect to this therefore, Paul speaks thus. And the image is exact. For there are not many sure signs of travail; many indeed have brought forth in the high roads, or when out of their houses and abroad, not foreseeing it. And he has not only glanced here at the uncertainty, but also at the bitterness of the pain.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians · Written before 1107.

proposed

Since those who were insulting the Thessalonians were leading a life of pleasures, the apostle now comforts the believers, saying: do not think that they will escape punishment. Destruction will come upon them too, unexpected destruction, heavy and containing within it much grief, like the …
6 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bonaventure

Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

The time of the clear doctrine extended from Hadrian. But how long it lasted, who is able to say, and who has said? It is certain that we are living in it; it is certain also that it will last until the downfall of the …

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians · Written before 1274.

proposed

Then when he says: When people say "There is peace and security," he explains the things he had mentioned. First he refers to the evil people; secondly, to the good people (5:4). In regard to the first division he does two things. He first describes …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

For when they shall say,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

There will be no means possible for them to avoid the terror nor the punishment of that day. There will be no place where the workers of iniquity shall be able to hide themselves, no shelter from the storm, nor shadow from the burning heat that shall consume the wicked. He tells them how comfortable this day will be to the righteous,

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

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 (Ps 48:6; Isa 13:8). shall not escape--Greek, "shall not at all escape." Another awful feature of their ruin: there shall be then no possibility of shunning it however they desire it (Am 9:2, 3;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

For 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 being sold for slaves, and the whole of them dispersed over the face of the earth. As travail upon a woman - This figure is perfectly consistent with what the apostle had said before, viz.: that the times and seasons were not known: though the thing itself was expected, our Lord having predicted it in the most positive manner. So, a woman with child knows that, if she be spared, she will have a bearing time; but the week, the day, the hour, she cannot tell. In a great majority of cases the time is accelerated or retarded much before or beyond the time that the woman expected; so, with respect to the Jews, neither the day, week, month, nor year was known. All that was specifically known was this: their destruction was coming, and it should be sudden, and they should not escape.

The words behind it

21 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Luke 21:34–35But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.31 worksMatthew 24:37–39As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.24 worksLuke 17:26–30Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:17 worksMatthew 24:8All these are the beginning of birth pains.14 worksRevelation 18:7–8As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’13 worksProverbs 24:16For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times.11 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ecclesiastes 9:12For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.9 worksPsalms 69:22May their table become a snare; may it be a retribution and a trap.9 worksHebrews 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,8 worksPsalms 73:18–20Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.8 works2 Thessalonians 1:9They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,8 worksProverbs 29:1A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.7 worksDaniel 5:3–6Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.7 works2 Peter 2:4For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;7 worksJeremiah 4:31For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!”7 worksPsalms 10:11–13He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”7 worksJob 15:21Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.7 worksIsaiah 43:6–9I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—6 works

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Hebrews 2:3

    how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 10:28–29

      Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

    • Hebrews 12:25

      See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if…

    • Hebrews 5:9

      And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him

    • Acts 4:12

      Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

    • Ezekiel 17:15

      But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Thessalonians

St Paul Preaching at Athens, Raphael, about 1515 to 1516, Royal Collection. Public domain.
St Paul Preaching at Athens, Raphael, about 1515 to 1516, Royal Collection. Public domain.
1 Thessalonians: the study guide →Read 1 Thessalonians 5 →
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 16; Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book V; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON MATTHEW 77.2; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Thessalonians 9; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRST LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians.

Read on in 1 Thessalonians 5 →