Passage

1 Thessalonians 4.5

Book: 1 Thessalonians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

3. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; 4. that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

5. not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who know not God;

that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in the matter: because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. 7. For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, ASV)

WEB

3. For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, 4. that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and honor,

5. not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who don’t know God;

that no one should take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter; because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. 7. For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, WEB)

KJV

3. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

5. Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. ^{defraud: or, oppress, or, overreach} ^{in: or, in the matter} 7. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, KJV)

YLT

3. for this is the will of God, your sanctification; that ye abstain from the whoredom, 4. that each of you know his own vessel to possess in sanctification and honour,

5. not in the affection of desire, as also the nations that were not knowing God,

that no one go beyond and defraud in the matter his brother, because an avenger [is] the Lord of all these, as also we spake before to you and testified, 7. for God did not call us on uncleanness, but in sanctification; (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

Speaker: Paul, writing with Silvanus and Timothy, who are named as co-senders (1 Thessalonians 1:1)
Audience: the church of the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1:1), converts who "turned unto God from idols" (1:9)
Location: written from Corinth, after Timothy came back from Thessalonica with news of the church (1 Thessalonians 3:6; Acts 18:5)
Time period: c. AD 50-51, not long after the church was founded (1 Thessalonians 2:17; Acts 17:1-10)

Theological reading

"Not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who know not God." The KJV reads "the lust of concupiscence," tagging the words as Strong's G3806 and G1939. The phrase describes desire that rules the person rather than being ruled.

"Gentiles" is Strong's G1484, ethnos. The Thessalonian believers were largely Gentiles by birth (1:9), yet Paul now uses the word for outsiders "who know not God." Their identity has changed: knowing God, not ancestry, now marks the line.

The verse ties conduct to knowledge. Sexual disorder is traced to not knowing God, and holiness (4:3-4) is the life of those who do.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G1484 - ethnos, ethnos, Strong's G1484
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Concepts:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.