ris3n's Apologetics Codex
1 Thessalonians 5.20-21
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Passage

1 Thessalonians 5.20-21

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

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

18. in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus to you-ward. 19. Quench not the Spirit;

20. despise not prophesyings; 21. prove all things; hold fast that which is good;

  1. abstain from every form of evil. 23. And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:18-23, ASV)
WEB

18. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. 19. Don’t quench the Spirit.

20. Don’t despise prophesies. 21. Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.

  1. Abstain from every form of evil. 23. May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:18-23, WEB)
KJV

18. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19. Quench not the Spirit.

20. Despise not prophesyings. 21. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

  1. Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:18-23, KJV)
YLT

18. in every thing give thanks, for this [is] the will of God in Christ Jesus in regard to you. 19. The Spirit quench not;

20. prophesyings despise not; 21. all things prove; that which is good hold fast;

  1. from all appearance of evil abstain ye; 23. and the God of the peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved unblameably in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ; (1 Thessalonians 5:18-23, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul, writing with Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy, who are named as co-senders in the opening (1 Thess 1:1).
  • Audience: The church in Thessalonica, capital of the Roman province of Macedonia; a largely Gentile congregation of recent converts (1 Thess 1:9) founded on the second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-9).
  • Location: Written from Corinth, shortly after Timothy returned with news of the young church (1 Thess 3:6).
  • Time period: c. AD 50-51. The Gallio inscription from Delphi fixes Paul in Corinth around AD 51-52 (Acts 18:12), which makes this letter either the earliest or one of the two earliest surviving Pauline writings, roughly twenty years after the crucifixion.

Theological reading

"Despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is good."

"Despise not." Strong's G1848 in the KJV, to treat as nothing. The warning implies that some in Thessalonica were inclined to dismiss prophetic words in the assembly altogether. Paul refuses that response, just as in the previous verse he refused to let the Spirit be quenched (5:19).

"Prove all things." G1381 in the KJV, to test and approve. The verb assumes there will be something to sort, true and false mixed. John gives the same instruction, "believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). Openness and testing are commanded together.

"Hold fast that which is good." "Hold fast" is G2722, katechō, to hold firmly. What survives testing is to be kept, and verse 22 completes the pair: "abstain from every form of evil." The section therefore rules out both errors: contempt for prophecy, which would silence what the Spirit gives, and uncritical acceptance, which would admit what he does not.

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.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

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.