Lectionary Calendar
Friday, October 11th, 2024
the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Christian Standard Bible ®

1 Thessalonians 4:4

so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor,

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Adultery;   Blindness;   Gentiles;   Holiness;   Sanctification;   The Topic Concordance - Defrauding;   Despisement;   Sexual Activities;   Teaching;   Vengeance;   Will of God;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Sanctification;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Thessalonians, Epistle to the 1 and 2;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Fornication;   Marriage;   Men;   Self-discipline;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Lust;   Marriage;   Sanctification;   Thessalonians, First and Second, Theology of;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Thessalonians, the Epistles to the;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Concupiscence;   Ethics;   Immorality;   Sanctification;   Sex, Biblical Teaching on;   1 Thessalonians;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Marriage;   Sanctification, Sanctify;   Thessalonians, First Epistle to the;   Vessels;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abstinence;   Thessalonians Epistles to the;   Vessel;   Woman;   Worldliness;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - 6 Holiness Sanctification;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Thessalo'nians, First Epistle to the,;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Possess;   Sanctification;   Thessalonians, the First Epistle of Paul to the;   Vessel;  

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Legacy Standard Bible
that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Simplified Cowboy Version
A top hand controls his body and his desires. Be honorable and admirable in all that you do and at all times.
Bible in Basic English
So that every one of you may keep his body holy and in honour;
Darby Translation
that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour,
World English Bible
that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
That every one of you know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Weymouth's New Testament
that each man among you shall know how to procure a wife who shall be his own in purity and honour;
King James Version (1611)
That euery one of you should know how to possesse his vessell in sanctification and honour:
Literal Translation
each one of you to know to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
yt euery one of you shulde knowe how to kepe his vessell in holynes and honoure,
Mace New Testament (1729)
that every one of you should take care to preserve the dignity of his
THE MESSAGE
Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.
Amplified Bible
that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor [being available for God's purpose and separated from things profane],
American Standard Version
that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Revised Standard Version
that each one of you know how to take a wife for himself in holiness and honor,
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
that every one of you shuld knowe how to kepe his vessell in holynes and honoure
Update Bible Version
that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Webster's Bible Translation
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor;
Young's Literal Translation
that each of you know his own vessel to possess in sanctification and honour,
New Century Version
He wants each of you to learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable.
New English Translation
that each of you know how to possess his own body in holiness and honor,
Berean Standard Bible
each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
Contemporary English Version
Respect and honor your wife.
Complete Jewish Bible
that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner,
English Standard Version
that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
Geneva Bible (1587)
That euery one of you should know, how to possesse his vessell in holines and honour,
George Lamsa Translation
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Hebrew Names Version
that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
International Standard Version
each of you must know how to control his own bodyvessel">[fn] in holiness and honor,Romans 6:19; 1 Corinthians 6:15,18;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
and that every man of you know to possess his vessel in sanctification and in honour,
Murdock Translation
and that each one of you might know how to possess his vessel, in sanctity and in honor;
New King James Version
that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
New Living Translation
Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—
New Life Bible
God wants each of you to use his body in the right way by keeping it holy and by respecting it.
English Revised Version
that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honour,
New Revised Standard
that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
That ye should know, each one of you, how, of his own vessel, to possess himself in sanctification and honour:
Douay-Rheims Bible
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour,
King James Version
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Lexham English Bible
that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
That euery one of you should knowe how to possesse his vessell in holynesse and honour:
Easy-to-Read Version
God wants each one of you to learn to control your own body. Use your body in a way that is holy and that gives honor to God.
New American Standard Bible
that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
Good News Translation
Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
That ech of you kunne welde his vessel in holynesse, and onour;

Contextual Overview

1 Finally then, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you must walk and please God—as you are doing—do so even more. 2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is God's will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, 4 so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, 5 not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don't know God. 6 This means one must not transgress against and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you. 7 For God has not called us to impurity but to sanctification. 8 Therefore, the person who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who also gives you His Holy Spirit.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

should: Romans 6:19, Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 6:15, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

his: 1 Samuel 21:5, Acts 9:15, Romans 9:21-23, 2 Timothy 2:20, 2 Timothy 2:21, 1 Peter 3:7

honour: Philippians 4:8, Hebrews 13:4

Reciprocal: Esther 2:12 - to go in Romans 1:24 - to dishonour 1 Thessalonians 4:3 - your

Cross-References

Genesis 4:16
Then Cain went out from the Lord 's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Genesis 4:17
Cain was intimate with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain became the builder of a city, and he named the city Enoch after his son.
Genesis 4:19
Lamech took two wives for himself, one named Adah and the other named Zillah.
Genesis 4:20
Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of the nomadic herdsmen.
Genesis 15:17
When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals.
Exodus 13:12
you are to present to the Lord every firstborn male of the womb. All firstborn offspring of the livestock you own that are males will be the Lord 's.
Leviticus 9:24
Fire came from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell facedown on the ground.
Numbers 16:35
Fire also came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were presenting the incense.
Numbers 18:12
I am giving you all the best of the fresh olive oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the Lord as their firstfruits.
Numbers 18:17
"However, you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep, or a goat; they are holy. You are to sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as a fire offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord .

Gill's Notes on the Bible

That everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel,.... By which may be meant, either a man's wife, or his body, and it is not very easy to determine which, for the Jews call both by this name. Sometimes they call p a woman גולם, which the gloss says is a "vessel" unfinished. It is reported q, that when R. Eleazar died, Rabbenu Hakkadosh would have married his widow, and she would not, because she was כלי של קדושה, "a vessel of holiness", greater than he. Moreover, it is said r, that

"he that forces (a young woman) must drink בעציצו, "in his own vessel" how drink in his own vessel? though she be lame, though she be blind, and though she is stricken with ulcers.''

The commentators s on the passage add,

"in the vessel which he has chosen; that is to say, whether he will or not, he must marry her;''

see Proverbs 5:15. And again, they sometimes call a man's wife his tent: hence that saving t,

"wtva ala wlha Nya "there is no tent but his wife", as it is said, Deuteronomy 5:30, go, say to them, get you into your tents again.''

And certain it is, that the woman is called the "weaker vessel" in 1 Peter 3:7, between which passage and this there seems to be some agreement. The same metaphor of a "vessel" is made use of in both; and as there, honour to be given to the weaker vessel, so here, a man's vessel is to be possessed in honour; and as there, husbands are to dwell with their wives according to knowledge so here, knowledge is required to a man's possessing his vessel aright. Now for a man to possess his vessel in this sense, is to enjoy his wife, and to use that power he has over her in a becoming manner; see 1 Corinthians 7:4, and which is here directed to "in sanctification and honour"; that is, in a chaste and honourable way; for marriage is honourable when the bed is kept undefiled; and which may be defiled, not only by taking another into it, and which is not possessing the wife in sanctification and honour, it is the reverse, for it is a breaking through the rules of chastity and honour; but it may even be defiled with a man's own wife, by using her in an unnatural way, or by any unlawful copulation with her; for so to do is to use her in an unholy, unchaste, wicked, and dishonourable manner; whereas possessing of her according to the order and course of nature, is by the Jews, in agreement with the apostle, called u, מקדש עצמו, "a man's sanctifying himself", and is chaste, and honourable. And it may be observed, that the Jews use the same phrase concerning conjugal embraces as the apostle does here. One of their canons runs thus w:

"though a man's wife is free for him at all times, it is fit and proper for a disciple of a wise man to use himself

בקדושה, "in", or "to sanctification".''

When these thing's are observed, this sense of the words will not appear so despicable as it is thought by some. The body is indeed called a "vessel"; see 2 Corinthians 4:7, because in it the soul is contained, and the soul makes use of it, and its members, as instruments, for the performance of various actions; and, with Jewish writers, we read of כלי גופו, "the vessel of his body" x; so then, for a man to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour, is to keep under his body and bring it into subjection, and preserve it in purity and chastity; as the eyes from unchaste looks, the tongue from unchaste words, and the other members from unchaste actions; and to use it in an honourable way, not in fornication, adultery, and sodomy; for, by fornication, a man sins against his own body; and by adultery he gets a wound, and a dishonour, and a reproach that will not be wiped away; and by sodomy, and such like unnatural lusts, men dishonour their own bodies between themselves: particularly by "his vessel", as Gataker thinks, may be meant the "membrum virile", or the genital parts, which, by an euphemism, may he so called; see 1 Samuel 21:5

p T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol 22. 2. q Juchasin, fol. 48. 2. Shalsheleth Hakkabala, fol. 23. 1. r Misna Cetubot, c. 3. sect. 4, 5. s Jarchi & Bartenora in ib. t T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 7. 2. & 15. 2. u Maimon. in Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 4. w Maimon. Hilch Deyot, c. 5. sect. 4. x Caphtor, fol. 57. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel - The word “vessel” here (σκεῦος skeuos), probably refers to the body. When it is so used, it is either because the body is frail and feeble, like an earthen vessel, easily broken 2 Corinthians 4:7, or because it is that which contains the soul, or in which the soul is lodged. Lucret. Lib. iii. 441. The word vessel also (Greek σκεῦος skeuos) was used by the latter Hebrews to denote a wife, as the vessel of her husband. Schoettg. Hor. Heb. p. 827. Compare Wetstein in loc. Many, as Augustine, Wetstein, Schoettgen, Koppe, Robinson (Lex.), and others, have supposed that this is the reference here; compare 1 Peter 3:7. The word body, however, accords more naturally with the usual signification of the word, and as the apostle was giving directions to the whole church, embracing both sexes, it is hardly probable that he confined his direction to those who had wives. It was the duty of females, and of the unmarried among the males, as well as of married men, to observe this command. The injunction then is, that we should preserve the body pure; see the notes on 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.

In sanctification and honour - Should not debase or pollute it; that is, that we should honor it as a noble work of God, to be employed for pure purposes; notes, 1 Corinthians 6:19.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Thessalonians 4:4. How to possess his vessel — Let every man use his wife for the purpose alone for which God created her, and instituted marriage. The word ακευος answers to the Hebrew כלי keli, which, though it signifies vessel in general, has several other meanings. That the rabbins frequently express wife by it, Schoettgen largely proves; and to me it appears very probable that the apostle uses it in that sense here. St. Peter calls the wife the weaker VESSEL, 1 Peter 3:7. Others think that the body is meant, which is the vessel in which the soul dwells. In this sense St. Paul uses it, 2 Corinthians 4:7: We have this treasure in earthen VESSELS; and in this sense it is used by both Greek and Roman authors. There is a third sense which interpreters have put on the word, which I forbear to name. The general sense is plain; purity and continency are most obviously intended, whether the word be understood as referring to the wife or the husband, as the following verse sufficiently proves.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile