1 Thessalonians 2:17

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, we were separated from you for a short time. But even though we were not there, our thoughts were still with you. We wanted very much to see you, and we tried very hard to do this. ¹⁷ But since we were bereft of you, brethren, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face; ¹⁷ For as moch brethren as we are kept from you for a season as concernynge the bodyly presence but not in the herte we enforsed the more to se you personally with great desire. ¹⁷ But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire, ¹⁷ But we, brothers and sisters, having been orphaned from you by absence for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face.¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, though we were separated from you for a short time, our thoughts were still with you. We wanted very much to see you and tried hard to do so. ¹⁷ But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence not in heart, endeavored the more exceedingly to see your face with great desire: ¹⁷ But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. ¹⁷ But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, ¹⁷ But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in presence: 2 Kings 5:26, Acts 17:10, 1 Corinthians 5:3, Colossians 2:5

endeavoured: 1 Thessalonians 3:6, 1 Thessalonians 3:10, 1 Thessalonians 3:11, Genesis 31:30, Genesis 45:28, Genesis 48:11, 2 Samuel 13:39, Psalms 63:1, Luke 22:15, Romans 1:13, Romans 15:23, Philippians 1:22-26

Reciprocal: Acts 15:36 - and see Acts 21:1 - we were Romans 1:12 - that I may Romans 15:22 - I have Galatians 4:20 - to be 2 Timothy 1:4 - desiring

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Genesis 2:1
And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Genesis 2:1
So the sky, the earth, and all that filled them were finished.

Genesis 2:1
The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them.

Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Genesis 2:1
The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Genesis 2:1
So the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (inhabitants).

Genesis 2:1
Therfor heuenes and erthe ben maad perfit, and al the ournement of tho.

Genesis 2:1
And the heavens and the earth are completed, and all their host;

Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But we, brethren, being taken from you,.... Here more properly should begin the third chapter, in which the apostle having before observed the manner of his entrance among these people, the nature of his ministry, the reception the word of God met with among them, and the powerful effect it had upon them, insomuch that they patiently and cheerfully bore persecution for the sake of it; he excuses his not having been with them again as yet, which he knew was proper and necessary, as he was their apostle and spiritual father; and expresses an affectionate concern at his parting with them in the manner he did, which was not his own choice and voluntary act, but was obliged to it, being hurried away at once, at an unawares in the night, by reason of the uproar made in the city by the baser sort of people, instigated by the unbelieving Jews; so that he and his fellow ministers had not the opportunity of taking their leave of them, as they would have done: hence he says,

we being taken from you; they were, as it were, passive in it; they were forced away on a sudden, they did not go of themselves; the word used is very uncommon and emphatical, and may be literally rendered, "we being orphanized from you"; which represents this parting to be like the separation made by death, between parents and children; when either parents are deprived of their children, or children of their parents, and are left orphans or fatherless; and just in such a destitute and desolate condition were the apostle and his companions in, in their account; nor need it to be wondered at, when they are before compared to a nursing mother and a tender father, as they were to these their spiritual children: and he further observes, that this removal from them, was

for a short time, or "for the time of an hour"; which may either denote the suddenness of it, being as it were at an hour's warning, having no more notice of it than for the space of an hour; or it may express the great affection he and his fellow ministers had for them, insomuch that they could not bear an absence from them, though but for an hour; or it may be said by way of comfort, that this parting was but for a short time, and that in a little while they might hope to see them again; and if not in this life, yet in the future state, when they should meet and never part more, and which would be but in a short time at longest: moreover, this separation was only

in presence; in person, in face, in sight, in body, it was but a corporeal one: not in heart; the apostle's heart was with them, as much as if present; they were always in his mind, and remembered by him, at the throne; he had as it were the images of them continually before him, as parents have of their children when at a distance from them; his heart was after them, and his affections moved strongly towards them: and the effect this distance had on him, and those that were with him, was this, that they

endeavoured the more abundantly, he observes,

to see your face with great desire; it made them but the more desirous of seeing them face to face again, and put them upon attempting with more abundant earnestness and diligence to come and see them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But we, brethren, being taken from you - There is more implied in the Greek word here rendered, “being taken from you “ - ἀπορφανισθέντες aporphanisthentes - than appears from our translation. It properly has relation to the condition of an orphan (compare notes on John 14:18), or one who is bereaved of parents, or one who is bereaved of parents}. Then it is used in a more general sense, denoting to be bereaved of; and in this place it does not mean merely that he was “taken from them,” but there is included the idea that it was like a painful bereavement. It was such a state as that of one who had lost a parent. No word, perhaps, could have expressed stranger attachment for them.

For a short time - Greek, “For the time of an hour;” that is, for a brief period. The meaning is, that when he left them he supposed it would be only for a short time. The fact seems to have been Acts 17:10, that it was supposed, when Paul was sent to Berea, that things would soon be in such a state that he could safely return to Thessalonica. He was “sent” there by those who thought it was necessary for the safety of some of his friends at Thessalonica, and he evidently purposed to return as soon as it could properly be done. It had, in fact, however, turned out to be a long and painful absence.

In presence, not in heart - My heart was still with you. This is an elegant and touching expression, which we still use to denote affection for an absent friend.

Endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face - Made every endeavor possible. It was from no want of affection that I have not done it, but from causes beyond my control.

With great desire - Compare the notes at Luke 22:15.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 17. Being taken from you for a short time — Through the persecution raised by the Jews, see Acts xvii., he was obliged to leave Thessalonica, and yield to a storm that it would have been useless for him to have withstood.

Being taken from you - in presence, not in heart — The apostle had compared himself to a parent or nurse, 1 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:11; and the people he considered as his most beloved children; here he represents himself as feeling what an affectionate father must feel when torn from his children; for this is the import of the word απορφανισθεντες, bereft of children, which we tamely translate being taken from you.

Endeavoured the more abundantly — His separation from them did not destroy his parental feelings, and the manner in which he was obliged to leave them increased his desire to visit them as soon as possible.