1 Thessalonians 4:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Thessalonians 4:6
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.
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular neuter
no
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
beyond
ὑπερβαίνεινhuperbainein
G5233
to transcend · verb — present active infinitive
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
defraud
πλεονεκτεῖνpleonektein
G4122
to be covetous · verb — present active infinitive
his
αὐτοῦ·autou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
brother
ἀδελφὸνadelphon
G80
a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — accusative singular masculine
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
matter
πράγματιpragmati
G4229
a deed · noun — dative singular neuter
that
διότιdioti
G1360
on the very account that · conjunction
Lord
κύριοςkurios
G2962
supreme in authority · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
avenger
ἔκδικοςekdikos
G1558
carrying justice out · adjective — nominative singular masculine
of
περὶperi
G4012
properly · preposition
all
πάντωνpantōn
G3956
all · adjective — genitive plural neuter
such
τούτωνtoútōn
G5130
of (from or concerning) these (persons or things)
as
καθὼςkathōs
G2531
just (or inasmuch) as · conjunction
we
προείπαμενproeipamen
G4277
to say already · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person plural
also
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
forewarned
προέπωproépō
G4277
to say already
you
ὑμῖνhymîn
G5213
to (with or by) you
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
testified
διεμαρτυράμεθα.diemarturametha
G1263
to attest or protest earnestly · verb — aorist middle deponent indicative, 1st person plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,…
Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Proverbs 28:24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Deuteronomy 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that…
Ezekiel 22:13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Here we have,
I. An exhortation to abound in holiness, to abound more and more in that which is good, Th1 4:1, Th1 4:2. We may observe,
1. The manner in which the exhortation is given - very affectionately. The apostle entreats them as brethren; he calls them so, and loved them as such. Because his love to them was very great, he exhorts them very earnestly: We beseech and exhort you. The apostle was unwilling to take any denial, and therefore repeats his exhortation again and again.
2. The matter of his exhortation - that they would abound more and more in holy walking, or excel in those things that are good, in good works. Their faith was justly famed abroad, and they were already examples…
go beyond--transgress the bounds of rectitude in respect to his "brother."
defraud--"overreach" [ALFORD]; "take advantage of" [EDMUNDS].
in any matter--rather as Greek, "in the matter"; a decorous expression for the matter now in question; the conjugal honor of his neighbor as a husband, Th1 4:4; Th1 4:7 also confirms this view; the word "brother" enhances the enormity of the crime. It is your brother whom you wrong (compare Pro 6:27-33).
the Lord--the coming Judge (Th2 1:7-8).
avenger--the Righter.
of all such--Greek, "concerning all these things;" in all such cases of wrongs against a neighbor's conjugal honor.
testified--Greek, "constantly testified [ALFORD].
Adam Clarke on 1 Thessalonians 4:6
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother - That no man should by any means endeavor to corrupt the wife of another, or to alienate her affections or fidelity from her husband; this I believe to be the apostle's meaning, though some understand it of covetousness, overreaching, tricking, cheating, and cozenage in general.
The Lord is the avenger of all such - He takes up the cause of the injured husband wherever the case has not been detected by man, and all such vices he will signally punish. Every species of uncleanness was practised among the heathens, nor were they reputed as vices. Their gods, their emperors, their philosophers, and their great men in general, gave them examples of e…
The Church Fathers
In the first Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians: "That a man do not deceive his brother in a matter, because God is the avenger for all these."
"That no man transgress, and wrong his brother in the matter." He has well said, "that no man transgress." To each man God has assigned a wife, he has set bounds to nature, that intercourse with one only: therefore intercourse with another is transgression, and the taking of more than belongs to one, and robbery; or rather it is more cruel than any robbery; for we grieve not so much, when our riches are carried off, as when marriage is invaded. Dost thou call him brother, and wrongest him, and that in things which are unlawful? Here he speaks concerning adultery, but above also concerning "all fornication." For since he was about to say, "That no man transgress and wrong his brother," Do not think, he says, that I say this only in the case of brethren; you must not have the wives of others at all, nor even women that have no husbands, and that are common. You must abstain from "all fornication"; "Because," he says, "the Lord is an avenger in all these things." He exhorted them first, he shamed them, saying, "even as the Gentiles." Then from reasonings he showed the impropriety of defrauding a brother. Afterwards he adds the principal thing; "Because," he says, "the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified." For we do not these things without being punished, neither do we enjoy so much pleasure, as we undergo punishment.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Thessalonians, First Epistle To The — was written by the apostle Paul at Corinth, a few months after he had founded the church at Thessalonica, at the close of the year A.D. 62 or the beginning of 53. The Epistles to the Thessalonians,…
Commandments · PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES — PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES
Dishonesty · 6:10,11; — 6:10,11;
Injustice · Punishment of — Punishment of
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
That no man go beyond, and defraud his brother in any matter,.... Or "in this matter", as the Syriac version. This is commonly understood of transgressing the bounds of justice and equity between men and men; and of cheating and defrauding in trade and business, by increasing or lessening the value and prices of goods by the buyer and seller, by not keeping to the bargain, contract, covenant, or sample, by false weights and measures, and by taking the advantage of the weakness and ignorance of men; all which is aggravated by dealing thus with a brother; see 1 Corinthians 6:8 and this hint is thought the rather necessary, since Thessalonica was a place of great trade and business. But the mat…
1 Thessalonians 4:6-8
6. 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.
6. Ne quis opprimat vel circumveniat in negotio fratrem suum: quia vindex erit Dominus omnium istorum, quemadmodum et praediximus vobis, et obtestati sumus.
7. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
7. Non enim vocavit vos Deus ad immunditiam, sed ad sanctificationem.
8. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.
8. Itaque qui hoc repudiat, non hominem repudiat, sed Deum, qui etiam dedit Spiritum suum sanctum in nos.
6 Let…
Willful ignorance of God and his ways is the root of moral corruption (Rom 1:18-32; Eph 4:17-18). • lustful passion: Sexual immorality was often tolerated in the Mediterranean world. Prostitution was allowed, but sexual relations with another man’s wife were prohibited. Roman marriage customs barred women, but not men, from extramarital affairs. By contrast, Jewish and Christian authors alike prohibited all sexual involvement outside of marriage (Acts 15:20; 1 Cor 6:12-20; Col 3:5-6).
