1 Thessalonians 5:19

Quench not the Spirit.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Quench	σβέννυτε· sbennute	G4570	to extinguish (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
Spirit	πνεῦμα pneuma	G4151	a current of air · noun — accusative singular neuter

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

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
1 Timothy 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Nehemiah 9:30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore g…
Psalms 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Here we have divers short exhortations, that will not burden our memories, but will be of great use to direct the motions of our hearts and lives; for the duties are of great importance, and we may observe how they are connected together, and have a dependence upon one another. 1. Rejoice evermore, Th1 5:16. This must be understood of spiritual joy; for we must rejoice in our creature-comforts as if we rejoiced not, and must not expect to live many years, and rejoice in them all; but, if we do rejoice in God, we may do that evermore. In him our joy will be full; and it is our fault if we have not a continual feast. If we are sorrowful upon any worldly account, yet still we may always rejoice…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Quench not--the Spirit being a holy fire: "where the Spirit is, He burns" [BENGEL] (Mat 3:11; Act 2:3; Act 7:51). Do not throw cold water on those who, under extraordinary inspiration of the Spirit, stand up to speak with tongues, or reveal mysteries, or pray in the congregation. The enthusiastic exhibitions of some (perhaps as to the nearness of Christ's coming, exaggerating Paul's statement, Th2 2:2, By spirit), led others (probably the presiding ministers, who had not always been treated with due respect by enthusiastic novices, Th1 5:12), from dread of enthusiasm, to discourage the free utterances of those really inspired, in the Church assembly. On the other hand, the caution (Th1 5:21)…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Quench not the Spirit - The Holy Spirit is represented as a fire, because it is his province to enlighten and quicken the soul; and to purge, purify, and refine it. This Spirit is represented as being quenched when any act is done, word spoken, or temper indulged, contrary to its dictates. It is the Spirit of love, and therefore anger, malice, revenge, or any unkind or unholy temper, will quench it so that it will withdraw its influences; and then the heart is left in a state of hardness and darkness. It has been observed that fire may be quenched as well by heaping earth on it as by throwing water on it; and so the love of the world will as effectually grieve and quench the Spirit as any or…

The Church Fathers

Now, from whom shall I expect (the fulfil-merit of) all this, except from Him whom I have heard give the promise thereof? What "spirit" does he forbid us to "quench," and what "prophesyings" to "despise? " Not the Creator's spirit, nor the Creator's prophesyings, Marcion of course replies.
— Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V

That is to say, do not grieve him by sin, otherwise his light will be quenched from your soul—a light which, when kindled within you, gives you the possession of a power that is beyond expression; and you will be able to contend "with principalities and powers," and fight against the evil spirits under heaven, and reject all the world with its pleasures and pains. All are effected by the fervor of the Spirit within us.
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, Memra on the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

We can thus see why Paul, not wanting the grace of the Spirit given to us to grow cold, exhorts us, "Do not quench the Spirit." The only way we can continue to be partakers of Christ is to cling until the end to the Holy Spirit, who was given to us at the beginning. Paul said, "Do not quench" not because the Spirit is under the power of men but because evil and unthankful men certainly do wish to quench the Spirit. Demonstrating their impurity, they drive the Spirit away by their unholy deeds.
— Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 4.4

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

Commandments · PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES — PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES
Holy Spirit · 1:9,32,33;3:5,6,34;4:14;6:45,63;7:38,39;14:16,17,26;15:26;16:7-14;20:22; — 1:9,32,33;3:5,6,34;4:14;6:45,63;7:38,39;14:16,17,26;15:26;16:7-14;20:22;
Offences Against The Holy Spirit · Exhortations against — Exhortations against
Religion · TRUE — TRUE

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).

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Adam Clarke on 1 Thessalonians 5:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Thessalonians 5:19

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Adam Clarke on 1 Thessalonians 5:19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Thessalonians 5:19

John Calvin on 1 Thessalonians 5:15-22

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Thessalonians 5:19