Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.
Parallel Translations
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Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.
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so was oure affeccion towarde you oure good will was to have dealte vnto you not the gospell of God only: but also oure awne soules because ye were deare vnto vs.
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Thus being affectioned toward you, our good will was to haue dealt vnto you, not the Gospel of God onely, but also our owne soules, because ye were deare vnto vs.
Cross-references (22)
Passages linked to 1 Thessalonians 2:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
- 2 Corinthians 12:15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less?
- Philippians 2:17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
- Romans 1:11-12 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established; that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.
- 2 Corinthians 6:1 Working together, we entreat also that you do not receive the grace of God in vain,
- Galatians 4:19 My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ is formed in you—
- Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
- Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.
- Jeremiah 13:15-17 Hear, and give ear. Don’t be proud, for Yahweh has spoken. Give glory to Yahweh your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it deep darkness. But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride. My eye will weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because Yahweh’s flock has been taken captive.
- Romans 9:1-3 I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers’ sake, my relatives according to the flesh
- Romans 10:1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved.
- Romans 15:29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the Good News of Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. Now in return, I speak as to my children: you also open your hearts.
- Philippians 2:20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
- Philippians 2:25-26 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need, since he longed for you all, and was very troubled because you had heard that he was sick.
- Colossians 1:7 even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf,
- Colossians 1:28 We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;
- Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, salutes you, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
- Philemon 1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker,
- Luke 7:2 A certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and at the point of death.
- Acts 20:23-24 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me. But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
- Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain To have the flock that is committed unto him…
To have the flock that is committed unto him in more estimation than his own life.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were…
8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.
Ver. 8. So being affectionately desirous] Honing and hankering after you. The Greek word signifieth the most swaying heart passion, the most effectual affection. (ιμειρομενοι. Cupidine rapti.)
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But also our own souls] Greater love than this hath no man; and such a love ought there to be in every pastor toward his people. Love is liberal, charity is no churl.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain A further account of their behaviour among them. The…
A further account of their behaviour among them. The former verse showed their great gentleness, this their great love; expressed, first: In their affectionate desire of them; as the Latin phrase, cupidissimus fui, imports love to the person. And it was the desire of their salvation, first in their believing, and then perseverance and progress in faith. It was themselves, not their goods, they desired; as Paul elsewhere saith: We seek not yours, but you. Secondly, In the effect of it, which was imparting the gospel to them, whereby they might be saved; which is amplified by two things:
1. That they did this willingly, not out of mere necessity, with a backward mind; the word is ευδοκουμεν, we were well pleased to preach, and with complacence of mind.
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2. That they were willing to impart their souls to them; that is, to hazard their lives for them in preaching to them, as Act 16:1-40; the same word signifying both the soul and life, and he that dies for another gives his life to them. Or, it may refer to their labours and hardships, whereby they endangered their lives for them, labouring night and day, 1Th 2:9. Others understand the words only as an expression of their great affection to them; a man imparts his soul to the person whom he entirely loves, as Isa 58:10; when a man gives relief to a person in want out of love and compassion, he imparts his soul in what he gives. So did they in the gospel thus preached. And the word imparting is used to express relief to the wants of the body, Rom 12:8; and the gospel is the bread of life to give relief to the soul, and used in this sense also, Rom 1:11. The apostle may here futher allude to mothers that are nurses, who impart not only other food, but their milk, which is their blood, to cherish their children.
Ye were dear unto us; or, ye have been beloved of us; wherein the apostle more plainly declares their love to them as the ground of all their labours and perils in preaching to them; yea, it may reach to all that he had said before concerning their carriage among them, all was from love.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain So being affectionately desirous of you,.... Not of theirs…
So being affectionately desirous of you,.... Not of theirs but them; not of glory from them, nor a maintenance by them, but of their spiritual and eternal welfare; were as fond of them as a nursing mother is of her children, who, when absent from them but ever so little a while, longs to see them; see Th1 2:17 and Th1 3:1,
we were willing: took the utmost pleasure, delight, and complacency:
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to have imparted unto you, not the Gospel of God only; the sincere milk of the word, which they did freely, fully, and for their spiritual good and profit, without any regard to any advantage of their own:
but also our own souls, or "lives"; which is the highest expression and strongest proof of love that can be given; and respect is still had to the similitude of the nursing mother, who may be said to impart her blood, for such it her milk diversified, for the nourishment of her children: and such was the great concern of the apostles for the interest of Christ, the spread of the Gospel, and the good of souls, that their lives were not dear unto them, so that these ends might he answered: because ye were dear unto us; both because they were loved by God, redeemed by Christ, regenerated by the Spirit of Christ, and had the image of Christ stamped upon them; and also because that they were their spiritual children; and as children are dear to their parents, so were these to them, even to such a degree, as that, were there a necessity for it, they could freely have laid down their lives for them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain To impart our own souls - To lay down…
To impart our own souls - To lay down our lives for your sake.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Being affectionately desirous of you] We had…
Verse 8. Being affectionately desirous of you] We had such intense love for you that we were not only willing and forward to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to you, but also to give our own lives for your sake, because ye were dear, διοτι αγαπητοι ἡμιν, because ye were beloved by us. The words used here by the apostle are expressive of the strongest affection and attachment.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain So, being affectionately desirous of you - The word…
So, being affectionately desirous of you - The word here rendered “being affectionately desirous” - ὁμειρομενοι homeiromenoi - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means to “long after, to have a strong affection for.” The sense here is, that Paul was so strongly attached to them that he would have been willing to lay down his life for them.
We were willing to have imparted unto you - To have given or communicated; Rom 1:11.
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Not the gospel of God only - To be willing to communicate the knowledge of the gospel was in itself a strong proof of love, even if it were attended with no self-denial or hazard in doing it. We evince a decided love for a man when we tell him of the way of salvation, and urge him to accept of it. We show strong interest for one who is in danger, when we tell him of a way of escape, or for one who is sick, when we tell him of a medicine that will restore him; but we manifest a much higher love when we tell a lost and ruined sinner of the way in which he may be saved. There is no method in which we can show so strong an interest in our fellow-men, and so much true benevolence for them, as to go to them and tell them of the way by which they may be rescued from everlasting ruin.
But also our own souls - Or rather “lives” - ψυχὰς psuchas; Mat 6:25; Mat 20:28; Luk 12:22, Luk 12:13; Mar 3:4. This does not mean that the apostle was willing to be damned, or to lose his soul in order to save them, but that if it had been necessary he would have been ready to lay down his life; see 1Jo 3:16. “We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren;” compare notes, Joh 15:13. His object seems to be to assure them that he did not leave them from any want of love to them, or from the fear of being put to death. It was done from the strong conviction of duty. He appears to have left them because he could not longer remain without exposing others to danger, and without the certainty that there would be continued disturbances; see Act 17:9-10.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Because you were become most dear to us. Literally,…
Because you were become most dear to us. Literally, desiring you.[3] St. John Chrysostom admires the tender expressions of love in St. Paul. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Desiderantes vos, Greek: imeiromenoi umon. See Legh’s Crit. Sacra.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain So--to be joined to "we were willing"; "As a…
So--to be joined to "we were willing"; "As a nurse cherisheth . . . so we were willing," &c. [ALFORD]. But BENGEL, "So," that is, seeing that we have such affection for you.
being affectionately desirous--The oldest reading in the Greek implies, literally, to connect one's self with another; to be closely attached to another.
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willing--The Greek is stronger, "we were well content"; "we would gladly have imparted," &c. "even our own lives" (so the Greek for "souls" ought to be translated); as we showed in the sufferings we endured in giving you the Gospel (Acts 17:1-34). As a nursing mother is ready to impart not only her milk to them, but her life for them, so we not only imparted gladly the spiritual milk of the word to you, but risked our own lives for your spiritual nourishment, imitating Him who laid down His life for His friends, the greatest proof of love (Joh 15:13).
ye were--Greek, "ye were become," as having become our spiritual children.
dear--Greek, "dearly beloved."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Desirous of you—Eager to get, not yours, but…
8. Desirous of you—Eager to get, not yours, but you.
Not the gospel only—As the mother imparts her milk.
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Our own souls—As in the milk the mother imparts her own life to her infant, sometimes at the expense of life.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. so being affectionately desirous of you] R. V.,…
8. so being affectionately desirous of you] R. V., even so.
The rare and peculiar Greek verb (one word) rendered “being affectionately desirous” implies the fondness of a mother’s love—yearning over you.
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With this mother-like affection, he continues, we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls (R. V.). The apostles were not merely willing (A.V.) to bestow themselves on the Thessalonians, they actually did so, and with the glad consent of a mother nourishing the babe from her own life. The same verb is rendered “thought-good” in ch. 1Th_3:1; and the corresponding noun is “good-pleasure” in 2Th_1:2 (see note).
For “souls” we might read “lives” (psyché is never the soul in general, but the individual soul, the personality)—our lives, our very selves. The Apostle sacrificed all personal aims and private interests—“what things were gains to me” (Php_3:7)—to the cause of the Gospel; his life was put in continual hazard in behalf of the Church; and for such people as the Macedonian Christians he did this with cordial satisfaction. “If I am made a libation over the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all” (Php_2:17). Even to the thankless Corinthians he says, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2Co_12:15). This is the true way to “impart the gospel of God,” to give our own heart and soul with it. For it is to impart the Gospel in the spirit in which it came from God, “Who spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all” (Rom_8:32); and in the spirit of Christ, “Who gave Himself up for us” (Gal_1:4; Gal_2:20), Who “poured out His soul unto death” (Isa_53:12).
because ye were dear unto us] More adequately, ye became very dear (R. V.); lit., beloved, the word so often applied to Christ (in the Gospels) by the Father: “My Beloved,” “My Son, the Beloved” (comp. Eph_1:6, “accepted in the Beloved”). This Church had won upon St Paul’s affections in an especial degree. They were lovable people, dear to God and to the servants of God. Comp. ch. 1Th_1:3-4; 2Th_2:13; 2Th_2:16; see also Introd. pp. 34, 35, and notes on 1Th_2:19-20.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) So means hero even so, confirming the simile,…
(8) So means hero even so, confirming the simile, and is not to be taken in the sense of “therefore.”
Not the gospel of God only.—The gospel was, as it were, the milk given to the young converts; but the nursing mothers were ready to let them draw their very life away, so dearly did they love them.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain So being affectionately desirous of you; a strong expression…
So being affectionately desirous of you; a strong expression in the original: "being filled with earnest love for you." We were willing. The word denotes a predetermination of the will: "we esteemed it good." To have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls. An evident climax: not only were we willing to preach the gospel of God to you, but more than this, to sacrifice our own lives for your advantage. The word here rendered "souls" denotes lives; and the meaning is that the apostle was willing to submit to death for the sake of the Thessalonians. The plural "we" still implies Paul and Silas and Timothy. The thought is As a nursing mother not only nourishes tier children, but is also ready to sacrifice her life for them; so the apostle not only nourished his spiritual children with the pure milk of the gospel, but was ready to sacrifice his own life for their spiritual maintenance; thus expressing in the strongest manner the womanly tenderness of the apostle toward his converts. Because ye were dear unto us.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 8. But also our own souls. You were so…
8. But also our own souls. You were so dear to us that we not only were willing to impart the gospel, but would have given our lives to you and for you.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain even so, being affectionately desirous of you [not yours,…
even so, being affectionately desirous of you [not yours, but you], we were well pleased to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only [as the sincere milk of the Word], but also [as mothers often do for their new-born babes] our own souls [lives-- 1Jo_3:16 ], because ye were become very dear to us .
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.