1 Thessalonians 4:15–18
Paul comforts grieving Thessalonians: we will always be with the Lord
Study it word by word15For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in the Messiah will rise first;
17then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be always with the Lord.
18So comfort one another with these words.
In its context
13But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who are sleeping, so that you may not grieve as also the rest do who have no hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so also God will bring with him, through Jesus, those who have fallen asleep.
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Its words in the original
- λέγομενlegomen· say
Say, speak; in the passive, "be called".
- λόγῳlogōi· word
Word, saying, message; also reason, cause, account.
- κυρίουkyriou· Lord, lord
Lord, master, owner. Said of God, the Lord; in Old Testament quotations it stands for the name YHWH.
- ζῶντεςzōntes· live
Live, be alive.
- περιλειπόμενοιperileipomenoi· be left, survive
Be left behind, remain; survive until a certain time.
- παρουσίανparousian· coming, presence
Coming, arrival and presence; it was said of a king's visit.
- φθάσωμενphthasōmen· arrive, reach
Arrive, reach, come upon; also come before, precede.
- κοιμηθένταςkoimēthentas· sleep, fall asleep
Sleep; also die.
- κελεύσματιkeleusmati· command, shout
Shout of command: an order given aloud.
- φωνῇphōnēi· voice, sound
Voice, sound.
- ἀρχαγγέλουarchangelou· archangel
Archangel: a chief messenger of God, a ruling angel.
- σάλπιγγιsalpingi· trumpet
Trumpet; also the sound of a trumpet.
- θεοῦtheou· God, god
God. In the plural or in another sense, "gods".
- καταβήσεταιkatabēsetai· go down, come down
Go down, come down, descend.
- οὐρανοῦouranou· heaven, sky
Heaven: the sky and, above all, the place of God. "The heavens" is sometimes a respectful way of saying "God".
- νεκροὶnekroi· dead
Dead.
- ΧριστῷChristōi· Messiah
Messiah: literally "anointed", the king or envoy God consecrates with oil. It is a title, not a surname; in Hebrew, mashiach.
- ἀναστήσονταιanastēsontai· rise, raise
Get up, stand up; also rise from the dead.
- πρῶτονprōton· first
First, foremost.
- ἔπειταepeita· then, afterward
Then, afterward.
- ἅμαhama· together, at once
At the same time, together with.
- σὺνsyn· with
With, together with.
- ἁρπαγησόμεθαharpagēsometha· snatch
Snatch, carry off by force.
- νεφέλαιςnephelais· cloud
Cloud.
- ἀπάντησινapantēsin· meeting
Meeting; "to meet", going out to welcome someone.
- ἀέραaera· air
Air, the air around the earth.
- πάντοτεpantote· always
Always.
- ἐσόμεθαesometha· be
Be, exist.
- ὥστεhōste· so that
So that, therefore.
- παρακαλεῖτεparakaleite· urge, comfort
Call to one's side; plead with, encourage, comfort.
- ἀλλήλουςallēlous· one another
One another, each other.