And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more
Parallel translations
- WEB for indeed you do it toward all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we exhort you, brothers, that you abound more and more;
- KJV And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;
- NKJV and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;
- NASB for indeed you practice it toward all the brothers and sisters who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to excel even more,
- NLT Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They already love all the believers across Macedonia, yet Paul urges them to do so even more. Even strong love can keep growing.
Overview
Paul affirms that their love already reaches beyond their own congregation to believers throughout the region. Still, he exhorts them to "abound more and more," the same call to growth seen in v. 1. Love, like all the graces, is never finished but always to be increased.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Phil 1:9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
- 1 Th 3:12And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,
- 2 Th 1:3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
- 1 Th 1:7As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
- 2 Cor 8:8–10I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.
- Phil 3:13–15Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
- 2 Cor 8:1–2Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.
- 1 Th 4:1Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.
- 2 Pet 3:18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
- Col 1:4because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
- Phlm 1:5–7because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
- Eph 1:15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
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Christ at the center
The believer waits for God's Son from heaven, Jesus who delivers from the wrath to come and who will return to gather his people to himself.
How 1 Thessalonians 4:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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