• 1 Thessalonians 2:2
    The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures

    • 2 ἀλλὰ but προπαθόντες having suffered before καὶ and ὑβρισθέντες having been insolently treated καθὼς according as οἴδατε YOU have known ἐν in Φιλίπποις Philippi ἐπαρρησιασάμεθα we were made outspoken ἐν in τῷ the θεῷ God ἡμῶν of us λαλῆσαι to speak πρὸς toward ὑμᾶς YOU τὸ the εὐαγγέλιον good news τοῦ of the θεοῦ God ἐν in πολλῷ much ἀγῶνι. struggling.

  • 1 Thessalonians 2:2
    King James Version

    • 2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

  • 1 Thessalonians Study Notes—Chapter 2
    New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

    • 2:2

      insolently treated in Philippi: Paul here refers to the events recorded at Ac 16:12, 16-24. Paul and Silas were dragged into the marketplace, hastily judged by the civil magistrates, stripped of their clothing, beaten with rods, thrown into prison, and put in stocks. Paul aptly characterizes all of that as being “insolently treated.” He uses a strong word that according to one reference work can refer to “treatment which is calculated publicly to insult and openly to humiliate the person who suffers from it.” Such abuse makes the boldness of Paul and Silas that much more remarkable.

      we mustered up boldness: Despite the insolent treatment they received in Philippi, Paul and Silas refused to cower, or shrink back. Instead, they “mustered up boldness,” or courage, to continue preaching. (Ac 17:2-10) Paul humbly acknowledges that the boldness came by means of our God rather than as a result of their own inner strength. The psalmist David similarly said to Jehovah: “You made me bold and strong.” (Ps 138:3; see also Ezr 7:28.) The Greek term rendered “mustered up boldness” is used several times regarding Paul’s ministry, and it often carries the thought of “speaking with boldness.”​—Ac 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; see study notes on Ac 4:13; 28:31.

      in the face of much opposition: It was not long after their arrival in Thessalonica that Paul and Silas faced harsh opposition. (Ac 17:1-14; see study note on 1Th 1:6.) However, because Paul loved the ministry, he endured opposition and boldly continued to preach the good news. (Ro 1:14, 15; 2Ti 4:2) The Greek expression Paul uses might also be rendered “amid much struggling,” which implies that he and Silas resisted the opposition and struggled against it in order to preach boldly. Sometimes the expression was used of athletes in the Olympic Games, who struggled intensely for victory against their opponents.