This is one of the few places in this letter in which Paul distinguishes himself from his companions. He may have written the last few lines with his own hand.

Urge represents a strong term in Greek. An equivalent in some languages may be “I command you” or “I tell you that you should.”

The authority of (cf. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) is implied in the text. Bible en français courant and Bijbel in Gewone Taal have “in the Lord’s name” (cf. Knox Jerusalem Bible Barclay Translator’s New Testament). It is not the same Greek expression which occurs in 4.2, but it is in many respects similar and may be rendered in some languages as “as one who represents the Lord.” The Greek expression may be literally translated as “I adjure you by the Lord,” or “I put you under a solemn oath, calling upon the Lord as witness,” but this more technical meaning hardly fits the context, and it may be that one should translate “I strongly urge you to read this letter to all the brothers, since that is what the Lord would want.”

The Lord, here as usually in Paul’s writings, is Jesus, not God the Father, as Phillips translates it.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .