This set of detailed commentaries provides valuable exegetical, historical, cultural, and linguistic information on the original text. Over the years this series has been instrumental in shedding light on the Scriptures so that translators all over the world could complete the important task of putting God’s Word into the many languages spoken in the world today. Over the years church leaders and Bible readers have found the UBS Handbooks to be useful for their own study, since many of the issues Bible translators must address when trying to communicate the Bible’s message to modern readers are the ones Bible students must address when approaching the Bible text as a part of their own private study and devotions.
“Grace here means, not physical gracefulness and not a specific favor, but God’s willingness to look upon Christians as his people, and to give them good gifts, such as forgiveness. In secular Greek peace meant the cessation or absence of war, just as it usually does in modern English. Paul, however, uses the term to mean a right and harmonious relationship among men or between men and God, a total well—being which God himself gives.” (Page 3)
“The meaning of verses 16, 17, and 18 is closely parallel, though for stylistic reason the words are different in the original. Be thankful in all circumstances may be equivalent in some languages to ‘be thankful to God regardless of circumstances,’ or ‘… despite whatever may happen.’” (Page 121)
“There is, however, good reason to believe that 1 and 2 Thessalonians, in that order, are the first two of Paul’s letters to survive. It is also fairly certain that 1 Thessalonians was written about fifteen years after Paul’s conversion, that is, early in the year 51 or late in the previous year. Paul was writing to young Christians, but he himself was already an experienced evangelist.” (Page x)
“Paul is fighting fear and anxiety rather than wrong ideas firmly held. The Thessalonians had seen Christians die, just as Paul himself had seen Stephen stoned to death. They needed reassurance that death would not prevent Christians from sharing in whatever God had in store for them.” (Page 93)
“Paul is rather relating one act of God, which the Thessalonians already know about, to another, the consequence of the first, about which they have not yet been taught. The meaning may be paraphrased as ‘Jesus died and rose again. (We all believe this already.) Therefore, this assures us that God will take to himself those who have died believing in him.’” (Page 96)