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.
“It is important to avoid an expression which would suggest ‘put out of your company,’ ‘excommunicate,’ or ‘thrust aside.’ The focus here is not on forceable exclusion of such persons from the fellowship, but on refusal to associate with them.” (Page 200)
“A mystery, for New Testament writers and for Paul in particular, is an open secret which anyone who becomes a Christian can come to understand, but which no one can understand apart from faith.” (Pages 170–171)
“A possible paraphrase would be ‘as soon as you hear or read some report that the Day of the Lord has come, don’t immediately accept it without question, or let it disturb you emotionally.’” (Page 160)
“All your desire for goodness is the most probable way of understanding the next words (cf. Brc ‘that [God] may turn all your good intentions into actions’). Paul is speaking of an activity of God which, he prays, will bring to good effect the Thessalonians’ own desire for good.” (Page 153)
“It is not that Paul is begging the Thessalonians concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that he does not want them to be confused about that coming.” (Page 158)