1 Thessalonians 4:13

Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul writes to the Thessalonian church, addressing their grief over fellow believers who have already died. The letter is a pastoral correction, not a eulogy.

The words — ἀγνοεῖν (agnoein) means "to be ignorant, uninformed," a blunt claim that the Thessalonians are operating without data, not merely feeling sad. The word frames the problem as epistemic, not emotional.

The thread — Daniel 12:2 uses the same "sleep" language for the dead who will awake; 1 Thessalonians 4:14 and 5:10 both tie the sleepers to resurrection with Christ.

Why it lands — The verse asks the reader to check whether their grief is shaped by what they know or by what they assume; if it is the latter, the correction is information, not comfort.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

Cross-references

Daniel 12:2 And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
1 Thessalonians 4:15 By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 5:10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
1 Corinthians 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
2 Peter 3:4 “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
Acts 7:60 Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
Ephesians 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
Ezekiel 37:11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’
John 11:11 After He had said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”