1 Thessalonians 4:6

and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul writes to the Thessalonian church, embedding this prohibition between the contrast with Gentile lust (v. 5) and the positive call to holiness (v. 7).

The words — ὑπερβαίνειν (huperbainein) literally means "to go beyond," i.e., to cross a boundary; πλεονεκτεῖν (pleonektein) means "to overreach," taking more than one is owed. Together they name two modes of sexual exploitation: violation and profiteering.

The thread — "The Lord will avenge" echoes Hebrews 13:4's promise that God judges the sexually immoral; the exploitation language (πλεονεκτεῖν) aligns with the theft and covetery prohibitions of Exodus 20:15, 17.

Why it lands — The verse treats sexual exploitation of a fellow believer as a crime before God, not merely a moral failing, and removes any room for a reader to minimize what they have taken from another.

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

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

Cross-references

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
Exodus 20:15 You shall not steal.
Exodus 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Romans 12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
Proverbs 28:24 He who robs his father or mother, saying, “It is not wrong,” is a companion to the man who destroys.
Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
Ezekiel 22:13 Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.
Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Luke 12:5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!