Bible Strands
1 Thessalonians 5:2
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Thessalonian church, framing the Day of the Lord as a settled fact they already hold, not something he needs to introduce (v.1).
The words — ἀκριβῶς (akribōs) is an adverb of precision meaning "exactly, accurately," not merely "you know" but "you know precisely." It marks the knowledge as settled and complete, the kind that demands a response.
The thread — The thief image recurs in 2 Peter 3:10 and Revelation 16:15; Matthew 24:42 pairs the same surprise with the command to keep watch.
Why it lands — The verse does not inform; it confronts. If the knowledge is already exact, the only question left is what you are doing about it.
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
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Cross-references
- Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
- 2 Peter 3:10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
- Matthew 24:42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
- Revelation 3:3 Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.
- Matthew 25:13 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
- Luke 12:39 But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
- Mark 13:34 It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.
- Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
- 1 Corinthians 1:8 He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.