Bible Strands
1 Thessalonians 5:3
While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul to the Thessalonian believers, mid-discussion of the Day of the Lord (5:2–4), contrasting the unprepared with the prepared.
The words — ἀσφάλεια (asphaleia, "security") is a rare NT word; here it marks the false confidence that immediately precedes sudden destruction.
The thread — The same pattern of complacency before sudden judgment appears in the Noah parallels (Matthew 24:37; Luke 17:26) and in Jesus' warning about hearts weighed down by ordinary life (Luke 21:34).
Why it lands — The verse redefines "peace and security" from a sign of safety into the very indicator that the end is at hand.
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 when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Cross-references
- Luke 21:34 But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Matthew 24:37 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- Luke 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Revelation 18:7 As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’
- Psalms 73:18 Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,
- Hebrews 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
- Psalms 10:11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”
- Proverbs 29:1 A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Jeremiah 4:31 For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!”