Verse 17
17. But we—resumed from :-; in contrast to the Jews, 1 Thessalonians 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:16.
taken—rather as Greek, "severed (violently, 1 Thessalonians 2:16- :) from you," as parents bereft of their children. So "I will not leave you comfortless," Greek, "orphanized" (1 Thessalonians 2:16- :).
for a short time—literally, "for the space of an hour." "When we had been severed from you but a very short time (perhaps alluding to the suddenness of his unexpected departure), we the more abundantly (the shorter was our separation; for the desire of meeting again is the more vivid, the more recent has been the parting) endeavored," c. (Compare 2 Timothy 1:4). He does not hereby, as many explain, anticipate a short separation from them, which would be a false anticipation for he did not soon revisit them. The Greek past participle also forbids their view.
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