(21) Prove all things.--The right reading inserts a "but":--"I bid you pay all reverence to the cheering utterances of your prophets (comp. Acts 15:32); but take care! put everything to the test." That the warning was needed, or would be needed soon, is shown by 2Thessalonians 2:2. It is couched in general terms (all things), but, of course, has special reference to all things purporting to be manifestations of the Spirit. And how were these revelations to be tested? If they were not in accordance (1) with the original tradition (2Thessalonians 2:2), (2) with the supernatural inspirations of the other prophets who sat as judges (1Corinthians 14:29), (3) with enlightened common sense (1John 4:1), they could not be "good." The word "good" here is not vague and general good in the moral sense--not the same Greek word as in 1Thessalonians 5:15--but "good" in the sense of "genuine," "answering to the proper conception of what it purports to be." The same word is used in the same sense in John 10:11. . . . Verse 21. - Prove all things. This exhortation is closely connected with the preceding. "Prove all things," namely, whatever was advanced by the prophets in their inspired discourses (comp. 1 John 4:1, "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God"). "Prove" here means to test, as metals are tested in the fire; and hence the word frequently denotes the favorable result of the testing, or approval. There was a special gift of discerning spirits in the primitive Church (1 Corinthians 12:10; 1 Corinthians 14:29). But although the words primarily refer to the testing of prophetic utterances, yet they have a general application. We should not rest our faith on the authority of others. The right of private judgment is the characteristic and privilege of Protestantism. We ought thoroughly to examine all doctrines by the test of Scripture, and then, discerning their reasons, we shall be able to take a firmer hold of them. At the same time, the fundamental principle of rationalism, that reason as such is the judge of the doctrines of revelation, is not contained in these words, and cannot be inferred from them. Hold fast; retain. That which is good; the good, the beautiful, the honorable; a different word from that rendered "good" in ver. 15. We are to retain whatever is good in those "all things" which we are to prove or test, namely, in the prophesyings.

Parallel Commentaries ...


but
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

test
δοκιμάζετε (dokimazete)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1381: From dokimos; to test; by implication, to approve.

all things.
πάντα (panta)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

Hold fast
κατέχετε (katechete)
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2722: From kata and echo; to hold down, in various applications.

to what [is]
τὸ (to)
Article - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

good.
καλὸν (kalon)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 2570: Properly, beautiful, but chiefly good, i.e. Valuable or virtuous.


1 Thessalonians 5:21 NIV
1 Thessalonians 5:21 NLT
1 Thessalonians 5:21 ESV
1 Thessalonians 5:21 NASB
1 Thessalonians 5:21 KJV

1 Thessalonians 5:21 BibleApps.com
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Biblia Paralela
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Chinese Bible
1 Thessalonians 5:21 French Bible
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Catholic Bible

NT Letters: 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things and hold firmly that (1 Thess. 1 Thes. 1Th iTh i Th)