1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not… "Slept" in the New Testament is a word sacred to the dying of the righteous; hence that sweet inscription found upon hundreds of slabs in the Christian catacombs of Rome, "Dormit," he sleeps; while on Pagan monuments of the same age, spared as if on purpose to furnish a contrast, we read again and again the rebellious and plaintive inscription, "Abreptas," snatched away. In the one case a violent disruption of the tenderest ties, in the other a slumber falling as softly as the evening dew. (R. D. Hitchcock, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. |