1 Thessalonians 4:11 (DBY)

Passage

and to seek earnestly to be quiet and mind your own affairs, and work with your [own] hands, even as we charged you,

Nearby Context

1 Thessalonians 4:9 Now concerning brotherly love ye have no need that we should write to you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

1 Thessalonians 4:10 For also ye do this towards all the brethren in the whole of Macedonia; but we exhort you, brethren, to abound still more,

1 Thessalonians 4:11 and to seek earnestly to be quiet and mind your own affairs, and work with your [own] hands, even as we charged you,

1 Thessalonians 4:12 that ye may walk reputably towards those without, and may have need of no one.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are fallen asleep, to the end that ye be not grieved even as also the rest who have no hope.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seek", "earnestly", "quiet", "mind", "affairs", "hands", "even", and "charged". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seek" and "earnestly", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "For also ye do this towards all..." into verse 12's "that ye may walk reputably towards those...", so "seek" and "earnestly" belong inside that flow. In 1 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "seek" and "earnestly" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.